Growing the Beard: After the first two chapters is when readers tend to agree that the story started improving significantly as it diverged from canon and comes into its own.
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: A common complaint regarding the first couple of chapters is that, barring one or two differences, it's essentially the same as the original pilot for Transformers Animated.
Jerkass Woobie: Optimus. He's kind of an asshole, especially when he first reawakens, but he's also a PTSD-ridden mess as a result of the trauma he underwent fighting on the frontlines of the Great War and despite frequently trying to distance himself from others, hates being alone.
What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: The fic is rated K+, but the flashback scenes of the Great War are rather graphic and visceral in description, largely managing to get away with it due to What Measure Is a Non-Human? being in effect. In one of them, Optimus gets his face blasted clean off, leaving a disturbing description of a warped skull behind. Not exactly family friendly.
The Woobie: Sari in this universe is an orphaned child who's been forced to live alone in an abandoned factory. She's been alone for so long and desperately wants not to be anymore and is very sensitive about the fact that as far as the world cares, she doesn't exist.
