#solution for mistakes

[redo-rewind-if]

Sorry for the lack of snippets lately, I figured since it's so close to release that I wouldn't do anymore atm but... I couldn't resist sharing some of this scene lol.

[lord-squiggletits]

Y'know the thing about writing feral/unhinged versions of Orion/Optimus, is that you can't go too far into the feral/unhinged direction to a point where OP's core character traits are lost or become too diminished. After all, in a multiple-continuity franchise like TF, part of what makes the stories make sense is that even if details change (sometimes major details), the characters are still recognizably themselves to one degree or another. (Although this isn't always the case due to executive meddling or some characters being such blank slates from their initial G1 appearances that there's basically nothing to model them off of, but I digress.)

It's pretty much another reason why I love IDW1 Optimus, bc he literally is a canonical feral/unhinged Optimus who's unhinged as a direct consequence of who he is as a person and what he's been through. Like, he still has those fundamental character traits of trying his best to be moral and make good choices, trying to be a role model, etc, except after 4 million years of war and untreated depression he's basically holding onto his sense of self by his fingertips. So when he "goes feral" e.g. losing his temper and beating up/killing people or saying hurtful things, he's feral in a way that's directly tied to his normal personality and not just as a random quirk he has.

IDW OP's feral moments arise from the gaps between "Optimus' attempts to be who he thinks he needs to be" and "the reality of the world that he can't fix/seems to only make worse" that cause him to lose hope, or become cynical, or lose his temper. But in this case, the unhinged-ness makes perfect sense because it arises out of Optimus trying and failing to be the best person or to make the most morally good choices he's trying to make. Basically, the "feral/unhinged" label is just another way of me trying to say that he's not just unhinged because he's weird or because he's a bad person, but because it's an emotional reaction (more like an emotional explosion due to pent-up emotions) to the context he exists in.

I'd also say that IDW OP's personality being generally reserved/stoic and (trying to be) noble works in tandem with those moments he has of going feral because it makes him more realistic. His psyche is treated in a way where the writers are like, "Hey what if the pressure of having to be everyone's idol and be the best person in the galaxy at all times actually broke Optimus down mentally and emotionally?" It makes IDW OP far more relatable. Instead of naturally being a perfect Christ-like figure who never wavers in his morals or convictions and is just naturally a nice person who always has the wisest and best answer, being a good person is something that IDW OP has to consciously strive to be. Even when he feels like it's useless, or the cycle of violence will never stop, or any attempts he makes to help only ends up with things becoming worse.

And I feel like this does a service not only to IDW Optimus as a character, but also as a sort of moral/philosophical perspective for the reader to ponder upon? I feel like culture at large (or at least my experience of it) tends to believe that "goodness" in a person is simply an innate feature that people are born/not born with, and that being "good" means that you must be good at all times, both in your actions as well as the way you feel emotionally about yourself and the world. Like, there's a tendency for our vision of "a good person" to be good in every aspect at all times without having to try to be a good person. So I think IDW Optimus' character stands as a good example of how someone can be good at heart but still struggle to maintain those feelings of optimism and hope and justice. It's a good idea to have such a paragon of a character (in-universe and out-of-universe) be so conflicted and to even be mistaken, misguided, or make things worse because it shows that goodness is as much about "trying to behave/act in a way that is good" and not just "existing as an innately good person."

It's way more realistic for a person to want to be good, try to be good, and sometimes/often fail than it is for them to just be a good person. I enjoy the fact that IDW Optimus is both a good person at heart, but also has to strive to be a good person and live up to other people's expectations of what they see in him. I like how he wants to be a good person and change society for the better, but he also spends a good amount of time either feeling hopeless and alone or being angry at/detached from other people because of how frustrated they make him. He's realistically portrayed as someone who wants to be good and hopeful and change things for the better, but is also mentally and emotionally broken by that burden because of how impossible it is for him to Fix Everything and be the Perfect Prime/Leader/Autobot that people see him as. It's this fascinating mixture of "yes, this is who he is as a person" but also "there are things he desires to be that he could never possibly become or live up to."

This got really far off based from feral/unhinged Optimus sdklfjaslkdlfkas. The TLDR is that if people want unhinged OP, I feel like they should give IDW OP a chance because he IS unhinged but he's unhinged in a way that's a realistic/thematic representation of how being an Absolute Good is impossible. And how being a good person isn't just about Existing And You Are A Good Person, but rather goodness is a constant state of flux in which you adjust, you make mistakes, you lose your temper and feel hopeless, but then you pick yourself up and try again.

Also IDW OP really likes climbing in dangerous wilderness and jumping out of flying vehicles which I think is very feral and sexy of him to do.

[skloomdumpster]

[p4nishers]

"ok so WHAT IF aziraphale ACTUALLY–" what if aziraphale had religious trauma and was brainwashed for thousands of years and what if he can't escape the thought of wanting to do good and be good and what if he was shocked by the kiss and hated himself for liking it so fucking much and what if there were no coffee poising and brain control and secret plans and body switch but only a character with flaws making mistakes bc he thought it would mean finally being FREELY together with the demon he wanted for more than 6000 years. what then?

[iamhellborn]

The Boyfriend-participants and what they learned/taught

Usak

Learned: To open up and express his feelings

Taught: Gensei and the others to fulfill their visit at the Green Room

Gensei

Learned: To express himself and his feelings

Taught: Ryota to do everything he could and spend his time without any regrets

Taeheon

Learned: To be proud of himself for who he is

Taught: Shun that he’s never obligated to do something he doesn’t want, but still has to be considerate of other feelings

Ikuo

Learned: To not come in between people, even if the intentions are good

Taught: The others to keep on trying until the other person becomes interested

Ryota

Learned: To stay true to himself and express the feelings that were important

Taught: Gensei to be true to himself (and taught everyone to make good coffee)

Dai

Learned: To show his love through actions and not just words

Taught: Shun and everyone else communication is key

Shun

Learned: To not be so quick to judge, because he one(s) you least expect way be become very meaningful to you

Taught: The importance of expressing your feelings through actions

Alan

Learned: To respect boundaries and let things go slowly

Taught: Dai think positively and remember his kindness

Kazuto

Learned: To put words into his emotions

Taught: Alan to let things take the time it needs and it will be worth it in the end

[isatoru]

and he knows it too. he’s unbearable about it with you esp if you can’t stand him

oliver when you wake up and he’s smirking at you rubbing his scruff reminiscing about your taste right in front of you and you are so pissy about it and avoid eye contact and he thinks it’s sooo cute compared to your previous night’s facial expressions when he was making you cum so much…….

[10piecechickenmcnugget]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YCGMA‼️‼️

[screambirdscreaming]

At the bus stop one time there was a gaggle of preschoolers waiting to catch the bus for a field trip day, and someone walked past with a couple of friendly little dogs, to great general delight.

But after a little bit, the dogs were getting overwhelmed, and the preschoolers were gently coaxed to back off so the person with the dogs could continue on. Specifically, one of the preschool teachers said, "Sometimes, when you're small, being surrounded by big people can be a bit scary and overwhelming. Even if they are friendly."

This was recieved as great wisdom: after all, the preschoolers were also small, and understood how scary and overwhelming big people could be! And the dogs were indeed even smaller than the preschoolers, so it made sense.

What was funny and charming was that, upon absorbing and reflecting on this wisdom, they all felt the need to tell it to one another. In tones of great insight, they turned to one another and said, "Did you know? Sometimes when you are small, being surrounded by big people can be scary and overwhelming! Even if they are friendly!" Back and forth, without any particular concern that they were all saying the same thing. Have reached comprehension of an insight, it must be shared!

I must say that this behavior is less charming in tumblr users than in preschoolers. Not least because tumblr users, having gained a little analytical skill to misuse, insist on Summarizing and Generalizing and Unifying the insights they repeat, quickly turning any interesting new information into formulaic dogmatic mush.

[knowlesian]

one of the things that worries me most about modern leftism (online in particular, but it’s not NOT a problem in real life spaces) is there tends to be a focus on finding a way to never be wrong ourselves alongside identifying those who we feel have ever been wrong and punishing them forever for it

for a lot of reasons, but practically speaking because neither of those things is a good way to build a movement that is at all effective or has any room for people who didn’t get it before, but have gotten their shit together and noticed reality and thus are ready to lend a hand now

[phosphorus-noodles]

my favorite plot hole of this fic is that oli was missing for ten (10) days and no one knew where he was because he was sitting in a magic cave in another kingdom the entire time

[ohmerricat]

why is gallifrey burning.. they were doing this shit in 2002?

[cantsayidont]

It makes me really mad that no search engine I've used in the past six months correctly, reliably processes Boolean search operators (even if their help pages and technical support people insist they still do).

[lord-squiggletits]

Part of why I hate this fandom's take on Autobots vs Decepticons is ppl (mainly 'con fans honestly) who can't have any nuance of the situation whatsoever and love to write plots like "oh the humans are racist and abusive towards Cybertronians so this is how Megatron is right" no actually I don't think colonialism/imperialism and racism are justified so long as you can point the finger and say "they were the aggressors first" or "their hands are no cleaner than ours bc their society sucks too" sorry. Please come up with better sociopolitical narratives in your war story.

[esspurrr]

the Big Man Boss at work did the most passive aggressive shit ive ever seen a grown man do tonight and then left early before i could be like Hey we're discussing this now so now tomorrow im gonna be in his office like this

[those-badass-reeds]

It is 2023 and I'm 30 years old, why in the HELL am I thinking about Faberry right now

[art-of-mathematics]

Question for you: What kind of polyhedron will it fold into?