Cybertronians and Light

(See original post.)

I’ve been sitting on a reply for this post for a while because - yeah, NaNo, not enough time, etc. :) But I wanted to get this out of my drafts before I left on vacation.

YES this is fantastic and makes a huge ton of sense. I’ve always thought that for mechanical beings that can switch to a mode without eyes/optical sensors, light wouldn’t be necessary for all tasks. But what if the logic went the other way: they don’t need very sensitive optical sensors because they developed/were created in an environment without a lot of light? I LOVE THIS.

Some random thoughts/what if’s based on a variety of continuities:

• Sunstreaker does paintings in something like 3-D paints, with texture, or using paints that reflect a variety of spectrums. (One of his paintings might look really boring to a human, but if you could “see” x-rays or very low frequency it would be amazing.) Oh! Or his art is considered extremely avant garde because it needs a light source over it/on it to show the colours!
• The Autobots have kept their sensitivity to light under wraps, and haven’t explained it to the humans. Sure, the knowledge could help the humans help them defeat the Decepticons, but the handicap goes both ways… They Autobots know that info could also be used again them.
• A few of the bots who actually enjoy being on Earth - say, Hound and Bumblebee - aren’t as sensitive to light. Maybe on Cybertron they’re almost blind to the visible spectrum because it’s so dim, but on Earth they can see just fine.
• Prowl still hasn’t gotten his freaking optic fixed in IDW because he doesn’t need it. It’s a minor handicap: he has so many other sensors that the loss of one optical sensor is like losing the tip of a finger: painful and irritating but not debilitating. 
• I’ve always thought there could be a difference between mechs with discrete optics and mechs with optical bands/visors. It’s not just a fashion choice: it actually changes what they can see. Maybe they can pull in more light? It’s a benefit on Cybertron and in the dark, but on Earth it’s literally painful.

Aaaaaaaa! I don’t have time for this right now! XD I’ll need to come back to this later, or work it into a story. And I’m tagging @balloonarcade for the headcanoning funtimes. :D

(*edit: whoops, posted this on the wrong account. Hey I’m @pipermca too. *wave*)