Spoiler: Getaway babble Getaway is so delightfully, deliciously awful and I love his diabolical cat face. He's a manipulator who is really good at finding people's soft, squishy parts, who's learned to excel at vicious mind games and has learned that he's rewarded for it as part of his function in the war, and he can use that to play people like he did Tailgate, or to jab them right where it hurts for his own personal satisfaction. I think he lashes out at Whirl with that kind of deliberate cruelty not just because he's a vicious, cruel asshole, but also because he sees Whirl as betraying that 'all or nothing' loyalty to the cause. The two motives coincide, and it gives him the fiery kick of vindication right in his spark, with none of the guilt. 'Second thoughts about taking down Megatron? You deserve to be kicked while you're down and verbally eviscerated, even if you won't remember it happening, you pathetic one-eyed freak' When I was writing my fic, I kind of viewed him as a less influential, even more scathing, black-and-white-thinking-driven Prowl - both of them are fucked up to the core and don't know how to operate without the context of an on-going, perpetual war (though I don't know that I've ever seen Prowl being as deliberately, personally cruel to anyone as Getaway was to Whirl). Of course it's about more than Megatron - Getaway's trying to right what he sees as wrong, a betrayal on the part of Autobot high command, and he gets to show off while doing it. He didn't have to answer the Rod Squad's hail when they called from Censerre's planet; he did it to show off personally, to demonstrate to them that (some of) the rest of the crew are still loyal to his definition of what's right, and to grind the lesson home, all at the same time - this is what happens to traitors who consort with the original Decepticon He does strike me as the type to sacrifice himself - most likely to spite someone, with no other options left to him, and only if he can't get away [/pun intended/] to fight another day. His first thought when he was born was of self-preservation. What good is a spec ops agent if he's dead? Why attack Megatron directly himself and possible die/get arrested when he can so easily manipulate other people to do the dirty work, and stay in the good graces of the other Autobots? He definitely makes choices to be cruel, but I don't think we know enough of his motives to say that all of his spoken motives and excuses are lies or justifications. He can be genuinely devoted to his perception of the Autobot cause and a massively cruel, vindictive douchebag who targets people to punish them because he can at the same time; the two aren't necessarily exclusive. They just combine into a toxic, self-reinforcing mess and I love it And also - by the time Megatron was on board, Getaway already had plans in the works to get rid of Rodimus and his support, too, which requires considerably more effort and convoluted planning than just having Whirl shoot them all and using the nudge-gun to wipe away the evidence My real question is - what happened after he ran away from the Corcapsia Incursion? What made him stoprunning? How kindly did the Autobots take to MTO soldiers going AWOL in the middle of a fight - or did they just stamp a barcode on him, and assume he was dead along with all the other prematurely grown kids out there on the field? What happened when he turned out to be not-dead - did he have to get away from punishment, and in the process discover he had a knack for escape artist shenanigans? How did he run into the Diplomatic Corps, as run by Prowl? So many questions
I READ RODDY'S SPOTLIGHT AND I AM NOT OKAY Spoiler: spotlight: hotrod does dealer come back and get punched in the face? Because I wanna see him get punched in the face. how dare you betray his tiny trust For real though. When I started MTMTE I was prepared to grudgingly put up with yet another Loud Annoying Guy Who Everyone Likes, but here I am. Having feelings about this precious optimistic loyal darling. He's trying so hard and I kinda just wanna hug him.
Read spotlight: dealer!! :DDDDDDD eta: and rodimus tries so hard, he's so precious and i never expected to love him like this
Spoiler: spotlight: blaster i have no idea when spotlight: blaster takes place, but getaway shows up in it! he's just a bot in a trench, though. so he was doing regular fighty stuff for a while i guess!
My contrast that I draw between them is that while they're both really willing to use people, Getaway just... doesn't seem to care about them, as such. I think that Prowl cares a lot, but holds the people he cares about to impossibly high standards, and when they don't measure up, it helps him justify taking more and more morally questionable actions, and is one big ugly spiral. He keeps hurting over it because he cares, but when he hurts, he reacts by making it less and less possible for people to live up to what he demands from them. I find Prowl's situation a lot more tragic as a result, but the circumstances behind Getaway's birth are pretty fucking tragic too (even being named for that trauma, holy shit), but he reacted to that by like... the way he doesn't genuinely connect to others makes it harder for people to hurt him, even while it sets him up to take some really sketchy actions without any sort of remorse. Which he does. He and Prowl have arrived at a pretty similar point from really different directions, and they both make me super sad :(
The cybertronian race being one that has a finite population that is decreasing with every issue is one of my favorite terrible things about the IDW comics because of the way that everyone just...accepts it. Like yeah, our species is dying out, there are no more sparks left. Makes keeping records convenient and simple, right? Luna 1 might have been able to reverse that decline (I still want to know what the heck was up with that hot spot), but...I mean, what would even happen to newborns in this new system? Can the Cybertronian species ever grow again? I think there's definitely a Primus element. The hot spots seem to have started decreasing in frequency after Nova Prime (genocidal imperialist lunatic that he was) came to power, and one of the last ones, maybe the last one, was shaped like the hand of god pressing into the planet...there's definitely something up with the Cybertronian pantheon in this 'verse.
Oh, and wrt MTOs going MIA (oh god so many acronyms): The stores of frozen sparks that were used to make cold constructed soldiers were finite. I don't know exaaaaactly how long they lasted, but sometime around issue 30, someone makes reference to 'they discovered a hidden stash and thawed them out,' so even if Getaway got in trouble for that, soldiers were still a somewhat-limited resource. I think there were definitely lots of them at first, if there was a ten minute life expectancy, but especially depending on when Corcapsia happened, high command might have been aware that they couldn't just go throwing soldiers away because a newborn barely-awake soldier wasn't quite up to snuff at first.
A popular headcanon is to merge Prime Optimus backstory with IDW and say that Orion Pax was a archivist befor the functionalist went nope boy you are a cop now, who cares if it slowly kills you inside. I think it's the cop part why THIS Optimus is like he is. G1 was a dockworker, Primes was an archivist, IDW was a cop.
Also, since I was thinking about it: this is a song that could ppppprobably be applied to pretty much anyone in MTMTE, but by god if it doesn't ring Chromedome+addiction to mnemosurgery so fucking hard for me. Spoiler: lyrics Yeah, so, um... wait a second - Yeah, so, um... wait a second - Yeah, so, um... wait a second - Yeah, so, um... wait a second - Sold your liver but you're still feeling the red Sold my feelings now I'm hanging by a thread Bad And it's creeping it's way through my windows And it's slithering under my door And it's in my peripheral vision And it's burrowing up under my floor And it's whispering into my eardrums And it's telling me that I want more But I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now And that eureka moment hits you like a cop car And you wake up just head and shoulders in a glass jar You clear your throat you raise your eyebrow but you don't say There's something wrong but it's okay if we're still getting paid Yeah you're ravenous you're champing at the bit Just a cog next to a cog next to a pit I would burn to break away and rest my ears No more lightning, no more solace in arrears Bad And it's creeping it's way through my windows And it's slithering under my door And it's in my peripheral vision And it's burrowing up under my floor And it's whispering into my eardrums And it's telling me that I want more But I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now And that eureka moment hits you like a cop car And you wake up just head and shoulders in a glass jar You clear your throat you raise your eyebrow but you don't say There's something wrong but it's okay if we're still getting paid But I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now I'm coming alive I'm happening now And that eureka moment hits you like a cop car And you wake up just head and shoulders in a glass jar You clear your throat you raise your eyebrow but you don't say There's something wrong but it's okay if we're still getting paid But I'm coming alive Cough cough
well if we're sharing character songs i will give you 3 guesses which character I have a song for!! i am nothing if not predictable and also devoted to this fucking bird robot Spoiler: lyrics There's a God-awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart, Yeah, it's got a lot to do with haven't finished what I started; And at any second now I think it all might fall apart, 'Cause there's a God-awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart, yeah. There's a devil in my brain with a pitchfork and a flame, Yeah, he likes to poke around and he likes to tell me things And whenever I begin to feel like I might be deranged I remember there's a little shitty devil in my brain, yeah. Oh, I wonder what it's like to Be the type who doesn't burn, Yeah the kind who fights the good fight Not the kind you find Fisti-fucking-cuffing in the dirt. There's a God-awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart And I can't seem to change my attitude but I can change my shirt, 'Cause you know, I actually at times I can be a good start, But not today, There's still a God-awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart. Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, In my heart, Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, Oh, yeah, Who-who-who-who Oh, no, Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah.
Mashes Amanda Palmer songs on everyone, but also this is so fucking Rodimus it hurts. I'm gay for this robot in particular. Spoiler: lyrics Now I lay me down to sleep Do you wanna dance? Do you wanna fight? Do you wanna get drunk and stay the night? No regrets Noblesse oblige Do you wanna dance? Do you wanna fight? Do you wanna get drunk and stay the night? Do you wanna smoke till our throats are sore? Make out and then talk and then make out some more? Do you wanna dance? Do you wanna fight? Do you wanna get drunk and stay the night? Do you wanna know all the things I do When I'm all alone and thinking about you? Do you wanna? Do you wanna? Do you wanna? Do you wanna? Do you, do you, do you, do you Do you, do you, do you, do you? Do you wanna go back home? Your animals are all alone Oh, there's a chicken waiting on the stove And your cousin left his DVD of swinging in the '70s Or do you wanna go back home Check your messages and charge your phone? Oh, are you really sure You wanna go When you could Do it with a rock star? Do it with a rock star Wait, wait, wait I'll be fine in a minute Wait, wait, wait I'll be fine in a minute Fine in a minute I don't want your body Just a part to listen to INXS All the practice in the world Won't get me good at loneliness-ness Loneliless-ness Loneliness-less Ness-less-ness-less Do you wanna dance? Do you wanna fight? Do you wanna get drunk and stay the night? Do you wanna see all my cavities? Talk about the crisis in the Middle East? Do you wanna get really terrified? Ice caps are all melting, and we're gonna die Do you wanna cry? I can make you cry Do you wanna hit me, baby, one more time? Do you wanna? Do you wanna? Do you wanna? Do you wanna? Do you, do you, do you, do you Do you, do you, do you, do you Do you wanna go back home? Your animals are all alone Oh, there's a chicken waiting on the stove And your cousin left his DVD of swinging in the '70s Or do you wanna go back home Check your messages and charge your phone? Oh, are you really sure You wanna go When you could Do it with a rock star? Do it with a rock star Wait, wait, wait I'll be fine in a minute Wait, wait, wait I'll be fine in a minute (Do you wanna go back home?) Wait, wait, wait I'll be fine in a minute (Do you wanna go back home?) Wait wait wait I'll be fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute Fine in a minute okay that's the last one i promise otherwise i'll be here all night mashing songs on these horrible robot children edit: BECAUSE I'M A FILTHY FUCKIGN LIAR HERE'S THE FIRST COUPLE SONGS THAT CAME TO MIND FOR WHIRL Spoiler: lyrics They've been circling They've been circling Since the day they were born It's disturbing How they're circling Fifty feet from the pond Pretty often Pretty often I don't want to be told It's a problem It's a problem It's a problem I know And I won't keep what I can't catch in my bare hands without a net It's hard enough to walk on grass so conscious of the consequences They've been jerking They've been jerking In a pail by the dock I know that oxygen might Make them blossom and die But I'm not going to talk Feed them details Feed them emails They'll eventually grow But it's not working It's not working Not as far as I know And killing things is not so hard it's hurting that's the hardest part And when the wizard gets to me I'm asking for a smaller heart And I got you I thought that I got you now I'll ruin it all Feeling helpless Acting selfish Being human and all And they're jumping And they're jumping But they'll never get out Just keep touring Just keep on ignoring Be a good little trout And the butcher stops and winds his watch and lays their lives down on the block He raises up his hatchet and the big hand strikes a compromise Wait, we'll trade you Wait Please just one more day And then we'll go with no complaining No complaining No complaining No complaining Stop Come And they're cutting And they're cutting And I think that I know And they're gutting And they're gutting And I think that I know And it's beating Look, it's beating And I don't want to know And it's beating Look, it's still beating God, I don't want to know And killing things is not so hard It's hurting that's the hardest part And when the wizard gets to me I'm asking for a smaller heart And if he tells me "no" I'll hold my breath until I hit the floor Eventually I'm know I'm doomed To get what I am asking for Now my heart is exactly the size Of a six-sided die cut in half Made of ruby red stained glass Can I knock you unconscious as long as I promise I'll love you and I'll make you laugh? Now my heart is exactly the size Of a six-sided die cut in half Made of ruby red stained glass Can I knock you unconscious as long as I promise I'll love you and I'll make you laugh? Spoiler: lyrics My friend has problems with winter and autumn They give him prescriptions, They shine bright lights on him They say it's genetic, They say he can't help it They say you can catch it But sometimes you're born with it My friend has blight he gets shakes in the night And they say there is no way That they could have caught it in Time takes its toll on him, it is traditional It is inherited predisposition All day I've been wondering What is inside of me, Who can I blame for it? I say It runs in the family, this famine that carries me To such great lengths To open my legs Up to anyone who'll have me It runs in the family, I come by it honestly Do what you want 'Cause who knows It might fill me up [echoes] Fill me up [echoes] My friend's depressed, She's a wreck, she's a mess They've done all sorts of tests and They guess it has something to do With her grandmother's grandfather's grandmother Civil war soldiers who Badly infected her My friend has maladies, rickets, and allergies That she dates back to the 17th century Somehow she manages, in her misery - Strips in the city And shares all her best tricks with Me? Well, I'm well. Well, I mean I'm in hell. Well, I still have my health (At least that's what they tell me) If wellness is this, what in hell's name is sickness? But business is business! And business Runs in the family, we tend to bruise easily Bad in the blood, I'm telling you 'cause I just want you to know me Know me and my family We're wonderful folks but Don't get too close to me 'Cause you might knock me up [echoes] Knock me up [echoes] Mary have mercy. Now look what I've done But don't blame me because I can't help where I come from And running is something that we've always done Well and mostly I can't even tell what I'm running from Run from their pity From responsibility Run from the country And run from the city I can run from the law I can run from myself I can run for my life I can run into debt I can run from it all I can run till I'm gone I can run for the office And run from the 'cause I can run using every Last ounce of energy I cannot I cannot I cannot Run from my family They're hiding inside me Corpses on ice Come in if you'd like But just don't tell my family They'd never forgive me They say that I'm crazy But they would say anything If it would shut me up Shut me up Shut me up [echoes] Shut me up [echoes]
Oh no, I'm sorry in advance, I tried to control myself and it's already gotten out of hand. I don't have anything even resembling self-control when it comes to music, sorry :I I'm actually in the middle of sorting my entire itunes into playlists for my faves (I'm up to G), but I put some of my favorites in a tag on my tumblr as I go, and here's just a few of those PHARMA (funny): (this song cracks me the fuck up, and imagining Pharma acting like in this video is just fantastic. I want Pharma as a disney princess in his own musical animated feature) Spoiler You're Always Welcome At Our House Well, a man came to our house Our house Our house A man came to our our house To sell some brooms. So we asked him to come in, And we hit him with a hammer, And we hid him in the closet In my father's room. But you're always welcome at our house Any time of the day. Yes, You're always welcome at our house, And we hope you will stay. Then a lady came to our house Our house Our house A lady came to find out why I wasn't in school. So we asked her to come in, And we gave her some poisoned lemonade, And hid her in the freezer where it's nice and cool. But you're always welcome in our house. Any time of the day. Yes, You're always welcome at our house, And we hope you will stay. Then a kid came into our yard Our yard Our yard A kid came into our yard to get his ball. We asked him to come in, And we took in the basement, And we sealed him up inside the basement wall. But you're always welcome in our house. Any time of the day. Yes, You're always welcome at our house, And we hope you will stay. So when you come to our house Our house Our house When you come to our house, We'll have some fun. We'll ask you to come in, And we'll take you in the kitchen, And we'll put you in the oven until you're done. But you're always welcome in our house. Any time of the day. Yes, You're always welcome at our house, And we hope you will stay. And we know you will stay. REWIND (serious): (one of my favorite traditional songs, even though this is a more industrial cover, and so great for Rewind) Spoiler I Am Stretched On Your Grave I am stretched on your grave And I'll lie there forever If your hands were in mine I'd be sure we'd not sever My apple tree, my brightness, It's time we were together For I smell of the Earth And I'm worn by the weather. When my family thinks That I'm safely in my bed From morn until night I am stretched at your head Calling out to the air With tears both hot and wild For the loss of a girl I loved as a child. Do you remember the night The night when we were lost In the shade of the blackthorn And the chill of the frost? Oh, and thanks be to Jesus We did what was right And your maidenhead still Is your pillar of light. I am stretched on your grave And I'll lie there forever If your hands were in mine I'd be sure we'd not sever Oh, the priests and the friars They approach me in dread For I love you still My wife, and you're dead I still will be your shelter Through rain and through storm And with you in your cold grave I cannot sleep warm So I am stretched on your grave And I'll lie there forever If your hands were in mine I'd be sure we'd not sever My apple tree, my brightness, It's time we were together For I smell of the Earth And I'm worn by the weather. So I am stretched on your grave And I'll lie there forever If your hands were in mine I'd be sure we'd not sever TAILGATE (serious): (this is one of the matches I'm most proud of) Spoiler The Clockyard There was a young boy in a clock yard Building himself from the pieces he found Screwing on what's been left on the ground Hoping to finish enough one day to leave The years flew by and some gears fell off Fears and rust and tears he doffed And bravely searched, while parts he scoffed, but soon he found-- There was a young man in a clock yard Building himself from the pieces he found Screwing on what's been left on the ground Hoping to finish enough one day to leave The years flew by and some gears fell off Fears and rust and tears he doffed And bravely searched, while parts he scoffed, but soon he found-- There was a grown man in a clock yard Building himself from the pieces he found Screwing on what's been left on the ground Hoping to finish enough one day to lead He thought to himself, "If I wait too long To find the pieces I need, then my chance might be gone What I need might be outside the gate But I will never know, if I continue to wait." And then he had a dream: An old man cried in a clock yard, Giving up on the scrap that he found on the ground, "I can't build myself from this scrap all around!" The man woke up and said, "I must leave. I must leave. I must leave. I must leave." RODIMUS (flawless): (the crowning jewel of my entire playlist project :') I am still so pleased about this.)
Oh we're sharing character songs? Let me just imagine Cyclonus singing this one to Tailgate you will know which scene I'm talking about Spoiler: lyrics Now your bowl is empty And your feet are cold And your body cannot stop rocking I know It hurts to let go Since the day we found you You have been our friend And your voice still echoes in the hallways of this house But now It's the end We will be with you When you're leaving We will be with you When you go We will be with you And hold you till you're quiet It hurts to let you go We will be with you We will be with you We will be with you You will stay with us
Spoiler: Continued babble It kills me, how even with their population dwindling and probably literally numbered - there's still this depressing atmosphere where yeah, people are expendable, even if you don't say it out loud, and both sides are guilty of it. Cold constructing itself was a symptom of functionist thinking, and MTOs being pushed out throughout the war sealed it into the common subconscious. I definitely agree that Tailgate is probably more normal in terms of attitude toward war/death and overall maturation rate for his age in robot alien terms than literally anyone else on the ship. Getaway, on the other hand, doesn't have any context for anything but expendability, and it's shaped his entire world view so that he escapes ("saves" himself) like it's an art form. How do you deal with a world where even the people who created you were totally alright with tossing you in the middle of a warzone? Where if you got scared and tried to escape, even with nothing else downloaded into your brain except how to fight, they just dusted you off and funneled you right back into the next warzone? God, the futility of it all...The older Cybertronians at least had some idea of what they were fighting for, what kind of life they might be able to scrape up if the war ever stopped. Getaway (and Fortress Maximus, who I can't stop thinking about) don't. Gah, I think I'm losing how to words, I think this is just random babble now
Okay, actual last one before I forcibly remove myself from youtube and go back to homework. This one is for Prowl. Spoiler: lyrics I run the numbers through the floor here's how it goes: I crack the codes I crack the codes that end the war I crack the codes that end the war I pushed a note under your door here's how it goes: things come to blows but we don't want this anymore No we don't want this anymore We don't want this anymore I crack the codes, you end the war I hear the clockwork in your core time strips the gears till you forget what they were for I push the numbers through your pores I crack the codes I crack the codes that end the war How's my view and you can call encrypted numbers on bathroom stalls there's something burning it casts a pall it's melting numbers right off the wall I run the numbers through the floor here's how it goes: I crack the codes I crack the codes, you end the war
and this is now the Prowl/Chromedome Breakup anthem (sorry my music taste is late 2000s entry level alternative, don't judge me)
