Matt Frank whose art can be seen in much of the Transformers Collectors' Club fiction this year, offers us a look at the concept art and character bios for the Raptoricons featured in the TFCC prose story "Life Finds a Way." The characters featured in the art include Gnash, Shred, Slice and Thrashclaw.
First up are the character concept sketches.
Next we see the character art.
Finally we have the character bios.
Thrashclaw -
“Raptoricons! Fossilize!”
The leader of the Pride, "Thrash" is bold and brave, qualities befitting an "alpha" of her little pack. She finds that leadership comes naturally, despite her somewhat flippant attitude. She fights through foes with wanton viciousness, but with skill and clarity that gives her enemies considerable pause.
Having fought in guerilla campaigns and worked for dekacycles as a Decepticon assassin, Thrashclaw is largely unconcerned with the causes taken up by her official designation. She was clearly forged for combat, but she is neither cold nor cruel to her enemies. Instead, she simply revels in battle, and prefers strong opponents to easy prey. Most of her Decepticon commanders rarely took issue with her often non-'con attitude, since she so often got the job done with flying colors.
Only after she and her longtime partner, Slice, met the upbeat Shred and eventually the powerful-yet-vulnerable Gnash did she declare their group to be disassociated directly with the Decepticons. After discovering the techno-organic conversion machines on the primitive planet of Chixulania, Thrash and her Pride of Raptoricons had declared themselves self-appointed guardians of the planet...despite their near-constant clashes with the native insects known as Vespoids.
Thrash seems to almost take pride in her ability to make everything seem easy. However, it may all be a carefully constructed facade; she feels as though she has been tasked with greatness, and seeks to live up to a standard that she is unsure that she can meet. Nevertheless, she strides before her sisters mightily, and roars her battle cry so that both friend and foe will not soon forget her strength.
Abilities/Weapons:
Thrashclaw took to her beast mode amazingly well, and quickly adapted to being capable of dismantling a fellow Cybertronian in mere moments with her slashing jaws and shredding claws. Her bite pressure can crush Destronium armor and her sickle-shaped killing claws can eviscerate a spark with frightening efficiency.
But beneath the skin lurks a robot within! Brandishing a Tail-Whip reinforced with incredibly durable mechano-tendons, she can pulverize her foes with her impressive agility and strength. If her Destronium-tipped stilettos and pair of Mini-Gattling-Blasters can't turn her enemies inside-out, then her mighty Veloci-Missile will blast them to the Pit and back!
Weaknesses: Thrashclaw appears, on the surface, to have no weaknesses. Despite a relatively light armor rating, she is a near-perfect mix of strength and speed. Yet her cavalier attitude and “make it up as you go” strategy have gotten her in over her head in the past. She also lacks technical knowledge, and relies on those around her a bit too much to fill in the gaps necessary to keep the team running. She almost takes her teammates' competence for granted this way.
Slice -
“When darkness meets my blade, death is their beautiful child.”
Thrashclaw's oldest companion, Slice is one of those strong, silent types...that also happens to be a killer of the highest order. She joined Thrash early on when witnessing her newfound sister, becoming all but smitten by the blue-yellow-whirlwind on the battlefield.
Slice accompanied Thrash on many, many missions, the two becoming a nearly unstoppable duo. While Thrash handled the “heavy lifting” and most of the brute force, Slice prefers finesse and a quick, clean job. Naturally, when dealing with commanders and clients, Thrashclaw does most of the talking. Slice loses patience quickly with just about everyone she meets, and has come to the point of outright assuming that every new person she meets will inevitably prove useless. The only 'Con she respects is Thrashclaw, with few exceptions. She had no use for the bickering and squabbling that infested the ranks of Decepticon commanders, and was the first to agree with Thrashclaw's decision to separate into their own tiny faction.
Surprisingly, Slice has a great amount of fondness for Shred, that she would never admit out-loud, of course. While maintaining her annoyed countenance when first meeting Shred, Slice actually found it refreshing to speak to an Autobot face-to-face, rather than rifle-to-skull. If harm came to Shred, Slice's vengeance would be just as quick, if not quicker, than if Thrashclaw were in the firing line.
Many assume that Slice's cold and mostly mute persuasion is a side-effect, perhaps even a catalyzing agent, of her assassination capabilities. Truth be told, she has a surprisingly gentle spark and is even an accomplished poet, writing under the pen name "The Sickle of Solas."
Abilities/Weapons:
Slice chose a black-coated raptor beast mode to allow her to meld into the shadows of the jungle all but invisibly. She is a deadly stalker of the night, pouncing on prey and removing parts that one would be forgiven for deeming “very very important.” She takes no joy in sadism, though – she prefers the quick-kill, and her speed is unmatched by the other Raptoricons.
But nature lies, she's a robot in disguise! Slice is the tallest and perhaps most imposing of the Pride, and is an expert at Metallikato. Slice keeps a pair of blades handy for her more...intimate capabilities, but her real skill is with her Plasma Bolt Rifle, which is linked directly to her optic sensors. In a pinch, the PBR can be utilized effortlessly as a blunt-force-trauma-delivery-system.
Weaknesses: Slice may not revel in sadism, but she does have strong emotions associated with the moment of the kill. She believes that there is some higher spirituality to be found in the quickest moment of death between hunter and hunted, and this could potentially prove a distraction and hamper her judgment in the field. Thrash is concerned that she would kill simply because she finds a particular target appealing, which itself tells of powerful emotional imbalance. Slice is also blindly loyal to Thrash and will go along even with her most devil-may-care plans. Despite the strength of her PBR in battle, the rifle takes a long time to recharge and is nearly useless as an assault weapon, meaning Slice's weapon choices are limited.
Shred -
“I still can't believe I get away with this stuff!”
To call Shred the "fangirl turned professional" is...actually quite appropriate. She became enraptured with underground (and illegal) message boards and chat-spheres that documented off-grid warrior activity. She even began downloading battle programs and started training in her off time from operating a gift shop in Iacon. Not that she minded selling historical Matrix replicas and special alt-mode bundle packs, but there was something scratching at the back of her brain case...something feral and cloying and ready to join something bigger, even if it was a group of assassins.
When she finally met the Raptoricons, having tracked them down herself, Thrashclaw and Slice weren't exactly thrilled. Eventually they knew two things: one, they were getting sloppy, and two, this little bird must be resourceful either way to find their ship (The Velocity). Sighing with defeat, Thrash eventually let Shred worm her way into their team, and even into their sparks.
The other Raptoricons had little concern over Shred's “allegiance,” since she so eagerly threw herself into becoming part of the team. Shred herself barely cared for the Autobot/Decepticon divide, feeling that the Raptoricons were the only ones who understood her.
Upon creating their new beast modes, Shred was actually the one who coined the name of the team, using old alien records that designated some of the species found on Chixulania.
Shred was the most immediately accepting of Gnash, taking pity on the creature that they had found. Her natural ability to make friends is something that Slice secretly envies.
Over the cycles, Shred has become an invaluable part of the team, bringing both newfound skill, and levity, to the Raptoricons' exploits.
Abilities/Weapons:
Shred's beast mode is hardly intimidating, being little more than a squawking ball of white feathers and snapping teeth. However, her compacted frame makes her the best jumper, and her small stature makes her the most quickly underestimated. Enemies are shocked and taken aback by the fierce flurry of feathers and talons that meet them head-on. Shred's eyes in beast mode can also see amazingly well at night, even better than Slice.
In her somewhat diminutive robot-mode, Shred sports a twin-edged blade, given to her by Slice. She is getting better at using it each megacycle. She also comes carrying a one-handed Energo-Pistol, which she is also getting very accustomed to.
Weaknesses:
Shred's inexperience and overly-enthusiastic nature are a clear liability in battle, and despite her best efforts, sometimes she just can't help herself, and puts the Pride in danger through her ignorance. In addition, once her foes survive her initial surprise-attack, her small size can become a potential hinderance. Nevertheless, she has dedicated herself to self-improvement, so there's something to be said for that.
Gnash -
“Gnash crush! Gnash smash! Then Gnash maybe nap!”
Found in a dank, miserable lab in an alien facility on a world of primitive organics, Gnash was pulled from a broken stasis pod, half-formed and badly in need of energon. Thrash's Pride had arrived on assignment to investigate the planet, and what they found was smashed and torn apart. Something terrible had happened. Thinking Gnash was a survivor, they rescued her, only to find that she was without memory and even a large portion of basic programming.
Thrashclaw became concerned when it appeared that the Decepticon command was looking for whatever made Gnash special, and Gnash herself proved unstable and was practically bursting with excess energy. Thrash briefly considered putting Gnash into permanent stasis lock, but Shred and even Slice immediately disagreed, feeling sympathy for the hurting Cybertronian. Thrash, shrugging, simply said "Fine. You can keep her."
Over the cycles, Gnash had become amazingly in-tune with her home on Chixulania. She is perfectly in-tune with her beast mode and prefers it to her shaky and painful robot mode. The others keep her occupied and work with her every day to keep her happy, productive, and healthy.
Through the help of Shred particularly, Gnash has been able to become a fully fledged member of the Pride. When unleashed in battle, Gnash is a force to be reckoned with, but the others have to keep an eye on her, lest she may even turn on her sisters. Thankfully there are measures in place to calm her down, and all three of her fellow Raptoricons are brutally protective of her, despite any danger she may present.
To date, Gnash knows nothing of her past. Her memory banks are too badly damaged, and none of the others in the Pride possess the technical know-how to try and repair her. So they all do what they can, managing her and protecting her, and she feels a great amount of kinship with her newfound family.
Abilities/Weapons:
In beast mode, Gnash is strong and brutal, hammering her way through lines of foes like a clawed battering-ram. She can roar so loudly that it can shatter rock, and a crack of her tail can send a combatant's head flying. Despite her exposed Cybertronian exo-structure, she is the most durable of the four.
Her unstable robot mode, however, is even more impressive. She can tear enemies in two, and fights almost entirely with her bare claws. Yet the mysterious green energy that envelops her is where her true strength can be found. She can manipulate this power into her physical strikes to make them much more explosively devastating.
The most amazing of her powers is the Emerald Roar from her distended maw. In robot mode, the unfettered energy pulsing within her can be concentrated and fired from her mouth, and it can cleave an armored war-bot into molten pieces.
Shred thinks that Gnash could take on a Combiner single-clawed, but Thrash doesn't want to test the theory just yet.
Weaknesses: Gnash's emotional instability and damaged logic circuits means that she needs her sisters around almost constantly to keep her on-point and out of danger. Her rage can (and has) harmed her sisters in the past, much to even Gnash's own horror. She has trouble communicating, but has been getting more coherent in recent cycles. The most troubling is her energy output; Gnash can only stay in robot mode for an extremely limited time before shorting out, even faster than her sisters. The other three still don't know what is causing her blackouts, and if she uses her Emerald Roar, it runs the risk of putting her out of combat for a mega-cycle.
"Decepticons! Transform and Rise Up!" 
