Was so sad because I was thinking about how eridians can leave a small piece of their carapace to loved ones after passing, but Grace can't exactly do the same due to being human and then got an Idea.
After Grace dies, Rocky recieves a small, preserved bone from his body, as per his will. Rocky is confused, but the note he is given explains that this is the hyoid bone, the only "floating" bone in the body due to it not being attached to any others + its main purpose being protecting the throat. Protecting the voice box. Thank you for helping me find my voice, the note ends with. The idea of a man who was chosen to go on a suicide mission because he "didn't have any connections" giving his best friend a symbol of both their connection and a way to say I'm still here, still singing, in my own, strange, human way.
I'd like to think Rocky keeps it with him until he passes, too.
Every couple weeks I see someone making the point that IDW1 ruins its premise because the Decepticons started out 'in the right' and ended in galactic genocide, which itches a little. I feel like many people miss the 'point', if there was any, which is that the Decepticons were always a faction that correctly diagnosed many problems with their society and then used that fear and anguish towards personal gain.
Long post ↓
To be clear: Megatron is a fascist. This isn't something he slowly formed into over the course of the war, it's how he started it. At some point he personally believed in a route that followed pacifist, collective reform, but this was never his true party line. Megatron didn't envision a world where the subjugated were free from their hierarchy, he envisioned a world where he was on top instead.
Quoth Towards Peace: '...your "betters"? You have none. We are all equal. And we have a right to decide how to live our lives.' This is notably not, and never was, how the Decepticons were organized. Hearing it straight from Megatron's mouth, one might believe this is completely at odds with what they become in the future, but that's exactly what he wants his listener to believe. Here's one of my favorite moments in all of IDW:
Over and over again, he says us versus them. He doesn't specify who 'they' are, because the point is that the listener can fill that image in with their own personal grievances. He wants them to believe, as Drift says, that there is no other way. He does not believe in equality. He poses the Decepticons as the "betters" instead— the strong, the powerful, the just; they are the true voice of Cybertron, the real heart of this nation. The way Megatron speaks eliminates any shade of grey from their world. There is only us and the enemy, and the enemy is both infinitely powerful, oppressive, and infinitely weak, pathetic. Never mind that there are people within the system who seek to change it for the better, like Orion Pax, never mind that there are people on the streets already fighting for it, like Hot Rod. There's only with Megatron, or against him. And if you are with him, you are stronger, more noble than you have ever been.
Believing that Megatron's voice is the only one speaking for justice in IDW1's pre-war Cybertron is falling for his charisma. The Decepticons were never the 'good guys'. Megatron used the pain of his people as leverage to put himself in power...
...and if they're brutal, cruel, it can only be the fault of the system. The Decepticons didn't make themselves that way.
...if they're selfish, deceptive, it's only a failing to hold close enough to their zealotry. There is nothing wrong with the heart of the movement— the true heart of Cybertron.
A real Decepticon is always just.
The Decepticon Cause meant something different to every person who believed in it. But the Decepticon army exists with the singular purpose of war, of which the singular purpose is control. Megatron is ruthless, nationalist, anti-religion and anti-compassion. He pretends his expansionism is defense. His vision for the future is freedom only for himself.
All that to say it pains me greatly when people say that IDW is flawed specifically having the early Autobots be in the wrong and the Decepticons in the right. The point isn't that either of them are the right one, but rather that war is never just. There are no perfect heroes in IDW; only millions and millions of murderers. This is what I love about it!!
after reading MTMTE, i realized that Amica Endura is basically a Caimen thing. cause Nautica has to explain what it is to Swerve and explains it as something similiar to 'best friends'.
this would mean that Amica Endura is not a Cybertronian thing. like they do NOT have that. also you can have multiple Amica Endura. Nautica basically makes her entire friend group into her Amica Endurae (assuming thats the plural)... Skids, Brainstorm, Velocity, Rung, Nightbeat are all her Amica Endura.
also, you can sever the Amica Endura bond. just like how Nautica did with Firestar. whether the Conjux bond exists on Caminus is unclear. for the longest time, i thought Amica Endura was something already existing on Cybertron because of the sheer amount of fanfics but apparently its not-
but i like to think that on the Lost Light and back on Cybertron, there were cultural exchanges between all the colony worlds and Cybertron.
this opens up a lot of oppertunity for silly misunderstandings, interesting plot lines and i think it would sort of broaden perspectives.
from what i've seen, the fandom generally clumps together all the Colony worlds under the banner of 'Cybertronian Culture' although there are very distinct differences between them:
Caminus is very religious with 'The Way of The Flame' as their dominant religion. they rever the Primes and are generally more focused on arts. they have many sacred traditions and clearly have better access to ancient Cybertronian technologies and practices (which they probably preserve very seriously) considering the fact that their the only planet with 'cityspeakers' [another fascinating concept].
Carcer has a more militaristic, nomadic culture. they are a military dictatorship that moves from planet to planet on their ship they call 'Carcer'. they're not religious in comparison to any of the others colony worlds at all. how do they get energon for their ship? considering its a big ass spaceship that's been running for millions of years, it needs fuel. how did they get all that fuel? was it through pillaging or through some sort of bartering system? how does currency and economics work on what's basically a nation-state inside a giant spaceship? i like to think they operate similiar to the nomadic Huns or Mongols. i also like to think they're exploration-oriented as well as adventurous in a way considering they just drift into the vast unknown of space.
Eukaris has its own distinct clans (who don't seem to like each other very much) on their planet so they're not really united under a single planetary banner. its why they chose the outcasts from their clans to represent their planet. which probably means each clan has their own culture, their own dialects, their own laws, and their own currency even. these clans seem to be focused on the type of alt modes the inhabitants have and inter-clan relations are forbidden considering how Tigertron & Airazor got kicked out of their clans for loving each other. there is possibility that these clans could've even engaged in territorial disputes and even wars. these clans must have a clan-head/clan-leader (like we saw with Cheetor & Dinobot).
i don't think Velocitron is focused on speed alone but also science. they're a scientific society in a way because if you want to reach top speeds, you sure as hell cannot do that with just any car. as a F1 fan, racing is a combined effort of the scientists who make efficient fuels and design the engines, the mechanics who implement these technologies onto a car, the maintenance crew who ensure the vehicle is in proper condition and of course, the racer who garentees the win. not to mention pit stop crews and coordinators. it also explains why they're the least religious, they have 0 concern for the state of their Titan.
Devison is the one colony world i can only speculations about. everyone has a twin on this world and you cannot transform without said twin. so i'm assuming sibling-hood is very important and even the cornerstone in their society. i think they're one of the more friendlier colony worlds considering how they always have to share things. they're generally shorter than most of the bots from other colony worlds. clearly, they have some sort of emphasis on the importance of combining/combination. i like to think that the enigma of combination is a sacred object like the matrix of leadership for them.
then there's Prion. we know nothing about Prion other than the fact that the Black Rock Consortia obliterated its inhabitants through genocide, leaving Nickel as the sole survivor. whatever remnants of Prion and the culture that Prion had remains with Nickel alone.
the sheer amount of headcanon-ing potential here is insane. i'm disappointed we as a fandom do not use all this to their full potential here- IDW1 has a Caimen who becomes a Decepticon. imagine a Carcerian who opts to be a Decepticon, a Velocitronian who follows the Way of The Flame, Cybertronian racers who move to Velocitron (Velocitron running on tourist revenue at some point)...
i feel like the Decepticons, Phase 1 Megs would've loved Carcer. he would've gotten along well with Elita One. probably the only place where 'Peace Through Tyranny' actually works. though i dont think Elita would support him in conquest. she'd be disgusted with how Megatron eviscerates entire planets. while Carcer is a military state, they aren't expansionist. but knowing Megatron and considering Carcer has a rather state of the art military, he would be keen on letting them in or trying to make them join his cause espcially since they're also a mechanical species. it would be interesting to see those two converse but alas, we were robbed.
THIS!!! it's such a shame that not many go into speculation and discussion about the other worlds and colonies within the universe - its such a great avenue to work with
all i want for 2026 is that gigantic rancid AI bubble to finally burst in such a catastrophic way that the consequences will be so good and i'll never have to see another AI generated image ever again
This is important to reblog for yourself too, not just for others to see it. You never know when something could come up and if you need help it’s right there on your blog
You could say I've got some strong eelings on the matter @seaflooratthebottom - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
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