Drowning in Fields: The Mermecha
This is just a masterlist of references, species, and what I imagined while I was writing the mermecha for my fic. I do want to preface this by saying that I mostly had TFP in mind with these ideas, with a few features (like noses) borrowed from other iterations with minor added headcanons. I just want to say, that you don’t need to use TFP, because I did originally mean for this to be a continuity soup, I am just incredibly biased :’)
(Info under the cut)
Megatron:
Is, unsurprisingly, inspired by a Great White Shark ↓
He takes a lot design inspiration from the fin locations, the tail shape, and the countershading, but he is just a bit more colorful. To quote;
“The mermech’s tail is incredibly long, at least twice the length of his torso, with two sets of fins, one pair significantly larger than the other — the inaptly named “chassis fin” when it came to mermecha it seemed — and a vertical tailfin slightly raised, likely for comfort. Primus, Orion knew he was already rather tall, but helm to tail, the mermech might actually make two of him.” (chap. 2)
“It is still fairly subtle, but to Orion’s delight, the mermech is countershaded; darker along his back and lighter on his front.” (chap. 3)
“Under the sunlight, with every movement, the colors accenting the mermech’s frame shift between hues of purple and red, glittering and iridescent and more beautiful than any crystal Orion had ever seen.” (chap. 3)
“They really are stunning — vibrant and optic-catching, stark and striking against the darker plating of his back. They look as if they’ve consumed the color itself, shining like the most brilliant of opals. Even with the slightest movements they shift. Orion has seen for himself how they catch all forms of sunlight, reflecting the warmth of what shines upon them. And when the sun sets, they reflect the stars instead. It feels almost greedy to look at them sometimes. They are beautiful. How could someone be so beautiful?” (chap. 6)
As for the fin sets, I decided to follow the route in where a mermech’s body starts from where a fish’s head would normally be. Technically, it might look like they have two arms, but pectoral fins are quite important for swimming. I think this sketch on furaffinity is a good reference.
Rumble & Frenzy:
It took me a while but I finally decided on inspiring the twins off Damselfish, mostly for the irony (who decided to call Damselfish Damselfish, they are so aggressive??) ↓
They don’t exactly have the coloring of either of these species, but I liked the spines of the Damselfish, though they both still have long tails. Quote:
“Aside from their coloring, they are both otherwise identical; same frame, same tail, and same bright red visor... And his earlier assumption was correct — their tails do make them larger than younglings, minicons, and minibots. But, like Megatron, their tails are approximately twice the length of their torsos so helm to tail, they might be able to reach a little less than half of Orion’s height. What’s odd, however, is that both appear to be mechafish by design; all lovely, vibrant colors and pointed spines for their protection. They have none of that sturdy fin plating that Megatron does, none of the armor of a sharkticon. The twins, in comparison, have long and thin fins running down their backs, sheer and fluttering like ribbons in the water — far more cosmetic than anything Megatron has. They are armored, at least more than Orion is, but nowhere near to the extent of Megatron, and that raises a few questions.” (chap. 4)
“... flicking his own in turn... their finials spread like folding fans” (chap. 4)
Soundwave:
Has been changed from an octopus to a squid! ↓
Soundwave’s datacables are, of course, the arms and tentacles. I like to think that he’s also just as flexible(?) as they are — since in TFP, he is canonically the least armored — and just squeezes in impossibly tight places to disappear into.
There isn’t much to his appearance besides the obvious in the fic because he doesn’t want to be observed, but here's the tidbits we have:
“Haloed by faint, blurred patterns of biolights, its limbs and kibble flutter out in a threat...” (chap. 7)
“The new mech… does not have a face. Well, maybe he does, but if he does, it is hidden underneath the mask and visor.” (chap. 7)
“When the mermech approaches, it’s odd. He does not have that swimming motion, nor that forward incline that Megatron, Rumble and Frenzy have. This mermech moves through the water with his backstruts straight, gliding like a dancer on ice.” (chap. 7)
“The mermech stares back up at him for another breem before his mask vanishes with a quiet snick, revealing the full expanse of a flickering screen.” (chap. 7)
“Glancing further back, he finds Soundwave perched on a rock like a statue, his torso and his arm data cables fully exposed while his tentacles are long enough to drift in the water.” (chap. 7)
Shockwave:
Also easy inspo to decide, an anglerfish! ↓
I did take a lot of creative liberties with this one, but Shockwave does keep the spines inspiration. It’s a bit of a cross of both the images above. Quote:
“The mermech’s plating is dark as the sea surrounding them and matte as though his very metal had been sanded, no shine or luster to be seen — fitting for an ambush predator. Long, slender finials bracket his helm with spines reaching from audial to audial to match. They almost look like dentae but struggling to see through them, he does not seem to have an intake behind them. Or optics. Instead, there’s the rod shaped dorsal fin of a snarefish hanging over his faceplates like an optic, the orb of bright yellow he had seen underneath the water attached to the end.” (chap. 9)
I know that anglers are quite small, but, again, a lot of creative liberties. I also want to say that his left arm, or his cannon arm, is probably more akin to something from g1 or ES. It’s not so much a cannon as it is the equivalent of a utility knife.
Lazerbeak, & Buzzsaw:
Stingrays! ↓
Ravage:
Inspired off a Leopard Shark (because honestly, what else would I go for) ↓
She would still have longer whiskers though.
Deadlock/Drift:
He has thus far been unnamed, but he is the white, gray, and yellow mermech. Another sharkticon, he is a Blacktip Reef Shark or maybe a Thresher Shark, I am kind of on the fence here ↓
“... white, gray, yellow, and now with a better look, red accents as well. He’s smaller than Megatron, as is the majority of the pod, but sharp and pointy enough to be a different kind of sharkticon perhaps?”
Cyclonus:
Is a Marlin! ↓
There isn't any description for his fish design actually, but he is a marlin.
Tailgate:
Is the iconic mantis shrimp! This one is the Keel Tail Mantis Shrimp ↓
Also very little description aside from his IDW 2005 canon appearance.
Nautica:
She also does not have much description but she's an Argnonaut, or a Paper Nautilus! ↓
I was originally going to stick with a nautilus, but when I looked into more cephalopods, I found out about the argonaut! It's not actually a nautilus, but rather an octopus where the females use a papery eggcase/shell to both, protect eggs and float around!
