"He doesn't know where he came from. All he knows is that he doesn't belong on Earth... That he came from somewhere else. All he knows of his past is his name: Optimus. For seventy years, all Optimus has known is life on Earth. After a rocky start, the sentient transforming robot became the hero, helper, and protector of Detroit... and an honorary member of the Patel-Suzuki family. He never thought he'd learn anything about his past... until a strange ship crash lands outside Detroit."
— Description of Defender of Detroit.
What if Optimus had been the one lost in the Archa-Seven incident? But instead of changing into something new, he ended up somewhere new?
Written by WeirdScribe95, Optimus on Earth
is a series of Transformers: Animated fics set in an alternate universe where an amnesiac Optimus ends up on Earth long before the events of the series.
It is a completed series as of September 2025. It consists of the following entries:
- Defender of Detroit (the prologue that takes place years before the start of the series)
- Transform And Roll Out (taking place during the events of the pilot episodes)
- Giants In A Little Man's World (takes place during the events of Season 1)
- Where No Mech Has Gone Before (taking place in-between Season 1 and 2)
- A Place In This World (taking place during Season 2)
- My Big Fat Robot Wedding (a one-shot set between Seasons 2 and 3)
- Stuck Between Worlds (taking place during Season 3)
- Epilogue (the final piece of the story)
Tropes that got stuck on Earth are as follows:
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Tropes A-M
- Accidental Pervert: While looking for Sari, Bulkhead accidentally walks in on Grimlock taking a bath and it results in Grimlock chasing Bulkhead away. Bumblebee finds himself in a similar situation with Swoop and Snarl, though in his case, he woke up the two sleeping Dinobots.
- Adaptational Deviation:
- Starscream doesn't appear in this fic's retelling of the pilot episodes. As a result, Megatron (after reawakening) deduces what happened to him rather than him watching security footage of Starscream.
- Due to living on Earth and developing a love for nature, Optimus is actually on board with Prowl and Bulkhead in sparing the Dinobots, rather than agreeing to their destruction like in canon.
- As a result of Elita never becoming Blackarachnia, the events of "Along Came a Spider" didn't happen.
- Unlike in canon, Isaac Sumdac notices that Megatron's body has the same logo as Lugnut and Blitzwing, resulting in him informing the Autobots about his secret much earlier.
- The investigation on whether or not Wasp is innocent happens much earlier, mostly due to the author wanting to address it and wanting Optimus to get a good look on how problematic Autobot society is.
- The Decepticon's plan to kidnap Bulkhead is discovered much earlier thanks to Shockwave being arrested before the finale.
- Sari being revealed to be a robot doesn't happen in the Season 2 finale as the author is saving it for the next story.
- The plot of the Autobots finding the remaining AllSpark fragments continues, in contrast to the cartoon where it was abandoned through Season 3. By "Human Error", it's completely fixed up.
- The set up for "Human Error" is vastly different than in canon. Rather than the Autobots being trapped in a virtual reality, Amaya uses the newly fixed up AllSpark to make only Optimus human so he can experience what he was missing out as a robot.
- Adaptation Distillation: As opposed to the All-Spark being dispersed via Optimus striking it with his axe during the final battle of Season 1, Bulkhead splits it beforehand and dumps the pieces out of the ship to be sure Megatron never gets it.
- Adaptational Context Change: Bumblebee and Bulkhead still get their canon names from Cliffjumper Prime while in Autobot Boot Camp, but the reasons are much more encouraging than how Sentinel Minor named them in a derogatory manner in canon. For Bulkhead, Cliffjumper named him in respect at on how he can tank one of his wrecking balls landing on his head, remarking he's as tough as a bulkhead. For Bumblebee, he halts Wasp's taunts about B-127 being a "Bumble-bot" by explaining how "bumblebee" is a term for soldiers that go from clumsy and eager to prove to the most worthy of soldiers, and can tell that B-127 will grow to be such a warrior.
- Adaptational Expansion: The fic features a fairly brief scene on how Starscream's clones got their names, something that was absent in the original cartoon.
- Adaptational Explanation: Due to the original show's cancelation, the answer to where Sari came from is never revealed. This fic gives out one: Sari is a techno-organic creation of Wheeljack who got lost shortly after.
- Adaptational Heroism:
- Agent Burns appears in this fic, but unlike his movie self (where he (reluctantly) helps the Decepticons and is antagonistic to Charlie and Bumblebee until the end), Burns here is on the heroes' side from the start.
- Makeshift is an Autobot here instead of a Decepticon, helping Optimus and Elita's team to stop Megatron's Space Bridge Project by disguising himself as Lugnut and faking the capture of Bulkhead.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: While both the cartoon and fic's version of Optimus and Elita were past lovers, their relationship in the present is much different. Due to the events of Archa-Seven and Elita becoming Blackarachnia, her and Optimus are enemies in canon while this fic's depicts them as steadfast allies who resume their romantic relationship and even get re-engaged and married.
- Adaptational Timespan Change: In canon, the Archa Seven incident happened about a thousand years prior to the events of the series; the fic cuts it down to seventy years.
- Adaptational Secrecy Downgrade:
- In the show, the other Autobots never find out that Prowl and Bulkhead helped the Dinobots escaped to a sanctuary island until the season one finale "Megatron Rising." In the Fic's version of "Survival of the Fittest," Elita Prime is a bit more suspicious of the Dinobot's survival when she sees the footage of Swoop, and she and the others find out that Prowl, Bulkhead, Optimus, and Amaya helped the Dinobots escape their destruction.
- Thanks to Optimus, Amaya, Alpha Trion, and Perceptor investigating the events of Wasp's arrest in "Refuge from Injustice", the Autobots find out that Longarm Prime is the true mole much earlier than in canon.
- Adaptation Name Change: Since in Transformers: Animated, appellations like "Prime" and "Magnus" are indicators of rank and position in Cybertronian society, characters like Elita-1, Jazz, and Cliffjumper that have completed Autobot Academy training are given the rank of "Prime" in this story (e.g. Elita Prime, Jazz Prime, etc.), while Optimus, who was lost before he could complete the Academy, loses the "Prime" name he's had in almost all other continuities, at least until his role in the Decepticons' final defeat gets him promoted to "Prime". Similarly, Sentinel, having been kicked out of the Academy for his role in Optimus's disappearance, only attains the rank of "Minor" in this continuity instead of "Prime".
- Added Alliterative Appeal:Amaya: Really? Detroit's detector didn't detect any Decepticons.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Amaya calls Captain Fanzone "CFZ" (which he hates), Sari "kiddo", and sometimes calls Optimus "Ops". Soon after meeting Bumblebee, she starts calling him "Bee".
- Like in canon, Bulkhead refers to Bumblebee as "little buddy".
- The younger members of the Banerjee-Patel-Suzuki family call Optimus "Uncle Oppy".
- Jazz likes to refer to Amaya as "Little Lady".
- Age Lift: Among others, Jazz and Warpath are said to have attended Autobot Academy alongside Optimus, Elita, and Sentinel. In canon, the former is old enough to have known Yoketron before his death, and the latter served as an Elite Guardsman in the Great War, putting the both of them at at least two million years old.
- Arbitrarily Large Bank Account: While it isn't said how much the Banerjee-Patel-Suzuki family is worth, it's heavily implied that the family is loaded (though they live below their means).
- Atypical Team-Up Episode: In chapter 4 of Stuck Between Worlds, Amaya is stuck teaming up with Sentinel Minor to find an AllSpark fragment. Unsurprisingly, there's a bit of Teeth-Clenched Teamwork, with Amaya hating Sentinel for his Jerkass attitude and Sentinel hating organics. This is made worse when Amaya learns that Sentinel hired Lockdown in an ill-thought of plan to bring Optimus back to Cybertron, leading her to call him out on how his self-centered attitude always hurts the people around him. However, after Sentinel steps in to protect her from haywire robots and admits he needed the "morning shout" (wake up call), Amaya recognizes that the Autobot is making an effort to fix his behavior. The chapter ends with the two starting a new friendship as he heads back to Cybertron.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Using basic logic and a little research, Optimus, Amaya, Alpha Trion, and Percepter are able to deduce both that Wasp couldn't have been the spy, and that Longarm was.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: The series ends with Optimus, having confronted and defeated Megatron and saved Cybertron, promoted to Prime at last, along with the Autobot Council nominating him to be Cybertron's next Magnus (supreme leader) after Ultra Magnus's Heroic Sacrifice.
- Bifauxnen and Lad-ette: Two of the most prominent female characters in the main story, Elita and Amaya, fit this dynamic. Elita is a (mostly) composed leader figure who shares Optimus' Team Dad tendencies and is still rather feminine looking. Amaya, on the other hand, is more combat hardened, had a masculine fashion sense (including dyed hair and lack of make-up) and has more stereotypically masculine personality traits (such as her being a Deadpan Snarker and enjoying fighting criminals).
- Big Damn Reunion:
- Elita Prime has this when she sees Optimus for the first time in seventy years. Downplayed in that Optimus has no idea that they've met before.
- When Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Sari find Wheeljack (and learn that he's Sari's creator), she and Wheeljack have this moment.
- Big Entrance: How does Optimus appear on the scene of the earthquake? Destroying a giant rock with his ax in mid-air before landing in a Three-Point Landing.
- Bittersweet Ending: Optimus becomes the new Magnus after saving Cybertron but that means he'll have to leave behind his human family after 100 years. Sari, meanwhile, decides to stay on Cybertron and leaves behind Isaac on Earth but promises to visit back whenever.
- Breather Episode:
- Two in A Place In This World:
- "You'll Be Okay", set after a few emotion heavy episodes, is a short, relaxed chapter about Amaya comforting Sari while she fixes Sari's hair.
- After the 3-part arc about Wasp being proved innocent, Shockwave being arrested and Optimus preparing to propose to Elita, "Masters and Students" is a chapter about Prowl and Sari hanging out after the two of them had nightmares.
- After the intense season 2 finale, "My Big Fat Robot Wedding" features the wedding of Optimus and Elita and is mostly light-hearted. Up until it's revealed that Sari is a robot.
- Two in A Place In This World:
- Breathless Non Sequitur: During a family reunion, Optimus is swarmed by his and Amaya's younger cousins. They all try to talk to him at once, many of them asking questions or talking about their recent accomplishments. One kid randomly yells that he needs to repeat the third grade, but it's in between two other kids yelling and isn't touched on.
- Broad Strokes: As part of the series being a somewhat Compressed Adaptation of the original cartoon,
Word of God confirms that some of the events within the series still happened but either with significant tweaks to fit the fic's narrative or happening offscreen and alluded to. - Call-Back: When Sari wonders if she can transform like the other bots, Amaya quotes Shikhi's 'You are the master of you' line from when Shikhi first met Optimus to help encourage Sari.
- "Can Hold Her Own" Moment: Amaya Patel-Suzuki's Establishing Character Moment includes her taking down a hostage-taking arsonist by shooting him (with a stun gun) in the forehead. She proves herself to be an Action Girl throughout the fic series, and (though she uses her wits more than her fists) is able to take on Decepticons in battle.
- Canon Immigrant:
- Agent Fowler is the government agent that oversees Optimus' first years on Earth, despite the character originating in Transformers: Prime. Following the time skip, where Fowler dies from old age, he's replaced by Agent Burns from Bumblebee.
- Makeshift from the Aligned continuity joins the Autobots to help out in foiling the Decepticon's plan.
- Celebratory Sky Lanterns: During Detroit's Romance Dance, a few people release floating lanterns as the sun goes down. It helps set the scene for Optimus proposing to Elita-One.
- Commonality Connection: Shikhi's grandmother is willing to let Optimus stay in the family barn because of this. She's shown to be an immigrant who came to America from India as a young woman, and tells Optimus that she knows what it's like to start over in a strange place.
- Complimenting the Transformed: When Sari discovers her Cybertronian heritage and transforms into her true Autobot self for the first time, she tentatively asks Amaya how she looks. Amaya gives a very honest answer: "You look awesome."
- Compressed Adaptation: By the author's own admission, the fic avoids being a full-out retelling and scenes are skipped over for either retold or new portions.
- Decoy Protagonist: "Defender of Detroit" shows how Optimus was found by Shikhi and adopted by her family, becoming close friends. The rest of the story follows how he remains close to the family as Shikhi grows and has a family of her own over 70 years, and the last chapter displays her granddaughter Amaya, Optimus's crime-fighting partner for the rest of the series.
- Dance of Romance: Elita and Optimus share a romantic dance near the harbour before Optimus proposes to her.
- Dangled by a Giant: Optimus sometimes does this to Amaya to mess with her. However, he always keeps his other hand under her so she doesn't fall or get hurt.Amaya: I wonder why [Ratchet] was so interested in your head. I mean, it's not like there's anything in it.
Optimus: (grinning) That's it!
(Optimus grabs her legs and dangles her upside down while they both laugh) - Dramatic Irony: When he learns about how Elita Prime lost her friend on an organic planet, Optimus hugs her and says he's sure that friend would forgive her if they were there. He has no idea he's that friend.
- Easy Amnesia: How Optimus lost his memories. Justified in that a reason is given: he was so badly injured during the fight with the spider monsters that his body basically underwent a hard reset to give itself repairs. This caused any memories Optimus hadn't backed up to be wiped.
- Enormous Engagement Ring: Played for Laughs. Because Optimus and Elita are giant robots, their wedding rings had to be massive. At the ceremony, it took four ring bearers to get the rings down the aisle.
- Fantastic Racism: Like in canon, Sentinel doesn't like organics. When he sees Amaya, his first reaction is to call her an "it" and claim she spits acid. Optimus calls him out on this more than once.
- Fantastically Challenging Patient: When Amaya gets sick with a cold, Ratchet says he can treat her... only to realize that, other than scanning them and figuring out exactly what's wrong, he has no idea how to treat humans. Luckily, Amaya knows what to do to treat her illness, and encourages Ratchet to read human medical textbooks so he can gain the knowledge to treat humans.
- Firefly Scene: In Transform and Roll Out, Bumblebee sees fireflies for the first time. He's awestruck at their beauty, and jokingly asks one of the bugs if they can teach him how to do that.
- Foreign Cuss Word: Whenever they get pissed off, the Banerjee-Patel-Suzuki family (including Optimus) will cuss in Hindi.
- The Forgiven Offer Forgiveness: When they were cadets training to become Elite Guard members, Bumblebee and Wasp instantly butt heads. Wasp took to bullying Bumblebee whenever he could, and thus it didn't take much for Bumblebee to be convinced Wasp was a Decepticon spy. Wasp was branded a traitor and spent decades in the stockade. When Bee learns that Wasp was framed and has been innocent all along, he apologizes to Wasp for what he did. After some time and therapy from Amaya's psychiatrist friend, Wasp comes to truly forgive Bee. In the process, he also realizes that his bullying wasn't okay, and he ends up apologizing to Bee on their first mission together. He begs Bumblebee to forgive him. Touched, Bumblebee says that he already has.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Invoked when Captain Fanzone and Amaya are interrogating a street racer. They start off with Fanzone as Bad Cop and Amaya as Good Cop. Things go alright at first... until the racer makes a suggestive comment at Amaya. Fanzone is disgusted while Amaya is offended. She ends up stepping out and letting Bad Cop take the lead.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Ultra Magnus sacrifices himself to destroy the force shield imprisoning Iacon, giving his life to save his people.
- Humanity Ensues: In the fic's version of "Human Error", Amaya asks the All Spark to turn Optimus into a human temporarily on his Earth Day (the day of his arrival on Earth), so her brother can enjoy human activities such as eating and hugging as he longed for.
- Humans Through Alien Eyes: A good chunk of the story is about Cybertronians trying to learn about human culture and not being exactly sure of it.
- Ratchet doesn't find an episode of Star Trek entertaining, insisting they not watch "lies about space" and change the channel.
- In "Headmaster", Elita wonders why humans make art with primitive instruments (read: paintbrushes) and Optimus admits that, while humans have the Autobots beat in terms of creativity, human culture still perplexes him.
- In "Return of the Headmaster", Sentinel spends his time complaining about the concept of traffic laws.
- When Blurr hears that Elita and Optimus are engaged in "A Bridge Too Close, Part One", he initially thinks that means they were fighting.
- During Optimus and Elita's wedding, Wasp admits he doesn't understand what a wedding day even is.
- I Know Mortal Kombat:
- Optimus' fighting style is based on a mishmash of human fighting moves from movies and video games. This acts more like Confusion Fu for him, as his opponents often have no idea what he's doing and are distracted long enough for one of the other Autobots to take them out. By Stuck Between Worlds, his fighting skills have moved past this.
- In Chapter 11 of Stuck Between Worlds, it's mentioned that Optimus knows how to play the guitar from watching his family members play Guitar Hero.
- I'm Standing Right Here: There's a twofer when Bumblebee and Sari are told to accompany Ratchet and help him become more sociable.Sari: You want us to Ratchet-sit? What did we ever do to you?
Ratchet: I'm standing right here.
Bumblebee: Why can't Amaya handle it? She's great with cranky people. I mean, she can stand Fanzone!
Fanzone: I'm standing right here! - The Incomparable Bliss of Low Cuisine: After Optimus becomes human for a day, Amaya decides to take him out to try some of the best food Earth has to offer. Even though she's rich enough to take him to the fanciest restaurants around, she gets him pizza, boba tea, French fries, fruit salad, and other goodies. Justified in that these are foods he's seen her enjoy before, but could never taste himself.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Sentinel is still a member of the Elita Guard but thanks to the Archa-Seven incident, he doesn't become a Prime.
- Despite warning the Autobots of Megatron beforehand, Isaac still gets kidnapped by the Decepticons.
- While she was absent at the Season 2 finale, Sari still discovers that she is actually half-robot.
- Insult Inaccuracy Rebuttal: When Sentinel Minor first shares his thoughts on humans with Optimus and Amaya, the latter immediately corrects him on his use of pronouns. Optimus backs her up a second later.Sentinel Minor: (pointing at Amaya) Watch out! It spits acid!Amaya: I'm a she, not an it!
- Internal Reveal: When they're forced to team up, Sentinel accidentally reveals to Amaya that he was the one who hired Lockdown to bring Optimus back to Cybertron. Amaya is a little miffed when she learns this.
- Interquel: The short story "Where No Mech Has Gone Before" sets up the other Autobots finding out where the space bridge crew went, paving the way for the events of season 2.
- Interspecies Friendship: Optimus (a Cybertronian) had this with Shikhi, Priyanka (her daughter), and presently has this with Amaya (Shikhi's granddaughter). He still maintains a friendship with the other two women, but currently spends most of his time as Amaya's crime-fighting partner.
- I've Heard of That — What Is It?: While he agrees that Amaya's anaylsis of the plan to take out the Decepticon warship is accurate, Perceptor admits that he doesn't know what a toilet is.
- The Kindnapper: It's revealed in Where No Mech Has Gone Before that Sentinel hired Longarm to try and bring Optimus back to Cybertron. In Sentinel's defense, he genuinely thought he was doing the right thing... he didn't know that Longarm was preparing to kidnap Optimus to bring him back, nor that Optimus was living quite happily on Earth and didn't want to leave.
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Apparently, Priyanka once made Optimus do something that he's still embarrassed by, even though Amaya finds it hilarious, and has asked that she stop telling others about it.Amaya: You think that was funny? Wait til you hear about the time Mom made Optimus—
Optimus: What part of 'Stop telling people that story' don't you understand? - Lighter and Softer: While the original cartoon isn't particularly dark, it still had fair share of dark moments. While many elements are retained in the fic (like Lockdown), a few characters are given better fates than in the show, such as Elita not becoming Blackarachnia, Wreck-Gar finding a human friend and not being left alone and Wasp not being mutated into Waspinator and even getting psychiatric help for his time in jail.
- Like Brother and Sister: Optimus has this sort of relationship with Shikhi, Priyanka and Amaya, despite his initial sibling relationship with Shikhi making him an uncle and great-uncle respectively to the latter two. He even calls Amaya his sister at certain times.
- The Lost Lenore: Optimus is this to Elita-One, who mourns him more than anyone and reveals to Sentinel that the two of them had planned to get married after they made it to the Elite Guard.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Wheeljack all but says this when he meets Sari, revealing in the process that he's her original creator.
- Major Injury Underreaction: After he and Wasp got into a fight offscreen, Wreck-Gar (despite being covered in deep cuts, dents, and burns) still transforms and gets himself and Ernie to the Autobot base before he tries to take care of himself. Even when Ratchet starts treating him, he maintains his happy demeanor.Wreck-Gar: I am Wreck-Gar! I was punched in the head! (Starts swaying) I don't feel good.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Priyanka and John. While not exactly masculine, Priyanka is the tough-skinned C.E.O of Banerjee Biofuel and is terrifying when angered. Meanwhile, John is a proud Househusband who is much more gentle to those he meets.
- Mayfly–December Friendship: Optimus' friendship with Shikhi. As he remains the same, she goes from a child to an adult to an old woman. He sees a similar process happen with Priyanka, Shikhi's daughter, and Amaya, Shikhi's granddaughter.It felt like Shikhi had gone from a child to an old woman overnight.
- Meaningful Funeral: When Optimus is presumed dead (since they Never Found the Body), the Academy holds a funeral for him, with Ultra Magnus leading the service. He's surprised when the Academy's entire student body shows up, as Optimus had been one of the most respected and beloved cadets. He learns just how selfless and kind Optimus was through the stories the other students share about him.
- Meeting at Eye Level: A good way to tell if an Autobot actually sees a human as an equal is if they put a human in their hands and hold them up so they can talk to each other respectfully. For example, Optimus, Elita Prime, Bumblebee, and Jazz Prime do this fairly often.
- Miscarriage of Justice: When Wasp escapes the stockade and begins making his way to Earth, Optimus and Amaya are allowed to conduct an investigation into the incident at the boot camp. This is how it's discovered Wasp was innocent all along, and that Longarm/Shockwave was the real spy. When the truth becomes known (to the horror/embarrassment of numerous Autobots), the charges against Wasp are dropped and the Elite Guard stops pursuing him.
- Mundane Solution: While investigating Powell selling copies of Soundwave's toy body in stores and needing to take a close look at one, Sari says she'll take care of it and rolls off. While the other Autobots worry about what she'll do now that she's found out she's a techno-organic with a lot of in-built gadgets, she comes back with a toy she bought from the store for 20 bucks.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- The human supervillains are all horrified and shocked when they find out that their collaboration with Swindle led to massive causalities, as the blackout caused by the AllSpark fragment-empowered timepiece led to fatal car accidents and failing life-support systems at hospitals.
- Sentinel is mortified when he found out that Lockdown is actually a sadist who traumatized the lives of many.
- Mythology Gag:
- While speculating on their punishment for their role in Optimus's "death", Sentinel worries that he and Elita could be turned into empuratas. The term comes from the IDW comics where a Transformers loses their hands and has their head replaced with a single-optic frame.
- Bumblebee's original designation is B-127, the same as in Bumblebee and Transformers One. The other recruits like Bulkhead and Wasp also have numerical designations before Cliffjumper formally names them.
- Much like in the first live-action film, Optimus (and later the other Autobots) learns English after scanning through the world wide web.
- Optimus's despair when he and Shikhi find a deer dead from a car impact and him learning how fragile and short-live organics are is based on a scene in the Skybound comics when Optimus is horrified after he accidentally steps on a deer.
- While repairing the ship in ''Transform and Roll Out", Ratchet yells "I NEEDED THAT!"
- Optimus' alias while being human is Orion Packs, an obvious reference to Orion Pax, Optimus' original name in several continuities.
- During the Autobots' second battle with Soundwave, Optimus plays some music: specifically, he plays "The Touch".
- The techno-organic monsters that Blackarachnia uses as bodyguards are confirmed to be this AU's version of Scorponok and Rampage.
- When promoting Optimus for his vital role in defeating the Decepticons at the end of the series, Alpha Trion declares, "Arise, Optimus Prime", just like in Transformers One.
Tropes N-Z
- Never Found the Body: Autobot authorities didn't find Optimus' body within Archa-Seven but considering the circumstances, they assume that he's dead. Fast forward many years and Elita finds out that Optimus is still alive.
- Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The three Autobots that came to Earth looking for the space bridge crew (Jazz, Sentinel and Ultra Magnus) fit this dynamic. Jazz is the nice one, being genuinely concerned for the well-being of Elita's team and showing a love for human culture; Sentinel is the mean one, being racist to humans and clearly having ulterior motives; and Ultra Magnus is the in-between, as he isn't rude to anyone but is clearly in a neutral stance and is working on his own goals.
- No Endor Holocaust: Justified in Transform and Roll Out. While the Autobots are visiting Detroit, an earthquake hits the city. While the quake itself isn't too bad, it causes numerous robots to go haywire and starts several fires. No one is killed because Sumdac and the city built safe shelters for everyone to get to in case such a catastrophe happened. The only ones who don't get to the shelters in time are the ones the Autobots save.
- Noodle Incident:
- At the end of Transform and Roll Out, Amaya says that Optimus had to develop an immunity to Puppy-Dog Eyes after something called "The Ice Cream Incident".Amaya: It happened when my mom was a kid. Let's just say it involved Optimus, my second cousins, an industrial-sized tub of ice cream, and a huge mess.
- According to Ultra Magnus, Sentinel forced a bunch of cadets to be decontaminated after going to a planet called Erratica Six. It's not clear what happened but the results were apparently not pretty.
- Apparently, Amaya's father once tried to clean out their attic. Exactly what happened is not elaborated on, it resulted in John both smelling horrible and gaining a fear of possums.
- Optimus and Amaya had a heck of a time getting Wreck-Gar to go through a car wash.
- For some reason, Bulkhead melted a microwave with a blowtorch.
- Amaya has an Absurd Phobia of someone drawing a mustache on her face, which she and Optimus liken back to an incident when she was in high school:Nonconsensual mustache doodles had been a trigger for her since the ninth grade sleepover...
- A throw-away line in the finale implies that Amaya was kicked out of tech camp in high school because she pressed buttons until something exploded.
- At the end of Transform and Roll Out, Amaya says that Optimus had to develop an immunity to Puppy-Dog Eyes after something called "The Ice Cream Incident".
- Not in Front of the Kid!: Amaya has to quickly censor herself in front of the seven-year-old Sari when Bulkhead gets his butt stuck in the only way through a force field.Amaya: Bulkhead! Move your... (sees Sari) fender!
- Not His Sled: At the end of "Not That Kind Of Doctor" (which takes place during the canon episode of "Nature Calls"), Professor Sumdac finds Megatron's headless body that he intended to use to repair his "friend". Unlike canon, Sumdac is concerned that the body has the same symbol as the Decepticons Lugnut and Blitzwing, so he decides to show it Optimus, Amaya, and Elite Prime first, setting up a very different ending for the first season.
- Offended by Another's Calmness: During his and Elita-One's trial over the alleged death of Optimus, Sentinel notes that Ultra Magnus' utterly stone-faced expression is a bit disturbing. He finds himself wishing that the Magnus would show some emotion over what's happened (seeing as how Optimus, Sentinel, and Elita were some of his best students). He gets his wish: when it comes time for sentencing, Ultra Magnus looks at Sentinel with utter disappointment.
- Official Couple: Optimus and Elita were Conjunxes before the Archa-Seven incident and after reuniting on Earth (and some initial shenanigans) they resume their relationship, though Optimus doesn't know about their previous one. After learning that they were engaged before losing his memories, Optimus proposes to Elita, to which she happily accepts. They finally get married after the events of season two.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The story of how Amaya became the badass Action Girl she is by the series' events is not shown (though she and Optimus briefly discuss it at the end of Defender of Detroit).
- Point of Divergence: Things went differently at the Archa Seven mission, causing Optimus to be left behind instead of Elita-One. But instead of absorbing the spiders and mutating, he makes his way to an escape pod and launches it, with the autopilot selecting Earth because there are no Autobots on the planet. He gets a head injury during his escape, which causes a hard reset and purges all but one of his memories.
- Post-Nightmare Comfort: After he has a Catapult Nightmare about Cybertron and Master Yoketron, Prowl sees Sari wandering the base's halls, as she had a nightmare, too. Prowl takes her into his room, and lets her stay until she feels she can go back to bed. Comforting her over her nightmare helps Prowl come to terms with his.
- Queer Establishing Moment:
- Sanjay is revealed to be gay (or bi) when he comes home from serving in the Army with a boyfriend named Paul. It's stated in Transform and Roll Out that Sanjay and Paul are still together several decades later.
- While discussing Earth relationships with Optimus and Elita, Amaya casually mentions that she has no interest in dating or marriage, outright saying she's aro-ace.
- A conversation between Jazz Prime and Sentinel Minor reveals that Jazz is most likely bisexual (mentioning that he's dated both mechs and femmes in the past).
- A Rare Sentence: Before running off to fight Starscream, Amaya says what she acknowledges might be the strangest sentence she's ever spoken:
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Cliffjumper Prime, who leads the Autobot boot camp that Bumblebee and Bulkhead attend. He looks for potential in his recruits rather than simply raw talent, is forgiving of minor mistakes, and doesn't hold Bulkhead's Humble Goal against him. In the end, he's also forced to remove Bee and Bulk from the boot camp because their antics destroyed a building and neither was willing to admit who actually destroyed it.
- Agent Fowler. While he only appears once, he tells Optimus that (since he's not a threat), the government is fine with letting him stay on Earth. They ask for only two things in return: that he keep helping the city of Detroit when he can, and that he give the craft he came to Earth in over to the government. Optimus happily accepts those terms, as he has no use for the spacecraft and he would have kept helping Detroit even if no one asked him.
- Ultra Magnus can be a bit biased and set in his ways, but he's willing to hear others out and adapting to new means of problem-solving if the old ways are proven ineffective. This is mostly shown in how he's willing to listen to Optimus and Amaya's concerns about the Cybertronian justice system.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- Ultra Magnus gives Sentinel one in the form of his sentencing:Ultra Magnus: It is clear that you were the instigator in this tragedy. I'd had high hopes for you, I even saw a potential leader in you. Clearly I was mistaken. You are hereby expelled from the Autobot Academy. With your completed credits, you are eligible for the rank of Minor, but you will not ever be promoted from this rank. I'm assigning you to be the assistant leader of a boot camp. May your new charges show less arrogance and disregard for life than you.
- When they're reunited in A Place in this World, Sentinel won't stop talking badly about Earth and humans, much to the displeasure of Optimus. The latter ends up calling Sentinel out on two occasions (and cursed him out in Hindi at least once). Unfortunately, all Sentinel understands from these callings-out is that Optimus doesn't want to be his friend anymore.Optimus: I owe my life to the kindness of humans. I didn't join my family out of desperation, I chose them. Just like they chose me. The only thing horrible about it was the fact that I didn't know where I came from or who I was... and now that I know, I'm glad I ended up on Earth. And if I really was supposed to end up like you, then I'm even happier to be on Earth. I'd rather stay here until I rust then ever be anything like you!
- Sentinel gets another one of these from Amaya in Stuck Between Worlds, where she calls him out for his selfishness and reveals that nobody actually likes him. This time, the words actually sink in and cause him to think about his behavior.Amaya: Okay, that's it! My name isn't Fleshy, or Squishy, or Organic, or Meat Bag, or whatever stupid nicknames you have for humans! My name is Amaya, and I'm a thinking being. I have feelings, just like you. I can tell you don't like me, and that's fine, because frankly I don't like you either! No one does!Sentinel: (genuinely shocked/hurt) They don't?Amaya: No, not humans or Cybertronians! You know why? You're selfish, you're arrogant, you happily stay ignorant of anything you don't understand, and yet you seem to think everyone should like you! Well guess what: NO ONE EVER WILL. Not until you start thinking about others and what they need, instead of just yourself and what you need.
- Ultra Magnus gives Sentinel one in the form of his sentencing:
- Reassigned to Antarctica:
- Sentinel loses any chance he ever had at becoming a Prime due to the Archa Seven incident. He never goes past the rank of Minor and ends up as Cliffjumper's assistant at a boot camp.
- As punishment for destroying a building and injuring an officer, Bumblebee and Bulkhead are reassigned to a space bridge repair crew like in canon.
- Refuge in Audacity:
- The Autobots' first proper fight against Megatron would have ended in the Decepticons' favor. However, Optimus didn't remember receiving any formal combat training. Thus, most of the moves he uses during the fight are based on human combat (with some of them even coming from movies and video games). Megatron is so confused by most of the moves that he has no way to combat them, or allows someone to hit him because he's distracted wondering what the heck Optimus is doing.
- The attempted kidnapping of Bulkhead by Lugnut is thwarted when Optimus and Amaya send in Wreck-Gar and Wasp. Wreck-Gar stops Lugnut in his path. Then, while looking him dead in the eye, he pulls out an accordion and starts singing Weird Al Yankovic's "Albuquerque". Lugnut can only stare, and as such is too distracted to see Wasp aiming his stingers at his butt until it's too late.
- Resolved Noodle Incident: When they meet Ratchet and Bumblebee, Amaya almost tells a story about something Optimus did to embarrass Priyanka when she was young. Optimus stops her before she can tell it. In the next story in the series, the story is told in full by Amaya's mother to their gossiping relatives. Apparently, Optimus was taking Priyanka and her eventual husband to a drive-in movie date when one of them accidentally pressed the button for his siren, and the loud noise he made scared himself, his passengers, and everyone else at the drive-in. Priyanka was so mad she didn't talk to him for a bit... although she later came around and admitted the whole thing was funny.
- The Reveal: When Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Sari find Wheeljack, it's revealed to them and the audience that Wheeljack is Sari's original creator (father). He was experimenting with techo-organics, and she was the result of a long period of experimenting. When his home suffered through a storm, he sent her out in an escape pod to try and save her. Later, when the danger passed, he tried to find her... to no avail. Sari learns a second reveal in the same chapter: Wheeljack made a second techno-organic: Sari's brother Cheetor.
- Revisiting the Cold Case: Optimus and Amaya are shocked that Wasp was immediately convicted as a Decepticon with only evidence and not getting a trial or a chance to defend himself. At their reasoning, Ultra Magnus gives them permission to come to Cybertron and investigate the events of Wasp's "betrayal," either to find confirming evidence of his guilt or find out if he was framed and that a spy is still in the Autobot's midst.
- Role Swap AU: In this fic, Optimus is the one who gets lost during the Archa Seven incident while Elita One (now Elita Prime) survives and is the one taking charge of the space bridge crew.
- Running Gag:
- Amaya's love of boba tea.
- Grimlock hearing an idea, saying that he's the leader and he should decide... and then going along with what was just suggested.
- Seinfeldian Conversation: "Refuge from Injustice" has the tail end of a debate where Ratchet and Sari try to explain to Bumblebee that Unicron (the Satanic Archetype of Cybertronians) and a Unicorn are two different things.
- Seduction-Proof Marriage: When she introduces herself to Optimus, Blackarachnia tries to flirt with him. He tells her very firmly that he's married and refuses her advances.
- Shout-Out:
- The author stated that several scenes in the fic are inspired by scenes from The Iron Giant and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024).
- Shikhi likes to show Optimus movies. His favorites are E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Lilo & Stitch (2002).
- The title for the chapter "The Wild Robot" comes from the movie of the same name.
- When the Autobots confront Soundwave, he says that humanity must be exterminated. Amaya tells him that his inner Dalek is showing.
- When Prowl asks why humans don't just use dinosaur DNA make them, Amaya explains there's a film franchise showing why that might be a bad idea.
- The movie Optimus takes Elita to is an Indiana Jones movie marathon.
- While using oil to stop Nanosec, Amaya yells "Go-Go Gadget oil slick!"
- Optimus mentions his favorite superhero is Superman (as he and Superman are aliens who gets adopted by a human family) while Amaya mentions her favorite hero is Batman (as the two are ultra-rich crime fighters).
- Amaya quotes the famed quote from The Blues Brothers:Amaya: It's four blocks to the nearest dock, I've got a full cup of boba tea, half a bag of fries left, it's sunny, and I'm wearing sunglasses.
Optimus: Hit it. - When Wreck-Gar is assisting the Autobots in a fight against Lugnut, he shouts a familiar line:Wreck-Gar: I am Wreck-Gar! I dare to be stupid!
- Bumblebee, Sari, and Ratchet watched The Last Unicorn to help the former understand that the mythical horse has nothing to do with Unicron.
- Scrapper refers to Shockwave as "[that] Shocker guy".
- As another reference to "Weird Al" Yankovic, Wreck-Gar sings "Albuquerque" to distract Lugnut.
- The chapter title "My Big Fat Robot Wedding" is a reference to My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
- When Amaya and Optimus are helping Jazz's team escape a Decepticon mutiny, Amaya jumps out of an air vent screaming "Yippee ki-yay, mother truckers!" When asked how she got there, she then snarks that she hitched a ride with Zaphod Beeblebrox.
- Sick Captive Scam: This is how Optimus escapes Lockdown, acting like a human having a seizure. It works because Lockdown isn't familiar with the tactic (and is under orders to deliver his captive alive and unharmed). The second the straps holding Optimus down are off, he punches him in the face.
- Sick Episode: In "Not That Kind Of Doctor", Amaya gets a nasty cold while working. At the end of the chapter, Sari gets sick thanks to some camping shenanigans with Bumblebee and Prowl.
- Simple Solution Won't Work: While discussing possible plans to end Megatron's siege on Iacon, Bumblebee asks why they can't get Omega Supreme to destroy the giant warship hovering over the city. Ratchet shoots the idea down by explaining that, while Omega Supreme could defeat the ship, the debris from such a battle would rain down across every nearby Autobot city, doing far more harm than good.
- Spotting the Thread:
- Unlike in canon, Sumdac takes a closer look on Megatron's body and notices it has the same symbol on it as Lugnut and Blitzwing had and, realizing that Megatron might have withheld some details from him, contact Optimus and Amaya for advice.
- As the investigation shows, there are several signs that prove that Wasp is innocent and has been framed. Among them include Wasp not being skilled at science, the fact that the communicator is at the very top of his stuff in his locker and Wasp not liking any of the Decepticons in jail.
- Stargazing Scene: Both the first and last works of the series include a scene of Optimus and members of his found family staring at the night sky.
- Staying with the Suffering: When Shikhi first found Optimus in the woods, she stayed with him his entire first day that he was awake. She helped him find something he could eat, read to him from books so he could better understand Earth, and showed him the first kindness that he could remember (literally). He returned the favor by being there for her and her family throughout their lives, especially during tragedies.
- Take a Third Option: When Bumblebee reports that he met Optimus, Elita Prime is at a loss for what to do. If it is Optimus with memory loss, then they need to meet with him and see how they can help him. If it's a trick by the Decepticons, then she can't put her 'Bots in danger. Ratchet offers a third choice: he'll go with Bumblebee to meet Optimus and determine if it's a trick or not.
- Tempting Fate: When kicking Sari out of Sumdac Systems, Powell gloats that there's nothing she or anyone else can do to retaliate. A few paragraphs later, Priyanka (the CEO of one of Sumdac Systems' biggest business partners) ends the partnership and costs the company millions.
- They Would Cut You Up: Shikhi worries about this trope happening to Optimus before Agent Fowler proves that they never intended to hurt the robot. He even deconstructs this trope by listing all the reasons why it would be a bad idea:Shikhi: To be honest, I thought you'd want to lock Optimus up and experiment on him.
Fowler: Lot of reasons why that wouldn't be a good idea. First of all, your friend's face is all over the news, and everyone's calling him a hero. Taking him in would just make Uncle Sam look bad. Second, how on Earth do you experiment on a giant robot? Third, how do we know some of Optimus' people won't come here looking for him someday? If they find out we mistreated him, they might consider that an act of war. - Time-Passes Montage: Chapter 10 of "Defender of Detroit" is this, as it shows how the Banerjee family changes over time while Optimus watches and remains the same.
- Toilet Humor:
- Among the many necessities Amaya brings to Cybertron, Elita wonders why she has a bunch of bio-hazard bags with her. When Amaya explains that there won't be bathrooms on Cybertron, Elita wished she hadn't asked that.
- Perceptor describes a weakness in Decepticon warships by stating it's systems need to be flushed at just the right time. Sari can't help but compare it to toilets and snickers... only to belly laugh when Amaya reveals she was thinking the same thing:
- Too Annoyed to Be Afraid: Due to their roles as Detroit's resident heroes, Optimus and Amaya have dealt with a lot of Prometheus Black's experiments gone wrong. That list includes Colossus Rhodes, to the point that they just react with exasperation when he attacks the Autobots.Optimus: This guy again?
Amaya: Is there a revolving door at that jail?!? - Town Girls: The three main girl characters form one. Amaya is butch (a tomboyish crime fighter with little feminine qualities), Sari is femme (a sweet little girl who enjoys playing around) and Elita is neither (she is a mix of a Team Mom/Team Dad to the group and is a tough leader with a soft side).
- Unadvisedly Urban Experiments: Sumdac Systems is in the middle of Detroit, and sometimes Sumdac's creations escape and wreak havoc. For example, the first chapter of Transform and Roll Out ends with Optimus and Amaya having defeated an army of microbot bugs. Optimus gives Sumdac a look and suggests he put a halt on all microbot-related experiments.
- Unfortunate Names:
- Angry Archer's real name is Penrod Dweezil. Optimus and Amaya agree that Angry Archer is better than said real name.
- Master Disaster's actual name is Marion Maurice Dumpington (a name that Amaya finds hilarious).
- Uninhabitable to Aliens: Downplayed when Optimus and Amaya go to Cybertron. While the planet does have a breathable atmosphere, Amaya notes that the planet lacks any water or food source (at least, for humans). Even though she only goes for a day trip, she stuffs a backpack full of survival gear, including dried fruit, protein bars, water bottles, and bio-hazard bags (as she notes the planet doesn't have any bathrooms, either). Optimus also notes that he'll have to watch Amaya very closely, seeing as how she's easily put at risk in a world made for giants.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: At one point, Optimus reflects on the human ability to get used to anything. When he first arrived on Earth, people were startled by the sight of giant robots in their city. But by the time of the series' main events, they see it as nothing peculiar.Seventy years ago, a sapient fire truck and a robotic dinosaur speeding through the city would have been cause for panic. Now, the people of Detroit treated it like a Tuesday night.
- Uranus Is Showing: When Omega Supreme apologizes for blowing up the surface of Uranus, he makes a few Innocent Innuendoes. Amaya couldn't help but laugh.
- Wedding Episode: "My Big Fat Robot Wedding" is this all for Optimus and Elita.
- We Used to Be Friends: Elita-One and Sentinel. Once Optimus "died", Elita blamed Sentinel for what happened and refused to ever speak to him again. By "Memory Lane" in A Place In This World, Elita has somewhat forgiven Sentinel and even apologizes to him, knowing that Optimus was safe and is living a fulfilling life on Earth, but it's clear that they have a long ways to go before they become friends again.
- We Win, Because You Didn't: Elita Prime and Optimus choose to destroy the AllSpark and dump its fragments out of the ship rather than let Megatron get his servos on it. While the act saddens everyone, they know it's the best shot they have at thwarting Megatron's plans.
- Wham Shot: After Sari trips and injures herself while playing after the wedding, it's revealed to her (and everyone else) that she's a robot girl.
- What If?: The entire premise of the story is what would have happened if Optimus had been lost on Archa-7 instead of Elita-One.
- The World Is Just Awesome:
- Optimus finds the forest around the Banerjee family home absolutely beautiful. Even seventy years later, he regularly goes on nature walks. He especially loves the forest in summer and fall.
- When Optimus and Amaya go into space, they're both left in awe at the beauty of the galaxy.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Discussed by Bulkhead and Bumblebee over coms:Bulkhead: I don't know where you went, little buddy, but you need to come back now! Prime learned that you sneaked out, and she's NOT happy!
Bumblebee: (wincing) How mad is she?
Bulkhead: She called you B-127.
Bumblebee: Oh, slag. I'll be right there.