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Ai Xia/Arcee has actually appeared in some of my work before this though mostly conceptual, so I’m always happy to introduce her as the Autobots’ terrifying war veteran Bosozoku Baba/Biker Granny who came out of retirement to gorge on bakkwa and kick ass and wouldn’t you know it she done run out of her favorite bakkwa. She’s an honorary Wrecker in that like them, she’s only ever deployed in a code red situation and you understand and accept that by doing so, she sees no issue dropping bodies to see her objective through. The chain, like Sunstreaker’s, is not for show, and she’s armed with an energy guan dao when she goes from nosy Chinese Aunty to War Granny. She sees the Autobots as honorary kids and grandkids, but pays particular attention to Sideswipe, Prowl and Blaster.

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Ai Xia/Arcee has actually appeared in some of my work before this though mostly conceptual, so I’m always happy to introduce her as the Autobots’ terrifying war veteran Bosozoku Baba/Biker Granny who came out of retirement to gorge on bakkwa and kick ass and wouldn’t you know it she done run out of her favorite bakkwa. She’s an honorary Wrecker in that like them, she’s only ever deployed in a code red situation and you understand and accept that by doing so, she sees no issue dropping bodies to see her objective through. The chain, like Sunstreaker’s, is not for show, and she’s armed with an energy guan dao when she goes from nosy Chinese Aunty to War Granny. She sees the Autobots as honorary kids and grandkids, but pays particular attention to Sideswipe, Prowl and Blaster.

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Hey so I

Hey I had already asked questions before but I saw ur FAq and it said 95% of the population got corrupted. What happened to the 15%

Haha not corrupted, genetically modified! Also the figure is 80% on the Worldbuilding page eueb

The 20% ‘unsullied’ are still around but given that the genetic modifications often travel down hereditary lines in this case, that percentage is dwindling.

I imagine most of them are living rather normal and mundane lives, but there’s probably a subset who hold their status as something to be proud of/something that puts them above the others as pure-strain humans untouched by ‘animal filth/alien meddling’.

It’s as silly as it sounds, about as silly as existing Quintesson Death/Doomsday Cults who’re looking forward to the return of their Tentacled Alien Overlords to finish the Rapture earthlier fools interrupted ✨👌🏼

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We’re finally allowed to post up our previews for the Represent Zine hosted by @allsparkzines and I am so, SO excited to to unveil my work for this edition! Aside some lovely stickers (and a stretch goal print to be announced later if you folks can get us to our goal! Hinthint: Simpatico) my main piece for this year is focused on the Duality of Drift! Do book a copy for a good cause! All proceeds for this edition goes to the Lebanese Red Cross!

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We’re finally allowed to post up our previews for the Represent Zine hosted by @allsparkzines and I am so, SO excited to to unveil my work for this edition! Aside some lovely stickers (and a stretch goal print to be announced later if you folks can get us to our goal! Hinthint: Simpatico) my main piece for this year is focused on the Duality of Drift! Do book a copy for a good cause! All proceeds for this edition goes to the Lebanese Red Cross!

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RODDDYYYYY MY BOY! God. I’m loving how much attention the backstories for each of the cast gets every time I come here. Abt Roddy’s street gang, what were some of their modis operandi while they were trying to undermine sentinel?

THERE ARE SO MANY STORIES THEY HAVE TO TELL and so little time to get to them all jgfsjdgff Roddy in particular is like Prowl in that he has enough narrative weight for like, five people, he's just more YOLO and less serious about it (because if he is, he's not going to be in a good headspace at all). The Hounds of Ulster mainly functioned as lookouts and scouts for the larger rebel cells (who affectionately refer to them as their 'hunting hounds') since most of them were 18-23, BUT as their names suggest they were pretty handy in a scuffle (throwing hands is a bit of a learned skill when you're roaming the streets as often as they do) and would often play the part of stupid, hotheaded street urchin biting off more than they could chew to lure Sentinel's men hoping for an easy catch into dead-end alley traps (this is where HotRod's Obfuscating Stupidity comes from. Even if his ADHD often puts him in "it seemed like a good idea at the time" territory, he's actually sharp as a tack and a lot of his ditzier behavior is intentional). They'd relieve these officers of their weapons, uniforms, and methods of identification to be used to break into guarded establishments and/or breach data banks. They'd also red herring Sentinel's men by planting fake evidence and looking and acting like the MUCH bigger and louder problem so that all eyes were on them and not the teams working to secretly sabotage Sentinel's ships and weapons factories (A tactic Hotrod still utilises till today though it sometimes gets misconstrued as "attention-seeking idiot". As far as he's concerned though, you want distractions? I got distractions) Fun facts: The nun from Solas Bhride (We'll call her Sister Eirinn O'Conlaed) who offered Roddy shelter as a runaway (even though she was told she shouldn't have because only women were allowed in the compound then, but she made the argument that he was still a boy and not a man yet) does reappear later in his story at the beginning of the uprising against Sentinel Prime in Belfast. She travelled all the way from Kildare to Belfast with a flame ignited from the larger St Brigid's perpetual flame which she and her sisters had been tending to for years, and as Sentinel landed on their shores and began his campaign of oppression against the populace, those sisters decided it was time Ireland's fire of rebellion was stoked again, and they set out to each major settlement along the east coast (facing the UK) to bring 'Brigid's Blessings' with them. And by blessing I mean Sister Eiriin offered them the flame that lit the first torches and firebombs of the rebels and told them to give these tosspots hell from Ireland's Patroness Saint. ("MARY OF THE GAEL/BRIGID OF FAUGHART SENDS HER REGARDS!" being a common thing Sentinel's men would hear before absolute chaos)

After Sentinel's operations were destroyed in Belfast, what remained of the flame brought to them by Sister Eirinn (who continued to stoke it during the whole period of the conflict so they always had St Brigid lighting the way on their missions) was encased in beacons along the ENTIRE eastern coastline (joining forces with the other coastal settlements doing the same) and to this day, St Brigid's fire continues to burn in Kildare and wreath the coast as a warning for future would-be colonisers and a reminder of Ireland's indomitable will. All this to say; There's a reason, a deep reason Hotrod loves the element of fire the way he does.

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Heads up!

The Non-Aligned and civilians finally have a page of their own!

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A call to arms by the Autobots’ face of fiery rebellion! Like Sideswipe, Hanley Riordan—codename ‘HotRod’ — was a blue-collar rabble-rouser who showed leadership capabilities before he was an Autobot, in which he ran his own gang (The Hounds of Ulster) and made life hell for Sentinel Prime in Belfast. (His affinity for fire was borne from the kindness of a nun tasked with guarding St. Brigid’s Perpetual Flame in Kildare who offered him shelter when he ran away from his sixth and final foster home).

Closeup on a pair of Enemies of the State and their many, many crimes against Sentinel Prime’s government under the cut!

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Oh bless you now I NEED to draw these three in the same space, you have bestowed upon me inspiration!

I do love how OP listening quite raptly to Megs’ chatter but Ratchet despite the easygoing mood is a little more closed in body language. It really does give a sense of distance between them despite the camaraderie and that Ratchet isn’t quite as sold on Megs’ dreams as OP is.

It’s the little things that say a lot!

"They did see each other as good acquaintances during the Dead End revival period however, and often drank with each other at Maccadams during their weekend meets there with OP." -Source

I have been thinking about drawing this post by @artsy-hobbitses for an actual month, and finally got a chance to make this piece. Every potential interaction between characters in @tiesthatbind-tf is like a wonderful rabbit hole to fall down and imagine.

fun fact: those are supposed to be french fries on the table. I was originally going to draw the three of them with individual dinners but then i realized i accidentally seated them at what might be the smallest bar table in existence.

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A call to arms by the Autobots’ face of fiery rebellion! Like Sideswipe, Hanley Riordan—codename ‘HotRod’ — was a blue-collar rabble-rouser who showed leadership capabilities before he was an Autobot, in which he ran his own gang (The Hounds of Ulster) and made life hell for Sentinel Prime in Belfast. (His affinity for fire was borne from the kindness of a nun tasked with guarding St. Brigid’s Perpetual Flame in Kildare who offered him shelter when he ran away from his sixth and final foster home).

Closeup on a pair of Enemies of the State and their many, many crimes against Sentinel Prime’s government under the cut!

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WIP poster feat Roddy and his favoured negotiation tactic for facists ✨👌🏼

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Sylas (Sterling) is the baby of the Saverio-Armstrong clan, and his twin big sisters Solaris (SolarStorm) and Selestine (Solitaire) have (lovingly) never let him forget it. He's basically Assigned Swordsman At Birth, much to former swordsman Sidewipe's DELIGHT as Solaris is a brawler at heart like her uncle Sunstreaker, and Solitaire has never met a target practice session she didn't absolutely demolish.

Sylas' special interest is swordplay and by extension, Swashbuckler movies (catch him doing a V for Vendetta and quoting The Count Of Monte Cristo from start to end, and he might throw fists if you have a bad word to say about The Princess Bride) and he practically vibrates at the idea of seeing his dad, Windblade, Drift and Starscream in a Mexican Standoff for old times' sake during their annual get-togethers. He's also different compared to his sisters, who're lovable troublemakers hanging around Mafia Stag Thunderhoof, in that he's more of a straight arrow Mama's boy---he'd rather follow the great Optimus Prime around (he was born in a period where the adventures of the Autobots were complied and starting to become popular stories) like a little duckling instead. His kufiya is a gift from OP (whose donning of the one worn by his own father---hung for 'sedition'---as the Autobot leader means it's seen often as a sign of resistance), who in praising his prodigious skill with the sword (he has a stuttering problem but can rattle off the entire fencing glossary to you and differentiate styles at a young age, watching people train at Sideswipe's school), also wants him to remember what it is for in the first place (only to defend people). So Sylas likes to wear it so he never forgets that in his quest to be the best little Stabby McJustice the world has ever seen. He's not exactly the biggest kid on the playground and is seen as a weird, skinny little odd-eyed nerd (OUR NERD his sisters will proclaim ONLY WE GET TO JOKE ABOUT HIM), though that doesn't stop him from jumping at every bully on the playground like a feral little Vengeance Goblin if Solaris (who is more adept at fisticuffs than him) doesn't get them first. That's where his chipped tooth comes from, and Sideswipe comes into the teacher's meeting about the first ever scuffle he gets into at school torn between "Oh god oh shit baby boy is seventy pounds soaking wet holding a brick mio amore is going to flip" and "OH HE LIKE ME FR FR". Thunderhoof thinks he's a riot, even if he's mistrustful of Shady Stag Uncle (he has a black and white view of the world which he's slowly processing), which Hoof respects! He has his dad's judge of character and isn't afraid to stand his ground! Stutter and bent spectacles be damned! Also BONUS EDITION I was playing around with robot helm designs, so you get faces of they Cybertronian versions of Sideswipe and Strongarm's children! (Their eyes are all blue here in keeping with canon, as opposed to TTB where Sideswipe has red eyes). Solarstorm takes some of her looks from her uncle Sunstreaker (my idea being that as twins/brothers, Sideswipe likely has recessive coding for those headfins which became dominant when introduced to her mother's coding).

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Sylas (Sterling) is the baby of the Saverio-Armstrong clan, and his twin big sisters Solaris (SolarStorm) and Selestine (Solitaire) have (lovingly) never let him forget it. He's basically Assigned Swordsman At Birth, much to former swordsman Sidewipe's DELIGHT as Solaris is a brawler at heart like her uncle Sunstreaker, and Solitaire has never met a target practice session she didn't absolutely demolish.

Sylas' special interest is swordplay and by extension, Swashbuckler movies (catch him doing a V for Vendetta and quoting The Count Of Monte Cristo from start to end, and he might throw fists if you have a bad word to say about The Princess Bride) and he practically vibrates at the idea of seeing his dad, Windblade, Drift and Starscream in a Mexican Standoff for old times' sake during their annual get-togethers. He's also different compared to his sisters, who're lovable troublemakers hanging around Mafia Stag Thunderhoof, in that he's more of a straight arrow Mama's boy---he'd rather follow the great Optimus Prime around (he was born in a period where the adventures of the Autobots were complied and starting to become popular stories) like a little duckling instead. His kufiya is a gift from OP (whose donning of the one worn by his own father---hung for 'sedition'---as the Autobot leader means it's seen often as a sign of resistance), who in praising his prodigious skill with the sword (he has a stuttering problem but can rattle off the entire fencing glossary to you and differentiate styles at a young age, watching people train at Sideswipe's school), also wants him to remember what it is for in the first place (only to defend people). So Sylas likes to wear it so he never forgets that in his quest to be the best little Stabby McJustice the world has ever seen. He's not exactly the biggest kid on the playground and is seen as a weird, skinny little odd-eyed nerd (OUR NERD his sisters will proclaim ONLY WE GET TO JOKE ABOUT HIM), though that doesn't stop him from jumping at every bully on the playground like a feral little Vengeance Goblin if Solaris (who is more adept at fisticuffs than him) doesn't get them first. That's where his chipped tooth comes from, and Sideswipe comes into the teacher's meeting about the first ever scuffle he gets into at school torn between "Oh god oh shit baby boy is seventy pounds soaking wet holding a brick mio amore is going to flip" and "OH HE LIKE ME FR FR". Thunderhoof thinks he's a riot, even if he's mistrustful of Shady Stag Uncle (he has a black and white view of the world which he's slowly processing), which Hoof respects! He has his dad's judge of character and isn't afraid to stand his ground! Stutter and bent spectacles be damned! Also BONUS EDITION I was playing around with robot helm designs, so you get faces of they Cybertronian versions of Sideswipe and Strongarm's children! (Their eyes are all blue here in keeping with canon, as opposed to TTB where Sideswipe has red eyes). Solarstorm takes some of her looks from her uncle Sunstreaker (my idea being that as twins/brothers, Sideswipe likely has recessive coding for those headfins which became dominant when introduced to her mother's coding).

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When you have time, can you explain Omar’s relationship with Zeke? Was it similar to him and Sedgewick? Also, will you add Zeta/Zeke’s age, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality to the QnA?

-CRACKS KNUCKLES-

Omar actually doesn’t have much of a relationship with Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Parrish beyond surface level! Definitely nowhere to the extent of his relationship with Sedgewick, more so that they operate in two different continents. Zeke operates primarily in the US, while Omar and Sedgewick are/were in the UK.

They’re very vaguely acquainted since Zeke has seen him a few times in Sharifuddin’s (Shockwave’s) presence. Zeke personally dislikes Sedgewick and but secretly supported BOTH Sedgwick and the rebellion in their early clashes. This is mainly because he planed to utilized the chaos to boost his ratings in the US as a political candidate who who was ‘kinder’ than Sedgewick and could promise order without the iron fist Sentinel utilized to terrorize most of the UK into obedience. He positions himself as centrist and plays himself up as the most logical choice.

That said, of course, Zeke doesn’t like it when the spotlight is shone on his own misdeeds and he’s quite cavalier about letting Omar know that while he thinks Omar is a genuinely good man, this is simply business at the end of this day, HIS business and Autobot nor Decepticon will have anything to do with the machinations in his domain.

Zeke is more open to speaking with Omar than he is Morgan, mainly since he sees Morgan as legitimate dangerous, and like many misconstrues Omar’s kindness for weakness (he learns that this is not the case down the line).

Zeke is more intertwined with Isaac/Sari Sumdac and Metroplex narratively than he is Omar in TTB.

Zeke is 42 at the start of the war (2 years older than Megs/OP). He’s white, from Fort Nexus in Dallas—a US Army military installation named after one of the Primes. He’s a military brat, and his father was a lieutenant involved in the Antillan War (this is where his obsession with the titan Antilla/Unicron starts from). His mother taught at the school which was run at the fort. He was raised a Southern Baptist, but isn’t really a staunch adherent to it in adulthood except for parts of it that work for him in a political and PR sense. He’s straight as an arrow.

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Can I ask which characters in your AU take the longest to get ready in the morning? Are there any parts of their morning routines that they just can’t go without?

Also I love this AU, thank you so much for making it. My need for humanformers is being fed.

By virtue of longest time to actually prepare? It’s Mirage, Starscream and Blurr in a tense Mexican standoff. Mirage mainly due to the outfit selection process (they’ve got to be properly pressed and starched! He does this every morning! And then he has to pick cravats and pins and capelets that match!), which is the same issue with Starscream though Starscream puts more time into general manscaping (no compromise), while Blurr traces the manscaping ritual for a makeup ritual (no compromise). Mirage may edge out the other two due to the extra minutes it takes to pleat his hair the way he likes it.

By virtue of being a general disaster in the morning who doesn’t function before 9am? It’s HotRod. Jumps out of bed like a fire got lit under his ass ten minutes after his alarm goes off, trips over stuff he left in the floor last night he forgot about, brushes his teeth so hard/fast sometimes he’s spitting out blood with the toothpaste, gets distracted by online newsfeeds while he’s waiting for the shower to warm up OH SHIT WHERE WAS HE WHAT TIME IS IT jump in jump out reply to messages lose track of time FOCUS wait was that shirt on the bed before it fell to the floor or was it floor floor because he forgot to take the basket up with him yesterday SNIFF TEST okay ready to w—WAIT SHIT GOTTA SHAVE

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Aww Op giving youngest members Eid money is so sweet!

That’s probably HotRod’s first inkling that OP actually sees him as a son, because he’s youthful but older than Bee by several years and doesn’t really count as a “kid” anymore, except in OP’s eyes yes you are, you’re my kid.

And HotRod who’s notoriously kind of bad with money keeps the first Eid money he’s ever been given as a memento (sometimes he uses it as a bookmark, which in itself is important because he used to think he hated reading until OP helped him figure out he didn’t, he just wasn’t taught how to with his issues, and there comes a time where he actually uses one to mark a book to Read Later as opposed to putting it down and forgetting about it) as a reminder that he’s still someone’s son.

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Nak duit Raya kak 🌚

(jk jk don't be mad ahah-)

Ni ha kakak belanja dengan Daddy Daddy sekali :’3c

Line up and come get your Duit Raya/Eid money from OP kids!