50 is a good number.
1. Tyrannosaurus Prime.
2. What if the Autobots had encountered Raoul, Carly, or Astoria before Spike and Sparkplug?
3. When two or more universes collide, there’s usually plenty of opportunity for action and humor. But what if a mech from one universe sees what another is like and decides to abandon his own universe for the new one?
4. Skywarp and Mirage have different variations of the same ability.
5. Art. Megatron and/or Optimus as Seekers.
6. The Decepticons once had three main groups of flyers, a trine of trines: the Coneheads, the Seekers, and a trine of spy-planes. When flyer-trines are first sparked, the three personalities either are identical or fit perfectly together like pieces of a puzzle. As they grow older, however, the programming which makes them so quick to adjust to changing flight conditions also adjusts their personalities. Thus, the three flyers in a trine eventually diverge from each other and they become a less effective team.
The spy-planes were the original First Trine. When their personalities had grown apart so much that they could no longer cooperate with each other, they ‘disappeared’ and Soundwave’s cassettes took over their roles as spies. Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker became the new First Trine; the triple-changers and Coneheads started a rivalry to compete over the position of Second Trine. Soon after, the Decepticons were discreetly joined by a strange group of three mechs who referred to themselves collectively as ‘Reflector’.
7. Decepticons as heroes and Autobots as (no, this isn’t mirror-verse; wait for it…) their goofy, plucky sidekicks.
8. Autobots as villains and Decepticons as their comic relief/loyal, obedient minions.
9. Heroic Quintessons.
10. Bumblebee: *confused* …Ratchet, why did you just blow up the TV?
Ratchet: *snarls and stalks out of the rec room*
Bumblebee: I was just watching some cartoons…
Sideswipe: *snickering as he passes Ratchet in the halls* What’s up, doc? Wanna carrot?
Ratchet: *GROWL*
11. Carly or Mikaela: *giggly* O-M-G, I couldn’t believe it when he finally asked me out! *deadpan* It’s about time, really… *giggly again* But it was sooo romantic! And the way he kissed me, I felt like I was going to melt! *dreamy sigh*
Autobot: *horrified* ‘Melt’?!
12. Primus dies (or fakes his death) and bequeaths his dead body (Cybertron) to both Optimus and Megatron, to be shared in joint custody. Of course, he can’t just trust them to do this in honor of his memory; so before he dies/fakes his death, he bestows some of his power and authority on a trustworthy Cybertronian who will enforce the terms of his will.
13. Why would Primus and Unicron be considered gods? Mini-bots and cassettes don’t think Supremes and gestalts are deities.
14. What if Cybertronians, instead of bonding in pairs/trines and creating offspring together, build the sparklings first, individually?
A. When someone meets a mech/femme they want to spark-bond with, introducing a prospective mate to one’s sparkling would be like the Cybertronian equivalent of meeting the parents… and the sparkling’s approval is even more significant than parental approval. If the sparkling rejects the would-be bondmate, it’s practically unheard of for the bonding to occur.
B. Individuals don’t create the actual sparklings; they just build a body that they’d want their first sparkling to look like. Then when they bond, the individual and his/her sparkling create/acquire the sparks for the two shells they’ve built.
15. A thought on Cybertronian gender… instead of male/female, Cybertronians have spark-providers/body-creators.
16. For a Cybertronian, leaning or bending toward someone suggests in body-language that one is about to transform and smash into/run over the other person. Thus, the polite human ‘bow’ is interpreted as an aggressive or mocking gesture.
17. Optimus: *thoughtfully* You know, I hadn’t expected my first day as a Decepticon to be so… amusing. Does this kind of thing happen all the time?
???: Oh, more or less.
18. Starscream tries to claim Freedom of Speech and/or plead the Fifth Amendment.
19. After a battle, the winning side engages in an obnoxious victory dance.
20. Soundwave speaks in a monotone because if a certain mech or mechs heard his real voice, they’d recognize him instantly.
21. During the Golden Age of Cybertron, at any party worth attending, one could find a group of devices which dispensed different ‘flavors’ of pure energy. These ‘buffet tables’ looked very similar to Earth’s power/telephone lines.
???: Whoa! Are those really…
???: Looks like it. *drools*
???: I love this planet!
???: …Hey, wait! These are all the same flavor! *grumbles*
22. (Movieverse) I just realized that the song Into the West, on the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King soundtrack, is sung by *Annie Lennox*. Annabelle? Singing a funeral song, maybe?
23. Flyers are often found in trines, and the Aerialbots are no exception. Three of the Aerialbots are especially close. The other two feel left out, and (together or separately) seek to establish the trine relationship with a mech or mechs outside of their gestalt.
24. Ground-based alt-modes, on the other hand, usually form relationships of any kind in pairs. One of the Stunticons is a ‘fifth wheel’ - and not necessarily the one you’d expect.
25. When Starscream realized that Skyfire had survived the crash, he had to do some quick thinking. With his pacifistic views, the big shuttle wouldn’t last a week as a ‘Con unless everyone believed he was some kind of crazy genius. So, he tried to make Skyfire sound more valuable to Megatron than he really was. In reality, Skyfire wasn’t a scientist at all: he had just been doing a favor for Starscream by transporting some bulky equipment for his friend’s Earth survey.
Wheeljack: Hey, welcome to the Autobot science team, Skyfire!
Perceptor: *absentminded hospitable gesture*
Skyfire: *smiles nervously* Um, about that…
26. Someone questions why all humans aren’t organ donors.
27. Shattered Glass Megatron/G1 character.
28. Shattered Glass Optimus/G1 character.
29. Shattered Glass Primus.
30. Shattered Glass Unicron.
31. The Autobots get the opportunity (or are forced) to become little voices in the Decepticons’ heads for a certain period of time, acting as ‘consciences’. E.g., Megatron has an ‘inner-Optimus’ telling him it’s bad to squish humans, except it’s actually the real Optimus.
Conscience!Optimus: “Give a little whistle!”
Megatron: *freaked out*
32. The war started because of a huge (but still correctable) misunderstanding.
33. For Cybertronians, is putting your hand over your ‘heart’ (like an American saying the Pledge of Allegiance or something) the equivalent of grabbing your crotch?
34. Starscream’s skill set, when related to high-school stereotypes, is really quite astounding. I haven’t yet seen anyone address this (although the CTHS comic by stripedwine might do this later). He’s a scientist… but he’s also a military flier… does this make him a nerd-athlete?
35. I think this comic describes a lot of scientists whom we all know and love.
36. A clip from my mental TV: Optimus & Megatron walking/marching calmly and determinedly across some kind of courtyard. Scattered all around the courtyard are various chattering ‘Bots & ‘Cons, divided into small mixed-faction groups. As Optimus and Megatron walk among them, not looking left or right, all the others slowly stop talking and start to fall in behind them. The entire crowd reaches the archway at one end of the courtyard, and silently passes through.
37. All the different TF ‘universes’ aren’t actually in different universes… just different parts of the galaxy.
38. Megatron once had a sparkling, but it died long before the war. (No elaborate OC-bondmate, no ‘but he only thought it died’, etc... the sparkling’s really dead, as is any bondmate with whom he created it.) So, when he meets a particular ‘Bot/’Con as a sparkling, instead of during the war…
39. Skyfire survived the crash and subsequent freezing, but the sparkling he was carrying didn’t.
40. (2007verse) Megatron survived the crash and subsequent freezing, but the sparkling he was carrying didn’t.
41. Starscream and Thundercracker basically have the same colors in different arrangements. Why is Skywarp the odd one out? In fact, he almost has triplechanger colors…
42. Said Megatron to Starscream, “Just shut UP!”
And he did.
43. Robert Frost rocks my socks.
“Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.”
44. “Frustration is the feeling of getting smarter.”
45. Apparently the Datsun was discontinued in 1981? I did not know this!
46. “Science is like witchcraft for nerds.”
47. Okay, so today I saw a red semi with ‘Con-Way’ written on the side…
48. It’s too bad the study of history became obsolete on Cybertron. The war might have been averted if someone had stumbled upon a certain interesting little fact…
49. Skywarp warps out of his own body.
50. “Con-Fusion? You mean…”
“Yep. Just what it sounds like.”
2. What if the Autobots had encountered Raoul, Carly, or Astoria before Spike and Sparkplug?
3. When two or more universes collide, there’s usually plenty of opportunity for action and humor. But what if a mech from one universe sees what another is like and decides to abandon his own universe for the new one?
4. Skywarp and Mirage have different variations of the same ability.
5. Art. Megatron and/or Optimus as Seekers.
6. The Decepticons once had three main groups of flyers, a trine of trines: the Coneheads, the Seekers, and a trine of spy-planes. When flyer-trines are first sparked, the three personalities either are identical or fit perfectly together like pieces of a puzzle. As they grow older, however, the programming which makes them so quick to adjust to changing flight conditions also adjusts their personalities. Thus, the three flyers in a trine eventually diverge from each other and they become a less effective team.
The spy-planes were the original First Trine. When their personalities had grown apart so much that they could no longer cooperate with each other, they ‘disappeared’ and Soundwave’s cassettes took over their roles as spies. Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker became the new First Trine; the triple-changers and Coneheads started a rivalry to compete over the position of Second Trine. Soon after, the Decepticons were discreetly joined by a strange group of three mechs who referred to themselves collectively as ‘Reflector’.
7. Decepticons as heroes and Autobots as (no, this isn’t mirror-verse; wait for it…) their goofy, plucky sidekicks.
8. Autobots as villains and Decepticons as their comic relief/loyal, obedient minions.
9. Heroic Quintessons.
10. Bumblebee: *confused* …Ratchet, why did you just blow up the TV?
Ratchet: *snarls and stalks out of the rec room*
Bumblebee: I was just watching some cartoons…
Sideswipe: *snickering as he passes Ratchet in the halls* What’s up, doc? Wanna carrot?
Ratchet: *GROWL*
11. Carly or Mikaela: *giggly* O-M-G, I couldn’t believe it when he finally asked me out! *deadpan* It’s about time, really… *giggly again* But it was sooo romantic! And the way he kissed me, I felt like I was going to melt! *dreamy sigh*
Autobot: *horrified* ‘Melt’?!
12. Primus dies (or fakes his death) and bequeaths his dead body (Cybertron) to both Optimus and Megatron, to be shared in joint custody. Of course, he can’t just trust them to do this in honor of his memory; so before he dies/fakes his death, he bestows some of his power and authority on a trustworthy Cybertronian who will enforce the terms of his will.
13. Why would Primus and Unicron be considered gods? Mini-bots and cassettes don’t think Supremes and gestalts are deities.
14. What if Cybertronians, instead of bonding in pairs/trines and creating offspring together, build the sparklings first, individually?
A. When someone meets a mech/femme they want to spark-bond with, introducing a prospective mate to one’s sparkling would be like the Cybertronian equivalent of meeting the parents… and the sparkling’s approval is even more significant than parental approval. If the sparkling rejects the would-be bondmate, it’s practically unheard of for the bonding to occur.
B. Individuals don’t create the actual sparklings; they just build a body that they’d want their first sparkling to look like. Then when they bond, the individual and his/her sparkling create/acquire the sparks for the two shells they’ve built.
15. A thought on Cybertronian gender… instead of male/female, Cybertronians have spark-providers/body-creators.
16. For a Cybertronian, leaning or bending toward someone suggests in body-language that one is about to transform and smash into/run over the other person. Thus, the polite human ‘bow’ is interpreted as an aggressive or mocking gesture.
17. Optimus: *thoughtfully* You know, I hadn’t expected my first day as a Decepticon to be so… amusing. Does this kind of thing happen all the time?
???: Oh, more or less.
18. Starscream tries to claim Freedom of Speech and/or plead the Fifth Amendment.
19. After a battle, the winning side engages in an obnoxious victory dance.
20. Soundwave speaks in a monotone because if a certain mech or mechs heard his real voice, they’d recognize him instantly.
21. During the Golden Age of Cybertron, at any party worth attending, one could find a group of devices which dispensed different ‘flavors’ of pure energy. These ‘buffet tables’ looked very similar to Earth’s power/telephone lines.
???: Whoa! Are those really…
???: Looks like it. *drools*
???: I love this planet!
???: …Hey, wait! These are all the same flavor! *grumbles*
22. (Movieverse) I just realized that the song Into the West, on the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King soundtrack, is sung by *Annie Lennox*. Annabelle? Singing a funeral song, maybe?
23. Flyers are often found in trines, and the Aerialbots are no exception. Three of the Aerialbots are especially close. The other two feel left out, and (together or separately) seek to establish the trine relationship with a mech or mechs outside of their gestalt.
24. Ground-based alt-modes, on the other hand, usually form relationships of any kind in pairs. One of the Stunticons is a ‘fifth wheel’ - and not necessarily the one you’d expect.
25. When Starscream realized that Skyfire had survived the crash, he had to do some quick thinking. With his pacifistic views, the big shuttle wouldn’t last a week as a ‘Con unless everyone believed he was some kind of crazy genius. So, he tried to make Skyfire sound more valuable to Megatron than he really was. In reality, Skyfire wasn’t a scientist at all: he had just been doing a favor for Starscream by transporting some bulky equipment for his friend’s Earth survey.
Wheeljack: Hey, welcome to the Autobot science team, Skyfire!
Perceptor: *absentminded hospitable gesture*
Skyfire: *smiles nervously* Um, about that…
26. Someone questions why all humans aren’t organ donors.
27. Shattered Glass Megatron/G1 character.
28. Shattered Glass Optimus/G1 character.
29. Shattered Glass Primus.
30. Shattered Glass Unicron.
31. The Autobots get the opportunity (or are forced) to become little voices in the Decepticons’ heads for a certain period of time, acting as ‘consciences’. E.g., Megatron has an ‘inner-Optimus’ telling him it’s bad to squish humans, except it’s actually the real Optimus.
Conscience!Optimus: “Give a little whistle!”
Megatron: *freaked out*
32. The war started because of a huge (but still correctable) misunderstanding.
33. For Cybertronians, is putting your hand over your ‘heart’ (like an American saying the Pledge of Allegiance or something) the equivalent of grabbing your crotch?
34. Starscream’s skill set, when related to high-school stereotypes, is really quite astounding. I haven’t yet seen anyone address this (although the CTHS comic by stripedwine might do this later). He’s a scientist… but he’s also a military flier… does this make him a nerd-athlete?
35. I think this comic describes a lot of scientists whom we all know and love.
36. A clip from my mental TV: Optimus & Megatron walking/marching calmly and determinedly across some kind of courtyard. Scattered all around the courtyard are various chattering ‘Bots & ‘Cons, divided into small mixed-faction groups. As Optimus and Megatron walk among them, not looking left or right, all the others slowly stop talking and start to fall in behind them. The entire crowd reaches the archway at one end of the courtyard, and silently passes through.
37. All the different TF ‘universes’ aren’t actually in different universes… just different parts of the galaxy.
38. Megatron once had a sparkling, but it died long before the war. (No elaborate OC-bondmate, no ‘but he only thought it died’, etc... the sparkling’s really dead, as is any bondmate with whom he created it.) So, when he meets a particular ‘Bot/’Con as a sparkling, instead of during the war…
39. Skyfire survived the crash and subsequent freezing, but the sparkling he was carrying didn’t.
40. (2007verse) Megatron survived the crash and subsequent freezing, but the sparkling he was carrying didn’t.
41. Starscream and Thundercracker basically have the same colors in different arrangements. Why is Skywarp the odd one out? In fact, he almost has triplechanger colors…
42. Said Megatron to Starscream, “Just shut UP!”
And he did.
43. Robert Frost rocks my socks.
“Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.”
44. “Frustration is the feeling of getting smarter.”
45. Apparently the Datsun was discontinued in 1981? I did not know this!
46. “Science is like witchcraft for nerds.”
47. Okay, so today I saw a red semi with ‘Con-Way’ written on the side…
48. It’s too bad the study of history became obsolete on Cybertron. The war might have been averted if someone had stumbled upon a certain interesting little fact…
49. Skywarp warps out of his own body.
50. “Con-Fusion? You mean…”
“Yep. Just what it sounds like.”