#anyway what is it a metaphor for??? no idea

[arcadekitten]

I don't know if this will make sense but mareggie is such a comfort of mine, esp with the fact it doesn't like, focus on the suggestive parts most people expect from a relationship.. idk if that makes sense but as a demiaroace person I love your works

Thank you so much, I'm so happy you feel that way! ♡

They are a big comfort for me too, as I'm sure anyone could see! I'm happy I made the decision to have them both be asexual and not only is it comforting but I think it is something that can be important too (as you are displaying to me right now, by telling me they bring you comfort!)

My world is a bit of an ace fantasy anyways where no one is even capable of getting sexual to begin with, but even within that context Mary and Reginald are both such completely non-sexual characters and I like that about them. Their relationship is one that holds no sexual connotations to it within the context of their world and even within context of the real world/metaphors/anything like that.

And I don't want to sound like a dunce or anything when I say things like that. I know that asexuality is a spectrum and that being asexual doesn't inherently make someone non-sexual. But both Mary and Reginald are characters who ARE both asexual and non-sexual and that is important to both of their characters and the story I'm telling between them.

While part of the reason Mary and Reginald are like that is for my own self-indulgence of the kind of media I had always wanted to see(as an ace person myself) I hope that maybe they can also open the eyes of others for what a romantic relationship can be like. That romance does not always contain sexual undertones. That forms of attraction do not always have blurred lines. And maybe they can challenge themselves to explore ideas of intimacy and love and closeness in ways that do not involve anything sexual in nature at all, because they're just as normal and meaningful as ideas that do.

And also, that asexual people can have stories+romances in which they are the main characters and it's stories that are (hopefully!) exciting and fun and engaging and dramatic and nerve-wracking and suspenseful, just like other romances that came before them. My stories might not be for everyone but they do fill a niche and it makes me happy to know that people both in and out of that niche can appreciate Mary and Reginald and their romance for what it is ♡

Anyways that's me rambling again but thank you for giving me the opportunity to!

[vashs-ass]

TRIGGER WARNING // SA

Analysis of Vash and His Assault in Trigun

Now that I’ve finally finished the manga, I want to discuss why I believe the fifth moon incident in Trigun is supposed to represent sexual assault. Apparently this interpretation is somewhat controversial so I’m going to go over how I see it. If you have a different interpretation that’s completely fine, I’m not trying to say one is more correct than the other.

One other thing I will preface this with, is that I do not think Knives canonically SAed Vash. I think the situation is supposed to be metaphor for sexual assault.

So anyways, why do I think it’s supposed to represent sexual assault and not physical assault? In my opinion, Knives’ main objective is not to physically hurt Vash, his goal is to force Vash into preforming non consensual acts.

The symbolism in fifth moon is very heavy handed. This is the first time we see Vash be assaulted. Knives is depicted as completely naked. Yes, there is an explanation for this in the plot but I do think it was a deliberate choice.

Prior to the fifth moon incident, Vash has no memories of what happened at July. This is unusual because Vash does not have a pattern of shutting out distressing events in his life. He’s able to remember his childhood and Rem’s death in great detail. So something about what happened was particularly disturbing and violating to Vash in a way he’d never experienced before. Even Knives notes that this is unusual, apparently expecting the incident would have ‘after effects’ for his brother.

During this initial discussion Vash begins to recall some of the memories of what happened, or rather, what he felt. He describes the feelings surrounding what happened as ‘something horrifyingly sick’.

Now we will get into the meat of things.

The visuals of the actual assault are horrifying. Nightow uses some great body horror to amplify the severity of what is happening to Vash’s body. During this assault, Knives is constantly grabbing at Vash’s body, forcing it to do what he wants. This one particular panel I don’t see talked about much really hit me in the gut, with knives standing naked between Vash’s legs. This is kinda what solidified everything for me.

Knives is almost always seen holding a hand over Vash’s eyes and his heart. This is a very intimate gesture and I think this can have a lot of different reads depending on who you ask. For me covering his eyes further takes away Vash’s control over what’s happening to his body, Knives’ hand clawing at his heart representing his desire to violate Vash’s very being and take it for himself. To possess him. To objectify him.

He asks Vash how it feels, and Vash can be seen sobbing in what I think is emotional agony rather than physical pain. Having this happen to him again seems to have triggered the memories he had tried to burry.

Other people have pointed out that the angel arm can be seen as a phallic symbol. I’m not really sure where I fall on this idea but I thought I’d mention it at least.

I will also point out one more instance of assault after fifth moon because this is not the only time Vash is assaulted by his brother

I think this takes place towards the middle of the manga if I remember correctly. This scene (to me) represents the ‘loss of self’ victims often feel as well as the physical aspect of sexual assault. Knives briefly attempts to force Vash’s body into his. He stabs Vash through his arm, pinning him down in attempt to ‘merge’ Vash with himself. When it doesn’t work he rips it out of Vash which seems to cause him horrific pain.

The fact Vash goes on to use his angel arm to save people later on in the story is very powerful. It was once a reminder of the violations he had endured but he reclaimed it as well as his bodily autonomy.

After this there are a few other more minor instances of Knives violating Vash, but I won’t get into those because I feel I’ve made my point. If you have anything to add I’d love to hear it!

[inkykeiji]

Clari I am crying at the leaks. :( all he wanted was to be seen I can’t

the leaks are like,,,, kind of confusing to me LMAO like aside from that heartbreaking line i’m like ????? okay so what is going on here

[aeide-thea]

on principle opposed to describing art i dislike as 'masturbatory' because even though it's an alluringly contemptuous word to sneer it's impossible to reconcile with my pro-masturbation stance

[xxsweetoothxx]

Workin on Redesigning Jackies Colorful version and Im stuck as hell on clorors to pic for their Hair. Tried a billion different ones but These 5 seemed to work best I think

Also also Redesigning Isaac as well as his Sister. The old story I had for them was okay but then I got a better idea that makes Isaac the irredeemable shit I wanted him to be originally!

Also this idea allows me to tie in the whole thing from the cannon creeps comic of everyone seeming to hate LJ. Only in PM I plan on it to be a bit different with Ragz. Mainly that they didn't really do anything but SOMEONE did.

A Hint on why Ragz may be heavily disliked.

[sea-buns]

Forgive me if I'm a bit nervous about Gorgug this season. It's just that the last Zac Oyama pc was Colin Provolone, who was arguably one of his greatest D20 performances, if not the greatest.

Zac always does great with every pc he plays, but Colin was something else. He came out swinging with actions and words that were teeming with unspoken emotional baggage. The way Colin's presence affected the other pcs; there was this level of depth that I don't think I've seen in any of his other characters. It was understated and quiet in that signature "just a guy" way that he tends to be, while still captivating everyone instantly with just how raw it was.

Not to say we haven't seen emotional depth in Gorgug. It's just that, compared to the other Bad Kids, Gorgug's journey and progression as a character has been very... impersonal? Like, yes, he found his birth parents, and he found friends who appreciate him, and he faced his insecurities about his intelligence, and he navigated relationship troubles, and his trial through the claustrophobic bug-tunnels was a horrifically-uncanny parallel to how he's spent his entire life trying to make himself as small as possible.

But how much of that has actually changed him from the Gorgug we started with? I would agree that he's definitely happier with his life, given all the loving and supportive people that have been added to it when it used to be just him and his parents. And he's certainly grown into himself and become more self-assured in his abilities, even if he's still, and always will be, our anxious little guy. And there's nothing wrong with that. I've always liked how Gorgug was a representation of all the little things. The subtle acts and kindnesses that don't seem like much to most, but to some are everything.

We don't need another Bad Kid living in fear that their mouth could be shit-in at any moment. We've already got one-too-many.

All that being said, I just feel like Gorgug's personal story beats are much easier to sweep under the rug than everyone else's. He has the same soft and understated quality that Colin held, but they lack that extra oomph that pushed Colin over the edge from being just another guy in a series of dudes, to a character that the vast majority of us could not get out of our heads. He took someone who was anxious and softspoken, who ultimately never wanted to be violent— someone who is remarkably similar to Gorgug in many ways— and maintained that demeanor and core in Colin's character while still hitting us in the feels with character development at max velocity at every turn.

I think Zac gets better and better at this with every season that goes by. With each new character, there is always something that leaves me stunned in awe. And it's been, what, three? Four years since we last saw Gorgug?

I'm just,,, I'm cautiously optimistic but also going into a bit of a worry about what violence this man may inflict upon us

[mamawasatesttube]

kinda wanna write something superfam-related for mermay but i have no idea what... anyone got any ideas????

[sesamenom]

Ar-Pharazon from the Reverse Gondolin AU and as Witch-King of Numenor - thanks to @who-needs-words for helping develop this idea!

[tswwwit]

What are some ideas you have floating around that you don't have any plans on writing but like to entertain as a thought?

Many of them, in fact! Though they sort of vanish from my memory if I don't make a record of them, here's a few ones I jotted down when they came to mind.

For a domestic one: Bill thought he'd hate a lot of being married! Even though he loves Dipper, he thought he'd rebel against the chains of domesticity - and in some ways he still does - but one major benefit he's found is not having to be 'on' all the time.

No need to be perfectly performing all the time! No shoving around for social influence, no intimidation, or clever tricks. No commanding attention or taking up the room. Hell, there's surprisingly little upkeep! Bill can undo his tie and pick his nose and bitch about his day to someone who isn't bending over backwards to agree with him on everything. Someone who doesn't give him a weird look and sneer if he, god forbid, actually wants to sit down, read a book, drop the grin for an hour or two.

The concept in question is Bill's very first moment of great surprise. That when he isn't being the most charming, terrifying, and exciting guy in the universe, and just chilling out for like, five minutes, Dipper comes over and snuggles up to him on the couch, or wraps his arms around his shoulders and kisses the top of his head. And when Bill asks 'what was that for?', Dipper shrugs and goes 'eh, just felt like it'. It's both baffling and extremely compelling.

A short where Reincarnated Dip is Definitely Sure he's Not Gay!!! Especially not for this Hot Demon Man who is getting so close and touchy with him with his big smile and horrible wiles. Yep. Just keeping an eye on him to make sure he's not up to something Nefarious ™.

A discussion between Dipper and Bill where Dipper insists that Bill should understand this, or not do that, because, like. Y'know, Bill's a guy! There are guy things! Making Bill stare at Dipper like he's an idiot. He proceeds to informs Dipper how that's stupid for multiple reasons! First, that Bill's Not Human to begin with, his gender can't be put into a little box! And frankly, he never filled out the paperwork for his original one, come to think of it. Sure, he/him's fine, but c'mon, sapling, thinking of the whole shebang like a binary is dumb as hell. Now Dipper has to do some mental readjustment re: his own issues with masculinity/gender.

[fivewholeminutes]

A Series of Small Offerings

PART ONE -4- Calcutta

I sweat and I ache for / Your eyes and the way you breathe

OH GOD I HATE THIS ONE and i hate this paper. And it was such a fucking rollercoaster oh my gooooood. Do you remember when I've said yesterday that I have plans for Calcutta? WELL I'VE LIED. THEY'VE CHANGED AT LEAST 5364587 TIMES SINCE THIS MORNING.

Originally, I have decided on the "Melting skywards more than silence broken / I'm whole again for just a moment" part first. And halfway drawing the last idea for that line I had a moment of realisation that what I'm doing is ACTUALLY MORE FITTING FOR THE OTHER LINE. That was me for five whole minutes (pun not intended) after it struck me:

Have an alternative blurry shot to show the shiny parts that are not so visible in the main shot:

Frankly, I put the silver line + some black pointliner there, because everything melted skywards too much into each other, because if you try to have various things in different shades of black on this paper, it all just goes to shit <3

[krynutsreal]

future foundation bros

.

I think about the idea that maybe, at some point mondo does actually cut his hair,, goofy thought would be that during the time he was in future foundation he got the teruki cut (mp100 reference in which in a fight teru gets his long hair cut by a sword) though it happens with his pomp or smth

then I think about him cutting his hair in general, I think the idea is just interesting to think about sometimes (especially with adding takas reactions in the mix) ((sorry the brainrot is real))

[carlosoliveiras-wife]

thinking. the exhaust has me thinking.

in which she wants to be as carefree as the falling maple leaves when autumn strolls on by with its festive smile. in which she's the cooling breeze that invites a bit warm jacket. she wants to be loose, free, serene. in most cases, she doesn't get that. not a singular chance in hell would she.

for a woman who cracks jokes so easily and easily gives up her heart from her chest to see her dear loved ones happy and smiling, he watches her bleed out on the stage. he watches her perform and act with her mouth bleeding lies from her gums and throat— that she's "just making everyone happy", is all. what a load of bullshit. he sees her desire to be in the mosh pit, instead she's become a wallflower because she fears the reaction of letting too loose.

"too many leave from the moment she breathes an air of vulnerability," she mumbles one night in a sleep-deprived state. she does that a lot. starves herself of necessity until shes groveling to it. he can see it in her eyes that she is tired. he can sense it in the sigh that she wants to feel appreciated by those she was once close to. yet she doesn't wanna drop what she deems a "cartoonish anvil" on others' head—

but this hurts him. she'll bear the weight of thirty two acquaintances' anvils and smithing tables before she even glazes off a sliver of broken rock off her own work bench.

he doesn't like that she can't focus on her own life at times, feel the way she wants to and express it without the fear of a snapping turtle biting her good fingers off. he doesn't like that she's wearing the comedy mask with her tail between her legs.

he doesn't like what life has done to the beauty, to the perfection that is his dearest. yet if he even tries to suggest that he can be a safe haven, she brushes it off. a mere shrug. a claim to be alright and that she doesn't know what he's on about.

┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄

so when the stars aligned and now she rests in his arms, face swollen and stuffy from crying and that fateful act now having fallen, he appreciates her more. her final act, the truth of one's life, to be vulnerable. while he will always appreciate the blood she ripped from her veins in order to keep a smile on his face, to keep him feeling safe, he ultimately wanted this.

he wanted Her, not the actor who's bruised and bloody ballerina feet still struggle to keep her performances perfect.

"how can you stand the performance with such a terrible climax?" she questions, a sense of identity lost since she's no longer tending to someone, now being the tended to. his smile is warm, so very warm, when he speaks back.

"because i never came for the show, i always came to see you at your most honest point within the hell you've danced bloodily to."

[origami-trust]

Dracula, Sept 18th:

"The first gain is ours! Check to the King!" - Van Helsing

An interesting line for VH to say, and for Seward to take note of -because Seward doesn't know the cause of Lucy's "illness" at this point. He doesn't have any context for who the "King" might be that Van Helsing's speaking about. It might be easy to interpret that as VH's fanciful metaphors, or even just that they're playing chess against the idea of illness itself.

I think VH has been creating moments for Seward to question, and take steps towards the idea of vampirism - which, if he can get there by himself, will be far more convincing than VH trying to persuade him. But I don't think this is one of them. I wonder if this just burst out of him in sheer relief that they'd been able to save Lucy in this moment...

[nobodieshero-main]

okay so i was thinking about ahuru, as one does, and i was thinking about how much i don't want her death to just. be keika's backstory, yknow??

like i don't want to reduce her to just the main characters motivation, which is why i try to give her so much life in any scene she's in. but i think i wanna like- so, ahuru's death literally shapes nobodies hero, right? there'd be no story to tell if she hadn't been killed. and that's kind of a Big Deal to me.

so i think i'm going to symbolise the fuck out of birds. foreshadowing or whatever.

like when keika first meets mattie- he's in priah and he still doesn't have his memories back. he decides to go for a walk, just wandering through the mushrooms and the woods and then all of a sudden a game bird gets shot with an arow right in front of him. and when he looks up, he sees mattie with a bow and arrow, and that's how they meet.

and then in the next book it's revealed that Mattie is, technically, responsible for ahuru's death. it wasn't personal, in the same way hunting that bird wasn't personal, it was just...self preservation. they just shot an arrow and watched it land.

[aecholapis]

For your TF fan continuity:

🏆 - What is the end goal? What are your characters fighting for?

💣 - What/who triggers the climax of the plot?

🦋 - Which character has the biggest transformation?

🌑 - Is there reoccurring symbolism? Motifs?

(from this ask game)

Upon inquiry, Novafire specified which part of the continuity this should be about. There are... four... storylines in total, two of which are important, but many of the sub-narratives happen at the same time. Because why make things simple when they can be complicated >:D

The first sentence is

h elp

I'll try to focus on the main part which is essentially every typical TF story ever and the side story featuring OCs that experience the conflict from the sidelines. I hope you don't mind, since the mythology and post-canon action isn't much exciting. They will be referred to by their WIP titles, Entropy and Incandescence, respectively.

🏆 - What is the end goal? What are your characters fighting for?

Entropy:

Picture every typical pre-war story ever and blend them into something that looks like a smoothie - a badly blended smoothie because some fruit parts are floating around and disrupting the drink's consistency. Yeah, that's what it looks like from the outside. But on the inside it doesn't really look any better, haha.

There are many issues that need to be resolved and all of them stem from one big problem. The protagonists go on numerous adventures and solve many a mystery - though ultimately, they need to find the source of all evil and defeat it. Greed is a nasty thing. It will twist the noblest individuals to become their worst self on their rise to power. It will be their downfall - which is why they never stay in power long enough to leave lasting damage, save for the three mecha who have it all and want even more. It is up to the protagonists to stop them and reverse the damage they had done.

Their enemies are:

1) Cybertron's political system - a few rotten fruits can disturb the entire drink and make it unenjoyable. The main trio responsible for the unstable political situation are Sentinel Prime, Senator Proteus and Councillor Zeta - forming a secret, mighty triumvirate. They want power, they have the means to seize it and they will go to great lengths in order to see Cybertron subjected to their whims. Corruption goes a long way and even the repressed masses will be influenced by the triumvirate. 'You are not immune to propaganda' and all that.

2) The authorities - since the army and enforcers are working under their orders, the freedom and safety of the citizens lies in the hands of three individuals who could not care less about them. Even the enforcers themselves aren't exempt from surveillance. Mutual trust is at an all time low and everyone's priority is to live another day. If a mech doesn't conform to society's expectations, they will find a way to change that and those who work for the government are the first in line for behavioral corrections à la memory wipe or a reframe, etc.

3) Cities, or Titans and their speakers - we have the primacy which speaks for Cybertron, the council that decides what is good for Cybertroniankind and the senate which calls the shots in city states. But Titans also exist and their speakers watch over the districts their Titan resides at. However, not all Titans get the funding and resources they need to keep the population afloat. And helpless, impotent inhabitants cannot care for their home, right? It's a downward spiral. Only the most profitable Titans get what they need. Some are deemed as less important than others and this causes a rift between Cityspeakers. This does not end well.

4) Quintessons - Some time after the war is over, a Quintesson colony ship is spotted in Cybertron's orbit. They want their planet back. Elderly Quintessons like Alpha Q are part of the first generation which left Cybertron even before the First Generation roamed the surface, but they - like many other mechanical lifeforms made by the Primes - were sent to space to explore the cosmos and find a new home somewhere else. Millions of years later, the Quintessons have returned it is up to the protagonists and Alpha Q to find a solution for this problem. Preferably before the Quintessons reassemble Luna I and Luna II into Unicron and pilot him to wipe out Cybertroniankind. Don't worry, they will find a compromise.

5) In the end, their greatest enemy is their own self

What they plan to achieve:

1) Removing the members of the triumvirate from their positions - As the world begins to fall apart, everyone's favorite dock worker Orion Pax, founder of the Autobots, meets up with his fellow revolutionary Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. Both are inspiring spokespeople of their respective organizations, dreaming of a better tomorrow and sending messages of hope to their followers. They coordinate protests and hand out flyers, help those in need and stand against their oppressors. There is nothing more punk than spreading love and hope in a world which wishes to take this from them.

One day, a protest in Iacon turns violent and the Decepticons storm the senate and the council while the Autobots guide shocked civilians to safety. Orion Pax and Megatron hunt down the Prime - they follow him to his safe room where they talk for the last time, before Megatron shoots Sentinel Prime in a fit of rage. At Orion's unwillingness to destroy the root of all their problems, he declares war on the Autobots. At first, it seems like it had been nothing but an empty threat, until the Decepticons start attacking cities with wobbly but still functioning political structures all over Cybertron. One group of Autobots retaliates and this marks the unofficial beginning of the Cybertronian Great War.

Proteus escapes and leaves Cybertron, only to be slain by Starscream once his ship sets course to Earth. Zeta becomes the next Prime and remains on Cybertron, until an angry and upgraded Orion Pax returns from Earth just to kill him for personal reasons.

The Matrix is missing - it has been since the start of the war - but they find clues that it may have been stored away in one of their ships (Autobot or Decepticon). The Matrix acts like a two-way screen here. It lets the dormant Primus experience life on his surface in the form of a dream while the Matrix-bearer may see what is happening on Cybertron and how the planet itself is feeling. There is also this whole wisdom-of-past-Primes shtick, but that doesn't work well nor is it actually helpful. Not that it matters since it's gone anyway.

Rung has simply had enough, transformed and left... because he did not like Sentinel Prime and Zeta even less, lmao.

2) Decoupling the legislative, executive and judicial systems from the Primacy - Prowl was a lawyer before he was reframed. One of his cases was linked to the illegal activities of Sentinel Prime and how he and his allies funded laboratories to which he sent mecha who were causing him trouble. He found himself in such a lab pretty soon, his memories were wiped, he was given a new frame, a new identity, and now he was Prowl, the enforcer. His undetected sibling bond was the only evidence for what was done to him.

After joining the Autobots, he digs deeper into the Prime's illicit activities and finds enough leverage against him to tell Orion about it. The information finds its way out of the inner circles of the Autobots - it sparks an outcry by the public.

3) Form independent but cooperative city-states (gone wrong) - In order to reach equity, they must challenge the status quo which is easier said than done. Although cityspeakers have some influence in the grand scheme of things, it is not enough to ensure that the needs of their titans will be met. Too many lives are on the line so the less powerful cityspeakers team up against the government's favorites.

One of them, Damus, also known as Tarn (the tank), the cityspeaker of Tarn (the titan), argues with his mentor Iaconus, cityspeaker of Iacon. Things get out of hand and Iaconus calls in a favor of the Prime and wants Damus to be (dun dun duuun!) reframed. Shocking! Outrageous! Tarn (the titan) is having none of it and manufactures a second frame for his speaker.

Tarn (the tank) is none the wiser of the situation and just like he did before, he accepts Iaconus as his mentor. But Iaconus is noticably less friendly now. Tarn doesn't mind. The titan does but other than wishing for him to be cautious in the form of gentle pleas and mental hugs, he is powerless to prevent his speaker from falling for Iaconus' illusion.

A few cityspeakers suspect a conspiracy behind this sudden change. Praxus (Commissioner Cordon in his private life, there's a Batman joke here somewhere) investigates as far as he can but doesn't find out much. Or anything that will make a change. Tarn will never know what had transpired and so he lives on in the shadow of his mentor and in the safety of his titan, until the council denies his propositions for a better infrastructure and more needed funding for the umpteenth time. He follows the same path his predecessor has - the path that leads to his demise once again.

This time, he tries to keep it a secret from Iaconus. Other less-favored titan-cityspeaker duos join him and together they make a plan to protest the council's and senate's refusal to help them. Iaconus and a few of his "friends" join the official's side and that marks the end of their mentorship.

Also, no one likes Iaconus. All my homies hate Iaconus.

Tarn (the tank) is heartbroken, Tarn (the titan) is sad but supportive and then. And then the war breaks out, titans are destroyed, killed, and the cityspeakers meet up for the last time. Declaring the end of their neutrality they split up into Decepticons and Autobots - Iaconus and his traitors are waiting for them. They fight and Iaconus injures Tarn who is still hesitant to fight his former mentor. Megatron finds him and lifts him up, promising a better future for all of them if they joined his ranks.

And Tarn, the ever naive and hopeful mech he is, believes him. Those who joined them that day and lost their titans in a fight will later become the Decepticon Justice Division. They will become Headmasters and pilot their dead titans through space to hunt down traitors and dangerous Autobots alike.

4) Find a compromise - Optimus has returned to the Well of All Sparks (because of course he has) and Rodimus has taken over his position... more or less out of his own volition. But! Fret not, as he has a team of some of the best mechanisms the world has to offer standing by his side. He's got this (he does, in fact, not have this). They're not going on a cool space adventure this time - though I don't think they would mind that much.

Seven cross-faction teams are working together to find a way to stop Unicron from forming and destroying their planet. Meanwhile Rodimus has to suffer through bureaucracy and politics. The seven teams find a way to ensure the Quintessons will not destroy their kind and they fight Unicron, G1 movie-style. He wakes for a short amount of time and sees what is going on, separates into his two halves again and threatens to obliterate the Quintesson ships out of Cybertron's orbit. No one is allowed to mess with him, not even creations of Primus. A handful of Quintessons that don't want to conquer the planet but want to live there regardless negotiate for a right of residence and are accepted into their society. Unicron returns to his deep slumber, he resumes orbiting Cybertron as Luna I and Luna II and the day is saved.

5) Characters can change under hardships.

-

Incandescence:

Ironwing's team has commited treason against the Galactic Council and they are on the run from Autobots, Decepticons and the same Space Police Organization they used to work for while simultaneously searching for spare parts to build... something??? that Carbonlight says will end all conflict throughout the universe. It is left unsaid that the machine they intend to create will be a mind-control device for starformers, huge, radiant, resting, planet-sized mechanical lifeforms that were created in the same way that Primus was.

Carbonlight's plans come into fruition and he takes control over three starformers. It is Ironwing's and his team's mission to stop them.

A neutral ship called the Stellar Observatory offers their assistance and together they try to lure the starformers into a trap and destroy Carbonlight's dangerous invention.

-

💣 - What/who triggers the climax of the plot?

Entropy:

This is hard to say because many factors influence how the final battle will play out. One would be that the Autobots have found new motivation to end the war after landing on Earth, another would be that Orion has had enough of Zeta Prime's unwillingness to help them and he murders him. Surprising to no one but himself, he finds the Matrix (pedestal included) waiting for him in the control room of his ship the next day and he accepts the Primacy for the sake of his Autobots.

Megatron is enraged because his opponent has embraced the symbol of their oppression (and he's totally not jealous of OP, noo). He launches an all-out attack on the Autobots at which the newly dubbed Optimus Prime responds with everything his forces have to offer. It's a wasteful event. Too many are injured to fight on, the Decepticons and Autobots are tired of everything. So Soundwave and Starscream come to the conclusion that now would be a good moment to put an end to it all.

They incapacitate him and negotiate the end of the war in the name of their faction and the majority of Cons agree to it. Megatron has become too attached to his warped idea of a fair society. He may have been an inspiring revolutionary once, but as the war dragged on, he had lost himself to the chase of thrill. He had become too obsessed over killing his once insignificant rival.

But despite his lack of fighting skills and his inadequate build, Orion had withstood. He had upgraded himself after each defeat. He had become his equal in strength and wits and destruction. They really, truly deserve each other (derogatory). Megatron is exiled and Optimus flies into the Well of All Sparks because he thinks it's the right thing to do.

Then, Rung escapes and appears in front of a shocked Hot Rod.

Fast forward a couple of years, Unicron is in their planet's orbit and Starscream and his cross-faction science division has made a fleet powerful enough to approach the giant planetary defense system that is targeting them. What triggers the final battle is Unicron's attack.

Seven ships set out to space and only the most courageous (and foolish) enter his frame and trigger the giant to wake up. He chases away the hostile Quintessons and returns to sleep.

Incandescence:

Carbonlight hears of Unicron's short waking and sets course toward Cybertron. Near its sun, the Stellar Observatory overtakes them and they lure the starformers into the sun.

-

🦋 - Which character has the biggest transformation?

Entropy:

Prowl. Not only is he the main protagonist, he goes through so much character development that I need a full document to keep track of all the subtle but important changes over the course of the story. He does a completely 360° in terms of - I don't know - everything? It's hard to describe in just a few sentences but I'll try.

He wakes up in his new body with no recollection of his past. He is, save for his spark, a blank slate. His partner doesn't care what happens to him, his supervisor doesn't give him explanations and at the slightest mishap, he will meet the fate of all Prowls that have come before him. Strayshot has lost count how many partner changes he's had and all of them had been unexperienced rookies who asked too many questions.

So, on his first mission, he is told over his comms to shoot an unarmed suspect. He obeys because he is three hours old and has no idea what is actually going on. Suddenly, a part in his processor activates and he thinks to himself, "This feels wrong."

Prowl gets used to the monotonous busy life of an enforcer and grows to hate it internally. Slowly, he starts to question whether what he is doing is truly morally correct or if he is being played and he tries to be discreet about it. With little guidance how to do his job correctly, he starts to feel overwhelmed. His tactical network is state of the art software, the best on the market, but it's incompatible with his own hardware. Strayshot finds him during his first crash and stays just long enough to stabilize his condition.

This is how he learns what compassion is, although it's forced and unnatural in this case. After he recovers, something tugs on his spark. A strange feeling makes him wander off to a less favorable part of lower Praxus and he sees two suspicious mechanizms watching him. When he chases after them, they lure him into a trap and reveal their identities.

It turns out that Brawn and Side Burn are his brothers and Prowl’s spark remembers them. The three of them catch up with their lives and while Prowl doesn’t trust them yet, they agree to meet again in a few days. This goes on for a while, until Strayshot dies. He goes without a partner for a while and is tasked with paperwork only, which isn’t as bad as it sounds for someone with the best integrated tacnet Cybertron has to offer. This leaves him with a lot of time to think about how he could make their next meeting safer. This doesn’t work out as planned and during a sensitive case he catches someone spying on them. A chase sequence happens.

As soon as he has the chance, he goes against direct orders not to go underground and follows the stranger deep into the tunnels under their planet’s crust. There he finds himself surrounded by hostile bots hiding from the law. Outnumbered and outgunned, he expects them to treat him like he treats all criminals, but to his surprise they spare his life. Then their leader shows up, a lowly dock worker named Orion Pax who believes it is time to change the world.

They talk about a lot and Prowl learns that the political situation everywhere else on Cybertron isn’t much better. Sentinel Prime has turned the government against the general population in hope to gain even more power, many other politicians are spitting on the rights of the people. It is hard to speak up because the scientists have developed and perfected reframing. Basically every enemy of the state can be reshaped and employed to work for the government against their will and everyone who learns about it shares the same fate. Even those who accidentally insult any of the Prime’s friends aren’t safe.

Prowl is offered a choice. He can either join these rebels that call themselves the Autobots, or return to his old life as an enforcer but not before they use the cortical psychic patch on him and clear his memories of the past couple of hours. He refuses at first and a few Autobots call him out on how he is a murderer of the innocent and this paired with the stress he’s under leads to another crash.

When he wakes up, Ratchet is still tending to him. He recognizes the famous medic and calls him a traitor, but he is grateful for the patch-up. They talk about his role in this conflict and Prowl comes to the conclusion that he cannot join the Autobots yet, but he is willing to function as a sort of associate and advisor and he gives Orion his contact data.

Then he gets a new partner, a brand new reframed mech called Barricade who has different specifications than his prototype and a blank personality. Prowl should act as his partner and his mentor until Barricade is seen fit to be transferred to Kaon and take over a small team of his own once his training is finished. Prowl isn’t thrilled about this development, but soon he sees the potential that Barry has.

The moment the new mech shows signs of a personality starting to blossom, Prowl teaches him to question everything and to think for himself. But only when no one is watching. After some team bonding, Prowl now sees his mentee like a third brother. Since his own siblings don’t want an outsider to get involved in this, he doesn’t tell Barricade about anything. Side Burn and Brawn cross paths with the Autobots too, but since they’re harmless, they only get an invitation to join them - and they will when Prowl does. 

One day, Prowl goes against his commander's orders and backs up, while the other enforcers charge forward. It turns out it was a trap set by a radical bunch of Decepticons and all except a critically damaged Barricade die. The young mech is patched up to save his life, but they don’t erase his memories despite the obvious processor damage he has sustained, hoping that it would make him more resilient and aggressive towards Decepticons.

It is the last straw for Prowl when Jazz tells him what he has found out about his team’s fate and while his citizen record is officially marked as KIA (and another Prowl is put in his spot), a highly trained squad under the ‘improved’ Barricade hunts for him. Prowl joins the Autobots full time as their new strategist and does his best to keep his helm low and avoid public attention.

Meanwhile, the Barricade's squad suffers failure after failure and in his pursuit of his former mentor, he strays from his designated path and they decide to have him thrown into the pit fights as punishment. And former enforcers aren’t popular with the poor mecha fighting for their lives. That’s where he meets Megatron and where it really goes downwards for his mental health. Poor guy. He learns a hard lesson and when the war breaks out, he joins the Decepticons.

Prowl is now the head strategist of the Autobots and takes over Ariel’s role as second in command. She remains a general and one of Orion’s right hand mecha like Dion and Jazz.

As the war rages on, the stakes are raised and Orion asks Prowl to run a simulation that should help them gain the upper hand as soon as possible, but he and his carefully picked team of strategists miscalculate the risks one too many times. To him it feels like he is trapped in there for eternity, his processor is operating at such high speeds that he loses track of time. And when it is over the amount of time he has been gone should remain ambiguous to him.

One day, the simulation is disconnected. Everything stops and the program reports that a majority of their forces have lost after what feels like many years of continuous calculation. Orion informs him that this has not been a simulation at all. Well, oops, haha.

Now he has to live with the knowledge that he has sent countless bots to their death and Orion demotes him, hoping Prowl would find something to distract his troubled mind. He joins Spec Ops and as much as he hates to admit it, the energon-pumping action helps him cope with what happened. He goes full-on ninja mode (like in Animated), complete with new looks and extensive training.

It takes a lot of convincing from his coworkers to accept reality after being trapped in a simulation. At one point, he has become numb to outside influence and thinks everything that has happened until now is just one single, enormous simulation and that none of this is real. But it is and it hurts to think about it. Prowl is under constant surveillance since they fear he might snap. And he does snap but not outwardly.

This is as close as he'll ever get to IDW1 levels of cold and calculating. It's his defense mechanism against losing his mind completely. He can't hurt anyone if no one is close to him. His friends catch on quickly though and show him how much they still care about him.

Being reminded about his failures becomes more bearable over time. Then the Autobots find their way to Earth. Humans aren’t affiliated with the Galactic Council which allows Cybertronians to approach the planet. It also happens to be the last one Orion’s team visits before peace is declared.

Here, the Cons capture half of Spec Ops and download Prowl's tacnet into the Constructicons. Yay! Not only that, but their minds come in contact and Prowl leaves behind a backdoor, a string of code which will allow him later to force them to combine and seek him out. With one of their top combiners out of the picture, the Autobots regain superiority on the battlefield and so on and so forth.

Hours after peace is negotiated, Prowl sneaks in to the brig and frees the Constructicons out of guilt. He has had years to come to terms with what he has done and with the help of his friends, he has learned to let go of past troubles. He does testify before court and serves his sentence working in construction alongside new friends. It's surprising how well his tacnet is suited for this industry. And how content he is to just try living like a normal mech while watching the world heal.

Incandescence:

Hmm, it has to be Helios. Life isn't easy on him and he feels like he's only good at being a tool for others to wield. Despite his devotion, he earns naught but a speck of recognition. His efforts are invisible, they are not something to be proud of and he sure isn't proud of himself. His brother didn't express positive emotions towards him and everyone else ignores him, save for Proteus who only sees him for his usefulness as a cheap errand boy and a scapegoat that does the dirty work for him.

Helios learns what it means to be loved and cherished once he lands on Earth. The local air rescue team is kind to him and when the Stellar Observatory takes him in, he befriends Nightjet and Ironwing. They show him what life should feel like and those days are the happiest of his life. He masks his troubles behind false cheerfulness and this scares away other members of the crew, but not these two.

He can be himself when they're around - and the same can be said about Ironwing and Nightjet. A proud warrior and a deceivingly disinterested mech return back to their old, authentic selves, an enthusiastic actor and an adventurer full of romantic ideas and musings.

These three mean so much to me and they don't even have a ship name.

-

🌑 - Is there reoccurring symbolism? Motifs?

Not as much/many as you'd think😅

Entropy - a state of disorder or randomness 📊 Chaos and order - you can't have one without the other 🔄

Incandescence - the visible electromagnetic radiation emitted by heated bodies ☀️ Colors - every OC under Firecry's command (Ironwing's team) has one hue of the rainbow as its primary color 🌈

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

i think it is probably a sign of the process of healing from the trauma of having every word out of my mouth ripped apart, mocked, and treated as an unforgivable offense warranting Extreme Rage and Vitriol, and having it explained to me in excruciating and hateful detail why my thought processes and basic turns of phrase and the things i thought were worth expressing were stupid worthless gibberish, unbearable to listen to, and the root of everything wrong with society, by redditor-ass faux-intellectuals in my life growing up for being awkwardly phrased/not concise enough/mildly whimsical, that some days i'm proud of my meta and some days i can barely stand to look at it. but god that does not make the second one more fun.