Big boy… (I got three Devy asks, so will answer yours as all of the Devy asks)…

off the top of your head: notes for characterization? what are the most essential traits of this character to you (personality traits, important connections/dynamics, voice)?

Lonely. Angry. Conflicted. Yet, he is also, for a Decepticon combiner team, very put together. He and his team have worked out their issues and work efficiently when combined. He gets to be his own person whenever he wants and his team allow it and want him to be his own mech too.

He’s always Arthur Burghardt in voice to me. Especially the unedited version (seen here around 13:10 and on). Burghardt’s voice is deep and hollow in a way, and I think Devastator needs a booming, heavy voice to further show how immense he is. How much rage and fury he has buried beneath his plating.

All of which comes from his loneliness, from being viewed as little more than a weapon, from how Decepticons fear and revile him and treat him like he’s dumb, slow and stupid.

adjacently—do you think fandom does the above traits justice? why or why not?

No. Again, the Constructicons are often treated as all one person, and Devy is often misunderstood by fanon. Many times he is deemed as just the amalgamation of the six Constructicons, by Hasbro and fans, sadly. Most of the time, whenever there is a poll about “favorite Constructicon” everyone forgets Devastator.

Devastator is his own mech, is his own person, and deserves to be ranked and seen as worthy of his own self and being too.

throw this character at any other character of your choice to bounce off each other as outsider pov to each other— regardless of timeline or logistics (crossovers allowed if you’re interesting about it). why this combination? what insights would they have on each other?

Any combiner, Con or Autobot. I want him to see one of his own kind, to see he isn’t alone…

I also like him interacting with Leviathan but that’s because of how much I love her and think she and Devy could, in a world not from IDW2019, work together in a way and learn from each other.

ideal flavor of rotating for this character? crack them open and dissect them— do you want them tormented, pining, or being loved + comforted? do you have any specific scenarios you like to think about?

I love making him lonely, even when his team loves him and treats him right. He is in the rank of “Scavenger, Bonecrusher and Mixmaster” rotating, as in he isn’t always on my mind, but I love him and do have a good number of thoughts on him.

weave a web of dynamics through the cast for this character: which dynamics are you most interested in? both canonically and through extrapolation/speculation— which dynamics are the richest to you, and why?

Him and his team… I love thinking about the resentment he felt towards them in the start when they didn’t understand him, and how that changed over time. I think also exploring how the Cons all view him, and misunderstand him, and how dangerous that misconception they all have upon who Devastator is intrigues me always.

do you have particular niche takes on this character? defend those takes. (openly controversial takes are permitted, but also: hyper-specific headcanons which you believe in and no one else has considered enough to disagree with yet. pick a hill to die on.)

I don’t have anything for this one, sorry!