#shuttler

Thundercracker’s roommates! He likes them well enough, he supposes, although he wishes at least one of them was into As The Kitchen Sinks so he could direct them to his fanfic.

Tailgate is stunned. He made it into the Academy?? For real???? He’s so ecstatic that he actually passed the entrance exams that he barely cares about his grades now, just being here is a reward by itself. Instead he’s busied himself making as many connections as he can. A minibot from a poor part of Cybertron like him, with few prospects under functionism, has to make their way in whatever way they can, and he plans to use his friends to avoid a future of working in waste disposal. He and Whirl get along spectacularly, and Whirl has escaped many a detention from Tailgate’s earnest pleading. Who could resist a face like that? Not Cyclonus, apparently, because the Decepticon hero has dotingly accepted his extreme fangirling over him since day one, even when it means babysitting him instead of participating in a battle. Tailgate is a fierce proponent of his own crush, quickly and ruthlessly shutting down anybody who would belittle him for it, like that jerk Skywarp in the next room over.

First Aid honestly is struggling a little bit. Coming from a well-to-do background in the Protectobot Compact to the relative chaos of the Academy is kind of a culture shock. He’s never really associated with such a diverse range of people before but... if someone had told him that larger and stronger frames could be this handsome, he would’ve started sooner. He’s a natural medical mechanic, excelling under Ratchet’s tutelage, even sometimes allowed to patch up minor scrapes in the infirmary without teacher supervision. He and Tailgate sometimes get wrapped up discussing the finer points of how attractive the local magical heroes are, which makes Thundercracker very uncomfortable for some reason. It’s rare for him to procrastinate completing his homework in favor of going out, unless of course that buff triple-changer in the next room comes knocking...

Motormaster doesn’t care that his ambition of becoming a racing star doesn’t line up very well with his bulky frame. He’ll be king of the road someday, mark his words. Other younglings from the Stunticon Compact are very well used to this, but now poor Breakdown is the only one who really has to deal with it, since he’s in the room right next to Motormaster. He’s not above pushing and manipulating to get his way. So far, neither threats of physical violence nor preying on what he can perceive of Thundercracker’s insecurities have gotten him to shut up about his stupid show. Once the seeker laughed for a good ten minutes straight after he threatened to punch him. Motormaster figures he must not be intimidated since he hangs out with that surly bully Megatron a lot.