#servant matrix

[tgrailwar-zero]

Servant Matrix: RICHARD I

Class: Saber

True Name: Richard I, Richard the Lionheart

Gender: Male

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Height/Weight: 178cm / 66kg

Source: Historical Fact

Region: Europe

ENDURANCE GAUGE: [X/X/X/X/X/X]

MANA CHARGES: [ X / X / X / X / X ]

COMMAND SPELLS: [ X | X | X ]

A lionhearted man, crusader, and King of England who lives more in accordance to his own emotions and ambitions rather than the orders of his superiors of a perceived 'status quo'. In life, he was said to possess a great many talents and excelled at almost everything. A man possessing a dangerous charisma who was lionized as a magnificent and ideal warrior king despite being absent for the majority of his reign. A crusader, a tyrant, a warlord, a knight-- a man who has held many titles and been viewed through many different lenses both during and after his life.

He was found by the Masters in a laboratory belonging to the Umbral Institute, presumably as part of a plot to create an 'exploitable Excalibur'. How he got there and what the details of the experiment are remain a mystery, though he is grateful to be brought back to the side of humanity. If he remained undiscovered and the plot was finished, could he have instead been a fierce enemy rather than a bravehearted ally…?

He and his siblings of the House of Plantagenet (known to historians also as the 'Devil's Brood') were known for their ferocity, constant infighting, and propensity for violence. Thankfully, as a Saber, his more personable traits come to light. In life, he was known for his eccentric and sporadic personality that earned him the nickname 'Oc e Non' (Yes and No), meaning that his line of thinking can be extreme and difficult to follow at times, but one does not earn the title 'Coeur de Lion' (Lionheart) from taking the simple path. He is a bold-hearted warrior king that will slay his enemies without a shift in his expression or a moment's hesitation-- and also his allies, if he finds them particularly disagreeable.

Despite not possessing an actual 'Charisma' skill, he does have a rather magnetic personality that makes him easily likable. That, in addition to his adoration of the heroes of old such as King Arthur and the Knights of the Round or Charlemagne and his Twelve Paladins thanks to being told stories by his mother Aliénor d'Aquitaine, means that even with the more troublesome aspects of his personality present, he strives to act in a manner that he considers honorable and knightly-- wishing to help the common folk, and finding the prospect of 'saving humanity' a noble and exciting path to follow.

To put it simply, he's a royal pain, but a royal pain that you'd rather have as an ally.

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: EX (B -> A++)

Mana: B

Luck: C

NP: A

SKILLS:

Magic Resistance (B) - Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by greater magecraft and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected.

Riding (A) - All vehicles and all creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts.

Godspeed (A) - A skill crystallizing his ferocity and speed on the battlefield and the extent of his marches. The longer the battle continues, the higher his Agility parameter climbs.

Lionheart (A) - A skill embodying the name 'Lionheart'. When he's present on the battlefield, enemies are inflicted with wariness and fear, and his allies are emboldened with an increase to morale.

All Kinds of Talents (A) - A skill based on anecdotes that proclaimed his talent at a great many things, ranging from combat to the arts. Anything he practiced while he was alive can be performed at 'B-Rank' or higher, and new skills can be picked up incredibly quickly.

NOBLE PHANTASM: Excalibur

The Sword of Forever Distant Victory.

They say that Richard I liked to name any sword that he uses 'Excalibur', due to his immense adoration of King Arthur.

This Noble Phantasm is not the true Excalibur as wielded by the likes of King Arthur, but a replica blade that can be created by Richard whenever he wields something that he wishes to consider 'Excalibur', ranging from a random tree branch to an ornamental sword. The strength of the attack depends on the 'value' of the object, with different objects resulting in a different energy release.

Despite the power of this Noble Phantasm, it will always pale in comparison to the true Excalibur.

NOBLE PHANTASM: Rounds of Lionheart

A mysterious ability to materialize those that he bonded with in life using his own Saint Graph as a catalyst. One of Richard's trump cards, and a skill that even someone as eccentric as himself does not take lightly, and a Noble Phantasm that he keeps close to his chest and doesn't speak of carelessly.

They manifest within Richard's shadow from the records of the Moon Cell. In other theoretical worlds, they would be directly summoned from the Throne of Heroes. They cannot fully manifest in a practical sense, and are weaker than normal Heroic Spirits, but can cover Richard's blind spots and provide him advice during combat.

The number of 'essences' he can summon is dependent on the amount of magical energy he possesses.

EXTRA SKILL: Fury Shift

A unique trigger possessed by Richard due to belonging to a multifaceted Master-- some of which that may have been more attuned to Richard's aspects as a 'warlord'. Richard can take 'Brave Actions', which have a higher chance of causing Richard harm, but increase his 'Heat'. When his 'Heat' is fully maxxed out, the Masters can temporarily shift him into a destructive state surrounded by raging flames-- a true manifestation of 'Lionheart'. Richard's Endurance Gauge will continuously decrease each action, however his destructive power increases immensely.

NOBLE PHANTASM: Utopie Purgatoire

The flames of purgatory burn in the shape of ferocious lions as Richard charges forth.

A violent, massively powerful manifestation of Richard the Lionheart's unreasonable fighting style, where he'd charge ahead of his soldiers-- and the destruction that he left in his wake.

Can only be used when 'Fury Shifted'

-

COMBO ATTACKS:

SWORD OF GILDED VICTORY

{REQUIRES: YOUNG GIL + RICHARD I, -3 MP EACH} --

Gil passes Richard a blade from the Age of Gods from his treasury, allowing him to use 'Excalibur' in a massively powered up fashion, unleashing a barrage of super-powered beams. The blade is destroyed once the technique is completed.

MYSTIC CODES:

'Wandering Rock and Roll'

A fashionable, modern outfit that RICHARD bought for himself. As of now, the change is purely cosmetic. However, there seems to be some latent potential within the clothing...

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Do you have any specific idioms that you’ve come up with for Rohan?

Yes! I’ve got a huge mishmash of adages, idioms, little sayings and turns of phrase that I’ve made up over time for use among the Rohirrim. A bunch of them are in old posts, which I can’t locate because Tumblr’s search function is garbage, so here’s just a random helping from memory in all of the above categories:

“Crumbs will do when crumbs must do” (often shortened to just “crumbs will do”). Leftover from the famine of the Long Winter, it means “stop whining and make do with what’s available.”

“The proof is on the tongue.” This refers to the cultural tradition that the way to recognize whether a stranger is a friend or foe is to see if they can speak Rohirric, but it gained added nuance after the reign of Thengel, when he came back from Gondor speaking Sindarin and Westron all the time, which rubbed people back home the wrong way. Now it’s used as sort of a general expression about whether something or someone is genuinely of Rohan.

“Cirion didn’t win alone.” Based on Cirion coming to Eorl to ask for his assistance (which ultimately led to the Oath of Eorl and the founding of Rohan), it means “don’t be too proud to ask for help when you need it.”

“[Person] rides with their hands at their chest.” Proper riding posture has your hands at hip level, but amateurs often end up raising them higher to keep their balance (rather than making the correction in their seat as they should). Basically, this is one of the harshest insults you can fling at someone by insinuating that their horsemanship is bad.

“He’s going to hear Béma’s horn.” Referring to Oromë’s sounding of his great horn as he rode against the servants of Morgoth, it means that someone did something very stupid and now he’s going to face wrath for it.

“The glory of the grass is the glory of the field.” I stole a version of this from one of my favorite books, Matrix by Lauren Groff, but I think it’s perfect for a kingdom of plains and grasslands where collectivism is necessary for survival. One blade by itself is nothing, but a field has shape and substance and beauty. And if your field is not doing well, your personal glory as a single blade is still diminished even if your blade is thriving.

“[Person] has gone with Ácith.” Ácith is the Rohirric name for Béma’s wife. Flowers bloom in her wake, and so they believe that the appearance of simbelmynë on their graves means that she’s been there to escort the dead person on to their after life. So to “go with Ácith” means that someone has died.

I *also* really like thinking about unique words that would exist in Rohirric and not in other languages. I’m already on record as saying that I think they have DOZENS of words for “horse” that recognize different distinctions and nuances that no one else bothers with, but I’ve also speculated that they’ve got words like something that translates directly as “oath honor” and means the pride of having fulfilled your promises/commitments at great personal cost.

I totally LOVE this stuff and could sit around thinking about these all day every day, so if anyone else has examples that they want to throw out there, please do. I would LOVE to see them!

Check out part two here!

[lets-try-some-writing]

I've asked before and I'm not going to completely throw my soul into the project yet, but would you all be interested in a TF1 rewrite?

I'd keep to all the main points and leave the plot alone, but I'd make a few adjustments while expanding on events otherwise skimmed over in the film. For example, here are some of my plans:

An origin for Orion Pax where I give him a reason to be so interested in the Matrix and finding it.

Proper foreshadowing for the High Guard through new dialogue and cultural habits implemented in a (hopefully) natural manner.

A unique adjustment to Soundwave's character, wherein he is Sentinel's other servant aside from Airachnid and chooses to side with Megatron after witnessing something that shakes his faith.

New backstory material for Shockwave to explain his presence and importance with the High Guard while also giving the question of where the T-cogs went an answer.

An expansion on B-127's character by focusing more on his status as the oldest member of the group and the cycles he spent surviving alone.

Adjustments to Elita-One's background to give her closer emotional ties to the group and give her character a chance to grow and mature.

More time spent exploring the time the group spent traveling on the surface in order to flesh out their unique skillsets and later combat abilities.

+ Additional secret adjustments that will be made to enrich the world we've already been given.

With all this said, what are yall's thoughts? I don't want to give it my all only to find my attempt at a rewrite is not wanted.

[transformers87]

Hi!!… had a very inspiring AU idea from @peace-hunter and their AU Baby Prime Orion.

My AU is similar but with a few differences, none of the servants, generals, and others(like him) knew of the 13 Primes newest and littlest, newborn sibling. By fear of the enemy knowing of their sparkling and of course him being far too young to be seen in the limelight.

When Sentinel found out bout the 13 Primes hidden secret was when after his set trap and killing of them… He and his followers took over the Primes chambers… claimed it as his castle… and would take clean of any trace of where a Prime once roam.

Anything and/or anyone who stood in his way were permantally removed.. by either Sentinel himself or his followers.

During the purge of the Primes royal chambers one of Sentinel’s followers found a deeply hidden room. It was both sound proof and kept clean… but inside the room within the very heart of it, laid a small berth and within it… was the last true Prime…. A small and meek little sparkling, fast asleep and unaware of the whole world.

Intrigued by the new finding the servant scooped up the sleeping sparkling and took him to Sentinel and explained his discovery.

Sentinel was both impressed and amused by the efforts that the Primes did to keep their newborn sparkling safe… but found it amusing due to how greatly they all had failed.

His right hand Arachnid suggested to just end the sparkling… claiming that it a waste to keep the newborn Prime alive… but…. Sentinel held an idea… within the cannon story plot… from what Sentinel had learned… he did tried to take control over the matrix of leadership but it removed itself from him and turned to dust right in front of his very eyes…. So his logic was that only a true Prime could only wield it and its power…. He would play and act as Prime for the citizens of Cybertron while molding the true Prime into his most loyal follower.

Sentinel would play as king and kept the Prime sparkling as the new Great Prince… and would raise him as his own…. Even to name him as Orion Pax….

And I shall dubbed it as The Last True Prime AU

You can ask!! Cause I wanna hear what u think

[tyriq-edits]

The Princessbride

Version 2

“That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying ‘As you wish,’ what he meant was, ‘I love you.’ And then even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back.”

Click here for Version 1

I have already given a brief rundown of the basic plot of the Princessbride for those who may not have seen the movie in a while/at all in my version 1 post of this AU, so I will go straight to the roles. 

In this version of the AU with Orion being Buttercup and D-16 being Whestley, I had two base ideas: Either they are both Miners like in the first version and after D-16 goes missing at sea, Orion receives the matrix of leadership (why or how I have no idea yet so any suggestions are welcome) and becomes a prime so obviously Sentinel Prime takes the opportunity to take Orion as his conjunx for power reasons. 

But Orion is not the only one who had received a bit of an upgrade. For D-16, after taking over the title of the Dread Pirate, had taken the cog of his old Master and the former Dread Pirate, Megatronus. And obviously it would be at this point by which D-16 would start going by the name Megatron instead. 

The other variant would be that Orion was already a noble/Prime. More specifically he’d be the child of either Zeta Prime or Prima Prime and D-16 is a simple servant or stableboy of the prime’s and D-16 left to find riches in order to be “good enough” to ask for the hand in marriage of a prime. 

Apart from that nothing too drastically changes from how the story of the first Version plays out. The roles of Fezzick and Inigo would still either go to Bumblebee and Elita-1 or Bulkhead and Arcee, Count Rougen would still be either Darkwing or Airachnid and the Venetian merchant would still either be none other than Starscream. 

As always feel free to take this basic idea of mine and make your own version of this AU if you so desire.

[nhoeer]

Okay, I warn you this part will be out of context from the original TFOne movie. But I really want SGTFOne to have different vibes with the same destination, or something like that.

My previous drabble of SGTFOne (Just scroll it all down) ; [All part]

This scene is where the convoy reactivate Alpha Trion will be replaced with Sentinel-07 ( I pick number seven because not only it's a prime number but also, its spelled "Zeta" in ancient Greek. Sentinel-07 = Sentinel Zeta aka his Aligned name).

As I said in previous drabble, Sentinel isn't a prime. He is a kind of big android servant for the primes who at some point gained consciences. He pretty much talk like this;

Now, that in the original we see the Primes getting ambushed by the quintessons and betrayed by Sentinel. In the SG thing getting.. radical changes.

First about the Insecticons and Arachnicons, in SG they are the equivalent of cogless miner, they are BORN in their alt mode and never knew how to transform into root mode.

So when the SG quintessons teach them how to transforms ( the quintessons is everything but benevolent rather lies that it was them who gave the Insecticons ability to transforms) the primes became furious and sent the Sentinels and the Vehicons to eradicated the Insecticons, one of the deployment was Sentinel-07.

Sentinel 07, however, took pitty on the suffering of his mindless breathen and the insecticons, decide to betray his masters.

( I want to illustrate how epic it was for Sentinel to fight Zeta Prime with the army of droid and Insecticons, but it turn out bad and ugly)

Unfortunately, Alpha Trion escaped and Sentinel-07 after his fight with Zeta, went into statis before he ever had a chance to destroy the matrix.

After being told that Alpha Trion IS a prime. The convoys find it hard to believe his story, but Sentinel-07 suggest them to check the lower floor where it held Vector Sigma.

Now, the scene where Sentinel facing the Quintessons in the original movie will be replaced with Alpha Trion facing the Spark of Primus himself; Vector Sigma.

Do youl remember sub level 50 where they smelt dead bodies into protoform? Yeah, They all were brought here to be inserted with spark from Vector Sigma. The convoy saw how bot and droid were made from the same being.

Now what more baffling is how Alpha Trion talk with one of the Autotrooper about the anti matter Dee proposed who could be the key to wake up Primus someday. Dee tantrum almost making them get caught, but fortunately the convoy already retreated.

In the Sentinel's cave, Elita talk about how the surface society couldn't be related with what just did she saw, she talk about how Cybertronian was born by evolution, not some kind of celestial entity. But, Sentinel just plainly answer that she is right, the cybertronians are all began with mindless droid, until they developed conscience and went into academy.

This however, caused existential crisis with three of them. ( Except Orion ofcourse, because he always believe Primus is real) Perhaps their whole life, their achievement, their struggle, is worth nothing? they just nothing more than a little cog in the bigger machine. And that bigger machine is appear to be a God in comatose.

Dee who became furious, starts to blame Orion about the whole circumstance. Wich Orion reply with something sinister.

Sentinel-07 suggest the convoy to go back to the surface, it's up to them on what to do with the information they received. But before that he gave the convoy some weapon to defend themselves. ( Because it has different cause, The SG all already had T-cog from the begining.)

Before they leave Orion asked Sentinel that will he come with them too. But, he answer that he is already home.

After the convoy leave, Sentinel-07 get caught by an Autotrooper with very familiar voice.

[doshi-sukiru]

How does shattered glass Megatron die and what was Optimus' reaction? Did he crash out? Did someone get hurt? Did he make life in Iacon hell after Meg's death?

He died from a quintesson attack. In my original sg au and in this side story one, the quintessons had pulled back from attacking Cybertron, leaving everyone to believe they were safe, like how Troy felt against the Greeks. Then, when it was almost a vorn since their last fight, the quintessons launched an incredibly large attack, breaking through the surface and attacking Iacon.

In the original Megatron had survived because he was only sparked at the time, and had escaped by transforming and with the High guard's existence. In the side story, he was trying to protect their son Alioth while also 'handicapped.' He made sure Alioth was kept safe and hidden- because at that time the boy hadn't learned how to transform- before doing his best to fight the quintessons.

Of course, Alioth couldn't be hidden forever, as the quintessons had learned of his existence and planned to use him against Optimus. Alioth had escaped their grasps with a bad scar on his face, and he tried to go to Megatron when he saw him. Megatron hesitated for a moment in panic when he saw Alioth, and that was enough for the guard he was fighting to shoot him near his spark.

Megatron did kill the guard, but the damage was done. He kept reassuring Alioth as he sat their kneeling, consoling him and reminding the boy it wasn't his fault Megatron got hurt. Optimus had managed to arrive to be with Megatron in his final moments, and tried to remove Megatron's spark so he could survive, but failed.

Optimus tried everything he could- use the matrix, but Megatron was always meant to die, he was never supposed to come back, so it didn't work. He got Ratchet to try forcing the spark to come back online, but technology could only do so much. He even tried to put the spark in the birthing docks meant for new sparks (I will explain another time) but that didn't work either.

Yes, he went on a full crash out. He was either holed up in his chambers destroying everything in sight, or out running around Cybertron, trying to find and brutally murder every quintesson in sight. He even tried to attack the high guard, but Soundwave and the seekers held him off long enough to get everyone else away safely.

His ruling fell from benevolent to iron clad immediately. Curfews were strict, no one was to ever mention Megatron's existence to Optimus unless they wanted to die, which many did when he heard a few mechs acting relieved about Megatron's death (they were given a public execution for that).

The worst fell onto Alioth. Because the boy looked like Megatron in some aspects, Optimus couldn't look at him without being reminded of what he lost. He used to blame Alioth in the beginning for Megatron's death, saying if he had just 'stayed hidden' Megatron could have lived. He kept his distance from his son, and instead had Rodimus watch over him. He then had Bluestreak be his guard and teacher after he heard from a passing servant months after Alioth's transformation abilities came that the boy was skilled with using guns like he and Megatron. Overall, their once close relationship became strained.

hope that helped explain it!

[bengiyo]

I’ve just finished my rewatch of Go Ahead, a cdrama you will probably never watch because it’s het and mostly about family trauma. But it’s one of my all time favs and one of the best things about it is the strong found family theme—it’s essentially about three broken families and how they join together as one to support each other. It got me thinking about my fav found family narratives, and especially those that are explicitly queer, because there’s often added life or death stakes in those stories. What are your favorite found family stories in queer media?

This is an interesting question, and I think you qualified appropriately right away by bringing up the life or death stakes of this kind of narrative. I think I want to make a distinction between "finding your people" and "found family" because I think these things often get blurred in romance stories.

Favorite Queer Found Family Stories

For me, a good found family story has to be about the found family component of it. Romance can be a significant portion of the story, but the primary driving relationships need to be about the queers being each other's primary network. I think estrangement from your bio family is a critical component, because knowing you are all each other has is a big part of it.

POSE (2018-2021)

It's really impossible to establish what found family looks like without referring to a show about ballroom culture in NYC in the 90s. We were dying. We were being abandoned. The houses gave people a place to be and a sense of purpose. These kids called their leaders Mother for a reason. Every single queer character in this show was saved by another character in this show before going onto save another character in this show. No show has ever done it like POSE.

Despite their fighting and bickering, Elektra saved Blanca. Blanca would go on to form her own house and provide shelter and support for multiple kids. There is a desperation to queer found family for me that makes it so important. Pray Tell's final choices still resonate with me to this day.

Queer as Folk (2000-2005)

We remember all of the fucking in this show, but this is another show where the queers are their primary support network. Their families aren't really there for them. Justin is kicked out of the house and lives with Debbie for a while, and is nursed by his community after being bashed. Michael and Ben adopt Hunter. Brian donates for Lindsey and Melanie. Debbie housed Brian in the past. Emmett's family disowned him, so his friends are all he's got. The community rallies constantly to protect each other.

Part of what makes this show so special as found family, like with POSE, is how often these folks piss each other off and get into huge fights. They fall out repeatedly in this show over fundamental disagreements that are not easily solved. Some of those fights are ugly in a way only people who know you best can hurt you.

The Fosters (2013-2018)

There's no way I'm not including my favorite TV lesbians of all time raising all them kids on this post. These two public servants found each other, made the difficult choices to be together, and keep expanding their family with more fosters and adoptees over time because there's always more love to go around. This show tackled how important it is to be able to call people family, and what it means for that to be a choice over an obligation. These two always found a way to make it work for their complex family and gave a budding queer the space to grow and be a brat of a teenager after saving him from having the shit beaten out of him for wearing a dress.

Sense8 (2015-2018)

From the directors of The Matrix (1999) and the creator of Babylon 5 (1993-1998), few shows are as queer as Sense8. Eight strangers suddenly become connected to each other and cannot turn it off. Half of them are queer in some way, and it's about their adaptation to each other and looking out for each other as they're literally being hunted. This is one of my favorite sci-fi concepts of all time, and I love the way their relationships outside of their cluster play into their dynamics.

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat (2022- )

This is a recent favorite for this, particularly because of Season 2. In Season 1, we know that Nomoto puts a distance between herself and her family because of the pressure to become a wife. In season 2, we learn that Kasuga has severed ties with her family because of the expectation that she surrender her own life to take care of her family. When she tells Nomoto this, Nomoto gets angry on Kasuga's behalf and they decide to commit to living together. They are also building their community around them, and I better see everyone in their new apartment in season 3.

Gameboys 2 (2022)

So much of what's going wrong for Gav in this season is that he doesn't feel connected to the rest of his bio family after his grandmother passed, and he's desperately holding onto all of the friendships he has because he's so lonely. It's why he's still close with both of his exes (Pearl and Terrence), and why he won't let them go. Also, he's falling apart and Pearl is the one making sure his bills get paid on time.

The Shape of Water (2017)

Shout out to my man Doug Jones for always playing creatures that everyone is attracted to. The way this movie is so much about undesirables choosing to love each other and saving each other. Go watch it if you haven't. This film is not about a sexual awakening. It's about loving inside of a white capitalist structure.

Not Queer But Good

Shout outs for my faves. Some have queer characters in them, but aren't inherently or explicitly queer.

The Golden Girls (1985-1992)

No one did it like them. A bunch of aging women living together and making the most of their lives still resonates almost 40 years later.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)

All of these kids are estranged from their families, and are building out something that works over the course of the show.

The Good Place (2016-2020)

I really love that this is a show about people who didn't get it together in life getting it together in the afterlife because they decided to work together, and then to care about each other. When you're literally being tortured by devils, you're all you've got.

What Doesn't Fit?

This is where things can get a little bit wiggly, but why I want to draw a line on this. I think that shows about queer friendship are important, but I also think that there's a difference between "we are all we've got" and "these people are the most important to me." So we end up with shows like the following.

Noah's Arc (2005-2006)

I often call this the Black answer to Queer as Folk, but I don't think it had time to fully-develop the found family themes in a way that QaF did with its much-longer runtime. Noah and his friends are super codependent and absolutely there for each other, but I don't think the absence of their families is explicitly attributed to their queerness but rather a byproduct of the focus on their gay life dynamics in LA. I love this show dearly, but there isn't a desperation to this that belies the family angst necessary for found family.

For The Boys (2021)

In many ways a spiritual successor to Noah's Arc, this show falls into the same place. The friend trio at the core of this is the most important relationship in their lives, but this show doesn't have the necessary found family angst.

What about QL?

For me, the biggest problem with doing found family in QL is that the primary genre is romance. These shows prioritize the way these relationships will turn romantic in a way that detracts from the found family component even when it's present. Also, because QL focuses so hard on coming of age plotlines, there's an element more of "finding your people" that supercedes any found family dynamics.

I Promised You the Moon (2021) is a good example of this. The primary drama of this show is about the romance between Teh and Oh-aew and the complications they face once they leave Phuket. Oh finds his people there and blossoms from it, but this is a story about how he and Teh can't get over each other.

As much as I love What Did You Eat Yesterday? (2019- ), the only real component of that is in Wataru's character. Kenji gets along with his mom and sisters, and Shiro is working on repairing the relationship with his family the entire time.

With Thai BL especially, I feel like they're big on friend groups, but not as big on found family. New Siwaj loves big friend groups that love each other, evinced by Love Sick (2014-2015), Make It Right (2016-2017), Until We Meet Again (2019), EN of Love (202), My Only 12% (2022), etc. He's done some great work in the space with queer friends, but not really queer found family.

Cheewin, a former collaborator of New's, also loves friend groups that have each other's backs. Probably his best example of that is Secret Crush On You (2022) with that friend quartet. The closest I think he came to found family was Uea in Bed Friend.

Another example that comes close is the unit that forms on their road trip in The End of the World With You (2023). I often think about this group of queers and the kid they adopted screaming to the heavens that they want to live.

Something I love, but which doesn't count for me is Our Dining Table (2023). There are powerful family dynamics here, but like in WDYEY they're adding Yutaka to their family and Yutaka reconciles with his adoptive family. I don't generally think that adding a romantic partner to your family counts as found family. Besides, Yutaka has a stable job and housing.

Final Thoughts

For me, the stakes are pretty high with queer found family, and it really needs to have a queer basis for me to feel strongly about it. Going back to their bio family is not an option, and often times the terms we use for traditional relationships don't always fit properly (yet another reason why Unknown got so much right). I don't think it's queer found family when they're students in college whose families just aren't around because they're paying for their kids to go to school. Finding your queer community as an adult is a huge part of growing up, but a queer found family is there for the really ugly and desperate parts of existence that your friends might not see.

[tila-bean]

Thoughts about the Regret Murals, Solas, the Inquisitor, and their relationship.

So I'm on my first Veilguard playthrough and I have so many feelings after unveiling (hehe) the regret murals in the Lighthouse. SO MANY FEELINGS.

Now, relevant context: It's my first playthrough. Yes, I know I just said that but I need you to understand this: IT'S MY FIRST PLAYTHROUGH. That means I don't know how the rest of the story goes and I don't care to know how it goes from any source that ISN'T the game because I'm avoiding spoilers like Neo dodged bullets on the Matrix. I just really needed to come here to share the full range of feelings I'm feeling. PLEASE DON'T SPOIL ME.

Also, because this is my FIRST PLAYTHROUGH and I don't know how the story goes from here, I might very well change my mind on the thoughts expressed here. I've already been warned that Act 3 will require tissues and perhaps a therapy session. I'm not encouraged by this, but also not surprised. It is a Bioware game after all: they love to destroy us emotionally with their incredible storytelling.

So first of all, the nature of Mythal and Solas's relationship shocked me. We knew from Inquisition that there were some feelings involved, at least from Solas to Mythal, but the depth of them impressed me. In Inquisition, it seemed like a sort of devotion, like a loyal servant's or a good friend's, but wow, it was so much more than that. I know the game tries to make it ambiguous or at the very least leave some amount of interpretation around it (Bellara with her "elves felt very deeply, it didn't have to be romantic", and Taash's "they were doing it!") But to me, it makes more sense to say they were in love. Who becomes flesh against your own judgment just because a friend asked? Who commits the murder of giant magical beings just for a friend? And who seals their old friends, breaking the world in the process, just to avenge another friend? It truly gives the impression that Solas loved Mythal both deeply and desperately, and a small moment tucked in there gave the impression that that love was not only corresponded but that they were even happy together for a while, at least before Mythal left to be part of the Evanuris. I also got the impression Solas loved Mythal more than Mythal loved him, but that could just be because it is his memories we're watching, not hers. From what small bites we get from Morrigan after the fact, making her unable to act against Solas even though both she and Mythal's fragment judge him for his actions, I do think she did. Sadly I can't really quantify how much she did love him and if it was as deep as what Solas felt for her. I do have to mention that I resent Mythal for a variety of reasons and that colors my judgment of her and her actions in all this, although that just might be jealousy speaking. My Dread Wolf! Mine! 😠

The whole Blight revelation was incredible. We knew for years that Mythal and Solas were once close to each other, and there were SO many theories behind Solas being a spirit and/or that other elves used to be spirits too thanks to Cole's dialogue snippets, but to learn that Solas and Mythal were responsible for the creation of the Blight? That they tranquiled the Titans and were the reason why dwarves are the way they are now? That the blight wasn't something that already existed and was found (and blamed on Andruil, usually!) but was the consequence of a desperate act to end a war, which in itself was caused by another fuck up when the elves came to be? Like damn. Really, damn. This memory was the one that shook me the most. And it was this memory that really helped me understand the character of Solas all that much more.

I can't hate him. I completely understand how others could hate him or continue to do so even more than before after learning all of this, but I can't. I just feel this horrible amount of pity for him. He took form under the worst circumstances and made decisions that wildly backfired on him, and I can't blame him for regretting it all and wanting to go back to being a simple spirit. My Inky would understand all of this after learning about it and have this tiny part of her tucked deep inside where, despite knowing how he feels and understanding why he does, shamefully be glad he did take form because she's grateful to have had the chance to meet someone like him.

Now, I can almost hear some of you: "What, she still loves him? After all that??"

YUP.

My Inky is someone who loves deeply. Their time together was short, their relationship even shorter, but it made a tremendous impact on her. To me, she's the type of person to not fall in love easily, but once she does, she's in it. Like really in it.

I didn't think of her as inexperienced (not that that's a bad thing anyway) but she didn't have any meaningful liaisons before the start of DA:I, so her falling for Solas so hard and fast was a very surprising and even terrifying event to her. She was secretly glad he asked for time to think after the Fade kiss, I headcanon, because she was just as confused as him, even if she was the one to take that first step between them. To me, they just clicked together in a way she hadn't ever experienced, and in the time they were together through all of the events of Inquisition, that bond deepened and deepened. She knew she wasn't getting the full picture from him, that there were things he hadn't told her. She patiently waited for him to open up and was devastated when their relationship ended as swiftly as it had started, not knowing even why. She's had a long time to think since then, busy handling the Inquisition through its last years and then later managing the chase to help change his mind. She's had the opportunity to build something new with someone else, but it didn't feel as right as what she had with Solas. And to her that meant it couldn't be as meaningful. Was she right? I don't know, but she chose not to pursue it. That was something she could live with and didn't regret.

I feel like all of these murals would have made Inky feel very similarly to me. She would have understood the man she loved way more than she ever did when he was in front of her, felt horrible for him and his circumstances, but at the same time, she unexpectedly felt something she didn't think she would: she'd feel small.

In the face of his deep love for Mythal and the actions he took for her, she'd feel small. Because here depicted is a man that, when he loved someone, he broke the world for her. And for her? For Inky? He couldn't even be honest, be it with his words or his actions. He never fully opened up to her, and was never fully vulnerable with her, even though she was for him. She'd have these horrible thoughts, after learning about the murals, that would say "You didn't mean anything to him." "You were a distraction, a momentary source of good feelings he hadn't felt for a while, but it was never truly love." "He loved Mythal. See what he did for her? He couldn't even do half of that for you while you were together." And that would break her, at least as much as she allowed herself while managing yet another darkspawn invasion in the South. It would devastate her to see how much of a blip she was in his life when, to her, he was everything. She'd chastise herself, there are more pressing matters to focus on after all, but that doubt, that possibility of being unimportant would catch up to her when she was alone.

Now, is that the truth of the matter? I don't know. I've gotten one, JUST ONE, miserable Solavellan crumb so far in the game (when meeting Inky for the first time in Minrathous) and I'm STARVING for more. Do I love my crumb? HELL YEAH I DO. Do I think it's worth the 10 years I've been waiting for it? No. GIVE ME MORE BIOWARE.

OMG SOLAS DID YOU ACTUALLY LOVE HER. DID YOU LOVE INKY.

Anywho, those are my thoughts so far. DAMN YOU, EGG 🍳

[sagethegaywitch]

My Transformers Canon

I plan to write some Transformers works soon so I just wanted to clarify my own personal Transformer canon. This is my own opinion so you don't have to agree with it, but I know the Transformers canon is a mess right now so I just wanted to make my own. It's heavily based on the Transformer Prime canon, but with my own twist.

D-16 (Megatron) was a miner, born into the role without any way to rise up.

Orion Pax (Optimus Prime) was studying under Alpha Trion, to become a scholar and his successor.

Ultra Magnus was a military man, working his way through the ranks at a shocking speed until he became the leader of the Wreckers.

Ratchet was a medical student who studied and practiced during the day, but at night worked at the gladiator pit as a field medic.

D-16 was approached by Senator Shockwave one day, given the opportunity to become a gladiator if he agreed to undergo bodiy modifications from the scientist.  D-16 agreed, rather dying for research than alone in the mines.

After his body was made into the ideal form of a leader and fighter, Shockwave gave D-16 the name Megatronus after one of the Primes to be his gladiator name.

Megatronus fought in the gladiator pits, quickly climbing up the ranks and winning all his fights because of his modifications.  He was a proud mech, believing that this is where he was meant to be and do for the rest of his life.  Megatronus only found one worthy competitor, Soundwave, and he trained endlessly to defeat him.

Orion spent most of his time in the Hall of Records in Iacon, researching and working with Alpha Trion.  That's how he met Ratchet one day, both having bumped into each other in the library.  Ratchet and Orion become unlikely friends, both helping each other research and working together during the long days.

One day Ratchet invites Orion to a gladiator fight because he has an extra ticket from his night work and Orion takes it gladly.  That is when Orion sees Megatronus for the first time, falling in love with the stronger mech.  Ratchet can see this, and while he does have feelings for Orion, he helps Orion meet Megatronus one day because of his access to the underground rooms of the gladiator pit.

Orion and Megatronus hit it off, talking about all sorts of things, but mostly their love for justice and the Matrix.  Eventually they get in a relationship, which leads to Ratchet distancing himself from the both of them, focusing more on his work and conversing with Shockwave over their research.

One day, Megatronus decides he wants to become the next Prime, bringing Orion to support him as he asks the council for the Matrix (There was no current Prime at the moment because there was no need for a leader. Megatronus wanted to reform Cybertron to make it a better place).  Of course it all goes wrong and the council is offended that Megatronus would ask such a thing, but they offer Orion the position because of his connection with Alpha Trion.

Megatronus is pissed, cursing out the council and vowing revenge.  Orion goes to comfort his lover as Megatronus storms out, but is stopped by Alpha Trion.  His mentor urges Orion to take the Matrix, saying that it is a great honor to be bestowed the creator of Primes.  Orion takes the opportunity, thinking that Megatronus could still stand by his side and they could lead together.  Orion takes the Matrix, becoming Optimus Prime, and the first thing he does is go off to find his lover.

Optimus could not find Megatronus though because his lover went into hiding to gather his allies and those who did not support the council and their corrupt behavior.  Megatronus changed his name to Megatron to shed his glory of being a gladiator and servant to the council.  He appointed Shockwave and Soundwave as his most loyal followers, finding Starscream and a few others along the way.

By the time Optimus finds Megatron, they have an argument.  Megatron thought that Optimus chose the Matrix over him while Optimus is trying to justify his reasoning.  It ends with the two breaking up and going their separate ways to lead their factions.

Megatron is heartbroken but can’t show it as he starts attacking cities, and Optimus gets reassured by Ratchet who supports him along with Ultra Magnus who they befriended when the war started.  At this point, Optimus starts a relationship with Elita-One, the leader of an all female warrior faction.

Eventually the war ravages Cybertron and the Deceptions managed to capture the planet. The Autobots have to flee the Cybertron with the AllSpark, the Decepticons close on their tails.  Shockwave stayed behind to manage the planet while the other Decepticons were gone, constantly battling it out with Elita-One and her warriors that decided to stay behind.

This leads all to the present day when Megatron and Optimus Prime fight it out on Earth, gaining younger and newer survivors (Bumblebee, Arcee, Knockout, Breakdown, etc.) and befriending the humans.

[tgrailwar-zero]

Servant Matrix: YIN YUANSHUAI

Class: Alter-Ego True Name: Yin Yuanshuai

Gender: Male

Alignment: Neutral-Balanced

Height/Weight: 129cm / 24kg (Child), 170cm / 64kg (Adult)

Source: Chinese Folklore/Legend, "the Investiture of the Gods"

Region: China

ENDURANCE GAUGE: [X/X/X/X/X/X/X/X]

MANA CHARGES: [ X / X / X / X / X / X ]

COMMAND SPELLS: [ X ]

In Japan, he is seen as a singular god (Taisaishin), whereas in China he is seen as a commander of many gods known as 'Taisui Xingjun'. In this summoning, he is closer to his Chinese divine incarnation, Taisui Tongling Yin Yuanshuai (Commander of the Taisui, Marshal Yin).

Perhaps he is classed as Alter-Ego because he sees him and the other 60 Taisui Xingjun as part of the same 'system' and therefore he is but one of many. Perhaps it's due to him being split between his 'older' and 'younger' selves.

Rather than being summoned to the Solar Cell due to being a Solar Divinity, he was summoned as a response to the increasing power of the Konjiki Hakumen (Golden White-Faced Fox). A defensive measure against the Nine-Tailed Fox's apotheosis. However, after a brutal attack, he was forced to split his body and revert into a form more reminiscent of his childhood self.

As a child, he encountered the Masters and their party, who took him in. A kindness that was seen as simply 'kind' by the young Yin Jiao and as 'reverently noted' by the adult Marshal Yin.

While Yin Yuanshuai is a gentle soul, that does not mean it is wrong to fear him. Those that offend or cross the Taisui will be faced with immense misfortune. His power as a Divine Spirit is immense, and he holds a strong mind for battle tactics and combat sense. It's just difficult to tell at times, as he has a quiet and aloof personality that is sometimes difficult to read or follow.

His child form is excitable and optimistic, enjoying exploring and learning new things. Perhaps this is what the human 'Yin Jiao' would have been like if the fox demon hadn't arrived?

Until he's able to return to the Port to regain his power, it is difficult for him to remain in his adult form for extended periods of time. However, he can fight in either form, though his true devastating divine might is best unleashed in his adult state.

Strength: A

Endurance: EX

Agility: D

Mana: B

Luck: D

NP: EX

SKILLS:

Divinity (A) - Taisui Tongling Yin Yuanshuai is a powerful Taoist God that was granted apotheosis after Taigong Wang's Investiture.

Magic Resistance (A) - Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what greater magecraft it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi. Due to training and battling with Xian and Spirits of the highest degree, his resistance to spells is almost immaculate.

Gods of Calamity (A-) - A skill that shows the Taisui Xingjun as deities that brings calamity. It was believed that any activity, such as civil engineering, done in the direction of any of the twelve zodiac Taisui was in that year would invite calamity. While this calamity can be reduced with worship, one does not want to clash with the Taisui Gods more than needed.

Shiròu (C) - Taisui is syncretized with Shiròu, a buried flesh monster, known for moving underground in response to Jupiter's revolution. If he's, say, found during a construction, it's believed that those who unearth him or build a house on top of him will suffer terrifying divine punishment. However, other texts mention that eating him doesn't reduce his volume and that eating him grants eternal youth. This skill is reduced in effectiveness and should only be used in a pinch… but the younger 'Yin Jiao' doesn't mind being eaten to help others.

Philosophy Key (A) - Being the student of one of the Twelve Golden Xian, he possesses a strong grasp of Philosophy Magecraft and possesses a Philosophy Key which he can apply to perform Xian Arts that rivals that used during the Age of Gods. While not as adept at magic as the Twelve Golden Xian, or even experienced Taoists such as Taigong Wang, he was one of Guang Chengzi’s best students, putting him on a similar level of many great Age of God magi.

Taisui Tongling (EX) - The great commander of the 60 Taisui Gods that rule over the Zodiac. A mixture of the Charisma, Tactics, and Valor skills. Additionally, the luck parameters of enemies can be lowered if they fail a check.

NOBLE PHANTASM: Bell of Falling Souls

A treasured weapon (paopei) which, when rung, causes the souls of others to fall off. Those that hear the bell are forced to make a ‘luck check’. If they pass, then they merely feel an intense gravitational force on their body which can (potentially) be overcome. However, if they fail and lack the proper Magic Resistance, there’s an additional chance for an ‘instant kill’. If they do possess the proper Magic Resistance, then they simply pass out for an extended period of time, leaving them exposed but alive.

NOBLE PHANTASM: Taisui Awaken

A Noble Phantasm that brings calamity to those that cross and disturb the Taisui Xingjun. Various proverbs throughout Japan and China still remain that warn others not to disturb the Taisui, and the divine punishment of the Taisui Gods is rightfully and immensely feared. Those that are reckless and overstep their boundaries regarding the Lords of the Year are heavily cursed.

[aparticularbandit]

it is important to me that you understand that:

junko has no luck (and when she does, it's bad luck)

nagito has fantastic luck, but it always comes at a cost - for every moment of good luck, there is also a moment of bad luck; the higher the good luck he wants, the greater the sacrifice of bad luck he needs first (see case 5)

izuru has luck with no cost, which makes his luck better than nagito's; he's the inverse of junko, but his luck is downloaded, fake, contrived (like the rest of his talent is)

this must be combined with:

junko can calculate and anticipate anything provided she has access to the right dataset (the better she knows someone/something, the better she can manipulate them/it - this extends to talent as well; the more data she has on how someone's talent functions, the better she can imitate it, which is why she can't imitate ryota's animation as completely in the way that she wants (different talents have different rates in terms of how much she needs to analyze them, though))

nagito can deduce but he cannot mimic; he dabbles in manipulation, but he is much more of a servant to someone else's goals, which means his analysis is always in service to someone else (kyoko is similar but not quite the same; kyoko can get to the point of deducing fast enough to prevent things, which is a lot more similar to junko's analysis, just used in a different way; kyoko's more straight forward than junko is, which is why deduce and not analyze)

izuru's analysis functions the same as junko's does, except that he doesn't need to analyze someone else's talent to mimic it; he has had talent downloaded straight into him like neo in the matrix; if he wants more talents than the ones he already has, he's gonna need them downloaded again, probably

as a result:

junko's weakness is luck and incomplete data sets; an incomplete (or wrong) data set leads to a miscalculation, and when something relies on luck and cannot be precalculated or predicted, then junko falls. she relies hard on her analysis, which gives her a blind spot. (junko, however, is aware of this. that's why she has both nagito and izuru on deck; in the hope calculation that their luck, correctly used, will allow her to predict things that happen by chance as well)

nagito's weakness is his reliance on his luck. he believes in his luck. his luck will take care of him. he can't control how it works, and he can't control how the bad luck will happen or who it will happen to, but he doesn't need to analyze something for his luck to get him out of it (and the smaller the chance that something will happen, the more likely it will happen to him; his luck works on an inverse to everyone else's, basically, so what's the point of predicting things on what is most likely to happen when, for him, it will probably be the other way around)

izuru could cover his incomplete data sets with his luck, but tends to rely so completely on his luck to cover his ass that he stops analyzing and leaves himself open there - he should be the strongest of the two, but really tends to leave him with more weaknesses until he figures out how to use the two in conjunction; something junko has figured out but cannot do because her luck is not her own

[commenter2]

Again its great that Transformers One will be part of a trilogy, as I can definitely see the last movie being focused on Unicron attacking Cybertron.

Such a movie would be an awesome excuse to highly reference plot points from Transformers: The Movie, like (if explored in Transformers Two) seeing the Dinobots fight Unicron, having Weird Al voice Wreck Gar again when/if the Autobots meet the Junkions, and seeing Hot Rod become Rodimus Prime where we could see Optimus give the young bot the Matrix of Leadership.

It also could go over stuff not talked about much, like how in some continuities, Hot Rod is stated to be the reincarnation of Primus in a way.

Maybe this time "Galvatron" was Unicron's attempt to make the perfect servant for him, but in the end the old Megatron reappears and uses his new form to help the Autobots defeat Unicron. Maybe similar to Transformers: Prime, the events of the movie makes Megatron make peace with Optimus.

[askvectorprime]

In Fall Of Cybertron, where does Metroplex actually come from? He first appears just sitting within a stone's throw of the Ark, no one seems to know he exists, and he seems to imply he's a direct servant of the Primes.

Dear Titanically Twisted,

Metroplex was indeed a servant of the Primes, specifically Alpha Trion. Back during the Age of Origins the world was still wild and dangerous, making the prospect of building civilization a difficult one. In this, Alpha Trion recruited Metroplex, a recently forged and gigantic warrior, to act as guardian for his newly-planned settlement. Within Metroplex's citadel form, Alpha Trion would build libraries, schools, and medical facilities, all to help the establishment of a golden age. Many bots flocked to this site, which Alpha Trion named Iacon. The city expanded, new buildings being established outside the citadel as the population grew, new fortifications to drive back the wilderness. In the end the citadel of Iacon became a forgotten relic, and Metroplex assumed a deep slumber.

Then came the great war. With Megatron's many invasions and sieges, Iacon's defences were destroyed. Old facilities were brought back online, including the citadel. When Optimus Prime was planning the exodus, the wide forum outside the citadel was chosen to build the Ark's launch platform, in the hope that the ancient weapons of the citadel could defend it. Indeed they would, as the desperate refuelling of the citadel stirred Metroplex's spark—and with the power of the Matrix, he was roused to his full strength, allowing him to drive back Megatron's penultimate assault on the Ark.

[quetzalpapalotl]

Darlings, let's do this again, properly this time. Less you forget what I'm about

Do you vote for the one you like best or the one you hate most? Yes

Propaganda under the cut, provided by your local bastard politician fanatic

Nova Prime: Served under Prima as Nova Major. The only one in this list that held the real Matrix, but he didn't become Prime because of it, he became the leader of Cybertron when he united it after the 13 Primes break up during the First Civil War (not to be confused with the Autobot-Decepticon Civil War). His reign was supposedly the most prosperous but it had all the seeds that would later make Cybertron get worse. He actually had a hand in ruling and did things like gettting the Cold Contruction program going. He fucked off to do expansionism and went MIA, returned 6.2 million years later to try to merge this universe and the evil universe he got sucked in. Is defeated but comes back again some years later and is stopped again.

Nominus Prime: He somehow became Prime after Nova dissapeared around the same time the Functionist Council was established. Notorious bigot whose reign was characterized by social disparity. However by the time of Chaos Theory he's more of a figurehead with the Senate being the ones that really do the ruling, but before that, it's said that it was the Coucil who called the shots, so for good or bad, I don't know what this dude ever actually did besides looking pretty. His contribution to the narrative is to be put in a coma and then dying, he has no spoken lines. His own Senators sent an attack on him to try to get to his matrix and dispose of him to put their own puppet Prime when they figured the thing was fake. In the alt timeline, the is the Council that kills him alonside the rest of the Senate. This guy just doesn't seem to have anyone on his team. But hey, he actually stays dead. Doesn't have any good shots in the comic so I had to use his reference sheet for this poll.

Sentinel Prime: The aforementioned puppet Prime that Proteus put on the job after killing Nominus. Also doesn't seem to do any legislation, but he does lead the Cybertronian Security forces, so that's something. Got Orion's boyfriend empurated and shadowplayed. The Council lost even more influence during his time. Megatron kills his whole senate and then him. He didn't really die and was wearing a suit the whole time, because he's really a servant of Onyx Prime that was waiting for his return. So it's revealed in an executived mandated-event in a plotline that you could erase and wouldn't really change the overall plot, but it allowed us to learn that he things romance is for people who are deranged.

Zeta Prime: Was friends with Shockwave who tought him such a trustworthy guy he left his boyfriend in Zeta's care. When Orion was this close to turning against the establisment, Zeta somehow becomes Prime after Megatron "kills" Sentinel and gets Orion to stay on his side only to constantly manipulate him and use him for propaganda. Pretends to be all cool and progressive and did technically do away with official functionism, but didn't fix Cybertron's inequality and secretly brainwashes people and other nasty stuff, but he is rulling. When he couldn't deal with the Decepticons he lost it and became worse until Orion got fed up and joined Megatron in killing him. Also actually stays dead. Pretty sure he only exists bc they killed Sentinel too early in the timeline. I have to constantly remind people who he is because they forget about him or get him confused with Sentinel.

[nazrigar]

Been loving everything about your All-Sparks AU. The idea of Optimus been influenced by past Primes is especially interesting to me, since one idea I've considered for my own potential Transformers AU involved the Matrix trying to mould its current bearer into its idea of a perfect leader.

But one thing I've wanted to ask about your AU in particular was what gave you the idea to set the human plot in a post-GI Joe status quo. Most writers who cross over Transformers with GI Joe do it so the two groups can team up or fight, so I'm wondering why you decided to use these characters for a world where the war with Cobra has ended (which is a really interesting idea mind you, just curious).

Thank you so much! And oh hey, no spoilers, but we do have remarkably similar ideas!

Honestly because we have SO many stories of the Joes in their primes, and not enough stories of "what comes after". Their time in the sun has ended, and all seems well... but now there comes to hardship of what comes after service.

Lonzo Wilkinson (Stalker) decided to become a public servant for the good of his city, his state, and eventually his nation. Col. Abernathy (Hawk) decides to remain in the armed forces as a "regular" colonel. He still has some fight left in him, might as well stay to remain a good example for his men... even if that might means less time with his wife, Sen. Barbara Larkin. Meanwhile, Marvin F. Hinton (Roadblock) has successfully created a successful enterprise ala Tiana from Princess and the Frog!

Even then, just like in real life, just because you're a hero... not everyone gets a completely happy ending post-war, or just outright get a downer one. Some like Wayne R. Sneeden (Beach Head) just could not adjust to civilian life, no matter how hard he tried. Others like Ralph W. Pulaski (Steeler) just slinked into the background, trying to make ends meet from job to job.

And Scarlett? She's an incredibly traumatized person who still keeps a strong face for the good of her daughter, Sierra.

Compounding all this is the original Joe himself... Joseph "Joe" Colton... who has enough power in government that, if at any time that any of the retired Joes getss a call from him, there's little they can do to say no. He's a constant specter on their lives.

And when Cybertronians get in the mix? Well... that's gonna cause problems ain't it?

Lastyly, there's also a bit of meta commentary: among the franchises of the 80s, few have aged or stayed relevant as Transformers, so in a way, having the Joes be mostly retired is a reflection of how, as of right now, only the Skybound comics have successfully "modernized" G.I. Joe for the modern era of the 2020s. G.I. Joe as we know it in popular imagination had its time in the sun, and time will tell if it can be revitalized or not.