Jack, Miko and Raf synchronized in the Drift
Drift Compatible is a Fusion Fic between Transformers and Pacific Rim, set in a universe roughly adiacent to the Prime continuity, where all the mecha are miniature transforming Jaegers that require a pilot to function correctly, either by transferring a human's consciousness directly into the mech or by Synchronization, and were initially built to defend the Earth against an alien invasion. However, since the first generation of robots (the Decepticons, known in-universe as the 'A-units') turn on humanity For the Evulz, they're forced to build some more robots to fight against them, because clearly they didn't learn their lesson the first time.
Anyway, these robots are good. Allegedly. But they're not as under control as most people in the know would like to believe, and they're quite picky about choosing their pilots.
So ten years after the first planetary war, when the Decepticons return to Earth to exact their revenge, the search for people that are Drift Compatible with and can fight alongside the mecha begins anew.
Of course, nothing goes as planned.
The story can be read on AO3
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Drift Compatible provides examples of:
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Bumblebee suffers from this as a consequence of having too many visual sensors.
- Alas, Poor Villain: You really feel sorry for Skyquake, especially seeing Dreadwing's reaction to his passing.
- Break Them by Talking: Megatron attempts this on Jack and Smokescreen, to get them to break synch. It works.
- In a rare heroic example, Wheeljack semi-unwittingly tells Dreadwing the truth about Skyquake's demise and resurrection after nearly getting killed in their fight, simply to break his spirit.
- Cast From Hitpoints: Every time the mecha use ranged weapons, they're drawing directly from the energon used to power their reactor, the physical embodiment of their soul.
- Death Is Gray: Unpiloted B-units are grey: they gain their colours upon forming a link with their pilots, only to lose them again if said pilots die.
- Deliberate Under-Performance: Jack does this on a regular basis down to the clothes he wears, in an attempt to look as average as possible so as not to draw unwanted attention.
- Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment: The B-series mechs gain the voice of their first pilot and it never changes afterwards, even if said pilot dies. This is quite painful for the people who knew them, since they're reminded of them every time the mechs speak. In particular, you see Kevin, and to a lesser extent Jeff, sometimes treat Wheeljack and Optimus respectively like they're their first pilots for this reason.
- This extends somewhat to their successor pilots as well, although Kevin thinks of Miko like the daughter James never had.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief: In the main trio, Miko is the Fighter, as she is the one most likely to engage the enemy head on, Raf is the Mage (of the sciency kind), being able to sense mechs' fields and hack virtually anything hackable, and Jack is the Thief, choosing to fight enemies indirectly through wits and using his surroundings to his advantage. Their mecha reflect this: Smokescreen is an infiltrator, Wheeljack a brawler, and
Word of God states that Bumblebee, a scout, will become Raf's partner later on in the story. - Five-Second Foreshadowing: Used throughout the story, usually in action sequences, but the one that really sticks out is at the end of chapter 48, where we get this exchange:June: Where are you going?
Miko (furiously): To my room.
And she goes to Wheeljack's bay, which does in fact become her room in the very next chapter. - Four Is Death: Averted: ironically, the only original pilot (aside from Jeff, who usually stays away from battles) that survives to see retirement is the 04 pilot, Kevin. Eight, on the other hand...
- Gas Leak Cover Up: Regularly done by the Unit E agents to cover up giant robot activity.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Miko, Jack and Smokescreen have all snuck aboard the Nemesis multiple times.
- He Knows Too Much: Knock Out tries to kill Raf and 07 after they've outlived their usefulness, since he doesn't want anyone finding out about him.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: Smokescreen. Jack despairs about it.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: A running gag in the story is Miko's utter inability to tell a convincing lie.
- Intangibility: Smokescreen's special ability. It only lasts a limited time though, and it doesn't make him immune to everything, as he finds out the hard way when Knock Out hits him with his mistery weapon.
- Just a Machine: Most of the soldiers outside of Unit E downplay or outright deny the Autobots' sentience, despite their name. Raf also uses 'it' to refer to the bots in the beginning, but, as it turns out, it's because he isn't sure whether to give them gendered pronouns.
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Jeff, Ratchet's pilot, wears a lab coat over his pilot suit.
- Lucky Seven: Smokescreen, aka B-07, is sometimes lucky to a ridiculous degree.
- Mama Bear: June Darby. She chooses to become Arcee's pilot only to keep Jack safe, and later on becomes a mentor/guardian to all the kids in the base, training them in self defence.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Smokescreen is VERY touchy-feely.
- Nothing but Skin and Bones: It's shown that 03's Drift impression is this, as a reflection of his emotionally starved mental state.
- He gets better after Miko becomes his pilot.
- Our Angels Are Different: Optimus's Drift impression is an angel. An Angelic Abomination with brilliant burning eyes and a Crown-Shaped Head.
- Power Trio: Miko's the Id, Jack's the Ego and Raf the Superego, although the roles do switch around from time to time.
- Pronoun Trouble: It can be hard to tell if B-03 is synched or not, since their pronouns switch from plural they/them to the non-binary singular they/them.
- Replacement Goldfish: The successor pilots seem to be this for the B-units.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: How Wheeljack and Miko first achieve full synchronization: they break out of the base, tear through a squad of Insecticons to lure Dreadwing out and proceed to pummel him to scrap, nearly dying in the process themselves, in retaliation for him nearly killing Kevin and Bulkhead.
- Synchronization: The basic premise of the fic.
- Would Hurt a Child: Dreadwing is the only Decepticon to subvert this trope; all the others play it straight.
- You Are Number 6: All the mecha, both Autobots and Decepticons, are assigned a number. In particular, the Decepticons are the 'A-units' while the Autobots are the 'B-units'. The B-units' pilots are also sometimes referred to with the number of their mech, as it's their title.
