#transformers lore

[bladelicker-offical]

Can we all agree that Transformers' evil faction leader being called The Big Tool is hillarious?

No, seriously, you can look it up, that is what the suffix -tron means.

The fact that after being transformed by Unicron his name changes to The Leader Tool, YES this is what galva- means in old proto-eauropean AND modern baltic languages it can mean either head or leader, i DID look it up, is even funnier.

Because if anything, logically, should he NOT be a -tron while he is unambiguously the big leader and subservient to noone? And become a -tron once he is someone's tool, so when Unicron gets him?

His name changed to leader-tool once he became subservient. Which does make sense, since he is steal the leader of the decepticons AND a tool to Unicron. But why is he big tool before that?

Okay, let's take the D16 origin story, where he is a miner. Being called a tool does make sense. But he gets the name AFTER fighting in the Kaon arena, in which case, shouldn't he call himself a weapon?

[til-all-are-loved]

Energon Terms

This is canon-adjacent. I just wanted to clarify for terms that I like to use.

Energon - Cybertronian catch-all term for energy/fuel.

Engex- Slightly upcharged Energon. Their equivalent to alcohol. It ranges in potency and a bot has to de-activate their Fuel Intake Moderation Chip (MTMTE issue #13, #29) to feel its inebriating effects from an increase in energy.

High Grade- Very strong engex. Equivalent to distilled spirits like vodka, gin, et cetera. In universe examples include Nightmare Fuel which can be dangerous to a bot's internal fuel lines when taken irresponsibly.

Circuit Speeders- An incredibly dangerous performance enhancing drug that Roller can be seen drinking. (During the Elegant Chaos Arc Rung remarks to Roller that someday they may be linked to instant spark death).

Nucleon-

Weapons grade fuel. Not fit for consumption.

[bibliophilesince2003]

Transformers One In-Depth Review

Transformers One is a must watch.

I’m tired of seeing a bad review go towards a movie that is actually extremely well done, especially if the reviewer hadn’t taken the time to watch it or considered the trailers enough content to draw a review from.

Seriously, it was so refreshing to see a new take on a franchise that has been around for years. In my personal opinion, it’s better than re-makes that offer even less room for creativity.

I am a huge Transformers fan. I grew up with Transformers Prime, and when I was older, I watched the movies. I’ve watched other shows here and there, and while I may not be a complete expert, I know the lore well enough to have been heavily, emotionally impacted by Transformers One.

I’ll start with the "non-spoiler take" followed by the "spoiler take” which will be “hidden” for those who do not want to be spoiled.

"Non-spoiler" take...

Peter Cullen’s voice is legendary. Chris Hemsworth himself acknowledged this in an interview, mentioning that the goal was to “re-create” and “do something new.” He intended to represent a “youthful, brash, and cocky version” of Orion Pax before he was known as Optimus Prime. This is a realistic representation. In Transformers Prime, Ratchet states that Optimus Prime was more like Jack in his youth. For those of you who don’t know, Jack is a strong-willed, selfless, but slightly impulsive teenager, as all teenagers should be. It is clear that Hemsworth has evaluated “hints” that other movies and shows have provided. Hemsworth wanted to “lean into” a more serious voice towards the end of Transformers One. He insisted “he wouldn’t dare mimic Peter Cullen.” I highly respect his choices, and he does not deserve the amount of hate thrown at him. Now, Orion Pax also comes across as a humble, soft-spoken character in other movies and shows. However, I can see why they would lean into his impulsiveness to better highlight and contrast the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16, especially as D-16’s true colors show. More about that in the “spoiler” section, though!

No, it would not have made sense for Orion Pax to have a deep, majestic voice. That comes with experience; that comes with hard decisions. Quite honestly, Hemsworth is pretty close to what I had imagined Orion Pax to sound like. It’s still slightly deep, and very soothing.

The character development in this movie? Oh. My. Word. Guys, as a writer, I can say that subtle character development – the best kind – is not easy to do. In Transformers One, it flowed naturally. It made me smile. It broke my heart. If you’ve seen other Transformers movies and shows, brace yourself. If you haven’t, still brace yourself. Again, more about that in the “spoiler” section.

The humor in the trailers has been re-posted so heavily I think it’s beginning to lose its effect and people, not knowing the context, are quick to judge. Yes, Bee is funny. It’s Bee. He’s supposed to be lovable, humorous, loyal, and powerful. I found no issue with most of the humor coming from him. There is more humor that is not mentioned in the trailers that is really worth chuckling over.

Finally, the fight scenes were clean, the animation was captivating, and the incredible Brian Tyler produced musical masterpieces for most every scene, some of it connecting to other movies and shows.

"Spoiler" take, now!

I expected to dislike Elita. Really, I did. I knew she was the “love interest” for Optimus Prime beforehand and expected big things from her, because Optimus Prime never struck me as having a “love interest” in the past. Not only that, but I expected her to be the female character I seem to find everywhere these days who strives to be better than everyone else without a lick of experience, complaining about the male figures in her life.

Elita, however, is ambitious. She leads. She doesn’t have to prove anything; she’s simply willing to work hard and do her job. Understandably, she gets upset with Orion Pax and the others when they interrupt her progress, though I can’t help but be amused by Orion Pax’s shy attempt to get her attention and adored his subtle acts of kindness. Sure, she’s a tad bit aggressive – she did punch Orion Pax, after all – but I really enjoyed seeing her adapt. When Orion Pax was feeling hopeless, she was there to encourage him. If she had stopped talking immediately after saying “I’m better” I would have been frustrated. Orion Pax and D-16 are the main characters in Transformers One, after all. She didn’t stop there, though. She highlighted the most important aspects of Orion Pax; his good heart, selflessness, and bravery. She told Shockwave and the others to shut up and listen to Orion Pax when they doubted his plan. She encouraged him to speak louder when others couldn’t hear him. She leaned towards the pit when Orion Pax fell.

Not only that, but Orion Pax was incredibly patient with her. He woke her up when she was unconscious and immediately took a punch to the face like a champ. He gently, subtlety smiled at her when they traveled to the surface and Elita announced "it's beautiful." He cried out her name and pushed her out of the way to save her during a battle. He listened to her. He told her to beat Arachnid “gently” when Elita managed to detain her, proving he fully understood Elita’s personality.

I’m sorry, but this kind of relationship takes the cake. If they’re meant to be a couple, I can see the signs. I love how well they work together and build each other up.

Bee is an icon. One of my favorite scenes is him eagerly saying to Orion Pax “I’m going to go cut these guys up, watch! C’MERE!” It’s like a proud kid trying to get their parent to watch. I love how loyal he is to Orion Pax right off the bat.

While they changed some lore in Transformers One, they included everything that was important. Orion Pax and D-16 are miners, but it seems Orion Pax may have been a clerk beforehand. When he broke into the archives, he seemed to know where he was going. When he ran, I can’t remember exactly, but I believe he was muttering numbers? I don’t mind the small twists and can see how they were necessary for the story; key details are kept.

Jazz and Ratchet mention! I was so excited to hear their names. Kind of wish they had shown Ratchet, maybe shouting “I needed that!” to a fumbling worker. Sorry, Transformers Prime reference.

Arachnid had an incredible design.

Sentinel is a well-written, hate-worthy villain. I… did not expect D-16 to rip him in half, though.

Also… can I just mention how epic that particular scene was? The switch from D-16 reaching his peak character development – showing no mercy – while Orion Pax reached his – making the ultimate sacrifice to preserve life and do things the right way; receiving the Matrix of Leadership. The music, the animation, the slow-motion… everything was incredibly cinematic.

Obviously, D-16 took things too far. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be evil. It took time. It took motivation. Obviously, any sane person would stand with Optimus Prime, though he does make mistakes from time to time, but it was incredibly neat to actually appreciate D-16’s insight in the beginning, then notice the shift and feel every bit of emotion Orion Pax felt.

People say the ending is rushed, or that D-16’s change came too abruptly without any good motivation. Sure, the ending may be a little rushed, but movies are typically structured this way. Falling action does not have a set speed; it just needs to be well done. Bad things happen in a rush, and this leaves ample opportunity for the “good guys” to react a little too slowly. As for D-16’s motivation… even a person can take their worship of an item or figure too far. Megatronus was someone to look up to in D-16’s eyes. He agreed to Orion Pax’s plans, or at least tolerated them, but his admiration for Megatronus was his own interest. Orion Pax threatened that vision. D-16 wanted to kill Sentinel to satisfy his own needs and desires, not to liberate others. Sentinel deserved death after committing murder, yes. He didn’t, however, deserve a public execution, especially as he tried to get away and was relatively defenseless. Remember, Sentinel told D-16 and Bee that he would execute them in front of everyone. We can acknowledge his promise as brutal, so shouldn't D-16's actions be considered brutal, too? No "reason" could ever justify it.

When D-16 let Orion Pax drop, he proved he no longer cared about loyalty. The least he could do was hoist Orion Pax’s body up or break down after losing what he once called his best friend, but he didn’t.

It’s ironic… D-16 said “I’m done saving you” when in reality, Orion Pax was trying to save D-16 from doing something he knew D-16 should have regretted doing. Normally, yes, D-16 is the voice of reason, but not in this case. For once, this is where Orion Pax’s true personality shines through. His spark – the spark of a Prime – is in the right place. Orion Pax puts joking aside when serious matters arise. It seems D-16 didn’t really know his friend after all. The actions D-16 committed, my friends, are not actions you want to celebrate.

I really, really hope Transformers One gains more attention. We need the sequel! Transformers fans, tell your friends. Give an honest review, which are of more value than the reviews given by those who didn’t take the time to watch it. Hype it up and roll out!

[moustawott]

Transformers One Official Novelization Worldbuilding and Lore Bits

Thanks to the Transformers One movie novelization, here are some worldbuilding facts that weren’t explicitly shown in the movie!

About Iacon city:

Cog-less bots can only work as miners, though the tier system (described later) suggests that they can move up or down a ladder of limited job options

All cog-less bots were born after the disappearance of the Matrix of Leadership

No cog-less bot has seen the surface

The book suggests that all Transformers bot, those who can transform into alt mode, were born before the disappearance of the Matrix of Leadership

Transformers can live anywhere they want in Iacon city, unlike miners

Miners have limited transport options: they can only use public transport or walk. The book also suggests that their access to the overall city is limited, said city being divided into main Iacon and the mining sectors

it is explained that Transformers rarely watch where they step when miners are around, often kicking miners as a result. Orion also notes that some will do it on purpose (yikes!)

There is a tier system that miners can climb. The movie has D-16 mention that tier 1 is the lowest. In the novel, D-16 is trying to reach tier 11 by the end of the current cycle. It is implied that D-16 is one of the fastest rank-climber amongst the miners

About Orion Pax:

His favourite Prime is Zeta Prime, who was the original bearer of the Matrix

Orion is passionate about learning the history of Cybertron, hence him often sneaking into the archives

Miscellaneous facts:

According to the novel, here are the Prime cogs each of the main 4 characters received: Orion has Prima's, D-16 has Onyx's, Elita has Alchemist's, and Bee has Micronus'

In some ways, the novel was better at telegraphing D-16's fall. The signs of him eventually getting tired of backing up Orion and failure to control his bloodthirst are more obvious to the reader.

Shoutout to the novel for also making Orion's motivations more obvious when it came to dealing with Sentinel: Orion knows that killing Sentinel won't actually solve the issue and believes Sentinel can be overthrown and stripped of his power without unnecessary violence. (My personal interpretation is that D-16 is using his desire for justice—more like vengeance really—to feel better about himself, not actually improve Cybertron. It’s the same logic those who support the death penalty have. They like the death penalty because it makes their own feelings better, no matter how ineffective the death penalty is for improving society.)

[tracklessreason]

I like to imagine there's a lot of lost literature surrounding sparklings. Its just been so long since it was really safe to have one, no one has learned how to handle them in billions of years, and now they've forgotten what to really...do with them.

You've got bots trying to give high grade energon to literal infants ("Its high grade, I think that makes it better for them"), thinking sparklings are broken when their alarms go off and repeatedly taking them to very tired medics who keep having to repeat that that loud beeping is telling you the kid needs attention, not a tune up.

I'm such a sucker for very plain domestic situations being turned into all-hands-on-deck debacles out of sheer unawareness of how to handle normal life after eons of war.

[margoshamangolord]

I'm reading Exodus right now and a detail that i cannot get over is the fact that Optimus had to fight the major part of the war before he got the Matrix. Like, yeah, he got renamed alright, but his career path was straight up "some guy —> the goddamn prime", and while he got a new name during the council meeting, he literally stayed the same. fucking. guy

He had to make decisions for a whole planet without the Matrix, he ended someone's life for the first time without the Matrix, and while he had smart talented friends to help, he did this all right after being Some Guy his whole life. He didn't flinch or break down, knowing what war means and understanding that he's responsible for a whole planet's future. All that without the collective wisdom of the Primes or emotional block or whatever, while logically and technically still being Orion Pax.

In the end of the first season of TFP, he forgets all his time as Optimus Prime, but i never understood why did he forget the war he fought as a Prime, but without the Matrix too. It seemed like a logical mistake to me; he didn't remember the council meeting, or the war's beginning, it's unclear what was the last thing he remembers, but i started to imagine how different things would go if he correctly remembered everything right until the moment he got the Matrix. If he remembered the council meeting, their quarrel, the beginning of the war and major fights. He asks if he's worthy, he doesn't remember the whole goddamn war he carried on his shoulders without the Matrix.

The literal first thing he uses his new power and respect for is to stop the council from shooting Megatron, and when Megatron asks what he would do if he didn't ask his army to not shoot Optimus, he replies that he would rather die for his planet.

He may have been unsure of himself, he may have doubted that he can be a Prime, he may not have saw in himself what others did, he may have stayed in the Archive to do archivist work, but the council meeting speech shows us that he is truly full of emotion and fire for his planet and that he is ready to work towards peace.

He is fierceful and kind, strong and gentle, there's so much to him it's insane! I have a lot more moments that fascinate me, but I don't think they'll fit into this post.

He is fucking worthy. This guy is insanely mentally strong even without it, this is why Alpha Trion noticed him, this is why he was chosen. He was just a regular worker one moment, and then he got the whole Cybertron's weight a moment later, and he fucking carried it instead of dropping.

Orion Pax really should be respected.

[crush-pop002]

Transformers expert please answer the following:

What is energon? What is the chemical compound for energon? There is one for synthetic energon so I assume they know the one for pure energon.

Does energon burn clean? Do cybertronians even burn it? If not, how do they digest it?

Asking the real questions here

Once I have answers there will be more questions to follow

[oldfantasticfan]

Bumblebee (Bayverse)

- Robot mode

- Vehicle mode

- Solar accelerator (primary weapon)

- Secondary weapons

(Transformers: The Movie Guide/ Transformers ROTF: The Movie Universe)

[darks-lair]

Quick headcanon about the cybertronian language

So, in season 4 ep 11 Blades keeps insisting that the plural of the word "moose" should be "meese" or "meeses", even though he's proven wrong by Francene's Alexa-type thing she has on her phone.

This made me think. What if almost every word in modern cybertronian has a plural form?

So I came up with this symbol (why in hell is the image file so large???)

This symbol roughly signifies "many" or "lots of" and is added at the end of the word if you desire to make a plural form of it, also changing the pronunciation.

This is what made blades so confused. All words in cybertronian have a different sounding plural form.

All except for one word

The word for "transformer"

A description for their kind

Because all are one

[playedcrowd5610]

QnA - The Autobots and Decepticons Both Kill. Why Does Danny Still Defend the Cons?

I got this comment, and I wanted to respond to it on here because it is very interesting. <3

This is a very valid comment! And I agree entirely. I have had this conversation with my beta many times while writing for this story and thinking about how strongly Danny is defending the Decepticons. Right now, Danny is a bit blinded by his caring for Starscream and is unaware of what goes on in the war. He does not know the reasons for the war essentially and doesn't know a lot of the things that went on behind the scenes besides the murders of his friends (the Vehicons) and injuries he has seen in the medbay.

Danny will be having a conversation with both Starscream and Optimus about their opinions on the war, why it started, and why they chose their sides. It will give an opening to Danny's opinions as well as the fact that I truly do believe he would believe in the deception cause (if we just looked at it from the beginning.)

Think about it like that one scene from the MTMTE comics where Tailgate had been in stasis through the entire war, and Cyclonus had explained the 'Decepticon ideal' to him, which caused Tailgate to go up to Rodimus and ask to be a Decepticon. (even though the war was over)

The Autobots were horrified by this and basically inputted facts and recordings of the horrors from the war, and Tailgate blew up at Cyclonus for idealizing it and not telling him the whole truth. Cyclonus said he never lied.

Many people had very valid reasons for becoming Decepticons, lots of them were oppressed, and functionalism was very prevalent, which made lives very hard for some people who didn't have a single choice in life.

But the Decepticon ideal has been tainted and dragged further and further down throughout the vorns of the war. Both sides have committed genocide and even created cold-forged mecha (Cybertronians created just to be thrown out the door and told to fight to the death on the front lines)

There are good and bad people on both sides. And I think it will be a very eye-opening conversation for Danny. Especially because we know he is already disliking Megatron. But this conversation will be part of the building blocks for the finale and even a possible mini tiny little sequel.

I hope this helped a little bit, and it will make more sense as the story continues. <3

[starscream-is-my-wife]

Shameful confession here: a couple of years ago I downloaded Bumble and all I did was info dump about transformers when I didn't know what to say

They usually pretty understandably don't respond back, although I did get one "haha that's interesting" Before the ghost

[blueikeproductions]

Ok so now we’re getting into the fun part.

How are Transformers able to reproduce.

The miners are the most recent generation of robots on TFONE Cybertron but how they were created in the final film was left unexplained.

How Transformers are created differs from series to series, and even the original cartoon was somewhat inconsistent with it.

The thought process initially in America seems to be “Well, they’re robots, right? They just build each other.” This is mostly what the original cartoon and comics did, with the Dinobots being the first Transformers to be born through construction on screen. Later on in the series, the Quintessons were revealed to have built the first robots on Cybertron in factories, making the idea seem simple enough. It’s never that simple tho…

Japan meanwhile is a little more peculiar, as it suggests, as super robot life forms, Transformers have a life cycle similar to humans, in that they have a baby-childhood stage they grow out of over millions of years and are raised by parents.

American media has toyed with this off and on as well, with G1 having a scrapped scene of Bumblebee remembering his own parents witnessing his first Transformation when he was a baby robot. G1 Wheelie is considered a child canonically, with one children’s book at the time stating he lost his parents when their ship crash landed on Quintessa. Rattrap refers to Arcee as his great aunt and is even raised by Arcee in the Legends manga, and IDW2 shows Gauge being raised by her mothers Arcee and Greenlight.

As time has gone on, the concept of how Transformers are created began to solidly, but not right away. As usual it tends to fluctuate with the same basic idea used as a starting point.

Along with being built from the ground up, the Marvel Comics and G1 cartoon would then state the robot is infused with life by a special object: the Creation Matrix (revealed very early on in the comics) or Vector Sigma (revealed much later in the cartoon).

The Marvel Comics later in the run and during G2 would retcon things slightly, with the first Transformers not being built, but born from the planet itself.

The idea of the Creation Matrix remained but the G2 comics added a different method.

A forgotten form of reproduction called budding, which Primus had initially programmed a predetermined size for the Transformers to subdivide into, and once that was reached, the process was deleted.

Or so it was thought, as the Decepticons rediscovered this lost ability and used it to create more troops during the Great War. This saw the creation of Jhiaxus’ splinter faction and the monstrous Swarm, a ravenous formless byproduct of the budding process that began devouring life across the galaxy. This was, of course, ceased when the Swarm ate Optimus and the Creation Matrix, purifying the entity, causing it to recreate Optimus as it went to go do good in the galaxy.

The budding process hasn’t been revisited but one concept that has been from the G2 comics was the idea Transformers have a genetic code called CNA, pretty much DNA, but robotic.

The original cartoon largely stuck to construction, revealing that the Quintessons built the first Transformers in the series time line, though as the life giving Vector Sigma came much later during the show’s production, what makes the Dinobots alive has never been properly examined here. It gets weirder when Trypticon and the Technobots were also built and fully alive in the absence of Vector Sigma, which only raises more questions as Vector Sigma is credited as giving all robots on Cybertron life. It also created the Aerialbots and Stunticons, as before they were merely drones before being given true life so it’s a bit of a mess, lol. Made even weirder when Grimlock, endowed with super intelligence, built the Technobots from scrap metal inside Unicron’s head. I s’pose the idea as a super genius, Grimlock knew how to make mechanical life itself no sweat, since he didn’t use Vector Sigma or tap into Unicron’s godly powers either…

Beast Wars would introduce Protoforms, a mannequin like early life stage made of Liquid Metal which would go on to become the standard early life stage in future media. Endowed with a Spark and certain programming, these forms would become fully grown Transformers in a matter of minutes.

When the Bay films rolled around, the Allspark is credited for all life on Cybertron, while on Earth, its energy created primitive life out of Earth machinery, with this idea copied in Animated bringing forth the Wreck-Gar, the Dinobots, & the Constructicons.

The movies did try to split the difference tho.

The IDW Bay comics would show the Allspark as one of the only remaining structures on what would become Cybertron, and from the fabric of the planet it would create the Primes and later the first Transformers.

However the movies would later show that the Bayformers have a child like stage in Hatchlings, returning to the idea Japanese creators had in the 80’s. These Transformers are child sized Protoforms that gestate in sacs of Energon for a period of time, but without sufficient Energon in this gestation period they die. As we see Hatchlings in RotF and DotM, it’s implied they can be created in the absence of the Allspark…

When fully grown, they appear to come in humanoid Autobot and insectoid Decepticon varieties.

IDW would try to combine all of the above into two distinct categories: Forged and Constructed Cold.

Forged robots are protoforms that are born from various Hot Spots on Cybertron and Colony Planets, emerging from the planet itself.

Cold robots are prebuilt shells that have cultivated Sparks from storage installed into them. Starscream and Ravage are examples of this type of birth.

Cold robots tend to be looked down upon for being “artificial” and “lesser”, though such prejudice was largely gone post war.

IDW2 would simplify it to a Pyramid, a structure that develops all life to its completed stage, with the newborn assigned a parental mentor who guides them in how to Transform and find a career.

It’s a little unclear if this is the only Pyramid on Cybertron though, though I would imagine there’s more across the planet. Hasbro and creatives tend to forgot there’s other cities besides Iacon. This ain’t Planet Shuggazoom people, there’s other cities besides Shuggazoom City.

Aligned also had a Well of Allsparks, where all life emerged thanks to the Allspark deep within, with Protoforms seeing specific use during the Great War when the Allspark was ejected from Cybertron.

In the absence of the Allspark in Animated, new life on Cybertron was created using Vector Sigma in conjunction with Protoforms.

In Cyberverse, the Allspark and Vector Sigma are used in conjunction to create new robots quite literally out of thin air. Though Vector Sigma was viewed as an expendable component, as it needed to be destroyed so the Decepticons couldn’t use both to build a super soldier army. How this differs from just using the Allspark only I’m not sure, though Vector Sigma is said to be needed to create a specific template. Again how this doesn’t wind up being an issue for future generations is never explored; it’s why I don’t have high hopes for the species in this universe because everything they do should ESPECIALLY doom them to extinction but doesn’t.

A similar problem crops up in Netflix War For Cybertron, as the Maximals and Predacons are the evolved descendants of the surviving Transformers left behind on Cybertron when the Ark and Nemesis chased after the Allspark. Despite the Autobots still requiring the Allspark, the Maximals don’t really see the point, remarking they were born without it… completely derailing the story the show was trying to tell… How the Maximals and Predacons exist … at all on a Cybertron near death devoid of Energon is never explored and I don’t imagine the staff knew either.

And finally, EarthSpark, which would make proper use of a new life giving relic: the Emberstone. While introduced in Aligned, it never really was properly used or explained, outside of being responsible for creating the Quintessons. The relic was left on Earth following a conflict with the Quintessons, where the Terrans would be created from the substance of the Earth when the Maltos found the stone. The show would better establish other life besides the Terrans and Quintessons were created on other planets, but it’s suggested the Quints killed most if not all of their cousins.

The Terrans would be born as fully functional Protoforms, having built in scanners similar to Japanese and Bay media that allowed them to Scan new Vehicle or Beast Modes.

With TFONE looking to simplify things, how new Transformers are born is never specified as the Allspark nor Vector Sigma is never mentioned. For that matter, it’s never made clear if any new robots were created after the Miners, or if new Miners periodically pop out to replace dead Miners. Until something is outright confirmed, my suggestion is to take your pick from above and head canon your own version. My personal pick is the IDW2 Pyramid since it fits the best with TFONE to me. It’s worth mentioning Cloning is also a reproductive means in the general lore.

Perhaps that could also be used to explain why there appear to be multiple versions of the same Miners in TFONE…

[cyberneticfirstaid]

Prince of Egypt redraw & Imhotep doodle

[lavatichellborn]

Hehehe, …have a thought thing. Aka how they get born in my au. I’ll see if I could make a digital better looking version but this is what it is

[moustawott]

More Transformers One Novelization tidbits!

For some reason my last post about the Transformers One novel blew up? Anyways, as I was going through the book again to copy the text, I’ve noticed new parts that diverge from the movie (warning: it’s a looooooooong post)

1. Orion was always aware of the Energon shortage in Iacon.

This seems inconsequential, but it explains a lot about Orion and why he’s always getting into so much trouble! People don’t tend to notice it, but Orion is a real radical figure in TFOne. He constantly breaks the rules and is the only one challenging the status quo in the movie. Furthermore, the cut scenes where Orion argues for a fair trial against Sentinel instead of immediately executing him really shows what kind of character he was intended to be: Orion is politically aware. He knows that miners will become irrelevant when Energon runs out, so to ensure his peer’s survival, he’s desperate to find the Matrix. Orion’s recklessness isn’t only because he’s immature, it’s also because he’s DESPERATELY fighting against the system that will inevitably collapse.

Orion/Optimus as an MLK type figure (and not the whitewashed one)? Yes please!

2. Orion is REALLY passionate about Cybertronian history

I mentioned this in my last post, it’s genuinely adorable how much of a nerd he is lol. Like, wdym people don’t have the same hyperfixation as me?? 😭 They gotta be faking it. That’s so autistic of Orion lol

But also, this also further feeds into the type of character Orion is! He is a history nerd! He is politically aware! He is knowledgeable about political systems and knows that violence is necessary but must be used carefully! (If anyone is interested, please read Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth, but read Jean-Paul Sartre’s preface last.)

3. Orion is a nerd

I’m being redundant, but please please please look at how much a nerd this boy is 😭 He’s so curious and hungry for knowledge, it’s the cutest thing. (If you have access to the movie, I suggest you go rewatch the scene where they first notice grass. In the shot before that, you can see Orion’s tiny silhouette happily swinging his arms and looking every direction like a child on a field trip because he’s so happy to be on the surface)

4. Orion is surprisingly respectful to his superiors in the book

Orion bows to Alpha Trion and the High Guard when he first meets them. I dunno why, but I really find this cute compared to how rude he is towards Darkwing and other authority figures lol. I suppose the difference here is that Orion actually respects Alpha Trion and the High Guard as important historical figures

5. Orion thinks of D first for help

This is genuinely adorable 😭 In the scene where everyone is figuring out their transformation, Orion yells for D to help him when he disappears his head. My guy, how is he gonna help you lmao (I guess like the time Orion tried to transform without a cog?)

6. Orion does try to talk to D about his feelings in the book, but D rejects the offer

I keep seeing people say that Orion should’ve sat down with D-16 to have a heart-to-heart, but the book version of the story shows that D was already too high off his newly acquired powers to realize his degrading mental state. Even in the movie, D is too clouded by his anger when Orion asks him if he’s okay

7. D-16 was ready to destroy the data chip Alpha Trion gave them to have his way

D is convinced that killing Sentinel will solve their problems, whereas Orion believes showing everyone the truth first is the way.

D is so angered by the fact that Orion is not supporting his choice he taunts Orion into taking the data chip back by force.

I kinda understand the choice of not having this scene in the movie (reminder that movie novelizations are based off a draft movie script, not the final version). It makes D look too mean a bit too early and less redeemable. D needs to feel redeemable until the point he drops Orion down the Well of Allsparks.

8. D being dragged into violent extremism is the core theme of his arc

It’s been mentioned many times by others, but D’s arc here really touches upon points of young men lost and jaded within a failing society and going down the alt-right pipeline.

On the point of violence, I wanna reiterate that violence during revolutions is not a bad thing. Hell, even Orion kills Trackers without hesitating. However, Orion kills because it’s necessary and as a form of self-defence. He’s clearly uncomfortable when Bee is gleeful about killing, and that why he doesn’t want D to kill Sentinel: you shouldn’t be killing people because it’ll make you feel good not for self-serving purposes.

Again, if D-16 had his way and Orion stayed dead, what would happen? People who think TFOne Megatron would be a good and fair leader need to rewatch the end of the movie lol. (Please read Frantz Fanon The Wretched of the Earth, it’s a great book.)

[tracklessreason]

Seeker Types and Trines

[I got bored and wrote some lore on seeker breeding habits and trine formation]

Classic Seeker- Deposit 3 large eggs (each the size of a midterm sparkling) into the carrier. Conditions must be ideal for them to survive. If one dies, they all die. It's either 3, or none.

Classic/Blood Trine- Three related seekers born of the same brood. The bond of the eggs during gestation lasts a lifetime, with trine members typically being quite sensitive to the physical and emotional state of one another.

Aberrational Seeker: Deposit 5-9 small eggs into the carrier. The eggs vye for resources, and often only one or two are born. This still beats out the all or nothing odds of Classic seekers.

Aberrational/Bond Trine: Three usually unrelated seekers who chose to form a trine, usually out of trust in one another. It's considered a high honor to be in this type of Trine, as it represents powerful bonds forged without the help of a classic trine's sensitivities.

Mourning Trine: A bond trine made of the remaining members of broken trines. Became very common during the war, as Seekers would lean on one another for support after the death of their original trine members. Most Mourning Trines are formed on a pact of vengeance for the fallen.

Aberrational seekers evolved from Classical seekers during the war, when the poor conditions affected the already low birth rates of their kind, and made them nearly extinct. Though very taxing on the frame, an Aberrational seeker can still lay the traditional three seeker eggs. The three egg style allows for larger, healthier fetuses, but they require more nutrients and won't survive without them. The eggs are bonded together in the forge chamber, distributing nutrients evenly, but also meaning that if one egg dies, the other two will also quickly succumb. The multi egg method produces smaller, more hardy eggs that don't show as easy, allowing pregnancy to be hidden for most of the term. The eggs do not bond, and instead sap resources from one another, with the largest egg often winning out. 9 eggs at most can be deposited, but on average only two hatch. The highest number to have been hatched at once with this method is five. In times of hardship, Aboriginal is preferred for its better odds, but Classic produces healthier, stronger seekers in the long run, and is thus the preferred method when resources can be diverted. Aboriginal also takes months off the pregnancy, shaving it down from Classic's 13 months, to a mere 9 months from fertilization to birth. It takes 3 cybertronian weeks to develop aboriginal eggs for deposit, while it can take a month for classic method eggs to be ready for fertilization. Because of the size of classic eggs, partners can be locked for several hours as the eggs are pushed through the ovipositor into the forge chamber. Aboriginal takes roughly 30 minutes to an hour. While painful, bearing classic eggs can be very rewarding for those who like a baby bump, as the three large offspring make it immediately visible when a bot has been sparked by a classic seeker.