Aaand it is done! Suddenly, 29k of Fort Max living his best life in the Functionist Universe, complete with an appearance from a surprising guest star...
So.... Nextwave was originally published in 2006. Which means this might be a little early for valveplug to be a common transformers thing. But that is either a beautiful coincidence, or Warren Ellis totally made a reference to transformers xeno porn in his professional, published comic. eta ANECDATA: GET According to a tumblr human, valve was a commonly used term when they made their fandom entrance in 2007. HMMMM. (also this comic contains the narration line 'no good can come of a robot in a bra' and this whole thing is so good and i think i'm in love)
HWELL, these guys used to be an official superhero team (working for the Hightest Anti-Terrorism Effort company) (it H.A.T.E.), because they accidentally found out they were being funded by a terrorist organization and the goal was to test Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction on the american populace, and their boss was like 'yeah, I don't care', so they stole a ship and bailed. He's been kind of a little off-balance since then, and is very preoccupied with hunting them down, and managed to corner them and send in a flood of ridiculous weapons-ish things, including genetically engineered drop bears, and you know what I'm just going to Spoiler: comic extracts wherein one aaron stack steals his ex-boss's ex-wife's dress And he returns the dress but joins up with his team again wearing the bra. That's all the context there is. Except one additional quote (I'm having a pretty amazing time and it's on viewcomic and it's only a twelve-issue miniseries if anyone is interested ouo)
So remember when I wrote prowl/megatron in Blank Page Waiting? I got a request for some writing to do with that verse, and I hesitate to say that it's definitely canon, but it's honestly what would probably happen with Prowl, Megatron, and Ratchet unless I had a reason to keep him away from the plot. So it's only on tumblr right now because I am torn about whether to post it to ao3. Here's prowl+megatron+ratchet (nothing really shippy about it), 2.3k, sfw. eta: oh heck, why not :P
10 Reasons Why Beast Wars is a good show (episodes 1-9) 1.) Optimus is NOT the tallest Autobot, he's routinely yelled at by a subordinate who is twice as tall as him, and he doesn't give a damn. 2.) Hot Rod is a Cheetah who can't go more then three sentences without a cat pun 3.) Tarantulas the evil scientist master of kinks 4.) Primitive 1996 3d animation sometimes makes characters look like they are having a seizure when they are surprised. 5.) Pretty sure that TFP Wheeljack was inspired by a Snow Tiger ninja with memory loss 6.) The Autobot's ship's onboard security system is called Sentinel, and yes, it spends a whole episode trying to kill them. 7.) Optimus deals with near constant sass from his team members 8.) Dinobot: the odd combination of Starscream and idw Cyclonus who always jumps to the conclusion that someone is dead if they disappear or get knocked offline. He also has far too many teeth and is generally a handful. 9.) Scorpionok's adorable eyebrows 10.) The big hulking green guy is one of the most even-tempered and intelligent members of the autobot team. 11.) Dinobot and Rattrap fight constantly and it's great, best ship.
SHRIEK Spoiler: LL13 but also lots of i-want-to-write rambling I can't do much better than 'everything happens so much', but. Okay, that Cyclonus content, though??? I thought I was on to something good with him seeking external controls that he can subordinate himself to, and I thought I was on to something fun with the idea of him looking for a person to transfer that need onto, but I didn't actually think the comic would go there? But that hand touch!!! AAAAA!!!!! Not to mention how he starts falling extra apart when he gets the bad news. That was when he was doing relatively okay. He was miserable, but not actively falling apart. And then it got worse XD Ahhhh, Whirl going to him like that, that's one of the best things I've ever seen. Oh my goodness. I'm torn between delight that Whirl is successfully peopling and that Cyclonus has someone looking out for him, and dread over what happens if/when Cyclonus realizes Whirl was the one who gave the game away to Tailgate. I mean, just look how bad he overreacted with Rewind. That boy is a mess, and Rewind didn't do anything wrong. Whirl... at least my pretty bird son is durable :') ........of course, Whirl also has strange, alarming views in the direction of self-punishment and what he thinks he is/deserves. HMM. This is so alarming, but oh my goodness, more please. Immediately. And okay, I've really got to try to impose some writing goals on myself, because if this unhealthy coping mechanism is kinda sorta canon, I have got to get my own take on paper before the comic tells me more. I've been waffling on who to set up Cyclonus with, because the crew here is kind of limited/preoccupied and most of them don't tend towards that sort of dynamic. Which doesn't mean there aren't ways to make it work. I could make it happen with Ratchet for sure, but he'd be more aware than most of how unhealthy it is to let Cyclonus lean into that dynamic. With Rodimus, it would be easy to mix together wanting to lead and shying away from responsibility (he's trying), and get a dynamic where he's got that dependency established, but he isn't aware of it and isn't taking proper care of the person who's relying on him in that way. It would be REAL easy to let that one slip unhealthy, despite best intentions. Drift could play, either with Ratchet or Rodimus, and has an angle with the spiritual stuff he uses to keep himself centered. Cyclonus almost definitely has a more in-depth religious background than Drift does, but Drift has something that's working for him and Cyclonus definitely Does Not, and wanting to throw himself into Drift's system could work nice. And with a couple doing the thing with Cyclonus, it's easy for the pair to accidentally distract each other from noticing the warning signs. On a similar note, there are some interesting dynamics I could use with cdrw, with Rewind having a history of being less-than-a-person and being unhappy about Cyclonus wanting to set aside some of his personhood and autonomy. But with Chromedome being a subby sub who is very easy to lean on and steer and who has pinned a dangerous amount of his sense of self on his husband. Ultra Magnus had his appeal, even though I tend to write him as wanting to submit and be controlled. But as of this issue... HM. He's back into being controlling again, and I'm really glad to get more explicit confirmation that his changed attitude after LL6 isn't positive development. He isn't writing poetry :C Cyclonus wanted poetry :CCCCC He's writing a full set of formal rules to control every aspect of life and if people follow his rules then everyone can be happy :CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC But as deliciously unhealthy as this dynamic would get, Ultra Magnus is dodging people-ing as hard as he can, and I can respect that, hahaha. And there are the outside, outside crackship options, mainly Starscream and Soundwave, even though the handwavium it would take to get Cyclonus to them is... frustrating. But Starscream will definitely take the sort of control he wants to give someone, even if he'd be inclined to lean on it harder than might be healthy. And Soundwave has the whole cassette/carrier thing and has an excellent protective nesting instinct paired with a cold, inaccessible affect. And also he can read Cyclonus's mind and see past any subterfuge and everything unspoken, and honestly, this dynamic is fascinating regardless and I wants it. But ANYWAYS, the easy option. Almost too easy, but oh so workable and rich with material. Whirl. Especially since Whirl is keeping an active eye on him, and is even intervening in things on his behalf??? LOVE IT, YES PLEASE. Especially since Whirl has that background knowledge about exactly what put Cyclonus in this situation, and ohhhhhhh now he thinks that he started the chain of events that led to Tailgate trying a treatment that ended up killing him. DANG. But yes. Cyclonus. Wanting to be less than a people and surrender his autonomy and control to an outside party. This is a thing I need, and also a thing that I need to write. There's so much miserable in there to poke at! Cyclonus missing being what the Dark Universe turned him into, because he was a tool and didn't need to think for himself, and if he'd never fought to break free of Galvatron, wouldn't he be much happier now? It's a comfortable place to exist, not having to live for yourself, and he wouldn't have had the experiences that let him be so miserable now. I can't get over the idea of him nudging at anyone who looks like they might do that for him, trying to steer them into being... almost his handler. Man, Whirl could recognize that kind of thing I bet, and be aware of how bad it is for him to accept that role, but also aware of how dangerous it would be to leave Cyclonus wandering around loose and unattached while he's falling apart this badly. God, I NEED to do this. Of course this happens while I'm gearing up to move :/ But I'm near the end of the starscream+windblade cross-stitch, and once I take that to be framed, I can hopefully make the most of my free time. PS, wild theorizing. Ain't no way Tailgate is for-real dead. We know the Council put the geobomb inside Necroworld that nudged it into the wrong universe. Slash the planet has the functionist universe's moon inside it right now???? But point is, how solid are the boundaries between universes right now? Especially since Killmaster and his weird science shenanigans got a particular mention in this issue. I'm having lots of fun imagining Tailgate and Killmaster as wacky mismatched roadtrip buddies on a journey to recover Megatron from an alternate universe. I don't think that will actually happen, but mannn, imagine how awesome that would be??
Spoiler: SCREAMING ABOUT LL13 AAAAAACK! everything's awful, i love it!!! all the shit happening left and right, all the tension, everyone's flaws coming through like the frikkin kool aid man. LOVE. but also concern. EXTREMELY strong concern for mags, buddy, what the hell are you doing, this is not going in a direction that'll end up healthy!! dude needs a better coping mechanism, stat, before his rules start getting even more uncomfortable. i mean, the main thing i looked forward to was the prank war, but then it turned out that i'd just like to walk into the comic and hug everyone. without exception. holy shit do i hope they get their ship back soon. and please, great skies, i'd like for ratchet not to sink through the floor and hurtle through space?! that'd be nice??? gaaaack. onto re-reading dying of the light and empire of stone because i NEED to theorize a possible cause for this mysterious affliction.
Anyway, my ongoing conspiracy theory that Killmaster is key to the goings on in Lost Light continues to rampage, unchecked. (Latest LL spoilers at the link) Spoiler: LL spoilers Velocity calls the (non existent) hollowing in Anode’s butt a dead locker and I can’t get over that. A dead locker that’s supposed to have someone inside it, but doesn’t. Odds of Tailgate’s literal dead locker being empty by the time Fort Max et al reach it, and them assuming Tailgate is dead because of energy signatures left behind by his spark spasms rather than an actual body - very high.
bless u for the link @rigel, viewcomic appears to be down again Spoiler: LL13 liveblog that is an Ominous cover FORT MAX SENT PEOPLE TO RESCUE THE RODSQUAD I'M SO TOUCHED they're too late for everyone except tailgate but TOUCHED DISASTER HUSBANDS EVERYWHERE RED ALERT I LOVE YOU RED ALERT I LOVE YOU also someone's rescuing tailgate yesgood not the scavengers but pls let tailgate be safe naaaawwwwwwwwwww fort max FUCK YOU AND YOUR SCENE SWITCHES JRO until proven otherwise (so in like 5 pages probably) I choose to believe tailgate's jackin it oh my god what OH MY GOD SWERVE swerve and anode prank war is beautiful this is the dorm au we've all been waiting for, bless jro oh my god is that magnus's alt brainstorm has a voice-mimicking device this can in no way go poorly drift and ratchet have drifted reddish but they'll always be pitch in my heart .....I Distrust spontaneous fire swerve and ten are friends swerve is asking for medical help instead of hiding it progress!!!!!!!!! W H A T W H A T im love magnus I'M LOVE MAGNUS I'M!!!!!!! LOVE!!!!!!!! ULTRA!!!!!! MAGNUS!!!!!!!!!!! how many different ways can I say I love this enormous Lawful Good disaster man with about as much social skill as me pls write a flowchart-manual for every conceivable social interaction, magnus CYCLONUS DOESN'T HAVE A PLAN FOR UTOPIA WITHOUT TAILGATE I AM DEAD MAGNUS RATCHET DRIFT rip roddy, having to be the responsible adult here also it was roller, why was there no orange on his alt OH MY GOD YOU TWO DON'T FUCK IN SOMEONE'S ALT WITHOUT CONSENT FROM HIM YOU RIDICULOUS FUCKING TEENAGERS oh no oh no ....did tailgate get teleported out is that what we're getting here "only six words left: worth it" S W E R V E I DISTRUST IMMENSELY JRO WOULDN'T JRO WOULDN'T KILL SOMEONE OFFSCREEN THIS IS BULLSHIT whirl go fight your palespade children children please for real though I really don't trust all these nonsense threads, they seem particularly illogical HONEY .....this line sounds really familiar does ten have the voice copier I still don't trust any of this
Spoiler: LL13 You know... considering all the parallels and symmetry that JRO has used with a lot of the big plot points, I'm kind of wondering if, okay. Cyclonus thinks Tailgate is dead, even though we as readers outside the universe can feel pretty sure he ain't. Some sort of mysterious shenanigans are happening with Rodimus and company, and it sounds like it could go very wrong. Fort Max has been in contact with them, and even if they don't manage to send him a mayday, he'll presumably know if he loses that signal again. If/when Tailgate is recovered, or when he gets news, I'm wondering if he'll end up in a spot where he thinks Cyclonus is dead. We don't have enough information to make a decent prediction on how he'll get that information or what he'd be told, but oh my goodness, GIVE ME THE DELICIOUS TRAGEDY AND GRIEF. And the eventual reunion, obviously. (also just look at all that emotional expression we're getting from cyclonus, because he's feeling too much too strongly. and him with whirl there is probably the closest we'll get to him literally collapsing with grief. now, flip and reverse it. imagine how it'll be when the HAPPY emotions return. he's already had people (whirl) criticize him for expecting tailgate to love him when all he's offering is persistent disapproval and a face like a funeral. i want to see the happy emotions. i want the happy feelings that blow apart his self-control the way this grief has been doing. jro, please)
Spoiler: LL Okay but Given all the fairytale motifs we got so excited about when Kaput started Doing His Thing are we headed for Romeo and Juliet references is that where we're going
Also, for real Spoiler: LL13 this line sounds really familiar It might just be that it's a time travel trope but also: does anyone else remember someone else saying this earlier? Not in 13 obviously but. At Some Point.
Spoiler Hmm. Some of it is similar to what Perceptor was saying about destroying the space/time continuum during the time travel arc, but it wasn't quite the same emphasis or delivery. And also he was wrong, and was the one accidentally helping break things further, so I don't know what that might mean for Ten's strategy XD Oh, but you know what, the time travel arc was when they split off the functionist universe. I wonder if a thing might happen with dimensions and the trousers of time again. I don't know what, because plots have to eventully start converging again, but hey. OH. There was also an aside in one of the Scavengers sections, the panel by panel of their wacky adventures. It wasn't telling someone to do the thing, but saying that the fate of the universe depends on them. They had to play... jenga? I think they had to play space jenga to save the universe.
Strolls right back in because I’m an idiot Spoiler: LL I MISSED THE SECOND PART OF THAT SPEECH BUBBLE. “THE WHOLE BODY IS ATOMIZED IN SECONDS” MY FUCKING ASS!!! THE BOY LIVES! COMPLETE LACK OF AN ACTUAL DEAD BODY CONFIRMED AND I SOMEHOW SKIMMED RIGHT PAST IT!!!
Spoiler: LL13 Not to mention that JRO has been getting some questions on twitter about how durable robots are, and said that when he means to show someone is definitely for-real dead, he tries to make a point of us seeing their spark get hit, or their head getting destroyed. Which isn't an absolute, but Tailgate is a main character, we didn't even see the empty box, and this is SO suspicious. Also, Necroworld is practically made of funky energy shenanigans, and all they're going by is that this is totally the right energy pattern for Tailgate to have been vaporized. This is wonderfully suspicious, and I'm super excited to see what's actually up.
