oh oh i love that conversation so much holy shit, just a sec i'll find it ETA: some lovely soul typed it all up, here is the ultra magnus part!! Spoiler: for length Rung turned another corner and moved closer to the heart of the ship. He thought he’d be able to hear the dry whine of the quantum engines by now, but no, the silence persisted: epic, devastating, all-encompassing. Until: “You may have noticed that I’m not much of a conversationalist,” said Ultra Magnus, turning to look at him for the first time since they’d set off from Rung’s office 20 minutes earlier. “No, no, don’t apologize,” said Rung quickly, straining to keep up with his companion. “But to be honest, I’m not sure you need to accompany me to Rodimus’ quarters.” “Under normal circumstances, I’d agree. But Rodimus may not be in the best of moods.” “Oh really? Why’s that?” “Blaster’s plan to use the subspace networks as a means of communicating with Cybertron has come to naught, we’ve lost our only lead in terms of locating the Circle of Light, and our quest to find the Knights of Cybertron has all but ground to a halt. In addition, Rodimus is struggling to come to terms with the fact that the aspects of his personality that give him an edge in the field – principally his capacity for quick, decisive action – work against him in a postwar environment in that they encourage him to take unnecessary risks whenever the opportunity arises.” “That was remarkably… succinct. You really are very deliberate with your choice of language, aren’t you?” “I’m not one for padding, if that’s what you mean. As far as I’m concerned, each deviation from the point amounts to a minor failure of nerve.” “Fascinating. To you, speech is like a vehicle for conveying information, and you like to get from A to B using as direct a route as possible.” “I beg your pardon? ‘Vehicle’..?” “I didn’t literally mean a vehicle… It was a simile.” Ultra Magnus narrowed his optics. “I’ve spent years weaning myself off figurative language. It clouds the facts. I occasionally resort to a simile if the situation absolutely demands it, but I remain intensely distrustful of extended metaphors.” Rung stared at him, searching for traces of irony. “That follow-up appointment,” he said at length. “I’d really encourage you to make it. Or just turn up – my door is always open.” “Always? I’m sorry, but your office contains highly sensitive information about the members of the crew. As Director of Security I must insist that you lock your door at all times.” “No, again, I don’t mean that I literally left the – ah. You’re joking.” Rung paused, considered his options, and decided he should laugh, but the moment was lost. “People keep telling me to ‘lighten up,’” continued Ultra Magnus, “but whenever I try to make a joke it falls flat.” He scaled a flight of stairs in a single stride and waited for Rung to catch up. “Rodimus says it’s my delivery. He says – what does he say? He says I sound like someone phoning in a bomb threat.” “I think you just need to find the kind of humor that works for you. And I think that deep down you actually liketalking to people.” Magnus stopped, raised himself to his full height, and held up his forefinger to signal the impending arrival of another gag. “If Primus had intended his children to make light conversation he’d have equipped us all with vocal synthesizers.” Pause. “Sorry – with more energy-efficient vocal synthesizers. That’s right: he’d have equipped us all with more energy-efficient vocal synthesizers.” A silence deeper and truer than any Rung had ever known descended upon them both. Minutes stretched into hours. Empires rose and fell. Molecular clouds formed stars that collapsed and went supernova. The universe succumbed to its inevitable heatdeath. “I should have said energy-efficient vocal synthesizers,” said Ultra Magnus quietly, in a manner reminiscent of a pathologist estimating the time of death. Rung was so embarrassed for his crewmate, and so desperate to change the subject, that he fleetingly considered confessing to a Category A crime. In the end, however, a more natural distraction presented itself. “What’s this?” he said, examining a gold rectangle on the wall outside Rodimus’ quarters. “’The captain of the Lost Light, Rodimus of Nyon, resided here for the duration of his awesome quest to find the Knights of Cybertron.’” He straightened up and scratched an eyebrow. “A plaque? Isn’t that a tad… premature? Not to mention – well, one doesn’t have to be a psychiatrist to detect a certain degree of…” He trailed off as he remembered that he was standing next to Rodimus’ second-in-command. “I suppose ‘arrogance’ is too strong a word to use.” “No comment,” said Ultra Magnus, directing Rung through a doorway surrounded by stenciled flames that recalled the pattern on Rodimus’ chest.
Is it bad that i want to make an aerial carrier oc based on an airborne drown carrier that does exist yet? http://www.livescience.com/49057-military-flying-aircraft-carriers-drones.html He's going to have all these tiny planes and it'll be adorable. Thanks for the help with the conversation! I'm remember something where he had decided to start using figurative language again? It was a character growth moment.
i think that is in one of the dark cybertron chapters!! one sec i will find it edit: found it!! Spoiler: big image
oh yeah i actually came here to say: i am re-reading All Hail Megatron now that i know who everyone is and it's a lot more entertaining this time around. i'm so fond of these asshole robots and holy shit megatron used to be so awful, just, the worst. i love jazz and i love mirage and i love thundercracker and i love sunstreaker and i LOVE LOVE LOVE CLIFFJUMPER OH MY GOD, he is the fightiest little bastard, i have burst out laughing twice now because of him
SAME AND IT'S KILLING ME Even if timelines don't necessarily match up, I *need* soundwave content in my life right now
I'm going to have to reread that very soon!! I knew the autobots pretty well, but I didn't ADORE then at that point, and I'm not even sure I could reliably identify Starscream without dialogue cues :P So I really, REALLY need to go back over that content again!
Meanwhile I've spent all today getting halfway through The Brave Shall Heed The Call and I love it. Especially how the author is using MTMTE/exRiD continuity stuff to fill in gaps.
I KNOW, RIGHT? Using Pharma and the other medics was an amazing touch for fleshing out Cybertron, and bringing in the Camiens is a great way to nudge the plot forward! And there are totally spots where I assumed the author was using other continuities to bulk things out, but there are a few really great touches that legit come from TFA supplementary material that I never knew about.
It is so fucking weird how certain characters keep calling Optimus 'little' in this, given that in TFA he's second only to Bulkhead in size in the main characters. ...then again, said characters are primarily Megatron and Strika, who are both huge.
It's so funny comparing the autobots and decepticons in tfa, because whenever I see one group on their own, my brain recalibrates for who's small, who's big, etc. But then I look at them TOGETHER and the autobots are sooooo small in comparison, and it's hilarious! I'm used to thinking of Optimus as the big guy, but then he comes up to like... Megatron's bellybutton. I LOVE it though, I live for those kind of size differences!
SO SMALL, OH MY GOD! I don't think we ever get a solid frame of reference, but I'm pretty sure he comes up to like... her crotch :3c
Oh so it was from Dark Cybertron! That was the only place I hadn't looked. About the size difference of Megatron: That's...really funny, They must of felt that he'd be more threatening if he was twice as tall as the Autobot leader. I'm going to have to check out TFA after we finish up with Prime, the chins are a little offputing though. I think Megs gets that big in the comic for Chaos Theory-oh, I don't think I talked about that here. Spoiler: Rodimus/Cy things leading up to Chaos Theory sort of I really wanted to watch what happened when Roddy bonded with the Matrix, so I read through all of his appearences in random transformer comics up through chaos theory. I used the wiki to guide me through the daisy chain of relevent issues of 'Transformers'(2011). Issue 13: First off, Roddy decided to just steal the Matrix back from Starscream. By himself. With no real plan. It'll all just work out! He get's surprisingly far with only his wits and Ultra Magnus' weapons locker to guide him. I love Rodimus so much, he was perfect. Yes Rodimus, just SHOOT THE MATRIX WHILE STARSCREAM IS HOLDING IT THATS SUCH A GOOD IDEA. Luckily it electrocuted screamer instead of shattering into a thousand pieces. He almost made it out, but Megs bitch slapped him into space at the last minute. Rodimus' attitude toward Megs in MTMTE took on a whole new dimension for me. Issue 19 Next up, Rodimus crashes onto an alien world. The Matrix bonds to him while he's unconscious in order to keep him alive (after megs blew a gaping hole in his chest). That seemed..really anticlimatic? I didn't even think that's what was happening here until Optimus mentioned it in Chaos Theory. He ends up leaving the planet with Wheelie and two organic ogre guys. The art was pretty forgettable, poor Roddy looks like a grizzled man in his mid 40s. issue 20 Roddy, Wheelie and the ogre guy end up flying back to Cybertron. They find Ironhide and co. Bob is precious, Isn't he on the Lost Light? If so, why hasn't he had his own storyline? These questions may never be answered. They sort of graze the building plotline with Galvatron and his undead Scourge clone army and then blast off for earth! Issue 21: Roddy returns from his Hero's Journey and bequeaths the Matrix unto Optimus all set to the tune of this overwrought biblical narration. IDK, maybe if I hadn't skipped around I could have gotten into the tone? I missed the issue where Megatron was captured. I just couldn't take it seriously, I kept giggling. I would have rather heard them talk to each other. Sidequest, Heart of Darkness: In search of Cyclonus' backstory, I thought I'd take a look at this mini series. I loved it when Galvatron & Co were briefly introduced in All Hail Megatron and a whole mini series that focused on their plotline was too tempting to pass up. I just..couldn't do it. The writing was...mediocre but ok in parts, the art was terrible. It was the exact opposite of a style that I'd want to spend any time looking at. Chaos Theory: BOY HOWDY DOES THAT LOOK FAMILIAR. Whirl looks so cute when he's starting a 4 million year war. Drift is chilling out in some group shots (I think that's Drift), he's standing close to Rodimus so maybe they're friends at this point? It was so nice to get back to writing that had actual jokes, and side characters being spontaneous in ways that don't involve combat. Everyone gathers around a window to see what might be their first glimpse of Megatron, just that simple act gives life to those background characters. The writing in this issue is stellar, I promise I will never take James Roberts for granted again! I loved Optimus and Megs long conversation, I loved giant megs just leaning back in his seat with his legs crossed like he didn't have a care in the world. I love that Rodimus got really worried that Optimus was being too chummy with their prisoner (please tell me that Rodimus' suspicions about Mags and Megs in the Christmas special were a callback to Chaos Theory, that would be great!). The contrast between God-jesus optimus from the last issue and this one is so perfect- public persona vs private individual in stark contrast between two comics written by two different people. When he and Megs start listing all the ways they've been blown up/dismemeber almost died by the other's hand.. It's so...god, friendly and familiar? In a strange way? When he lost control and electrocuted Megatron though, and he looks straight at Rodimus. It's such an awful moment, what, is he blaming Rodimus for making him take a hardline against Megatron? Don't do that to Rodimus, Optimus, he takes what you do and say to heart. THOSE TWO ISSUES WERE SO GOOD. Optimus didn't even let the death of his two officers and everything else going to shit around him crush his optimism. He still made that speech to the Senate. I love that it was Shockwave of all people who kept Orion from an early grave. AAAAAAA *screams into pillow* WEIRD HEADCANON: While Megatron was trapped in gun form, Starscream, at some point, probably carried him around in some specially made golden holister-complete with lifesupport system. Because starscream would never pass up the opportunity to have Lord Megatron be his personal accessory.
I just read 'Spotlight: Megatron' for the first time. This was hands down the worst I've ever seen Megatron treat Starscream. He straight up told Starscream that he was doing him a favor by beating him almost to the point of death. Megs was upset when Starscream wasn't fighting back at first, so he tormented him until he did. I'm glad that it was depicted so starkly and awful though. It's a good reference point for why Starscream is such an ruthless, distrustful and insecure person. It's hard to reconcile this Megatron and Lost Light's Megatron.
