So I don’t own the Almanac yet but because I’m always thinking about Blurr I’ve also been thinking about Velocitron and racer frames in general. Which also means I’ve actually been thinking about that design for TFA Drift for a bit too.
And I know TFA Drift technically went through a frame reformat but honestly you could AU you it so he didn’t. I’ve just been thinking it would be interesting if racer wars, pre-great war and large divides warframe/civilian, had been the only civilian frames recruited for military units. Not as fighters but as in-battle messengers.
Like if you’re fighting on a planet’s surface and there’s communication interference a small ground-bound bot would be less noticeable to run quick messages between units than a Seeker frame that enemies would already be watching for to shoot down.
You know what annoys me? The hard metallic looking berths and couches we’re so frequently shown.
Sure, Cybertronians are made of metal, so presumably the feel of cold hard metal is not actually uncomfortable against their surfaces, nor will their joints be strained by being braced on them.
But what about when they’re moving? Metal on metal isn’t pleasant for a reason: friction. I’m sure we’ve all heard the unpleasant screech of metal scraping and dragging, and maybe even seen sparks fly when a piece of metal strikes a rock or other object. And it’s not like the metal is unharmed and obvlious to the contact. From Wikipedia:
Galling is a form of wear caused by adhesion between sliding surfaces. When a material galls, some of it is pulled with the contacting surface, especially if there is a large amount of force compressing the surfaces together. Galling is caused by a combination of friction and adhesion between the surfaces, followed by slipping and tearing of crystal structure beneath the surface.
[…]
Galling is most commonly found in metal surfaces that are in sliding contact with each other. It is especially common where there is inadequate lubrication between the surfaces. However, certain metals will generally be more prone to galling, due to the atomic structure of their crystals.
If we’re going to be logical about it, then Transformers probably prefer, for their furniture and resting places:
1. Well-lubricated metallic surfaces that are made up of a metal or alloy that has a low gall rate and is more resistant to wear
AND/OR
2. Surfaces that are covered in some kind of soft materal that does not create damaging friction against metal: cloth padding, a layer of gel, something of that sort.
(I would honestly guess a combo: some furniture surfaces are made up of low-gall material and lubricated well, others are covered in padding. One is probably more of a luxury than the other. Padded cloth/gel surfaces would certainly be cleaner.)
In other words, it makes more sense for Cybertronians’ furniture to be comfortable padded than to be simple metal slabs. Pillows make more sense for them than the kind of furniture the comic is showing. I don’t think Nightbeat’s couch here is well-lubricated either: look at it versus Nightbeat’s metal body: there is no sheen or shine on the couch–oil and grease would reflect back light.
I think there is this thing where people, both fans and official content creators, want the Cybertronians to be alien and robot-ish to some extent, and make gestures like these (hard metal recharge slabs and couches) without thinking through the reasoning for why they would have such a thing. They want to avoid being lazy or not representing fully that these are aliens and do things differently.
But some things they probably do the same as humans, and for good reason. Giant alien pillows are one of those things.
Sooo I’ve been seeing a few art pieces here and there about Cybertronian body paint, as well as apparel. And they’re all really fucking awesome. I decided I’d write sort of in-depth about my headcanons on it. Warning for #caps and #repetition and #swearing!
One of the most famous “seas” in Transformers is the Sea of Rust. When it was originally introduced, it was as a region of unstable planetary matter, a sort of metallic equivalent of our liquid oceans, but just… not made of liquid:
But more recently, things like the Fall of Cybertron video game, the Prime cartoon, and the IDW comics have depicted it as… just a big, heavily corroded expanse.
There are the Sonic Canyons, where the noise of Cybertron’s internal mechanisms roars loudly, and which serve as the “ears” of Primus…
And the Acid Wastes, where RiD Grimlock says the sunsets are amazing!
Check out our “Cybertron” category for a list of other locations, buildings, cities, and concepts connected with the planet!
I wonder… Do Transformers develop sensitivities and/or tolerances to various Energon-based food and drink?
Such as, a bot that’s been in the lower caste of society and had to constantly scrounge for food; would they get ill if they were to suddenly be introduced and ingest refined and ‘richer’ food or drink?
Or vice versa? A bot that’s from the ‘upper crust’ is suddenly forced to take what little sustenance they can, and it’s nothing like what they used to have access to, would they get ill?
I know, personally, of some humans (myself included) that can get a variety of digestive illness symptoms if they eat foods that are richer than what they normally eat for an extended period.
This makes me uncomfortable, like I just aggro’d a whole roomful of mobs…
Every Cybertronian in my head just cringed. I’m pretty sure these are some really hellaciously dangerous Cybertronian flora.
These are metallovores, like scraplets, but where scraplets are airborne piranhas these are something like a sundew, which traps its prey in these grasping fronds and slowly dissolves the frame over hours and days. Some adventurous Cybertronians keep them in their gardens. They enjoy the heat━━if you’re in the polar regions, you’d best invest in a greenhouse.
My headcanon is that trailers, campers, sidecars etc. some Transformers have aren’t parts of their actual frames. They’re like favourite backpacks/handbags humans have and always keep around whenever they start another journey/simply go outside. Those things have their own weight, of course, but it’s a well-known weight, and almost a part of you. So a Cybertronian wouldn’t get physically hurt if their trailer got destroyed, but he/she would feel awkward and uncomfortable and would want to replace the lost thing with something as close and similar as possible.
Human Optimus carries one of those purses that’s like the size of a dufflebag and never leaves home without it because it just makes him feel like he’s inCOMPLETE without it
Cybertronian Database 