To add to the TFE AU, I'm just gonna post the ruling class of pre-war Cybertron. I haven't thought of everything and may change stuff in the future but this is the gist of it.
I hope you like it. Enjoy!
They're the big guys, the head hunchos, at least to the public. By the time Megs started making waves, they were mostly a figurehead for the Senate. They were used to justify the Senate's policies as holy. Not much is known about them cuz they're super secretive (don't worry, I'll give them them their own post some other time).
The actual rulers of Cybertron. Most are the descendants of the 1st senate while others are reps from newer city-states so they have less power. Super corrupt, super rich. Have caused all the problems in some capacity. They decide who the Prime is.
Include ministers, parastatals, and every public institution head and officers. Chosen through recommendations or are purpose built. Can range from bitchy to resigned. They get special privileges above the citizens. Those chosen through rec are often higher while purpose built are set lower. This is the highest position a purpose built could fill.
Based on tfp (tho I haven't really watched it) and idw. They are basically the families/lineages of the senate and other government officials. They either work in the Senate and other government offices or get assigned roles and duties in the tower. All are from hotspots as only government officials have the legal right and money to buy hotspots. At this point, hotspots are very rare and produce infrequently and at small quantities. This along with a history of being regarded as Extremely Precious led to their high status (ironically, they are just excess that didn't make it to Vector Sigma. Think of VS as an elevator, it gets crowded easily so some have to make their own way up. The time taken and effort to do so make them come up protoform ready and often feral but they're just the same sparks. They got rarer as the pollution led to Primus making less sparks so less excess but nobody knows this cuz of a long history of propaganda and biased research. I may make another post on this).
The Houses are the families/lineage of those who were granted government positions, a high honour that is rarely achieved in modern Cybertron (pre-war but I guess it's technically true for wartime too). They are a mix of hotspots and purpose built mechs. Although, hotspot mechs are fewer in number but are considered higher on the social ranking. There aren't many houses as the senate rarely award the privilege and most merged together to consolidate their power.
Pre-war Cybertron is socialist and authoritarian. Most businesses and corporations are owned by the Senate and government. It ranges from unattainable to illegal for an average citizen to own a business and doing such is heavily stigmatized. Citizens are often designated into certain sectors.
I'll explain more on the Functionist system later. Below is my other post in this AU. Comments and criticism are welcome and my asks are open so you can go there too.
