Spoiler: LL3 Me @ council: MMMM, WHY YOU ALWAYS LYING Like seriously that's not what Rung turns into. They had that thing made and painted or something to justify destroying the resistance. Also, Anode! I love Anode!
Spoiler: LL3 Wait, they're probably not lying. I am doubtful about the size of that thing being Rung, tho. But Rung probably IS a key. Keys only have a function in the context of a lock, after all! Without a lock, a key is just... ornamental.
Spoiler: Lost Light 3 Didn't feel like this one was as good as usual? I mean there's a lot of new information but it doesn't seem like it has the usual emotional weight. And everything seems kind of suspicious? Like 9 of 12 quit the council but was allowed to keep running his city and fact running it as a sanctuary city in a totalitarian theocratic state that routinely commits genocide on its own citizens, but they didn't take action against him? The Nova Prime and the spark crystals bit sounds similar but not quite the same to cold construction - I think that if cold constructed bots didn't have normal sparks that would have been mentioned beforehand, and well, we've seen Rungs alt mode and it's not a tank. I guess it could conceivably be a drill bit, but that doesn't really feel right? There have been all these hints since the beginning of the comic that he's special in some way, but that he can break down a wall that doesn't even exist in the main universe doesn't really seem to live up to that. These could be just things that happened differently in the functionist universe, or it could be a retcon, although if it is it feels unusually clumsy. But this is a comic where one of the key phrases is You are being deceived and I have a feeling that we are not getting the whole truth here The Anode revelations are pretty cool though! I thought Lug knew about her function after the conversation in the last issue though?
Spoiler wait, I thought the meaning was that nova prime was doing the exact same cold construction, they just didn't use the same phrase? Not that it was a similar but not the same process. Also how do you even get on the council. Are they born as councillors?
@aetherGeologist Spoiler: ll3 The implication to me is that Anode lied to Lug about her function. thus Lug looking like she just got punched in the gut.
Spoiler The cold-constructed sparks being stored as photonic crystals was actually mentioned back in MTMTE 47 when Getaway was describing his history, so it's not completely new. In fact, that's the in-universe impetus for the term "cold constructed". Natural sparks come from hot-spots, cold-constructed sparks are frozen into photonic crystals until a body is built.
Spoiler that could be the case! But from the way 9 of 12 described it it sounds like cold constructed bots in the functionist verse don't have proper sparks, when this doesn't seem to have been the case in the story beforehand. (I mean, he's probably also a bigot about it - we know that he was still an active member of the council after the ccs were all killed, so that can't of been his breaking point)
Spoiler thanks. I think missed/forgot about that bit. Rest of my post still stands about being really suspicious of everything in this issue though
Spoiler I swear I've seen at least one fic that did exactly that - cold constructed bots were treated as a lower class/enslaved as half-starved drones rather than sentient beings because of the method of construction. The sparks are probably made the same way, but because they weren't 'born' they're not considered 'real,' regardless, under strict Functionist thought Note - I say all this without having actually read 3 for context, because spoilers mean nothing to me
I am at my computer reading this for a change, so... LIVEBLOG! Spoiler: LL03 !!!!!!!!! CYCLONUS GAVE WHIRL HIS PHONE NUMBER aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa the ot3 is canon now i don't make the rules Ten is communicating and being heard! GOOD FOR YOU, SWERVE! Also another large friend, I need more large friends, give me all the large friends in the world omg whirl i love you And nightbeat is doing forensics on flowers!!! Oh my god, what did I ever do to deserve this series! I love him! So much!!!!!! *clutches dozens of giant robots to my bosom* More kaput! Yes! Good! "Kaput the unicycle." "I worked with him on Kimia before he disappeared. Nice guy. Nice wheel." JRO's writing makes me so happy, I just. I have no words for how much I enjoy this comic. HA, nightbeat got ninja'd twice. I love it, I love it "Because me, you're much better company when you're occupied" HAAAAAAA, i laughed out loud, I love you two so much new ship eyyyy and also #identifiable Brainstorm holding his finials when he's stressed and/or thinking I love it I love it more of this sort of thing. This artist has begun to slightly redeem themself in my eyes. And the squeal :3c I knew it was coming, but just. Brainstorm, my darling, my son, I love you Oh dear, Rodimus, if you're calling Nightbeat sensible, you must be more rattled than you seemed XD NIGHTBEAT SQUEALING TOO, this. I am so happy. It has been a long, draining day, and I am grinning so wide my cheeks ache. Brainstorm's smiley eyes and Nightbeat driving on the wall, the happiness just doesn't stop from happening Hahaha, aww, Rodimus used to call any science he couldn't understand magic, and now when Brainstorm suggests that it's magic, he goes with the science he can't understand #characterdevelopment Ohhhh, the revolutionaries are calling their refuge city cyberutopia :( Now I am sad but in a happy give-me-more way "First the judges came for the intellectuals. Then they came for the experts." So, lessee. I'd say... Brainstorm and Nightbeat are right out. Megatron and Terminus too. Cyclonus maybe. (it's hard to distinguish the guys who can do a fite from the philosophical types, but they all seem dangerous to the functionist philosophy). Ratchet serves a useful function, but he's enough of an outspoken, opinionated curmudgeon that I bet the government would decide they don't need this particular medic. Drift is doing a religion, I bet that's no good. I am sure they would find an excuse to off Whirl, cause ain't no way in hell he's going to cooperate. Swerve might even count as an 'expert' under these conditions, and he is irrepressible and opinionated, which ain't good. Ultra Magnus... not sure. He does like structure, but he has a strong internal sense of justice, as long as he can find his footing. Annnnd I forget where I was going with this but my attention span is gone Also, Megatron is totally not going to abandon these people. "get a ship and get to the necrobot's planet" haha right SURE that is definitely going to happen OOOOOOOOOOOOOH ROGUE COUNCILMEMBER WHO IS THIS AAAAAAAA Oh Oh my god KILLMASTER!!!! Oh my shit, Whirl, you said you stuck a (flaming?) object up his [cut off]. Is that perchance the flaming(ish) object he is holding right this moment? I haven't read past this first panel, but I already want you two to be bffs "Don't disrespect my nemesis. You belittle him, you belittle me." Aaah, TEN D: But yee, more displacement weapons! #CONTINUITY the ot3 oooooh the eye cameras. I never guessed it was a protest thing! But these are robots, and also, Kaon. I bet they aren't blind-blind. Dark JRO, tell me about the forbidden robot sensory suites !!!!!!!!!!! WAT ANODE? Hahaha, Rewind not being confident in defenses against obsolescence chips. CLASSIC XD OuO COLD CONSTRUCTION AS BLASPHEMY I love this I love it so much it is everything I could have hoped for Oooooh, nine-of-twelve is opposed to artificial conception, and defected from the council because of that, but it also puts him in opposition with at least a few of the bots who have come to visit (and probably his own citizens, tbh) (also! sincerely-held functionist religious beliefs! THIS IS EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE HOPED FOR!) Hahahaha, oh my god, so six of twelve has the matrix.... and a matrix-shaped head? That's AMAZING. #tragicallybeautiful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A BLACKSMITH!!!!!!! Ohhhh. Nightbeat is asking for help with his grief? :( Ow. Ow ow ow. I am in pain. FUCK. Also, #relatable Velocity was performing arts. And now she's a doctor. I wonder whoooooooooooo could have inspired her ouo PROTOFORM! BABY! PROTOFORM BABY! HOLY FUCK, HOLY FUCKBALLS, SOMEBODY CALL WHIRL RIGHT AWAY! Loaded history gimme gimme GIMME Also, awww, Lug :C Baby, I don't want you to be sad :((((((((((((((( Oh my GOD, they call each other nemeses I mean, cywhirl forever, but I need more of this pitchrom posthaste O_O Holy shit, dude Did... did Tailgate asplode? I am so concerned that I am not even mustering a proper emotional reaction (but if this weapon works in a consistent way, swerve and ten are a ROAD TRIP together) (swerve is also away from any further doses of grief suppressant) Oooooh. "We've taken him apart. Put him back together again." And also that thing about 'the same thing you've done every day for millions of years: torture me'. I need more of this asap I want laser pointer dude's alt mode to have a practical application at some point? what practical application? we just don't know. but i want it Six-of-twelve looks like he's wearing a knit beanie on top of his matrix head ..........Rung is a drill HUH (I feel like there's something to be said about the light this casts on megarung shipping with a miner and a drill, but I am too tired to articulate it right now) But seriously, what the heckity heck is up with that drill bit I am sure things will be explained, but I am extremely confused right now. (also I wonder if the crowd who went through the teleporty thing was chosen partially based on who would be able to cope without mood suppressants)
Spoiler: LL03 Hm. Luna I has engines. I wonnnnnder if Luna II does too OuO Quick! Fly the MOON back to the necrobot's planet! Plus, they don't have any spaceships at hand, sooooooo.... I mean......... (take luna II all the way back to the main universe! what could go wrong? Pilot a moon to cyberutopia! That's no space station, that's a moon!)
But anyways Spoiler Yeah those aren't the same thing at all! And there's all kinds of stuff on the drill that should have had kibble - the treads, the wheel, the drill bit - and of course it's way bigger than rung is.
@spockandawe Spoiler: LL 3 We've seen Rung's alt, and it kinda looks like the drill, but also... not? Even aside from the size. And just 'drilling through the wall' doesn't sound very... key-like? And if Rung was a drill wouldn't he have obvious anatomical similarities to mining drills that people would pick up on when they're vivisecting him over and over? Theory: They figured out his alt-mode, but it doesn't reinforce what they want to reinforce. This whole narrative they're pushing is them altering the information to demoralize the masses. Also: justifies just drilling the fuck into a holy place. However, I do think the idea of Rung turning into some sort of key fits all the information we've been given, and would explain why his alt-mode is so esoteric and unclassifiable. Don't keys not really have a function without being paired with a lock? Extrapolation of alternate timeline stuff: when the functionalists were trying to 'diagnose' Rung in the main timeline, he probably got vivisected at least once. This may or may not have been done in a manner that would leave him awake, since the functionalists DID have less power. Personal opinion: I kinda agree about making coldcons being horrible, but not because coldcons are abominations or anything like that. Leeching off power from the matrix to create and then capture spark data seems kinda like messing with forces you don't completely understand, and being able to decide what bodies to stick people in, especially when there's very much of a narrative on what bodies are 'good' bodies, and what bodies make you not a person. I'm specifically thinking of the fact that Ravage is confirmed to be coldcon, worked for the Senate, and was a beastformer. Someone put him into a beastformer body on purpose, the body of someone who was Not A Person, and it's hard for me to look at it and not think that was an abusive attempt at control, making him more of a useful, dependent pet than anyone high society would ever consider a person. So with that in mind, I could definitely see valid objections to cold construction that aren't rooted in 'coldcons aren't people', the same way there's ethical debate about human cloning and gene modification of human embryos. It's pretty clear that Nine-of-Twelve is some level of bigoted against the cold-constructed, but he's also not barring them from sanctuary in his city, so there's SOME nuance to it.
Dumb thing: the insignas on the guards shoulders looks like Aegislash in Defense Form. I cannot unsee.
Spoiler: LL 3 I really want them to bring back fem-Rung, which is unlikely, but what if that wasn't Rung at all, just a stand-in? or maybe just fantastic horrible alt-mode switching surgery.
Spoiler: LL03 Oh, I totally get that about the cold construction! I do give a little credit to the inventors, because natural births stopped happening and it was holy shit how do preserve the species, but it got totally exploited even before the war, and the MTO situation was horrifying. It's nine-of-twelve describing it specifically as blasphemy that really gets me OuO over it. That's such a loaded term, and JRO is a really nuanced writer, so that communicates a lot of... depth of passion? I have used up all my thoughtful words for the day, sorry XD It's kind of like the whole christian 'love the sinner, hate the sin' dealie, but without the LOVE being pushed so much (not that it always works out in real life either), so if it isn't love, how much is it... accept the sinner? Tolerate the sinner? and I'm just way curious to dig into nine-of-twelve's personal thoughts, really dig into his religious philosophy, because this seems like it would have been a hard thing to reconcile in his own mind. With some wistful sadness that we probably don't have time to linger on him too much in canon. Ahhhh u_u nine-of-twelve/anode council pile with someone who abandons/betrays/leaves them a la the trine or prowl and the constructicons A drill would be very distinctive on the inside, and he... doesn't have wheels or treads or anything, so he'd be, like. A handheld drill. I guess. But he seems a lil bit large to be handheld the way he's being shown to us there. Plus that drill bit is making me suspicious.gif, because it is one ugly-ass drill bit. Is it too hard to be manufactured pretty? Well then how did they get it sized to fit in Rung in the first place? If it is literally the only material that can get through to Vector Sigma, why was it so conveniently pre-shaped? Hrrnnghhghh. My current working theory is that the council decided Rung was a one-of-a-kind blank slate that they could repurpose (maybe Primus gave them this puzzle so they could prove themselves worthy or something? idk. but if a janitor bot was the one to finally solve the problem, I'm guessing the core of it is philosophically deceptively uncomplicated, not just WELP, GUESS HE'S A DRILL. Alsooooooooooo Cyclonus and (i think) Rodimus have been inside Vector Sigma. Too lazy to look up the others, but. This already happened. I am le confus about the past, my mind is racing about how that could affect the future (get cyclonus on a not-dead-but-not-his cybertron again!), and I don't know what's being changed from past canon and what's going to be explained by future developments. But I get antsy this way about any unfinished creative work, so it's not a big deal, haha
Spoiler: LL 3 I am very worried about Lug bc timesickness can cause hallucinations and Velocity angrily cuts in that Anode is delaying as soon as Anode asks about Lug.
Spoiler: LL03 Lug was secretly Killmaster this whole time? :D Alternate suggestion if Lug isn't real-real that isn't as upsetting as her being unreal: she could have something to do with that crystallized protoform and the blacksmithing business. We still don't know what's up with Anode's history, but it seems to have a lot to do with sparks and souls, so even if something is Up with Lug, I think there are still a good number of not-upsetting ways it could be resolved.
@spockandawe Spoiler: LL 3 This is maybe a dumb and selfish request but could you maybe draw Lug or put some writing with her on your to-do docket? I think that would actually help. Good thought about the protoform, tho.
