#of them and the cogless and how they function

[quibbs126]

I wonder, do Minibots/Minicons exist in Transformers One?

I’m not sure we saw any in the movie (though I could very well be wrong, tell me if I am), and the most notable ones, the Cassettes, are nowhere to be found, Soundwave seems on his own at this point, his dock looks empty to me

Though he does still have a dock, which could imply that he’s meant to gain his Cassettes in future movies, should those ever happen

But regardless, it makes me wonder now if the “definitely smaller than average” small Transformers exist in this universe at all. And also, how would they work compared to the cogless, who are supposed to be the small bots in this society? Are they even smaller? And what about cogless Minibots, how would that work?

[askthemedbay]

Lore wise, I would have to know the lore of what happened to Pharma. What is shown is fascinating and love to know more! Your art and worldbuilding is really good, and I am happy to see more.

(OOC: Thank you for the kind comments!! And congrats, anon, you’re the winner of the first story post! It’s a bit lengthy, but I’ll do more of these if you guys like them!)

Ratchet was already growing suspicious by the time he noticed what Pharma had done.

No one could find that many willing donors that quickly, and morgue was filling up with cogless corpses.

It was stupid to believe Pharma, and he saw that now, just like he saw him drugging those sleeping bots. Those optics that would never open, that would never see their new home planet.

If only he was faster.

Ratchet adjusted his wrists. His new modifications hadn’t exactly settled with his original circuitry yet, making the joint feel bulky and slow. It would settle into its new purpose soon, though. It would see use soon.

Pharma hadn’t stopped stalking around the room since Ratchet agreed to leave, his pedes tapping rhythmically to every calculated step. Keeping up with quota drove him mad, Ratchet thought. No bot would think to kill a patient mid operation, to rip out their most precious organ and leave the corpse as an accident.

It was so stupid to believe him, in hindsight he was a fool. But that was hindsight, and this was now.

Ambulon stepped into the small room, and Ratchet pressed himself further against the wall. No one had noticed him yet, not even the keen-opticed trainee. He knew what Pharma planned to do to him. He felt all that Ambulon felt, and had heard Pharma’s mad ramblings late into the night. Yes, he was smarter than they assumed. The elder medic still had a functioning processor.

“You requested me?” Ambulon prefaced. Primus, he was only a kid. He was older than his own, but clearly not by much. That soft faceplate and hardly set jaw said enough. He’d only recently grown into that heavy plating.

Pharma ceased his pacing, looking at Ambulon with wild optics. That was not the same bot he once considered a friend, a colleague. That wasn’t Pharma, not anymore. Some kind of disease had wormed its way into his processor. It bastardized him. Turned him into… into…

Ratchet didn’t blink. His optics were tuned in and focused. That’s how fast it was. Though, seekers moved quickly under stress, didn’t they? Pharma raised his servo, which quickly turned into a loud, screeching engine.

Ambulon wasn’t stupid. He also made it through grueling medical academies before the war ruined his chances of a real certification. At least he was there to teach the poor kid… the long and short of it, he’d figured it out quite a while before Ratchet had; wether the circumstances were some sick twist of fate or not, the kid’s safety was his greatest concern. And for good reason. “Pharma..? What are you doing?”

Ratchet wasn’t nearly the fastest bot on the Ark, but he had some good days. This just happened to be one of those. Though, not nearly as fast as Pharma was in drawing his weapon of choice, Ratchet flung himself at the other medic.

They landed in a pile of scraping frames and harsh curses, tussling on the sterile ground of the medbay. Pharma, while lithe and agile, was no match for the bigger mech, but he was certainly trying. He waved his saw around like a mad mech, almost grazing Ratchet’s crest multiple times.

If any time was good to test his new ability, now was that time.

Ratchet raised his new, awkward servo, and revealed its purpose. The plating snapped away easily, revealing about a dozen tinier cables, ones that almost resembled those Soundwave used to disable his enemies before he went for the kill; but these were far more humane.

He fought for a better hold. Ratchet pushed Pharma onto his front, unwilling to listen to his screams. Not anymore. His free servo held his saw-wrist down, while he placed his modification on that practiced place. Ratchet closed his optics, focusing his power into controlling those smaller tendrils.

Pharma yelped, then that yelp turned into stupefied groans. When Ratchet returned to himself, the cables had snaked up the back of Pharma’s neck and into the thin gap between the heavy protective plating and connective wires. He was cradling his processor now. Subduing him manually. Finding the small nodule at the back of the processor, Ratchet watched the light fade out of Pharma’s optics.

He was not offline, not entirely, but he would be in stasis for some time. Just enough to get him locked up in the Ark’s brig.

Ratchet released soft vent, his internal fans clicking on as he carefully removed his processor-scrambling equipment. He stood, only now noticing that Pharma… he’d definitely hit him. The glass panels of his chassis were shattered, and he was coated in pink, purified energon. But that wasn’t his greatest concern.

Ambulon was frozen in place, like he’d gone to recharge standing up. He couldn’t speak, only opening and closing his intake stupidly. Ratchet stumbled to him, grabbing his shoulders roughly and squeezing. “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

When Ambulon shook his helm no, Ratchet cycled his vents with relief. He pulled the young bot into his arms, trying to comfort him. “You’re okay, kid. You’re safe. Go… go take the next decacycle off. Please.”

“Yes, sir..”

He always was quite good at taking orders.

(OOC: Once again, I’ll do more story posts if you guys like them! Have some related sketches too)

[what-if-i-like-my-mechs-older]

(It's that time of the month for Starscream I'm not making a period romantic there will be blood and gas and actual relatable shit.

Tf One universe where Starscream and the highguard aren't on the surface but living unaware of Sentinels lie and cogless miners exist. Ship: StarPax comfort one shot.)

Two months, it had taken two months to get the superiors of Orions work station, to let him have two days away from the mines, Starscream had been dating the cogless miner for far longer than that but he'd wanted to take him home , pamper and dote on him there, and now as he laid curled on his bathroom floor he cursed how unreliable bodily functions were.

It wasn't due for three more days, he should have been in the clear....but...then again...who else but Orion could jump start it , it was a scientific fact that gestation cycles could be started through overloads especially when close to it.

He winced as he felt another surge of pain twist and turn, any mess that spilt from him could easily be cleaned up, he didn't care where it went, any position to lay in so it felt less painful.

He felt warm and in the moments of reprieve he could let his breathing ease.

Out in the bedroom Orion stirred, unable to feel the warmth of his lover, he groaned , huffing , where was his Starlight? Pouting he sat up, letting his processor come online, taking in the soft lighting of the room from all of Iacons neon sights and city buildings, there was how ever another glow beside him, faint and dull...and a pool of....was that, blood?

To Orion it would seem large, he was far smaller than the seeker and noted that he must have turned in it at some point as he saw trace amounts on his thigh.

It took him 0.00001 seconds to suddenly start panicking , was he hurt??? Did he hurt him self, did he hurt him during their interface???

"Starscream, where are you!?"

He practically fell off the bed slipping on the liquid, but he didn't care about that, he followed the pained sound of his Starlight answering him

Telling him not to be so loud.

Orion peeked in and saw Starscream curled up on the floor, more of the fluid pooled on the floor by....oh so that was what that was.

Still he didn't care , he turned the lights down low and moved in closer.

Starscream whined, feeling like an animal who'd been kicked down, he didn't want Orion to see him like this, his last partner didn't have pains or problems like this, they'd been so cruel and called him disgusting for making even the slightest mess, after that relationship he'd planned everything so carefully that Orion would never see him in this state, he didn't want the most wonderful and ridiculous mech at time to see him like this.

Orion watched as the seekers wings trembled, all he could think about how much pain he was in, he could feel it radiating from his field, walking up to him he rested a hand between his wings.

"I'll keep my voice soft I promise..."

His hand slowly stroked between them

"Can I remove your pelvic armor, I know the weight of it can add more stress to your wiring."

Star only nodded, this was foreign to him, no one had ever taken care of him during his cycle, he'd had to crawl or hobble around his home for medication, heating pads and whatever else he would need and here was this little mech, his voice only holding comfort and warmth for him...he'd probably cry about it later, but he couldn't cry, not now....not now he had to remain as calm as he could because that would only tense up his body more.

Orion searched the armour for every tiny clip and joint, it took a moment but soon the hip pieces and front and back were removed , he'd seen enough blood in the mines, this was no different no matter where it came from and all he could worry about was Starscream and making sure he'd feel better.

"Does that feel a little better sweetspark?"

The seeker made a small sound he wasn't sure if it meant yes or no, he focused on the biolights along his lower back, they should usually pulse subtly to a spark beat. Right now they were flickering, flashing then flickering again.

Star moved a leg trying to find another position as another cramp twisted through him.

Orion hated hearing him cry, not because he was angry at him for doing so, he hated that he was in pain, that such a natural bodily function that they were designed with had to be so cruel and debilitating.

Reaching forward he pressed his fingers carefully against the biolights and rubbed in large circles , again size difference here was blatantly obvious.

"You're not...you don't find..."

Starscream was having trouble getting the words out , what if Orion said yes, the massage was helping though...he seemed to know what he was doing...

"Not your first time helping someone out is it?"

He managed to say , his breathing still obviously laced with pain.

"Down in the mines, the only time they care is if you can't work, if a medical visit gets you back to work you can go to the doctors, or you get replaced...all we got is each other down there...do you need more pressure....right here?"

He answered him earnestly while rubbing down into the lower dip of Starscream’s back , the seeker audibly let out a sigh of relief, though however when his systems relaxed he felt his internals churn. His faced darkened as he knew what was going to happen and there was no stopping it.

His body dispelled gas that only sounded twice as loud to him because of how embarrassed he felt making his body tense up more.

Orion continued massaging him with out second thought and only chuckled

"Yeah I do that to during mine, Dee doesn't know what to say but he makes some joke like 'if you were a Prime I'd call you Tootimus Prime' , something like that, it's kinda funny, sometimes a little laugh helps, but I know it doesn't help everyone. "

Star did however manage a breathless giggle

"Tootimus...with your size they probably do sound like that...actually...now I think about it you've never once dispelled gas."

It was Orions turn to blush even if he was smiling

"I dunno I kept holding them in around you, you're such a classy mech I know I'm a miner how the world sees me, don't really care what they think of me but, I guess I didn't wanna accidentally embarrass you...or make you wish for something better."

Star listened , the sound of his voice was relaxing him, it eased his pain, how calm he talked how never mentioned the flow that was still going and slowly pooling on the floor.

So they'd both had their worries about each other , it was good they were communicating even if it was in such a moment as this.

"You don't embarrass me, Orion you make me happy...seeing you makes me happy, that smile you have when you see me, it's like you light up the whole of Iacon...and I don't know what to do with that...but I never want to lose it either...ridiculous bot thinking a ....a what was that slang term you use?"

"Fart."

Orion was trying not to cry, so Star had noticed that was the joy he brought him, he wasn't supposed to be the one getting teary here, he was supposed to be looking after him!

This all over gas...well...regulation of the hormonal cycle could do this he figured.

"Yes that, ridiculous bot thinking I'd be ashamed of you over a fart."

He actually found himself laughing a little more, he was still in pain, but with Orion here talking to him, knowing Orion wanted nothing but to look after and ease him...it made it just a little more tolerable and he was right removing the pelvic armor had helped...he'd usually had to handle this by himself, never discussed it with anyone else either, his sire had been one of those, it happens and we don't talk about it to others type mechs.

Old fashioned in other words.

His stomach (because right now I can't remember the transformers term for that) however did a turn as his body decided now would be a good time to contract hard enough that whatever he'd eaten earlier was not going to stay where it was and scrambled for the waste disposal unit, hands clutching at the sides, oh this was a bad one and Orion was here witnessing him at one of his most physically...and emotionally at this time vulnerable moments.

Throughout the retching a sob escaped him, it did ease the pain, but there was still that touch of fear Orion would be disgusted just like his last partner who'd sneered at him and just walked out.

Again though, there was a hand on his back rubbing between his wings.

"I'm not going anywhere Starlight, what ever you need to do or need me to help you with, I'm right here, promise I've seen it all , you're in pain I'd even defy my supervisor before leaving you like this."

Star kept his head down for a minute, waiting for his insides to calm.

The gas had gone at least...and while he ached less the pain was still there and dull.

Orion left his side a moment, and that had him raising his head in a momentary panic, but soon relaxed as he saw him reaching for a cloth, however...it did not go unnoticed that Orion...had a large smear of ...

He closed his optics and took a deep breath , pulling the chain to the waste disposal, the coolant water inside swirled and recycled with fresh coolant.

"You...my....it's on you."

Orion looked down at himself and shrugged.

"And? Honestly when I saw it on the berth I was terrified you were hurt, but knowing it's just this....well not just this, I...mean, I'm just happy that you weren't injured though with the way these cycles feel it does feel like you're put through the ringer that's for damn sure."

He was going to Sparkbond with Orion Pax, this was going to be his husband one day he swore to Primus, maybe it was the high emotions , or the feeling of being cared for that made him feel that way , but right now, he meant it he thought to himself as the miner came and wiped his mouth for him.

"Now, Starlight, I don't know how to run your bath to the way you like it but a oil bath is exactly what you need."

The seeker pouted at him

"Because I'm dirty?"

"No..."

He tip toed and kissed his forehead

"Because it'll ease your valve and back wires , I figure the same as a heating pad , only all over."

Star reached out and cuddled him, his face buried into the crook of his shoulder

"I love you, Orion Pax."

Orion kissed the side of Screamers helm affectionately and cuddled him back.

"Hey now, I'll always do my best to have your back, you got that."

He felt the seeker nodding and smiled

"Love you to Starscream...now where do you keep your pain medication, I'll get you a light snack and something to drink while you run a bath, that way I can find out what temperature you like it and I can run your bath next time."

"Next time?"

"What you think I totally wouldn't sneak out to look after you, don't be ridiculous got like seventy bots down there who owe me one, not that I ask them to, they just want to."

Star looked him over and just smiled, he understood why they did, it was hard not wanting to thank a mech like him for helping you out.

He told him where the medication was and managed to start his bath, oh everything still hurt, but knowing Orion was there, that he didn't judge anything that needed to be done to cope, that he wasn't alone...so long as leveled his breathing it was....just about manageable.

He'd been found early enough before it'd reached screaming in pain, those times were the worst, especially when nothing stayed in your body, but...he didn't worry about that right now.

Orion returned a few minutes later just as Star was sinking into the bath and sighing. His little Pax had been right, this was good, it would still take time for his body to calm, his knees were parted as he let the oil slowly ease the tension.

He watched as his lover pass up the glass and medication which he took and the two simple energon biscuits.

"Hey Star?"

"Yes my little future Conjunx?"

Both of them went still, shit he'd said that outloud, he felt a sharp pain as he momentarily panicked only to see Orion smiling that same smile that adored.

"Don't worry about any of the mess, I'll clean it up, you'll come back to fresh berth, just please tell me if there's anything you need."

He rocked on his feet a moment still smiling, still keeping his voice calm.

"Also I'd love to Conjunxed with you."

He practically skipped off and found what he'd need to clean up everything in the berth and then came in to clean the floor.

While Star didn't talk much, he'd asked Orion to tell him about his friends, just stories down in the mines, the sound of his voice soothing, even as he used the corner shower for himself finally.

Star couldn't help but feel his affection for him had grown substantially in this one night, to know he could be doubled over and pulled down by pain like that and Orion had only cared for him, given him comfort.

Love right now wasn't even good enough a word , it was humble in comparison to what he felt for him while he watched him shower and dry off.

Half expecting him to go to bed.

Orion climbed up on the bathroom chair and smiled.

"Don't rush okay, I want you to stay there for as long as you need to."

"Oh and what if I stay here til morning?"

It was a half tease but his answer just made him love him all the more.

"Then let the morning come, I will still be here."

[doshi-sukiru]

Divergent au

Yeah..so I made a new au so here we go-

Part 2!

this one I don't think I'll make a fic out of, mainly because I'm already trying to get back to my shadowpeach one (I have NOT forgotten, uni is just a bitch and for some reason I'm procrastinating too much which is scaring me but I can't stop it it's awful-)

So, this was something @/angstychilz and I discussed one day in our megop server and it was basically "what if Megatron and a few other decepticons got captured by the Quintessons while they were on the surface?"

And of course I'm in a chokehold so now you're forced to deal with this horrifying au I twisted with my knowledge of sci-fi / doctor horror.

**TW!! I might get a bit graphic with some details so please tread carefully! I don't want to scare any of you with what I have for this au, it is disturbing in some areas**

So, to start, I've considered that for now, Megatron, Soundwave, and Blitzwing would all be taken by the quintessons to be experimented on, mainly to help the quintessons understand their anatomy and to use it to their advantage in order to help conquer Cybertron (suggestions for other bots to be taken and experimented on is welcome!)

Of course, it is considered that they are different species, and in a way I believe that the quints would see cybtronian's as lesser beings (especially seeing how they managed to persuade sentinel easily with the idea of having more power in return for killing the primes and providing them with energon). This would play a big part during their experimentations, especially with Megatron because he carries a Prime's cog, that too Megatronus's, who was definitely one of their biggest enemies.

Megs and the others are kept with other mechs, some dead some alive, and they all go through terrible transformations (I'm still deciding how to ruin blitz, especially with his split personality).

I'll just summarize how Soundwave's transformation becomes bc it's really easy- he just goes from tfone sound to tfp sound (angsty's idea), since he has moveable cables similar to the quint's tentacles. He is still in control of his body and mind, and even holds conversations with Megatron to give him some sense of normality between them, but will black out whenever the quints need him to go scout on cybertron to avoid autobot patrols and seek out new victims.

Megatron's treatment I have more detail on (and why wouldn't I, he's my comfort character I need to detail his agony-). There is no anesthesia, Megatron is staying awake as they tear through his chassis and tear out the cog, forcing him to go back to his cogless form. I will also add that before he was taken, he also lost his right arm in the fight before capture, so he's dealing with two types of pain.

Through that the quints learn that mech body's can shift, so while Megs is sent to recover with the other bots they grab some poor mech and experiment with their cog, and they take their time just experimenting on how to make a cog of their own. This also includes them doing several types of dissections on a lot of mechs, pulling and twisting wires, tearing apart limbs and then forcing them to reconnect after forcing the mechs to transform. Keep in mind none of them are under anesthesia, so it's like an old victorian surgery, you're awake and watching a bunch of aliens piercing through you, dismembering you and forcing you to stay still as they go through your systems and organ parts, and even through your spark (guess how you think they learned that was what kept them alive).

Through all that, once they get some form of a twisted, functional cog that mimics an original one, they immediately do everything they did to those mechs to megatron.

By then, he's no longer filled with rage, but fear. Indescribable fear of whether or not he'd survive this. He was a miner once, and while he had his moments he was always assured by Orion he'd be fine and he'd be safe. Orion's not here anymore, and most of the time Sound isn't either, so he's stuck spiraling in fear.

Obviously he's more resistant against them, but he can't fight them anymore. At the same, his helm is forced open, leaving his core processor open for them to dig in and used what memories he has to twist him into a more submissive mech, especially his momentary regret that he got when he shot Orion, and later after dropping him to die. He's forced to endure several procedures, most that left him bleeding out or vomiting blood to the point of exhaustion, and waking up in a tank only to be pulled and put through it again. And again. And again. And again.

Until- they get it right. Now, he looks like a normal mech, similar frame and shape, but with changes. His frame color no longer is a silver/grey hue, it's green with how often he's kept in the dirty cells or in the tanks. His arm got replaced, but with a quintesson-like arm. His voicebox is damaged from the constant tests, so he speaks very little before his voice gets glitchy and incomprehensible.

His body, while accepts the cog and gives him a new alt (flier), will still reject it after a long period of time (consider it between every 8-10 orbital cycles/months), which causes internal bleeding and erratic movement from his body, often times leaving him disfigured and in agony when it occurs. This can range from his body trying to transform mid-form into his alt, to whole on twisting his limbs, or both.

I'll open my inbox for you guys again for this au, I'll do a part 2 for orion's part. But yeah, here's my twisted horror au that I keep a latch on. hahaha-

Bonus art!

[beemochi-art]

*slides in $5* id like to order one 'bees thoughts on the brutality of cybertron and its society' please

I CANT GET THE MONEY!!!! IM SCRATCHING THE SCREEN!!

(WARNING I SHOULD HAVE POSTED THIS A LONG TIME AGO SO SOME OF THIS RANT IS Irrelevant . Or I just guessed right! So imma post it anyways, cause why not.)

Regardless! I’m going to turn this into a tfone tangent on how their society works and other things: because not having tha ability to transform in a transforming world is really interesting. Is that even natural?

In other continuings your class is based on your alt mode. Because in the society of functionalism everything works like a big cog in a machine. To me not having a cog seem ani functional in a way. Cause all they can do is walk, no taking bigger loads of cargo no flying. Does that make cogless bots the lowest low. Both Megs and Orion are significantly smaller than any transforming bot so I think it could make sense that they are miners, they could get into tight places to get minerals. Makes me wonder how the caste system works for transforming bots. I also couldn’t help but notice that the cogless bots have a lot to entertain them and keep them happy, like the races or here Red alert isn’t working (guessing) it looks like he is playing a game. The fact there are Monitors everywhere playing the race for them to watch, or that there are so many cogless bots actually at the race.

Do you think they are trying to distract them from their shitty situation? Maybe it’s not natural to not have a cog, or the fact they don’t let them to the surface or interact with other cybertronians with cogs. But most miners don’t both cause they are content with their simple life without knowing what natural rights have been taken from them. Maybe it’s like bananas, like how bananas used to have seeds but have been genetically alter to not? Maybe it’s like like that. Is it the quintissions fault???

[mychlapci]

(If you got two asks about this headcanon right next to each other they're both me, but tumbler crashed while I was writing it the first time and idk if it sent or not. But at least now that I'm no longer mad about the crash I can word it much better)

Saw a T-cogless bot in TFOne who looks an awful lot like Ratchet and it's driving me insane and I can't stop thinking about him because as someone trying to go into the engineering field while not being a straight cis dude (™) and while being disabled I can't help but imagine a T-cogless Ratchet in a similar situation, what with how cogless bots were discriminated against in the movie.

He can't transform, which means he probably doesn't have access to most of his medical tools and he wouldn't be able to carry patients in his ambulance bay. And we don't know how much the functions of medic hands are tied up with the T-cog (I'm guessing a lot). On top of that, with T-cogless bots all being sent down to the mines, you have to wonder how hard he had to work to even become a doctor at all in that universe.

How many bots told him he wouldn't be able to do it? That he'd never be as good a doctor as a bot with a T-cog? How many times was he told to give up because he was born wrong?

How much harder would he have had to fight to prove he could even go to med school in the first place? And what about when he got there? Discriminatory professors won't hesitate to lower your grades because you're too different- no matter how good of a student you actually are. How much harder would he have to work to even be seen on the same level as his fellow students?

Would he be harassed by the teachers? The other students? Would he even be given the same accommodations as them? Would he be kicked out of group projects, would teachers refuse to help him if he has trouble with certain lessons? Would he be expected to do his homework down in the mines even if he was a student? Would he have to work while studying? How tight are the rations down in the mines, on top of having their schedule so tightly controlled? Would he have to take all his tests on less fuel and sleep then the other students?

The movie literally opens with Orion having to break into a library of all things, and now I can't stop wondering if they'd even bother to give Ratchet the textbooks he'd need, or if those would have to be stolen too.

And after he graduated, did he keep working in the mines because he wanted to help people like him, or did they just not trust him to fix up the “more important” bots?

How much worse would his workaholic attitude be if all his early years were spent working twice as hard for half the credit? He already ties so much of his self worth to his job, how much worse would this situation make that?

I just can't stop thinking about a Ratchet that has to fight tooth and nail to even be acknowledged as a good doctor, when we the audience know damn well he's one of the best on Cybertron.

oh yeah, we've touched upon a cogless Ratchet before. honestly, i just assumed that there would be cogless doctors working in the mines with the other cogless bots, who are trained to remedy mining injuries and not much else... so maybe Ratchet would've gotten his training, but it would be more of a "guy with a 3 week cpr course" kind of situation, meaning he isn't really a doctor... but of course, he wants to be. I mean, the amount of bots he sees die because they didn't send a real doctor to help in time, it has to be a lot and it has to be devastating. Enrolling in a real medical school would be difficult, maybe even impossible... maybe he has to lie, attending his classes on-line, never showing his face.

[socktrace]

I've seen people mention that it's weird how cogged bots did not seem to care that some bots were coming into being without cogs and that no one tried to rebel or something like that.

But I see it like this: if the Matrix always deemed the Primes worthy of it, and energon was always there, then there was a high chance that the bots wouldn't know what would happen if there was no energon. And if they did, Sentinel could have manipulated the info.

Now, when bots without cogs came into being, it could be blamed on energon shortages. Energon is life, no energon, means life can't function at its fullest. Why should they become miners then??? The tunnels with energon crystals are small and narrow, and the cogless bots can navigate them well! It must mean that Primus himself is helping the Cybertronians to adjust to the lack of liquid energon!! You have no cog, you're small, the tunnels are small, you must get us energon and save Cybertron! Primus made you like this so you could help the planet and its people! (mmmm feels like some functionism)

And some part of population still had cogs and this could be displayed like the result of the miners' efforts. See, you gathered so much energon that it's enough for others to get cogs! Life persists!

And cogged bots were likely afraid that if they won't get enough energon for themselves, they would lose their cogs, their alt modes, a part of their identity. Yeah, miners are cool, but no one would want to become a miner themselves.

And if miners were basically living in the mines and all those lower levels, then they would be separated and their worth reduced in the eyes of cogged bots. You're a new miner, huh? Guess the others didn't extract enough energon so your cog could form. Go back to the mines, maybe the next generation will be fully cogged if you work hard enough.

[c3rnunnos]

Watched Transformers One yesterday with some friends. Had a really good time. Thoughts under the cut WITH SPOILERS. There are a ton of those in here. Please don't click the read more if you haven't watched the movie. I will not be held responsible if you click and then get mad.

Initial thoughts and some disclaimers

First of all, I watched it in Italian cause that's what I speak and that's the only language that was available in the cinema, and I have something to say about the voices. Elita's voice was pretty much perfect for her, a good match for the original, and the va was a big part of why I ended up liking her a lot. Bee's voice was very high and pitchy, but it made sense with how he moved and interacted with the world, and honestly I also tend to go really high pitched when talking about something enthusiastically so it was nice. Orion's voice was pretty good, not as deep as I was expecting it to be, but it fit rather well with the rest of the voice cast. D-16's voice... It was alright. It fit rather well in the first part of the movie, but when we got to the violent revolution part, ah... There wasn't enough of a shift to make me think "ah, yes, this is Megatron". He sounded like a guy being mad he was stuck in traffic. Though, there were certain scenes where the VA gave a brilliant performance.

Second thing, I watched it with a couple of friends, one of which only knows Transformers from my unhinged rants and one who came along to watch a movie he had no knowledge of high, and it was a fantastic experience. Friend A gave me some comments after the movie about Sentinel that I couldn't help but agree with, and Friend B locked in when watching the Iacon infrastructure and mining environments (as he is quite good at planning infrastructures, and was going insane over how weird it was). Bringing both of them with me was great, especially for certain specific scenes I'll get into later. I watched the movie while also watching for their reactions, and it was a very good time to see people I loved have fun like me - but as my attention was a bit split, I might be misremembering stuff.

Actual thoughts on the movie itself

Alright, so.

The entire thing with a working class that had their t-cogs removed was insanely interesting in my opinion. The fact that the propaganda and grueling work hours kept the masses low and entertained while bots with cogs enjoyed their races and lives was interesting. It felt like a facet of Functionism came through with that - and while the bots who could transform were (I believe) free to do whatever, the cogless were stuck working as part of a production machine for Sentinel. I loved seeing how the panem et circense wasn't enough for all of them - how Orion yet thirsted for knowledge and for a life he could live away from the mines.

Which, I enjoyed how D-16 was the one that acted as a buffer for Orion's bullshit (and I say this lovingly, I adored Orion in the movie), and how he was so... Complacent in the abuse he was undergoing. He loved Sentinel as a symbol, he was glad for his job, he didn't want to see that a society that treats people as objects to discard maybe wasn't good. He had a place to sleep, he had fuel, and he had Orion, and that was enough. Maybe that's why his speech hit different, when he got to the breaking point.

Thoughts on Orion later cause they tie into different stuff.

Elita was also very real - someone who desperately is trying to claw her way out of a horrible situation through hard work and discipline, who doesn't want to take any chances lest she falls down back into the pit she crawled out of. I liked how she was decisive and how she used her knowledge of train routes to do 9/11 on Sentinel's office. Go girl. Also I am weak for two wheelers and she was so fucking cool when she fought and transformed.

B-127. Ohhh Bee. He is my favorite ever, I have three figures of him plus the lego Bumblebee, and I love him dearly. I didn't know what to think of him when I saw the trailer, but then I saw the state he had been living in and yea, the isolation would drive someone insane to that point. I liked how he was ride or die for people he had just met. He was so lonely and needed to talk so much after forever spent in unknown levels. His excitement over being able to transform and simply help was amazing. He has knife hands! Good for him! A bit insane but good for him!

Also, as mentioned before, since I watched it in a different language everything had to be adapted, including the important speeches and the jokes. Unfortunately, there was no cool "DECEPTICONS RISE UP", and there was no cool "TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT", but there was Bee exclaiming "Nice! I get to be a government employee!" which was fantastic to hear in Italian, especially with the view we tend to have of government employees. Overall, the jokes had to be rewritten or adapted carefully, but they still made me chortle more than a few times. A few even got my friends, which was great.

Now... Speaking a bit of the plot and environments... For they are tied by the narration.

The environments were... Insane??? Holy fucking shit? Cybertron was teeming with life, it was shifting and alive and colorful. The colors were bright and saturated, felt like a fever dream. The surface was a wide expanse of possibilities, the auroras were delicate dashes of color in the sunset, the rock surfaces transformed like Primus himself was quietly stirring. Cybertron is techno-organic in the way that you would define a rusted over and overgrown metal building techno-organic, and I would bet good money that the organic components of the surface were brought in by the Quintesson occupation.

Which, the Quintessons. Disgusting critters. Insects with hard carapaces, laser guns, and enough of a population to be a swarm. Their ships are the definition of megalophobia. Their relentless search for cybernetic lifeforms to shatter and take was terrifying. The moment they first appeared, the genre shifted to survival horror. And then, we learn why they're still here, through Alpha Trion's powers.

Sentinel. Sentinel Sentinel Sentinel. He's horrible. I need him carnally. He was a fake through and through, and yet he compelled me. Its difficult to find villains that are villains cause they suck nowadays, they always have to have a sad backstory. Sentinel was simply... Ambitious. Ambitious to the point of it being detrimental to himself, in the long run, and whole he created an incredible ruse and fooled an entire society for millenia, that ambition still got him killed in the end. Seeing the scene of his betrayal in the cave with Alpha Trion was amazing - watching him beg for more time with the Quintessons, hating them despite knowing he has dug his own grave was compelling. Seeing him crawl away from Megatron at the end was incredible. Seeing him die changed my brain chemistry (and look! His frame greyed out in the end! What a detail!). (Also, nice callback to Jazz's death in Transfomers 2007.)

And, D-16. Megatron. It was quite a tonal shift, to watch him rave about wanting to kill Sentinel to Orion, Elita and Bee in the cave. There was no music, only a droning sound. You could feel the rage in his words. You could see that he would go through with it, even if he had to destroy himself in the process. His shift from a cowering kissass to a mech with nothing to lose but his chains was a delight spiral into villainy. He took to the Elite Guard's way of the strong like a fish to water. He got a taste of power, and then he let himself be drowned in it - despite the efforts Orion put in trying to stay with him, trying to help.

And here we also go with the Orion thoughts. Orion himself was a favorite. He went from a bit annoying but fun and capable, someone who wanted desperately to be able to live a life that was more than the mines, that wanted his friends to be considered more than meets the eye, to someone who was almost desperately trying to keep D-16 together as everything they had worked towards spiraled out of control. The way he got more quiet (somber) and desperate as the movie went on was very, very good. Yes, he was big and bright and bold. Yes, he went back to the mines to get the help of his friends. Yes, he didn't want Dee to kill Sentinel because he didn't want him to fall to that level. Yes, I think Sentinel should've died too, but... Orion was trying to expose the mech. Public opinion would've scalped him anyways, after the stunt they managed to pull. And Megatron committed a crime a passion under the guise of revolution. He strayed from the path of revolution the moment he shot through Orion. Gosh.

When Megatron shot Orion, my god. I was jittery with excitement. My friends were horrified and stuck staring at the screen. And then, "I'm not saving you anymore", and letting him go, and just. Gosh. The betrayal was expected. It still hurt.

The fall into the center of Cybertron, the way that Megatron ended up killing Sentinel, the Matrix choosing and rebuilding Optimus, Megatron rallying the people to destroy. Optimus' return. Their fight. The banishment. This was such a bad breakup for them. God.

A couple of things I wish would've been different

I wish the runtime for the later part of the movie was longer. I would've loved for the Elite Guard (the soon to be Decepticons, really) to have had more of a role in the movie. I love Shockwave dearly, and Soundwave was quite cool, but I wish they had a more relevant part in D-16's fall towards being Megatron.

Starscream, gosh. Always trying to rule, isn't he? Bet he didn't expect a miner to be able to beat his ass. Bet he didn't expect to have his vocalizer crushed into malfunctioning. And yet, I wish he had a more relevant role. I wish we got to know the disgraced members of the Elite Guard.

I wish we got to know the miners, the Autobots, the poor unknowing slaves that Orion wanted more for. I wish Jazz got to stab someone. I am weak to murder psy op fiend Jazz.

Jazz was cute! He was really cute. I liked how he flicked his wings at the end. He was... also voiced by a youtuber I used to watch when I was 13 and that immediately made me want to commit a crime! Like I love that guy but that was NOT the voice to give the Jazzmech. They whitewashed my mans (joke)

Also, severe lack of every Autobot and Decepticon outside of group shots. But that's ok cause this is a movie that doesn't reach 2 hours and not a full series. But gosh what I wouldn't give for a full animated series in this setting.

And that's a wrap!

I've spat all my thoughts on here. Might add more later. My brain is fused. I hope I didn't make many grammar mistakes and typos. Have a good day.

[merlinfromberlin]

Theoretically, if I ever were to consider writing a TF One Shattered Glass retelling/continuation, I would definitely base it off of Animal Farm.

A few more details/ideas below the cut bc of TF1 spoilers.

Also, it's been a while since I've last read Animal Farm so I'm sorry in case I got any names wrong/am a bit wonky on the plot. I don't have my copy with me right now, so I can't look any of it up.

Characters

Quintessons = Humans Sentinel = The Farmer Orion = Napoleon D-16 = Snowball Elita-1 = The third pig (?) Various miners = the other animals

First Half of the Movie

The first part of the movie would largely stay the same except that Orion is not as naive or nice. Instead, he's clearly power hungry, he saves Jazz not bc he cares about his co-worker/friend dying but bc Jazz will be in his debt, he's looking for the Matrix not bc he wants to help the miners but bc it will make him more powerful and maybe even allow him to overpower Sentinel.

I think I'd even keep D's darker moments - he can still want to kill Sentinel, but I don't think he'd try to kill Starscream anymore. Mostly bc the High Guard's motto has changed to sth like "Together We Are Strong" (no, that's not a quote from Reinhardt in Overwatch - you are imagining things). Not yet sure if it's him or Orion executing Sentinel.

Pretty sure I would have them abandon Bee (who is slightly more bitter and jaded than in the movie) in Sublevel 50, though. Maybe it's even B-127 who wants to go back bc he is afraid of the things (punishments) that may be awaiting him in the outside world and they just let him, Orion maybe even convinces him that it's better to stay safe down there. This way, he has one less competitor for power. Then they move on and never think about it again. D might remember him later, once he's Megatron and banished and go back to get him bc he realises that that was very fucked up. But tbh. as much as it hurts my heart to treat my blorbo like that, I think it would be the best statement for the story if B just vanished from the story and we never get to see him again. Because this time they (Orion) are not out to actually improve stuff. They just want to change who's in power.

Rest of the plot till they return to Iacon stays largely the same for now.

Some more plot points:

The uprising of the miners/Orion leading them into battle? That's the Great Battle between Animals and Humans.

Sentinel's execution? That's the animals banishing the humans from the farm.

Orion receiving the Matrix ? That's the pigs taking control of the political system of the farm bc they are "best suited" to it. All seems to be fine and dainty for a bit. :) (Not yet sure how Orion would receive the Matrix. Not yet sure if he actually even gets it. If he does, it's not almost sentient like it is in the movie where it only bonds with good leaders. Instead it is just a pure power-up. Instead of Megatron, Orion gets the transformation/power-up scene.)

All the miners receiving T-Cogs? First Liberation of the Animals. All Animals Are Equal.

Optimus banishing Megatron (would happen later than in the movie - only after the first functionist rules have been introduced)? That's Napoleon banishing Snowball. We don't see Megatron (or the High Guard) again for the rest of the story.

Some more:

Not yet entirely sure what I would replace the windmill with. Maybe some sort energon refectory/distribution system.

The everchanging/vanishing rules on the farm? Some animals are more equal than others? That's OP and his governement slowly introducing more and more functionist rules.

It ends, rather suddenly, when one day one of the miners realises that oh damn, OP is barely distinguishable from Sentinel. Except instead of cogless miners we now have Functionism.

Maybe there is another racing scene with two new miners (Hot Rod, anyone?) And someone, maybe Jazz or a random NPC we met in the first chapters/during the first racing scene is like: Huh, when did we start needing miners again?

And that's it.

Maybe, if I'm weak, there'd be an epilogue/additional oneshot where we get to see B-127, Megatron & co. again and learn what happened to them. But at the same time, I think that would dramatically weaken the story. + It would be depressing af bc they are not in a good place.

[sparrowsortadrawzzz]

heeeyyy you guyssss, wanna hear some LORE from the BLINDSIGHTED CONTINUITY??? :D

tonight we're focusing on...BUMBLEBEE! 💛 this explains his origin, and how he got his name!!

long post, so lore is under the cut!! ^^

ALRIGHTY!! B-127...

starting with his origin! Bee is one of the oldest of the crew. Not older than Ironhide or Starscream, but I'd say 5 ano-cycles older than Orion Pax and D-16 (1 ano-cycle = 400 days). in this, he was one of the first cogless miners, and when he saw the cogged higher-ups not doing as much labor as the miners, he thought that was wrong and spoke up about it to those he was working with! well, he unfortunately spoke too loudly, and too openly, and was given a "promotion!! :D" as a settlement for his dissatisfaction, complete with a handshake and reassurance from Sentinel himself. well, he was then taken to sublevel 50, his "job reassignment", by Sentinel and Darkwing, then kicked out to rot. well, with Bee's determination, he decided to NEVER let them make him the trash they thought he was, and got to work sorting for...too many ano-cycles. this is all so much worse when you see that he very clearly could have escaped from his sublevel, but...no one really liked him, so he had no reason to escape.

from here, the events of TFone occurs, and then after, it's a bit different...but that's for a different time! >:]]

the reason he got Bumblebee as a sort of chosen name is because, in this, his battle mask has a voice distortion function that makes all his speech sound like buzzing! that way, Decepticons can't hear what he's saying while he yaps! however, the com inside his mask can still transmit his speech clearly to whomever he tunes into.

Ironhide had been to Earth in the age of exploration righttt before the High Guard/Sentinel era (which, that was pre-humanity, but not pre-bees according to Google LMAO-) and before he got his cog removed cuz, yknow, he's old as shit, so after hearing B's buzzing before he tuned into his com, he compared it to that of a bumblebee, and it stuck! Bee then kept it as a sort of way to reclaim himself as a functioning member of Iacon society! ^^

TA-DAAA THERE'S SO MUCH I LEFT OUTTTT :D but that comes later with the JUICY part of the continuity....

[bodyguardau-box]

Sleep-deprived and somehow functional!

Holy cow your art has improved alot :O

Also,how tall is Bee gonna be compared to everyone else once they get their cogs?

Will they all be similar in height or will Bee be minibot size to them?Cause B-127 going from being a few feet taller then the miners to being much shorter than them by several feet is pretty funny.

Wait does this mean Bee goes from being their supervisor to reluctant babysitter to a bit of a guardian to them? And how protective does he get of the miners before and after the movie?

Thank you! I trying my best to make you like my artworks!

I remember in tik tok found this slide with the ratio of character height, and I made Bee an order of magnitude above the cogless robots to feel the difference were bots with and without T-cog

Yeah, B is as tall as a minibot, and surprisingly he's taller than the miner, but shorter than they will Cogged hrhehhe

I think B still thinks of herself as their boss who sometimes lets her subordinates do what they want. I think Elita is more like a babysitter, bc the poor thing has to run back and forth to quiet all the nuisances and naughty things that come her way xD

[hi-i-just]

Fuck it I'm gonna be a shameless Starscream glazer here but let's not fucking trust D-16's words here lmao since a.) he's young and running on high emotions so to him anything less than suicidally charging for the kill is cowardice and b.) he's a very strong bot even while cogless, but he doesn't have any experience nor great talent, wisdom, nor intelligence to make the claims he does unlike other iterations of Megatron (esp IDW Megatron, whose cunning is even greater than the average bot even as a miner)

I'm gonna be fr, but like D-16 successfully killing Sentinel is based on other people's successes and not his own. D-16 may call Starscream a coward, but looking at it objectively, he's technically being pragmatic. Like, let's look at their situation:

1. They witnessed the Primes fall. Meaning they've likely arrived just in time to see Sentinel standing over their corpses and the Quintessons still present.

2. Not long after the Matrix disappeared, the energon stopped flowing.

3. Sentinel is able to take over Iacon with the Quintessons backing him up, meaning the High Guard is not only unable to return home, they're also cut off from any resources from sustenance to weapons and transportation. They're confined to the surface.

4. The Quintessons occasionally scout the surface. The surface is also hazardous with its own dangers as its not tamed to be rife wirh civilization — that means they're in the wilds. And Sentinel is ALSO hunting them, with the Trackers outnumbering your team, with Airachnid in tow — a bot, who if you see her coming, means you're already dead.

You're stuck, likely with casualties, on the hazardous surface that's constantly shifting far from any safe place nor civilization, you've got enemies hunting you above and below, with that's especially good at hunting and killing, all the while having very little to none at all access to energon. These are some pretty bad fucking odds!

And you know what actually surprised me? Is that the High Guard is actually still functioning, not only are they still functioning, they're also actively fighting back! They've managed to survive all these years! "Oh but why didn't they invade Iacon then??" they can't! That's suicide! The movie literally tells us how crucial Elita sneaking them in via train and Orion and miners providing them a way inside!

"Oh but why bother with guerilla tactics??" because if you're outnumbered that's the most logical thing to do — think about it, it's not unsound either; you can't face Sentinel head on, BUT if they sabotage Sentinel's deal with the Quintessons by either occasionally raiding the trains or taking over the mines, it'll anger the Quintessons enough to take out Sentinel.

"Oh but that doesn't solve anything bc the energon crisis is still an issue bc the Matrix of leadership is lost!" YAH that's also a problem Orion and co also had and he didn't have a solution at that time either! The priority was taking down Sentinel, which both groups share. It was only by everyone's luck Primus chose Orion to be a new Prime and get the Matrix!

As for Starscream being a shit leader — well I think he's a shit person, but a competent leader — because if he IS incompetent, he'd be dead, either by the members tearing him apart or his own stupidity but that's not what happened.

Ok ngl the bar for Starscream's leadership and general reception among Decepticons (or proto-Decepticons in this case) is so low that tfone Starscream is passing with flying colors. Like, let's look at a couple examples — IDW Starscream, had to step up bc Megatron is out of commission and they're ALSO strapped for resources/in hiding, but no one listened to him bc they don't respect him, and as a result the group was in shambles and the members started cannibalising each other within three years. Three years.

What about Skybound Starscream, whose odds are actually slightly better than IDW and Tfone? There's many sources of energon, they have access to a ship that helps maintain them, and the members still somewhat listen to him, but still somehow, in a record-breaking speed, managed to cripple the already badly crippled Decepticons within what, like three days bc he prioritised his own sadism and shortsightedness. And boy did he pay for deaely, because his own shitheadednes earned the rest of the Decepticons ire and they're all cheering when Soundwave was tearing him apart piece by piece.

And tfone Starscream? Who has plenty of members to lead around and feed while having very, very sparse ways to get resources, all the while having enemies seeking to annihilate them? He lasted 50 cycles (assuming cycle is a year). And during those 50 cycles, they've evaded surveillance and capture, built a base with barricades, the members, while likely not very well fed and def kooky for being isolated w the same people for so long and surviving less than stellar conditions, all look intact and healthy. Sure, they were cheering when he's getting punched in face, but they also all shut up when the cannon comes out bc ultimately, they're looking for entertainment, not straight up murder. Maybe some of them liked Starscream getting taken down a peg, but it does seem none of them actively wants him to die (which is saying a LOT, bc the same cannot be said for other Starscreams).

Then let's look at D-16 — he's my favorite character and I love him lots, but GOD he IS short-sighted. His cannon shot to the sky after his rousing speech?? It's what gave the base away to Airachnid to find them. D-16 isn't even really winning against Sentinel, and it's by sheer luck that Orion and co was able to get the Evidence uploaded in time to distract Sentinel from killing him, and D-16 is only able to cripple him (which allows him to kill Sentinel) because Sentinel's guard is down. Megatron is a strong bot, who can speak very well, but this guy doesn't have the power of insight like Orion does nor the experience that Starscream has — heck, he doesn't even have peer connections since he's technically still an "outsider" to the High Guard: they may have accepted him as leader, but these people have fought and bled together far longer before he was even online. I don't think he's even politically savvy — Megatron, is best described as a big gun going haywire who got lucky to be able to make a killing shot at Sentinel.

Tl;dr: Starscream can get his head out of his ass to be competent enough to keep a group alive for years.

No seriously what the fuck was the high guard doing for 50 years out on the surface