#Mtmte issue 15

[several-things]

Wowwww animatioooon

But just 5 seconds cuz I don't have the perserverance💜(((:

[dividingcosmos]

I've shed tears

I've lost my soul

I've cried profusely

P.S. Yes, I didn't put it in order because I'll cry harder that way

P.P.S. Peep the colour I used for the 2 lines- I put all my blood sweat and tears for this post solely cause I need to share my pain

[rayven-ray]

Random thought: i cannot stop thinking about this scene despite having read it first time months ago

It's interesting from a point that Rewind had to ponder about the value of his relationships with Dominus and Chromedome in a hypothetical situation where only one could live

And the pondering resurfaces in the final issues, where the situation is not hypothetical anymore

I love this parallel

[loverlighted]

Hey boss sorry i cant come into work im crying about dead robots

[keferon]

Hi! I already read MTMTE and currently half through LL but I really want to read something about Prowl and Constructicons because the concept sounds cool but I've never read anything about them. Can you reccomend where for me to start?

Ahm okay let’s see

I believe their dynamic is established in Robots in disguise . Issue 14 or 15 is where they form Devastator and merge their minds for the first time.

This comic is where all the funny screenshots with them came from :D

(It’s also very much full of complicated lore and politics and plot lines crossing each other I have to warn you. But Prowl and his BTS squad have pretty simple dynamic that you could enjoy even if you don’t understand the whole plot line)

[mnemo-sick]

mtmte things I love: rewind and his relationship with split-second decisions

(spoilers obv)

issues #15, #38, and #53

[decepti-thots]

What do you think of the 2019 transformers is it worth the read?

As with any request for recs/anti-recs, this is something I can't really tell you without knowing your personal tastes, anon. Maybe it is for you and maybe it isn't- I dunno what you do and don't like! Whether I'd recommend IDW2 depends entirely on the tastes and interests of who I am speaking to, same as any comic. (There's plenty of people who, for example, I wouldn't recommend MTMTE to, because it wouldn't be their thing at all. Etc.)

I can tell you my feelings and assessments of IDW2, which is that while it had a slightly rough start (you can tell Ruckley was getting to grips with a monthly comic format and the way comic dialogue works), I enjoyed the overall run a lot because I like stuff in which slow worldbuilding and lots of interconnected plots are woven together gradually are a focus. It was a lot less character-focused as compared to e.g. MTMTE, or even exRiD, but that's not a mark against it for me personally. It has some great big fantasy-scifi concepts going on that I found really compelling and to me that run is the most grounded and lived in Cybertron has ever felt, which was for me a huge plus in its favour. It has its strengths, it has its weaknesses, overall I enjoyed a lot of IDW2 and want to revisit it sometime. Maybe in 2025!

I'd say give it 15 issues (which is around what I myself can read in, say, an afternoon at the weekend in one go) and just... see if it grabs you! If it does, keep going. If not, try something else instead! By that point, the comic has about settled into what it's doing, I think, so.

[autosuns]

Of Ambulon and Pharma and doomed amica endura

I'll preface that I'm the last person to try and explain my ships by how canon they are and this is very much the same case of me just entertaining the idea and what their relationship represents and what role they play in a wider story, this is not an invitation for discourse or a debate. It's just me rambling on why I like the ship so much, think Pharma and Ambulon are narrative foils, while using some canon stuff and word of god.

Jokes about hamburger or hot dog or literally anything regarding Ambulon's death will end in block idc I think it's obnoxious 👍

CW for robot gore, discussions of torture, you know, the package that comes with DJD and Decepticons and MTMTE.

When it comes to Ambulon and Pharma's relationship, I think it's fair to start with bare bones, yeah?

I'm going to start with each character individually, what my take on them is, so we're all on the same page.

Ambulon

So, the basics are:

Ambulon was part of the failed combiner project of decepticons, the first combiner at that. He has horrible alt mode, that brings him a lot of shame, so he prefers to keep it a secret. He switched to the Autobots, eventually.

We don't know for certain if he was created for the project, or was one of the "volunteers". What we do know though, is that he's an MTO specifically, not just constructed cold, and MTOs were a concept of war.

Meaning, he cant be older than the war. Meaning, in my personal opinion, he was either made for some operation, then snatched by Shockwave for the project, or was created already specifically for the project.

There, I think, comes a timeline conflict. It feels unfeasible, to me, that MTOs were made this early into the war, by Decepticons. What I think happened, is that Shockwave did try to experiment on other Decepticons to figure out and develop on Jhiaxus' research, but once MTOs as a concept came into the picture, it became infinitely easier to just have an alt mode pre-made for a mech.

Unless when Shockwave said he was going to give Megatron a gestalt he meant he'll postpone it for 4mil years and do it a little before he succeeded with Devastator so Ambulon deserting LITERALLY as he is picked out for the combiner project JUST to avoid it makes this line from him especially funny:

Boy for all we know you're not even 15 years old.

Also the idea that character like Ambulon did that out of some sort of cowardice, that THIS was his breaking point to join Autobots, feels wrong.

In-text it becomes even less likely Ambulon had a life before the project, as his name "Ambulon" seems to be the only one he ever had (judging by his statue post on Necroworld).

I think why I'm getting a Little long-winded explaining Ambulon is to draw a better picture on his experience with Decepticons, Specifically Shockwave.

That to say, he had a horrible one. He knows better than anyone what Decepticons are capable of and how far they will go/what Megatron would allow. Especially once DJD comes into the picture.

And it just emphasizes the way Ambulon in the end of it all chose kindness. The first issues he appeared in cement it very well, especially since most of his intro we get from First Aid's point of view.

Ambulon is tetchy, can be a gearstick sometimes

Ambulon took pity on the Decepticons he thought were hunted down by the DJD

Ambulon convinced Pharma to let them stay

The Genericons showed their scars to Ambulon specifically

Ambulon gets passionate about hate crimes concerning one's shape/alt mode

Ambulon is "tetchy" and rejects First Aid's idea because he's concerned that it's too risky

For Ambulon to put your own life on the line to save a single life is an act of selfishness (also stemming out of his concern for First Aaid, imo)

Ambulon let the Genericons share a cell

To sum it up: Ambulon is very greatly concerned for the greater good and treating people without bias, Decepticon or Autobot, especially when there's any sort of discrimination involved.

(Using Genericons and Triple M as a tool with Ambulon was a very clever foreshadowing for Ambulon's situation, but it is a general theme that runs in these issues and Ratchet's/medics character arcs, it's the functionism, one's shape and purpose in life, but it is a completely different post to make. Just let's keep the theme of one's shape and purpose in mind.)

The thing is, Ambulon is who he is by choice. His Decepticon past is always showing, whether he wants it or not, but all he wants, essentially, is to help people and treat them with kindness. He's a "gearstick", but he's a gearstick with a big spark. He saw the greater cruelty in Decepticons and made a choice to never participate in it.

Ambulon is an MTO who made his life and became what he wants to be despite everything: Decepticons, his alt-mode, biases, all of that. He's true to himself and his intentions.

I'm gonna also get this out of the way that Ambulon's established character is continuously ignored, dumbed down and twisted: the point is that I do believe JRO didn't think about him that much or that deep, and what he did with him did not retain with him into further issues. That is to say, "You're gonna let Dr DJD cut us in half?" is a dumb fucking line to come out of Ambulon specifically, makes no sense, too snarky and cruel all things considered, and while I think it's also very funny it jsut shows Ambulon's accidental insignificance. Ok. That's all.

Pharma

Oh boy this one's a doozy. Okay, listen, I'll try to get more brief with it, try to get straight to the point, but Pharma has so much nuance around him on a greater scheme of things that it might also just be it's own post. SO we'll just try to focus on his persona and relations to others.

Pharma is a doctor of talent on par with Ratchet, if not actually better. He used to be friends with him, he's implied to have used to do medical service in the new institute, and eventually was stationed on Delphi by Prowl, practically abandoned by Ratchet. There, he ends up being blackmailed by Tarn, ending up killing his patients to meet the increasing quota, being led to the brink of creating a virus that he exposes the facility to in hope to close it down and escape it scot-free. Obviously, because of Ratchet, it didn't work, the rest is history.

Unlike Ambulon with his 3 panels and a half of screentime worth talking about character-wise, Pharma is a combination of multiple things at once, his place as an Autobot, his connection to the DJD, his act, and most of his actual character we get from very few shots of him from the past and what people say of him, and just a little of his behavior at Delphi before his crime is revealed.

So I think we'll focus specifically on the Decepticon part when it comes to Pharma cuz it's much easier to talk about.

Pharma vehemently, without hiding it, hates Decepticons.

It will go into even bigger field of speculations than trying to piece Ambulon's character together for why he hates them so much. It could both just be a thrown in line for the story to flow (Genericons) and act as a foreshadowing (DJD blackmail), the fact of the matter is, he hates Decepticons, he does not have pity for Decepticons, and if DJD did not play into his hatred, years of war for sure did.

(Also worth mentioning that in the issue #4, the paralleling story is Tailgate learning about the war and backing off on his decision to be a Decepticon. The entire build up works very well, imo, and plays into just how much it should hit you when Pharma turns out providing for DJD, along with the choice of Ambulon to not be a Decepticon anymore.)

You see, I think Pharma is incredibly caring person. He cares for his patients and he cares for his people. He takes his work extremely seriously. He's willing to be a donor for his patient and he's still conducting research to cure illnesses when there was no legitimate point for him to do that anymore. He's not just a surgeon, but he's a virologist/epidemiologist.

But, probably when we ask ourselves, "So if he was such a wonderful doctor, equal to Ratchet, someone Ratchet recognizes, why wasn't he the Chief Medical Officer in the first place?"

I think it's mostly his personality. It's his hubris and ego. It's also the inherent societal bias of Cybertron when it comes to jets - though this part of worldbuilding isn't that consistent, he is a forged jet AND a doctor.

And that's also why I think he doesn't believe in that "forged" functionism bullshit. BUT thats another post of its own (take a shot every time i say that in this post).

Let's just bullet point this:

Pharma is a talented doctor who's good and dedicated to his job. Practically nothing is impossible for him and it becomes a focal point of his conflict with Ratchet, too.

That said, Pharma's shape is what, I think, is responsible for his hubris. He's a jet, he's forged, he's a doctor, but he's a doctor because HE, PHARMA, is good. Nothing to do with some God. (which is different from Ratchet's internalized functionism)

Pharma hates Decepticons, he tried to kill the DJD, and it may seem like he pushed it all on Ambulon because he was a Decepticon, but I don't think that's the case. Specifically because of this:

He does not see Ambulon as a Decepticon, and it was just panicked shitty lie he had to quickly come up with on the spot.

Pharma feels guilt for his actions, and after killing Ambulon, he's actively taunting First Aid to kill him.

Pharma is a jet doctor trapped in the loop of self-sabotage after being exploited, psychologically tortured and left for dead, after a poor attempt of saving face. Pharma is a jet doctor who embraced his new look, but couldn't live with it, far from accepting it. Furthermore, his body is used by Adaptus himself, where the only thing he could do is trying to get his body back, to help his comrades, only to end up dying, again.

That's where I'm going to use a single word of God that makes, all in all, a lot of sense.

"Grurdging respect" is about best way to describe Pharma and Ambulon.

Now since I've reached the image limit on this post it's relentless rambling and speculations time!

You probably can already tell where I'm going with this. I think Pharma and Ambulon direct inversions of each other.

Decepticon gone Autobot as a choice - Autobot gone rogue out of blackmail and fear of failure

MTO doing what he wants to do and taking control of his body and life, disconnected from a gestalt or his "purpose" - A forged jet trying to continue his career of a doctor despite all the odds but who's agency is continuously taken, not only by others but by his own ego

Where they overlap, is their desire to do what they want. Where they differ, is one's sincerity and other's toxicity.

Ambulon is someone Pharma would never be, and someone he, on meta level, wishes he was more like. He doesn't want to be Ratchet, even if we think a little about his obsession and desire to prove to Ratchet that he's better, he wants to be someone Ratchet would respect. And in the end of the day, it all didn't matter anymore, because clearly Ratchet never respected him enough in the first place: "waging a war on his body", taking body parts for his own gain (hands), that Pharma didn't even really care about anymore. It was personal. He wanted Ratchet to hurt.

All of this, ultimately, is justified. Little who would respond to knowing someone who betrayed you (and whom you, also, betrayed) also breached boundaries of your autonomy. It's just basic decency. I don't believe TFs never heard of that or don't follow it, in some fashion. Maybe it's more loose, but for the purpose of drama and villification of Pharma, it was convenient, I guess.

See, Pharma is just inherently, like anyone, very flawed. The circumstance he's put in and the war led to the worst of his qualities spike. And in relation to Ambulon, it's the inverse of a person who, having seen the horrors of the war, having been through the horror and the existential dread of being in a gestalt, chose kindness anyway.

"Grudging respect". A jet doctor, a genius, and an ex-soldier MTO, who made the choice of helping people. An ex-Decepticon, too, no less.

See how it could've developed into something more?

Both eager to do their job, Ambulon is a perfect stabilizer for Pharma's general emotional response to things. He may be a good doctor, but he's prone to acting and saying things before really thinking about it. Ambulon is capable of convincing him and giving a good argument, without it being personal.

"Grudging respect" with Ambulon working with one of the best doctors out there, who's work is going to be invaluable even after his death.

And if things worked out differently? Do you think Ambulon wouldn't be there to sympathize with Pharma's trauma regarding DJD? Do you think Ambulon wouldn't pity Pharma for what Tarn put him through? Ambulon? The Decepticon who was there? The one who even should fear DJD the most? The one who might've even triggered DJD once he was so close on the radar?

He might've confided in Pharma in the first place, as someone literally second in charge after him.

Pharma and Ambulon are defying Adaptus as a societal concept, among with the existential idea of your shape dictating your purpose. And within the text they don't just defy, they end up suffering the most out of it - Pharma ends up in a position where his hands are praised more than he, as a person, is, Ambulon dies by these hands, and his death dooms Pharma as well.

I hope it was comprehensive enough, i WISH i could include more images to prove my point. The amica endura would've been insane. If only the circumstance was different.

[transformersbrainrot]

Finally got around to reading post-war idw and like 15 issues into MTMTE I thought to myself "this is really good but I feel like I should read the first part of this continuity" so I went back and started the IDW Collections and... damn these are not as good...

[ratchets-old-hands]

MAJOR MTMTE AND LOST LIGHT SPOILERS

MTMTE issue #15 vs Lost Light #25.

Ratchet kept his promise.

[potato-sauce]

Currently thinking about mtmte issues 15 and 16

My heart cannot take this

[autobot-ratchet]

MTMTE 53-55

MTMTE 53

very cute how many people are calling Tailgate “slugger” now

SKIDS AND SWERVE ARE SO SWEET... I'm just soaking up as much time with Skids as I can, either this issue or the next one is the one where he dies and I know it's gonna hurt all over again

it's also sweet that Drift suggested everyone record a final message. It's funny in a very bittersweet way how he's actually pretty emotionally intelligent, he just never applies any of that to himself

aww, Nautica's improptu amica ritual... she loves them and wants them to know, to make it official........

“Yeah. Later, eyebrows.” bites my knUCKLE SO HARD IT BLEEDS

god the tension in the scene where Chromedome and Rewind separately but simultaneously find out exactly where Dominus went is killing me lmAO good on Drift for calling Rewind anyway. Good on Rewind for giving Rodimus a good punch too, it's been a long time coming

god. Rewind having to make the choice between losing Dominus for good or losing Chromedome... so fuckign good. It was so good to see all the “Rewind is a bad husband who cares more about Dominus than Chromedome” talk just fuckin hard stop after this issue came out lmAO Issue 44 spelled it out with words but people straight up didn't read those so this one made it crystal motherfucking clear and I am still so grateful

fdsjkghfjk goooOOODDDD, THE FUCKIN PARALLELS TO ISSUE 15... The use of one of Drift's swords, Rewind making a life or death choice, Chromedome losing the same fucking arm, the panel of Chromedome curled up on the ground in the exact same way but Rewind is with him this time, fuckgfhjsdks this arc fuckign rules it's so gOOD

love this conversation between Cyclonus and Whirl too, love that Whirl just comes right the fuck out and says it, “Hey are you dating that guy you like yet? Did you talk about the trauma? Like, actually talk??? Bitch???????? Tell me about your gayass feelings, I am going to force you to say it out loud” he's RIGHT and he should SAY IT!!!!!!!!

“I suppose I'm afraid.” “Good! Me too! You think anyone here isn't scared?” TELL HIIIIMMMMMM

“You're a good captain, Rodimus. The better captain...” CORRECT. ALSO GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND FIGHT

“Thanks for traveling with me” *salutes* anythign for you........

MTMTE 54

“I'm sorry, Rewind- I can't deal with that right now.” ehuehuehuehuehue I know that reference

Overlord's petty bullshit is significantly less entertaining when he's doing it at Chromedome, you keep Rewind's name out of your slutty, slutty mouth

“I thought someone I love had died.” punCHES THE ARM OF MY CHAIR REPEATEDLY

“Is it getting hot in here?” GNAWS MY ENTIRE HAND OFF

yeah nope just Skids remembering Grindcore has started the waterworks, it still hurts just as much lmAOgfhjdsk

jhdfkjsthank you Tailgate for making me laugh, hell yeah, punch that dude's head off

that panel of Roddy breathing fire is still so hot lmAO

I do love the confirmation that Megatron's change of heart was all Megatron, the “fool's energon” may have made him think he was being drugged, but it was never the case, it was all in Megatron's head and that is very much the point

Oh, Skids... Ohh, Skids........

oh you fuckin slimy bitch, I forgot that Tarn orders Deathsaurus to throw all his men at Megatron while secretly having his own guys fall back

I do find it kinda funny that after so long of wanting Megatron to stop fighting and killing people, the comic now makes us want very much for Megatron specifically to Kill These Fucking Guys So Hard Please

oughdfjk Nautica holding Skids's body...

MTMTE 55

man it's so fucked that the crew saving some organics came back to bite them in the ass, they were just trying to do good...

ooh I forgot that they used the distress signal on Deathsaurus. Well, more like they used it in general and Deathsaurus was particularly vulnerable to it

still fuckin LOVE Nickel abandoning Tarn, I gather up all the canon instances of Tarn being a cringefail loser and I roll around in them like a pig in mud

I TAKE ALL THESE PANELS OF MEGATRON KILLING THE DJD ONE BY ONE AND I SNORT THEM LIKE CRACKED COCAINE

“Everything you did was for nothing.” MOANS AGGRESSIVELY

sorry okay I'm normal now, love Rodimus going out of his way to rescue Megatron lmAO this was another thing I saw people complain about, they should've just left him, he killed the DJD so he had his big moment and now he can die for his crimes, but nah, that ain't what it's about. It's about Roddy being a good person, that's all there is to it, he could save him so he did

Megatron is going through it. I'm trying to remember the nuances of this moment because just taking it at face value, it looks like Ravage used his last words to beg Megatron to stay a Decepticon and then Megatron proceeded to immediately throw the Decepticon badge/mask away the instant he saw Terminus but I'm trying to remember if that was the case or if Ravage was saying “don't go back to being a Decepticon,” OR if he was even talking about factions at all and he meant for Megatron to never doubt himself so much again and the badges are merely symbolic

still sucks that Censere took Nightbeat's advice and started saving people instead of just cataloging them and it got him killed so fuckin fast

oh shit that's right, the fuckin Galactic Council threw a geobomb at the Necro planet ghjdfks well rip I guess, hell of a way to end this arc

god. This arc really was just a constant stream of dubs for me personally lmAO so many bad faith theories and takes were debunked, like Rewind valuing Dominus over Chromedome, the fandom's poor understanding of Tarn was fucking obliterated, I got my boys Drift and Ratchet back, it was great lmAO It was especially great because like I said waaaaaaaay way back in the preface for this whole retrospective, this fandom made me feel like a complete fucking idiot for having faith in this comic and this arc not only affirming all of my theories and feelings (except for Tarn being Roller) but explicitly debunking a lot of takes and theories I thought were bad was pure fucking magic lmAO it made me start to realize that I'm NOT an idiot, actually, my reading comprehension is good, better than all these people who are so rude and aggressive about asserting their opinions, and this is a good fucking comic that I was right to have faith in. THAT'S why the Dying of the Light is my favorite arc

[loverlighted]

GOD FUCKING DAMN IT

[yogurtlid10000]

I wish I could read MTMTE again for the first time… (I say this about every media I get obsessed with) anyway I was rereading issues 15 and 16 and

Hmmm I didn’t realize brainstorm and quarks thing was foreshadowed here already with his little “Take it from someone who knows” I THIBK THATS WHAT ITS IMPLYING?? 🤔interestinf

Anyway this conversation (the brainstorm and chromedome one) is so underrated and really good

Also THIS ooorrrghhpainful. Brainstorms lines slap

[elfelt-valentine]

Hi! 3, 6, 9 and 12 (TF) and 8 and 15 for Ambulon please

Aecho Hi!!!!!

Transformers

3...which scene I would like to erase from the universe and why.

Auuughgh I'm not even gonna try and think too much but like half the deaths and deaths fake outs in mtmte are grating me, I think if i sat down and actually tried to tell you i wouldn't come up with anything concrete or really worse erasing. Despite how much criticism i give to tf media there's barely anything that makes me mad enough to erase it from existence.

6...which is my favorite platonic or familial relationship in this world.

Charlie and Bumblebee is the biggest comfort to me!! I can't just keep talking abt idw1 LMAO their friendship is so wonderful and I hope we get to see them interact again at least briefly.

9...which characters I think should have interacted more in canon.

Oh man. It'd take another list. I think i would've loved to see Shockwave and Ambulon and combicons in general interact. Would've loved a little more into Shockwave working on the combiners and flashback on the combicons even if vaguely.

Amb got some daddy issues i know he does /j

12...what attracted me into checking it out.

It's actually been with me my whole life i was a HUGE transformers kid with the first two live action movies and tfp, i just kind of fell off when i started using internet much more. I had a HUGE crush on Bumblebee, esp Animated one, even wrote Ded Moroz a letter asking for an animated bumblebee toy. With a drawing. With me and Bee.

I didn't get the toy though and my parents never indulged me cuz they weren't big fans of me being into "boys" things so fucking jokes on them now.

Though if i had to say why i got so much into it recently (its going to be exactly a year since tomorrow. LMAO) its cuz I've had a passing interest in rewatching tfp and then i kind of got Really into starbee and found out about idw1, watched the live action Bumblebee, got Transformers devastation on my laptop, started reading a Lot of starbee fanfiction and eventually started reading idw1 and watching tfa, which became an actual rabbit hole for me. And here I am........

Ambulon

8...if I'm most interested in fics about them that focus on fluff, angst, humor, smut or actual plot?

I'll be real I mostly read fanfiction for smut cuz when it comes to anything non-shippy I'm very picky and particular w the way my favs are characterized and how things are written, but smut is somehow much less commitment to me lmao. Especially w Ambulon I'm very territorial w him.

So yea most fic I've read w him was smut.

I don't mind non-smut/ship fic recommendations I'm just bad at finding fic like that I would like lmao. Which is very funny to me cuz most stuff I write isn't really about shipping.

15...how I wish their story would go/would have gone.

He shouldn't have died like that, my entire Ambulon blog is a fix-it fanfiction. He's such a low stakes character from like. Narrative stand point, that his death is a tool for other characters "development". I don't really like how much his character was warped and twisted in general cuz Jro cannot be consistent w Ambulon for the life of him. But also I get it, y'know? His death was stupid but also not like, getting rid of another bg character is that much of a deal, even though it's insane how much personality and story he was given as a one-off character lmao.

I love the angst around his death though he makes a good story ghost.

[mtmte-bracket]

[ROUND ONE] The Dying of the Light vs The Ties That Bind

A quick summary/refresher for each storyline is under the cut including TFWiki links:

The Dying of the Light: the MTMTE finale (if not quite the actual last issues published before the relaunch). The cast gets kicked out and stranded by a mutinous Getaway, and the DJD show up to make their day literally the worst it could possibly be. Tarn’s here, Overlord’s back, there’s a lot of people the Necrobot has been keeping cryogenically frozen in his basement, you know the drill, this one is usually remembered. TFWiki link.

The Ties That Bind: the “third Scavengers story”. This wraps up the story between the Scavengers and Grimlock and leads into the Lost Light finale; this is where they run into Scorponok and his weird little baby, accompanied by Nickel. Agonizer sends them off to find the Magnificence and, and, and look- nobody remembers this arc for that. This is the “Scorponok is fucking pregnant” arc. Okay. You remember. It’s the pregnancy one. TFWiki link.