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Character Information
Character Name: Swoop
Fandom: Transformers: Animated
Source: Just because.
Character History: Swoop’s life began as an animatronic pterodon in Dino Drive, that Bulkhead managed to partially destroy, along with Snarl and Grimlock. Megatron rebuilt them in an effort to make drones and practice on building himself a new body. The Dinobots wrecked havoc after their return to Dino Drive… until Sari’s key infused them with Allspark energy, thus making them sentient. Megatron convinced them that humans were bad for using fossil fuels, but the cars that turned into robots were even worse. He rampaged through Detroit with the other two Dinobots, until caught in an asphalt ‘tar pit’. All three would have been destroyed if not for Prowl and Bulkhead recognizing that they were sentient and taking them to an island where they would be left in peace.
At a later date, a man named Meltdown forced him, Grimlock, and Snarl into kidnapping Sari and attacking their one-time saviors. There was not much they could do against someone that could melt their armor. As soon as Meltdown was caught, however all three of them transformed and made a menace of themselves against Meltdown’s twisted creations. A few massive explosions later, and all was right on Dinobot Island.
Winter eventually came to Detroit, and Megatron was preparing to return to his body. Prowl and Bulkhead took Optimus Prime to Dinobot Island to enlist the aid of the Dinobots. This… did not go as planned. Grimlock decided that all they wanted to do was fight robots. When Prime pointed out that the Dinobots are robots, Swoop and Snarl set on Grimlock.
Some time later, everyone discovered that Swoop could talk! He also helped the Autobots take back their base from an army of Starscream clones. But it was for a price – Swoop and the other Dinobots were told they would be able to stay at the Autobots’ base until it stopped raining. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop particularly soon…
Sometime after that, Swoop is evicted from Dinobot Island for out-smarting Grimlock when it came to a television quiz show. He storms off in a huff, refusing to open his trap for anyone or anything. On his way into the city to join up with the Autobots proper, he buzzes an Air Force jet. Unfortunately, this results in him getting a stern rebuke from Optimus. Feeling put-upon, he flies off again. Starscream hijacks a prototype stealth bomber, and the only one that can save the day is the only Autobot flier on-planet – Swoop. Bumblebee appeals to his honor, which doesn’t help. But after a bit of ego-stroking and appealing to his desire to belong somewhere, Swoop flies in, boards the bomber, and fiddles with the guidance enough to send it into the water.
Eventually, he’s allowed to return to Dinobot Island… just in time for Optimus to drag Sentinel Prime and Ultra Magnus there to meet the Dinobots. Unfortunately they intruded a bit much on Swoop’s territory and he gave Sentinel a good aft-whooping, until Ultra Magnus scared him off with his hammer.
Swoop was later involved in breaking his old captor, Meltdown, out of jail, on order of Blackarachnia. They had found her after the battle between the Autobots and Megatron, and nursed her back to health. He and the other Dinobots fought with each other over the technorganic, but as usual Swoop and Snarl lost out to Grimlock. He later helped keep an eye on the poisoned Bumblebee and Prowl while Grimlock and Optimus Prime did all the dirty work… and while Grimlock fought with Optimus over Blackarachnia. However, he did show up in time to save Optimus Prime from one of Meltdown’s experiments and was there to witness the final dissolution of the Dinobots’ old enemy.
Swoop caught up with Blackarachnia, and received a new mission – bring her the crazed supposed-spy Wasp. He took advantage of Optimus and Sentinel’s arguing to capture him, and made an impressive show of evading the Elite Guard’s Jetfire, Jetstorm, and Sentinel Prime to bring Wasp to her. All for the reward of chin-pets. He settled in to stand guard over the cave, and ended up chasing Jetfire through the sky as a diversion to let Sentinel Prime through. It was a fight he didn’t win, but he would eventually recover from it… not that Dinobot Island recovered from Blackarachnia’s experiment. Wasp’s condition degenerated and he caused an explosion that took out a chunk of the island, and Blackarachnia with it. Swoop and the other Dinobots managed to escape the explosion, as Swoop and Grimlock had apparently evicted Snarl not long before Christmas. Jerks.
Character Personality: Swoop is the smartest of the Dinobots. That being said, his intelligence level is somewhere between a hyperintelligent animal and the average teenager. He has about the same maturity level of a teenager, too. He’s vain and can take a bit of ego-stroking to get him to comply. This is especially prominent in cases where the person coaxing him has previously insulted or chastised him. These folks are fairly easy to pick out of a crowd – they’re the ones that Swoop refuses to as much as look at.
His fellow Dinobots, Grimlock and Snarl, receive slightly different treatment. He eventually goes back to them and starts speaking with them, no matter how angry he is with them. They’re his friends and the closest thing he has to family, after all. Swoop is loyal to them above all, but does have a certain fondness for those that have helped him before. He is extremely wary these days of those that seek to use him or his small circle of friends, but will call off the attack if his friends make him. Generally, if he considers somebody to be his leader, he stays quiet when they’re talking with others. He can be surprisingly vocal in private or on his own, though, but has a similar speech pattern to Grimlock. He typically refers to himself by name or as ‘Me, Swoop’, and non-Dinobots end up with call-names (‘spider-lady’ for Blackarachnia, ‘truck-bot’ for Optimus Prime, etc.).
Swoop likes nature, and the relative peace that Dinobot Island afforded he and the other Dinobots. He also enjoys flying, particularly with the birds native to the Island. Strangely though, he strongly dislikes rain, preferring to huddle inside and sulk until the rain stops. Of course, occasionally he does like getting away from the forest to bash a few heads and scare a few humans. It’s fun!
As mentioned, he is fairly intelligent (and tends to lord it over Grimlock and Snarl when he can get away with it). He knows basic information about Earth, and larger words than he usually lets on around his fellows. Everyone else is likely to get an earful of terms that he might have just picked up from television dramas and home and garden networks.
Powers: Beast Mode – as with most Cybertronians, Swoop changes forms. In his case, it’s into a robotic pterodon, which will be referred to as his ‘Beast Mode’ here. His Beast Mode is fully flight-capable and extremely agile. It also can breathe fire. As a rule, he generally prefers to be in Beast Mode, but will be starting in robot mode here for interest.
Robot Mode – in his robot mode, Swoop is long and lanky, and holds the distinction of being the fastest and most agile of the Dinobots. He also has a wicked awesome cape made out of his Beast Mode’s wings.
Weaponry – Swoop technically only has one ‘natural’ weapon beyond his claws, and it functions differently depending on his current form. In Beast Mode, it’s fire breath; in robot mode, however, it is revealed as a flail that is made of magma. And he tends to hit people with it when they torque him off. It can get hot enough to melt Cybertronian armor, but given what it is, it’s rather unwieldy and random in combat. He’s skilled in using it in both of his modes.
Other – Swoop has little need for energon, so long as the sun is shining; his Beast Mode wings and Robot Mode cape have a layer of solar paneling that allow him to collect solar energy to power his weapons and himself. As well, in both modes he can make use of a sonic shriek to short out audio devices.
Samples
First person: Swoop sure him get many complaints about names. So Swoop explain, yes? Me, Swoop, want others understand.
Swoop not speak much with others before Snail City. Me mostly let him Grimlock do talking. Him Grimlock, leader, so him speak for Dinobots. So Swoop not learn others names unless others talk to themselves. Sometimes them talk to selves literally, like him Wasp-bot. But Swoop not mean like that. Anyway, me, Swoop, not learn names mostly. Swoop come up with nicknames. Make Swoop’s life easier.
Swoop also make names for others with too long names. Is sometimes hard to say names with beak. Too long. Too strange. Swoop make easier names. Make Swoop’s life easier.
Swoop not mean insult. Swoop only doing what Swoop always do. Me try harder to learn real names. But Swoop sorry if him have trouble. You not be mad? If Swoop have trouble, you not be mad?
Third Person: Swoop took off from the highest point on Dinobot Island – the humans called it something else, he was certain, but to him it would always be Dinobot Island – flapping his wings to gain altitude. The tip of one of his wings grazed the edge of a thermal, and he shifted just a little. Giving one final flap he entered into the thermal, carried upward in spirals. It was quiet up here, and he could think. He didn’t have to worry about Grimlock yelling or those monsters the acid-man made attacking him unexpectedly. Snarl was… off doing something with that weird bot that had a crane in his crotch. Grimlock was perpetually dumb as far as Swoop cared, but evicting Snarl had been a good idea.
From up here, he could tilt see the entire island if he tilted his head right. He had gotten good enough at flying to do it without accidentally banking out of the thermal. Dinobot Island looked like a lumpy crescent moon, so high up. It used to be a lumpy oval, until the spider-lady got the wasp-bot and they both exploded. Swoop still couldn’t believe that he’d actually brought her the wasp-bot just to make her happy. Look how that turned out! She exploded his home! Admittedly he didn’t mind the new cove, but he missed the valley in the volcano, and their cave. It had been so nice to get out of the rain there, after acid-man left but before spider-lady showed up. Now he just had to find a tree or fern with big enough leaves to huddle under. It was miserable, and humiliating. And cold. At least acid-man’s constantly-running machines had kept them warm after ninja-bot and car-bot and the two humans took him away. The only half-decent thing that awful man had done for them; some of his plating still bore uneven patches from the burns that were inflicted on him. They’d never healed entirely right. He was still the prettiest, though. Of that Swoop was absolutely certain.
He gave the island one last look from his high perch before shifting his limbs and leaving the thermal to start his decent back to the green. Grimlock might be missing him. Besides, none of his bird friends could go as high as he could, and he missed them.
Character Name: Swoop
Fandom: Transformers: Animated
Source: Just because.
Character History: Swoop’s life began as an animatronic pterodon in Dino Drive, that Bulkhead managed to partially destroy, along with Snarl and Grimlock. Megatron rebuilt them in an effort to make drones and practice on building himself a new body. The Dinobots wrecked havoc after their return to Dino Drive… until Sari’s key infused them with Allspark energy, thus making them sentient. Megatron convinced them that humans were bad for using fossil fuels, but the cars that turned into robots were even worse. He rampaged through Detroit with the other two Dinobots, until caught in an asphalt ‘tar pit’. All three would have been destroyed if not for Prowl and Bulkhead recognizing that they were sentient and taking them to an island where they would be left in peace.
At a later date, a man named Meltdown forced him, Grimlock, and Snarl into kidnapping Sari and attacking their one-time saviors. There was not much they could do against someone that could melt their armor. As soon as Meltdown was caught, however all three of them transformed and made a menace of themselves against Meltdown’s twisted creations. A few massive explosions later, and all was right on Dinobot Island.
Winter eventually came to Detroit, and Megatron was preparing to return to his body. Prowl and Bulkhead took Optimus Prime to Dinobot Island to enlist the aid of the Dinobots. This… did not go as planned. Grimlock decided that all they wanted to do was fight robots. When Prime pointed out that the Dinobots are robots, Swoop and Snarl set on Grimlock.
Some time later, everyone discovered that Swoop could talk! He also helped the Autobots take back their base from an army of Starscream clones. But it was for a price – Swoop and the other Dinobots were told they would be able to stay at the Autobots’ base until it stopped raining. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop particularly soon…
Sometime after that, Swoop is evicted from Dinobot Island for out-smarting Grimlock when it came to a television quiz show. He storms off in a huff, refusing to open his trap for anyone or anything. On his way into the city to join up with the Autobots proper, he buzzes an Air Force jet. Unfortunately, this results in him getting a stern rebuke from Optimus. Feeling put-upon, he flies off again. Starscream hijacks a prototype stealth bomber, and the only one that can save the day is the only Autobot flier on-planet – Swoop. Bumblebee appeals to his honor, which doesn’t help. But after a bit of ego-stroking and appealing to his desire to belong somewhere, Swoop flies in, boards the bomber, and fiddles with the guidance enough to send it into the water.
Eventually, he’s allowed to return to Dinobot Island… just in time for Optimus to drag Sentinel Prime and Ultra Magnus there to meet the Dinobots. Unfortunately they intruded a bit much on Swoop’s territory and he gave Sentinel a good aft-whooping, until Ultra Magnus scared him off with his hammer.
Swoop was later involved in breaking his old captor, Meltdown, out of jail, on order of Blackarachnia. They had found her after the battle between the Autobots and Megatron, and nursed her back to health. He and the other Dinobots fought with each other over the technorganic, but as usual Swoop and Snarl lost out to Grimlock. He later helped keep an eye on the poisoned Bumblebee and Prowl while Grimlock and Optimus Prime did all the dirty work… and while Grimlock fought with Optimus over Blackarachnia. However, he did show up in time to save Optimus Prime from one of Meltdown’s experiments and was there to witness the final dissolution of the Dinobots’ old enemy.
Swoop caught up with Blackarachnia, and received a new mission – bring her the crazed supposed-spy Wasp. He took advantage of Optimus and Sentinel’s arguing to capture him, and made an impressive show of evading the Elite Guard’s Jetfire, Jetstorm, and Sentinel Prime to bring Wasp to her. All for the reward of chin-pets. He settled in to stand guard over the cave, and ended up chasing Jetfire through the sky as a diversion to let Sentinel Prime through. It was a fight he didn’t win, but he would eventually recover from it… not that Dinobot Island recovered from Blackarachnia’s experiment. Wasp’s condition degenerated and he caused an explosion that took out a chunk of the island, and Blackarachnia with it. Swoop and the other Dinobots managed to escape the explosion, as Swoop and Grimlock had apparently evicted Snarl not long before Christmas. Jerks.
Character Personality: Swoop is the smartest of the Dinobots. That being said, his intelligence level is somewhere between a hyperintelligent animal and the average teenager. He has about the same maturity level of a teenager, too. He’s vain and can take a bit of ego-stroking to get him to comply. This is especially prominent in cases where the person coaxing him has previously insulted or chastised him. These folks are fairly easy to pick out of a crowd – they’re the ones that Swoop refuses to as much as look at.
His fellow Dinobots, Grimlock and Snarl, receive slightly different treatment. He eventually goes back to them and starts speaking with them, no matter how angry he is with them. They’re his friends and the closest thing he has to family, after all. Swoop is loyal to them above all, but does have a certain fondness for those that have helped him before. He is extremely wary these days of those that seek to use him or his small circle of friends, but will call off the attack if his friends make him. Generally, if he considers somebody to be his leader, he stays quiet when they’re talking with others. He can be surprisingly vocal in private or on his own, though, but has a similar speech pattern to Grimlock. He typically refers to himself by name or as ‘Me, Swoop’, and non-Dinobots end up with call-names (‘spider-lady’ for Blackarachnia, ‘truck-bot’ for Optimus Prime, etc.).
Swoop likes nature, and the relative peace that Dinobot Island afforded he and the other Dinobots. He also enjoys flying, particularly with the birds native to the Island. Strangely though, he strongly dislikes rain, preferring to huddle inside and sulk until the rain stops. Of course, occasionally he does like getting away from the forest to bash a few heads and scare a few humans. It’s fun!
As mentioned, he is fairly intelligent (and tends to lord it over Grimlock and Snarl when he can get away with it). He knows basic information about Earth, and larger words than he usually lets on around his fellows. Everyone else is likely to get an earful of terms that he might have just picked up from television dramas and home and garden networks.
Powers: Beast Mode – as with most Cybertronians, Swoop changes forms. In his case, it’s into a robotic pterodon, which will be referred to as his ‘Beast Mode’ here. His Beast Mode is fully flight-capable and extremely agile. It also can breathe fire. As a rule, he generally prefers to be in Beast Mode, but will be starting in robot mode here for interest.
Robot Mode – in his robot mode, Swoop is long and lanky, and holds the distinction of being the fastest and most agile of the Dinobots. He also has a wicked awesome cape made out of his Beast Mode’s wings.
Weaponry – Swoop technically only has one ‘natural’ weapon beyond his claws, and it functions differently depending on his current form. In Beast Mode, it’s fire breath; in robot mode, however, it is revealed as a flail that is made of magma. And he tends to hit people with it when they torque him off. It can get hot enough to melt Cybertronian armor, but given what it is, it’s rather unwieldy and random in combat. He’s skilled in using it in both of his modes.
Other – Swoop has little need for energon, so long as the sun is shining; his Beast Mode wings and Robot Mode cape have a layer of solar paneling that allow him to collect solar energy to power his weapons and himself. As well, in both modes he can make use of a sonic shriek to short out audio devices.
Samples
First person: Swoop sure him get many complaints about names. So Swoop explain, yes? Me, Swoop, want others understand.
Swoop not speak much with others before Snail City. Me mostly let him Grimlock do talking. Him Grimlock, leader, so him speak for Dinobots. So Swoop not learn others names unless others talk to themselves. Sometimes them talk to selves literally, like him Wasp-bot. But Swoop not mean like that. Anyway, me, Swoop, not learn names mostly. Swoop come up with nicknames. Make Swoop’s life easier.
Swoop also make names for others with too long names. Is sometimes hard to say names with beak. Too long. Too strange. Swoop make easier names. Make Swoop’s life easier.
Swoop not mean insult. Swoop only doing what Swoop always do. Me try harder to learn real names. But Swoop sorry if him have trouble. You not be mad? If Swoop have trouble, you not be mad?
Third Person: Swoop took off from the highest point on Dinobot Island – the humans called it something else, he was certain, but to him it would always be Dinobot Island – flapping his wings to gain altitude. The tip of one of his wings grazed the edge of a thermal, and he shifted just a little. Giving one final flap he entered into the thermal, carried upward in spirals. It was quiet up here, and he could think. He didn’t have to worry about Grimlock yelling or those monsters the acid-man made attacking him unexpectedly. Snarl was… off doing something with that weird bot that had a crane in his crotch. Grimlock was perpetually dumb as far as Swoop cared, but evicting Snarl had been a good idea.
From up here, he could tilt see the entire island if he tilted his head right. He had gotten good enough at flying to do it without accidentally banking out of the thermal. Dinobot Island looked like a lumpy crescent moon, so high up. It used to be a lumpy oval, until the spider-lady got the wasp-bot and they both exploded. Swoop still couldn’t believe that he’d actually brought her the wasp-bot just to make her happy. Look how that turned out! She exploded his home! Admittedly he didn’t mind the new cove, but he missed the valley in the volcano, and their cave. It had been so nice to get out of the rain there, after acid-man left but before spider-lady showed up. Now he just had to find a tree or fern with big enough leaves to huddle under. It was miserable, and humiliating. And cold. At least acid-man’s constantly-running machines had kept them warm after ninja-bot and car-bot and the two humans took him away. The only half-decent thing that awful man had done for them; some of his plating still bore uneven patches from the burns that were inflicted on him. They’d never healed entirely right. He was still the prettiest, though. Of that Swoop was absolutely certain.
He gave the island one last look from his high perch before shifting his limbs and leaving the thermal to start his decent back to the green. Grimlock might be missing him. Besides, none of his bird friends could go as high as he could, and he missed them.