#Positive star power

[notokbutthriving]

addition to the Castor isn't an astral thing

so I was thinking about how the best person to corrupt right now would actually be Castor cus he can see anywhere in the universe and could act as a spy amongst the astrals.

Then I realized why the hell isn't Castor just telling the astrals where the negative star beings are?! Technically he could find every one of them and boom jobs done!

Castor is not particularly fond of the other astrals, nor are they of him, but even so he still does his job! So why leave such an obvious oversight?

Well, there's a possibility that Castor is already working with the negative entities, the astrals are working with at least Cetus to gain more control, or everything is a lie and the astrals are just some random group lying and manipulating everyone so they can rule the universe.

Kinda just spitballing with the last one there but if Castor were to be working with the negative entities it would certainly explain every instance of Castor never noticing anything wrong until it's too late. [Rez talking to Lunar at any point, the beast attacking Lunar, Dazzle, and Jack, Rez talking to Earth, the corrupted rats in the shipping area, Rez corrupting Razzle, Rez reviving the creator, Lunar using dark star power at any point, Lunar getting broken out of jail, being unable to find Lunar after he was left in Russia, couldn't stop Lunar from killing Eclipse, literally not 'knowing' Rez existed] so Castor doesn't have the best track record with effectively using his powers, but it almost makes sense if he was purposely turning a blind eye. Additionally, Castor has very clearly stated dislike towards the other astrals, blatant distrust towards Taurus, heavy apprehension towards Libra, and an almost stilted way of talking to his sister [this also covers why he can be mean to Nebula, especially at first, due to a need for control] which would explain possible motivations for working with the negative astrals, as well as why he seems more effected by emotions. But that does leave him a hypocrite towards Lunar.

Unless he's scared Lunar will follow his footsteps.

Castor mentioned that Rez lies, manipulates the narrative, but how would he know that? Officially, Gemini has only met Rez once, but Castor seemed to know more than he should. So it would make sense if they'd met before, and if we consider that Castor might be working with Rez, however unwillingly, it'd make sense.

Were the astrals to work with cetus and the others then there's a possibility it's all an act, the negative and positive astrals are two different sides but they're still the same coin, so it could make sense that they were actually working together [the kinda vibe being if we save people they'll like us so let's get the people in trouble so we can 'save' them] this does leave their motivations. Cause as it is, there doesn't seem to be any reason why they'd do this, let alone keep up the ruse this long.

Unless the astrals aren't even what they say they are. Unless they're not actually great beings that are made of the very lifeblood of the universe but just an alien civilization seeking power. But even then, that is a very weak motivation and leaves plenty of iffy-ness with their legitimacy and plot relevance.

Of everything listed the above the most probable appears to be that Castor either willingly works with the negative astrals or was coerced into doing so.

That, or, and this was originally a silly idea I had that was completely unsupported by both tsbs and myth, Castor could be Cetus's son.

[Aliteration go crazy]

[starry-bi-sky]

don't you want to be a cult leader? - danyal al ghul au

this is mostly a joke post but i thought it was funny and had to share so--

his first mistake was, obviously, inheriting his father's inability to see an injustice and stand still. -- actually, danyal's first mistake was his lair being so big. a mountainous island with a large temple in the center resembling his old home in Nanda Parbat? With sprawling foliage and rivers and streams and waterfalls galore? What was he going to do with all that space? Let it go to waste? He had plants there! Native trees of the ghost zone growing from the soil! He couldn't let it all be left unchecked!

So naturally after helping a fellow teenage assassin ghost -- who he later learns is named Akihiko, -- from Walker of all people, he sent them over to hang low at his lair until it was safe enough for them to wander around the Zone. Walker couldn't get through Danyal's astrofield if his life depended on it, and trust him -- he's tried. Danny was clearing out debris from his stupid transport vans for weeks.

Honestly it wasn't so bad, he and Aki really quickly became fast friends and Danny loves having a sparring partner close to his level again -- he hasn't had this much fun fighting since he left the League. Aki was very dedicated and levelheaded, the both of them clicked really well because of it.

Nonono, the real trouble began after Danyal met some long-passed League members and allowed them to come join his island as well. Apparently they had made a few enemies of the zone, and maybe Danyal still felt some loyalty to the League. He couldn't just let them be left to rot. Their zealotry could be overlooked so long as they kept it contained and helped him take care of his island.

And it.. snowballs from there? He meets a teen squire aptly calling himself Ambroise -- whether that was his living name or not is yet to be seen -- who died during feudal france, who is just about as dramatic and passionate as every french stereotype makes them out to be. He calls Danyal "my moon and great muse" -- which is both flattering and little uncomfortable, but Danyal's grown up in the League as the Grandson of the Demon Head, he is used to mild worship. he passes it off as nothing more, nothing less. -- and while his energy is overwhelming on the worst of days, he helps Danny draw out of his shell more in ways that Sam and Tucker still struggle with.

Him and Aki butt heads a lot, but the two seem to hold the other in at least some positive regard, so Danny doesn't worry too much about them fighting while he's gone. It only becomes a mild issue when Aki also begins calling Danny "my moon". It's a little sweet, so Danyal brushes it off.

Then he takes in a troupe of ghosts some time after he defeats Pariah Dark and they begin calling him "great one" just as the yetis do in the far frozen. This is where he meets the twins -- a pair of sibling ghosts who call themselves Trixie and Missy (short for Trick and Mislead) -- who aren't quite as passionate as Ambroise but more energetic than Aki. Eventually they also start calling Danyal "my moon" and attach themselves to his hip, even within the living. They like to hide in his shadow and cause trouble for the rest of the students. He makes sure they don't hurt anyone.

He's pretty sure Aki is jealous, same with Ambroise, but he can't be too certain other than the fact that they become much more lingering (re: clingy) whenever he visits the island.. Something he's trying to do much more often these days due to the increasing amount of people living there now. Since when did he become so popular?

Then there's Pēnelópeia from the Greater Athens, who ran away from home and joined his Island after he ran into her while she was being chased by Skulker -- and he's pretty sure the reason was because of her chimeric appearance. Her strange eyes and mismatched wings and lion's tail and talons. She assimilates into his friend group very easily, she gets along well with Ambroise and Trixie and Danny usually finds the three of them climbing the trees to pluck the most fruit from the top. They can fly and he knows it, but they prefer to climb.

Then finally there's silent poet Akkara who comes from ancient mesopotamia, who gets along most with Aki -- which is no surprise there considering their similar personality dispositions. he watches Aki and Danyal fight each other and leaves comments on this or that that he notices. He writes Danyal poems on clay tablets and leaves them by his room.

They're one big mismatched group of outcasts, and Danny's got the other ghosts on his island to tend to, because they're living on his island and he wants to be hospitable even if he struggles with that. But he spends the most of his time with them.

Sam and Tucker are making fun of him. Tucker jokingly tells him 'careful Danny, at this rate you're gonna start a cult'. Danny really wishes he had taken that joke more seriously.

He just. keeps. collecting people. Wayward souls lost in the zone, looking for shelter or refuge from something or other -- whether that be another hostile ghost, or a past afterlife, or just a purpose. Danyal finds them, he takes them in, offers them a place on his island until they are ready to leave. Many seldom do. He's not complaining -- he has the space, and it feels like it's only ever growing.

His close friends, his "inner circle" as he's heard the others call them, keep insistently calling him "my moon". He starts calling them his stars, because then it only feels fair. They're his stars, this is his constellation. It becomes a thing; little star halos begin forming behind their heads, picking them out from the rest. He loves them so much, it's hard to place. Sam and Tucker are also his stars, but they reside in the living realm, they're his tie to Life. Meanwhile, his friends here know what it's like to be dead, and sometimes its nice to relate.

Those living on his island keep calling him "Great One" and he's beginning to notice zealotry in their care for his island. He really, deeply appreciates it. His close friends gain nicknames -- as his stars, it's only natural for him to pick them out from the cluster in the skies. Akihiko, his Sirius and bright star. Trix and Missy, Castor and Pollux, the twins and troublemakers. Ambroise, his zealous Antares and close friend. Penelopeia, chimeric and loyal Vega. And Akkara, his Arcturus and strength.

It's ridiculous how long it takes for him to notice; he is, of course, a deadly trained assassin. He is meant to be observant -- and normally he is! But somehow this becomes a blind spot. One that becomes too big to be dealt with by the time he realizes it.

He should've noticed when Aki, his Sirius, stood beside him one day while Danyal looked over his island and saw the sprawling spirits carrying on about their afterlife and bowing to him as they saw him, and said: "I looked down into the depths when I met you; I couldn't measure it." They aren't one for flowing prose, it took him so off guard he was silent for over a minute before he finally spoke.

Danyal should've recognized devotion for what it is, and yet he didn't. He should've recognized it when Antares began spouting praises about him, crowing about his radiance and resplendence to the heavens. He just brushed it off as Ambroise being Ambroise. He should've recognized it when Trix and Missy nearly broke Dash's leg after he knocked Danyal's books out of his hands, he excused it as them being protective. Of them coming from times where such violence may have been customary -- after all, that's what he used to be like. What he was still like, sometimes, when his emotions nearly got the better of him.

He should've noticed it when the people living on his island followed his word like gospel, looked at him like he hung the stars in the sky. When his friends gifted him a shawl with the moon phases delicately embroidered into it, with silver, shimmering thread and moving stars lovingly stitched into it. Their constellations seen clear as day in the dark fabric. When he found small shrines dedicated to him -- but they lacked any image of him beyond stones carved to look like moons, so he ignored it. When the religious imagery began popping up.

He really, really should've noticed it when a bunch of cultists accidentally summoned Antares, and Antares had turned to him when he arrived and called them heretics. But he was so centered on the fact that they had kidnapped one of his stars, that he hadn't paid much attention to what Ambroise had said.

Sages say that faith is blind, they should also say faith in you is even blinder.

It really only hits him one afternoon while he's sitting in Sam's room studying with Tucker, Missy and Trixie lounging at his feet, Aki sat on his right, Penelopeia braiding his hair, Ambroise draped against him, and Akkara lurking over him. Its one of the rare few times they're all in one room together.

It hits him like a bolt of lightning. He looks up from his textbook. "Oh Ancients," he says in no amounting shock. Everyone looks up to him.

"I've become my grandfather."

[chyarui]

My poor broken commander, good soldiers follow orders indeed and you were a damn good soldier (even though you’re an asshole, i still love you 💔)

Firmly on the side that believes Fox was under orders from Palpatine to kill Fives. There’s no way any of the vod’e would kill their brothers unless they literally had no choice. He does what he can to honour every brother whose blood is on his hands, directly or indirectly, on the tattoos on his back.

[dykedvonte]

Can you talk about trans!Curly a little bit more? I'm curios if you have any headcanons and the like

-💀

It's just such a thing in my mind because it adds a truthful sadness and differing aspect to mouthwashing.

If Curly was trans it adds the horror of the horribly selfish thought he could have easily been in Anya's situation. It could've been him but it wasn't and he so conflicted on the pit it put in his stomach that brings and the shameful relief it wasn't. In this scenario he is friends with Jimmy for a long time still. Jimmy likely knew him pretransition. Maybe he gave Curly weird looks then, maybe they never stopped after, maybe they seemed meaner. They are guys now, bros, both of them are. He doesn't really have to worry what those looks mean anymore, Jimmy just has that face with him sometimes. It's recontextualizing a lot of things for him that he was in denial about or too ashamed to admit. How naive he was being and how he let that get another person hurt.

Specifically with Anya, it's he knows the dread and fear she's feeling. He can understand it because he had to live with it for a good portion of his life, he knows it cause he still does, just in a slightly different way. It makes him think of all the times he's been alone with Jimmy, all the times he's been way more drunk off his ass and not remember the night, Jimmy was always with him the next day. Makes him think of the comments he would laugh off both because that's what guys do but because that part of being a girl says to laugh so Jimmy doesn't do something. It's the selfish realization that he was never safe and he's uncertain now too. Mad at himself for forgeting that feeling, espcially since for a long time he would've been considered the only woman on a crew (with all that implies) for a long time.

He should've taken those blinders off, step back into that position for just a moment and it's so much more painful that Anya likely came to him because he should've gotten it. Those thoughts don't leave his mind after the crash when he's in an even more vulnerable position than she was...

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I love Nexus so much.

Well, I love the idea behind Nexus.

A Moon who cared so much he broke himself and forced himself to not care because caring brought him nothing but pain.

However, Nexus wanting to be God is a milk toast boring motivation. It's like saying "I'm evil because I'm evil." Do better tsams please I beg lol

[starrysharks]

melody hoshimoto aka pigtail star !!

[messangerforthestars]

“We need more morally gray characters” you guys can barely handle topaz and jade.

[foundfamilynonsense]

Y’know. Anakin was a real asshole in Ahsoka’s hallucination.

Like. She mentions something about what she’ll be able to teach her padawan one day, since all she’s being taught is how to be a soldier, and Anakin’s like “teaching’s not all it’s cracked up to be”

And like. Asshole move. And Ahsoka rightfully calls him out on it. And he goes on the whole “uuuh I was joking. Lighten up.” Literally a complete jackass.

But beyond how he answered the question, it’s a valid complaint Ahsoka is bringing up! Anakin’s teaching her how to live or die. But Ahsoka wants to be taught how to be a jedi.

What happens after the war is over (order 66 never happens) and she now has to navigate a galaxy without a war? The Jedi take teaching very seriously there’s no greater honor than teaching a padawan. And she’s not being accurately taught, so she will not be able to pass anything on to the next generation.

But Anakin brushes it aside because he simply does not respect her or her wishes. Like. He never wanted a padawan, despite teaching being foundational to the Jedi. And he only took ahsoka in because he started to like her and became attached to her. He doesn’t care about jedi legacy, not really. So he brushes her comment off with a joke.

But in the rest of the vision… idk it didn’t feel like we were supposed view Anakin as entirely wrong here. He wasn’t in the right, he was definitely channeling Vader and being an ass, but he was basically the reason Ahsoka survived the fall, right? Bc he was making her choose life? When Ahsoka wins against him it’s sort of like she’s both learned his lesson and moved beyond him. And then for the rest of the season he’s only talked about in positive ways.

And like. That one line ahsoka said was really powerful in relation to the entire point of the show. What does she have to pass onto her own padawan (Sabine) if she wasn’t properly trained herself? That is, perhaps, the only valid plot question asked in the entire show. And it doesn’t get an answer. It’s never even brought up again.

[woeandgrow]

We could all use some positivity power-ups irl sometimes. ✨💪

I’m very proud of this series and I hope it resonates with folks. They’ll be coming to my shop soon!

[underwaterspiderbird]

“falling to the dark side” is the jedi’s way of stripping agency from anybody who breaks away from them or disagrees with them, it relies on the notion that jedi beliefs are the default & that “nobody could POSSIBLY be a decent, sensible person and NOT want to be a jedi”, & that’s how they get away with othering and conquistadoring anybody who doesn’t think like them.

same energy as “believe what i believe or you’re gonna burn in hell forever” and “my ex is a crazy bitch you can’t trust anything they say”.

[notokbutthriving]

The dual astral Lunar design from this fic-

[astarlightmonbebe]

it's easy to read the situation between li tongguang, ruyi, and yuanzhou as a love triangle on a superficial level, but looking even one step further, it's clear that there's no triangle about it. li tongguang is obsessed with ren xin; ning yuanzhou is devoted to ren ruyi. ltg's obsession is fervent and all consuming, but it's not devotion. like ruyi herself notes, his feelings to her are on the basis of her as a mother figure in his life, as a replacement for what he never received from his mother. is there an element of romantic/sexual love/desire to it? maybe. more likely he's deluded himself into thinking that, because the truth is, it's doubtful that ltg even understands what love is (platonic, filial, familial, romantic, all of the above, etc), because he has no basis for understanding. ruyi's teachings and actions towards him are the closest thing he has to hold up as an example. what he wants is ren xin, is a replica of the master he had. he doesn't want ruyi, because he doesn't actually care about ruyi. therefore, he doesn't care if she's sad, angry, mad; he just can't bear her 'abandoning' him. we saw this way back when she first meet and left him, both at thirteen and seventeen. although he distrusts her first, she saves his life and cares for him in the way no one else has, hence her first being raised on a platform in his mind. when she leaves for good, ending their master-disciple relationship/training, even though it's for official business and she's not abandoning him, in his mind that's exactly what it is. so now that she's in his life again, he won't let her leave again. he was powerless before, a child with no proper name, but now he's a recognized member of the imperial family, a man who can meet her as 'equals' (even when that's far from the truth). as a child, he could only cling to her legs and beg her, but now he has the power to keep her by his side. it's telling that when he finally gets confirmation of her identity, it's not ning yuanzhou he seeks to harm (even though he detests him and their relationship), but yang ying. yang ying is ruyi's new disciple, and as ltg doesn't know she's a woman, he only sees her as his direct replacement.

ning yuanzhou, on the other hand, is devoted to ruyi. he wants to build a new life and future with her, instead of slotting her into a spot in the life he already has. he's someone who accompanies her on walks and makes her midnight snacks, who holds her when she needs to be held and lets her go when she needs to do things on her own. when she speaks her mind, he listens, even when it makes him discontent/it's not what he wanted/wants to hear. he sees her unabashedly as his equal, and though he acknowledges her skills and abilities, or points out her naivety, he never does it to belittle her; to him, she is his peer, deserving of the highest honor and respect. he trusts her to have his back, and she has come to trust him to have her. he did what she might have thought no man would ever do: he proved himself reliable, so she came to rely on him. yuanzhou gives her freedom and autonomy as both ren ruyi and ren xin. of course they run into problems, but they both learn and grow from them, as individuals and as a couple. yuanzhou's belief in her is unwavering, but adaptable, whereas ltg's is unwavering, but frozen in time, disallowing for any new information to be presented. yuanzhou works with ruyi to accept the changes thrown her way; he seeks the core behind her actions in order to better understand her. li tongguang cannot accept the changes in ruyi's character, because they run contrary to the master he has on a pedestal in his mind.

what li tongguang wants is to return to the past, but yuanzhou offers ruyi the promise of a future, even one that might never come to fruition. there's no triangle about it.

[bi-dykes]

Starry Bi 💙🤍💜 Glimmer Icons

Made with this starry bi flag!

[nightmarefuele]

you've decided it's “becoming the thing you hate" but how about rather "becoming the thing you were made for (just very literally and in a manner oppositional to the thing you hate)”

[ghostinthegallery]

Hello Ghost! How about 'Stay with me' 'I forgive you' and 'please hold me' for Orizyn?? Just...please don't permakill any of them? Please 🙏 if you see this

Final prompt request for berill66 (from this lovely list)! “I forgive you” Trazyn/Orikan let’s goooooooo

“I am trying to concentrate.”

Orikan clearly meant that he wished for Trazyn to remove his hand from the astromancer’s shoulder plate. He even punctuated the comment with a pointed glare from his emerald monocular. Trazyn ignored him, instead running his fingers lightly over the living metal which tingled with energy at his caress.

“Don't let me distract you, diviner.” Trazyn stared at the array of glyphs and cryptek’s symbols floating in the air around them. “Besides, you're the one who invited me to witness this.”

“I did not invite you.” Orikan adjusted his position as he floated, legs crossed in midair. “I simply neglected to shoot you out of the atmosphere when you arrived.”

“That's the same thing, coming from you.”

Above them, the domed ceiling of Orikan's tower opened like a massive eye. It revealed a rare clear night on Mandragora, diamond-like stars glittering on a velvet canvas. Trazyn felt a stab of melancholy as he searched for familiar constellations that no longer existed. 

“How do you do it?” Trazyn asked. “Rely on the stars when they are treacherous and ever changing?” 

“Not all of us need to keep things locked away in stasis to make use of them,” Orikan replied, hands twisting in bizarre shapes. “We don’t need the crutch.”

“But some things in the universe really must be contained.” Trazyn stepped away from the astromancer. The increase in energy around Orikan’s necrodermis started to spark across his own and it was growing uncomfortable. “I forgive you, by the way. For releasing all those tyranids on Solemnace. You are lucky Sannet made a full recovery, otherwise I would have held that grudge far longer.”

Orikan scoffed. “I never asked you for your forgiveness.”

“You did not, but I am magnanimous enough to grant it anyway.”

Irritation flashed across Orikan’s nodes, enhanced by the astral energies gathering around the orbs that ran down his back. He was an open book right now. Trazyn wondered if he realized. Either way, it was a golden opportunity.

“Do you accept my offer of peace?” Trazyn asked, unable to resist needling his rival.

“Why should I?” Orikan said. “Unleashing a tyranid on an unsuspecting victim is your trick. I simply responded in kind.”

Trazyn sighed. “Are you still upset about the genestealer patriarch? I told you, it was all in good fun.”

“It tried to kill me!”

Orikan shuddered as he yelled, his position in the air unsteady. He hissed in frustration, righted himself, and adjusted the position of his fingers.

“Now you are distracting me,” he said, annoyance shifting into anger.

“My most sincere apologies,” Trazyn said. “Perhaps I should ask you to forgive me for that as well as the patriarch.”

“Why should I forgive you for anything?” Orikan uttered the word forgive like a curse. He seemed to despise it nearly as much as he despised orkish.

“To forgive is divine,” Trazyn said. “You seek the power of a god. Shouldn’t you learn a bit more about the obligations that come with that? Supplicants will surely come seeking your forgiveness for their sins.”

“And what business is that of mine?” Orikan started to glow as he spoke. A subtle shine overtaking his form which would soon grow like an ember blossoming into a bonfire.

“I have thought about that,” Trazyn said, more than happy to shift the discussion to theological analysis. “Yes, most religions hold some tennant that to sin is to sin against god specifically, regardless of the fact that no god of which I am aware can truly be hurt by the petty foibles of their followers. However, I think it has more to do with power. To forgive is not an easy thing, Orikan. A fact I surely do not have to explain to you. But a god has the power to grant pardons in a way mortals often do not.”

Orikan did not seem to be listening. Trazyn forgave him for that too. After all, an overlord may not be a god, but Trazyn held power and power protected him from the consequences of forgiveness. The vulnerability and weakness that came with it. He would never be the humble seer, powerless to prevent the disaster he knew was coming. If he had, well, he doubted he would be as generous. 

The change happened more quickly than Trazyn had expected. In one moment he was staring at Orikan, a shell of turquoise and gold and silver much like Trazyn himself. Then the shell broke like a chrysalis, and something else emerged. Light and energy roughly in the form of his rival, but so fundamentally different Trazyn was unsure if he could still call this thing Orikan.

The being turned on him. Rushed forward in a torrent of crackling power that enveloped Trazyn and held him in place. Fear and fascination warred in his flux. Despite the circumspection protocols preparing him for a fight, he kept still, staring into the single eye that had taken on the appearance of a sun. It thrilled him, knowing that this infant star god could destroy him, that it had every reason to do so. And yet Trazyn had faith that it would not.

When it spoke, it spoke in Orikan’s voice.

“Gods do forgive,” it whispered, and the whisper shook Trazyn’s neural matrices like the shifting of tectonic plates. “And I forgive you. For being antithetical to everything I have believed about the world. Vain, brilliant, and stubborn bastard. You are everything I could ever want in the universe, held within everything I have ever hated. And yet for now I forgive you.”

For now. It would not last. It never could. But Trazyn basked in the moment of absolution all the same. He reached up and touched Orikan’s crest, traced what he was surprised to find was still a solid line. How strange, he reflected, for a member of a race that had destroyed their gods to seek the ecstasy that came from the divine’s embrace. He had no soul to cleanse, but even this temporary indulgence felt like a weight lifting from his core.

Though perhaps that had more to do with his choice of god than anything else.

“I accept wholeheartedly,” Trazyn said. “Now, oh diviner, what other rewards do you have for your humble supplicant?”

“Hm, always greedy, aren’t you?”

Orikan drew him into the air, a gentle embrace which nonetheless scorched Trazyn’s necrodermis black. Pain that was well worth the benefits that came after. He clung to the astromancer with religious fervor, and Orikan responded in kind, sending tendrils of raw energy around his limbs and neck, gentle and teasing. Brushing his neural nodes and eliciting light moans of pleasure. 

“I confess to my faults,” Trazyn managed, though it was difficult to focus on speaking. Orikan, or whatever this thing might be, shimmered with satisfaction. 

“Then come and receive your absolution.”

[witchofthesouls]

Ayoooooo, Primeval Anon here, to respond to your response (don't worry too much about how long you took to answer, it was worth the wait)!

Omfg, you had me hooked in when you mentioned Bloodborne-influenced lore. I love the hell out of Bloodborne, and just in general From Software's Dark Fantasy settings. And I love that premise. It definitely fits in with the Quintessons clearly aquatically-influenced nature.

I also enjoy the idea of the Primes balancing each other out with their different natures. As well as the idea that the Quintessons kinda... cannibalized him... fucking gnarly lol.

Just imagine, post-occupation, there's these series skirmishes, perhaps even smaller-scale wars, between the og Prime worshipping groups and the the emerging sects of Quintesson-influenced cultists. Something like

Priest from Kaon: For it is said that in his wisdom, Megatronus- Priest from [SETTLEMENT NAME REDACTED]: You mean Mortilus? Priest from Kaon: :| *The settlement of [NAME REDACTED] was procedurally, systematically decimated in their war with the Kaonites*

Now, I don't know about other continuities they've featured in, like Aligned, but in G1 they definitely had some sort of caste system. Only ranking I can immediately think of are the "Judges", which would be the ones people generally think of when it comes to the Quintessons, there were a few other variants if I'm remembering it right. There was a video that I saw that talked about this, I'll have to go and re-watch it.

Anyways yeah, maybe the castes are made up of different sub-species within the Quintessons genus? And then under them come the Sharkticons and Allicons (Those weird croc-like dudes who nab Kup and Hotrod after they end up on Quintessa). Maybe they were at one point Cybertronian Wilders who were abducted by the Quintessons during the occupation and, through a mix of selective breeding and genetic modification, were able to turn them in their own obedient, self-replenishing army, that whenever the Quintessons aren't enacting some campaign of destruction or conquest, just kinda vibe in the oceans of Quintessa alongside the local fauna of the planet.

Y'know... now that I think about it, since the Quintessons would clearly inherit Quintus' unhinged daydreamer work ethic, do you think they'd also fuck with the wildlife of their homeworld, perhaps even the planet itself??? Gods, I hate how the Quintessons are so underdeveloped because they exist in the same universe as the Transformers.

Yeah, I'm really disappointed how the Quintessons as a whole are really underutilized as characters and background lore.

I mean, the shit is right there!

Me, if given the chance to sit down with a new Transformers team to talk about leveraging the connection between Cybertron, Earth, and Quintessa with supernatural elements:

Personally, I'm more of the "Quintessons fucked with their own planet" camp. Don't get me wrong, the Quintessons had established a massive empire to command resources, including bodies, but the Allicons and Sharkticons seem to be directly from Quintessa. Both fit the aquatic theme going on. Plus, sharks are natural predators of cephalopods and attack injured or sick whales (another predator of squids). While alligators don't usually eat cephalopods, they are an apex predator that does go on land and will eat just about anything. Soooo, easy clean up as well as population control on campaign?

I totally believe it's within character for the highest castes of Quintessons to be cyborgs/techno-organic instead of full mechanoid because of certain kinds of resistances and the way they control their fully mechanical populations. And they would totally be in genetic modification, selective breeding, and terraforming as a whole because 1) absolute control, 2) meshes Quintus' own special interests with the Quintessons' military and economic might, and 3) sustainability, what's that!?

The last point is the kicker because it's what really cements their own origins via Quintus Prime. That particular Prime truly believed that life should flourish at all costs. The problem? Environments can only support so much before nature sets up its own checks and balances, or the entire thing ends up collapsing.

Well, Quintus bypassed nature's complex and fragile systems and would have shown his organic creations how to overcome their own limitations: biological, physical, and environmental. He's like the guy that would successfully crossbreed potato and kudzu because the resulting crop would feed millions upon millions... at the astronomical cost of arable land, soil health, decline of biodiversity, and property management due to accumulated damages.

Quintus doesn't worry about that because it's part of the process! He's collecting data for future reference and starts working on fertilizers to support the crossbreeds immense nutritional demands, animal husbandry so herbivores can chomp down on the remains, and construction materials/architectural designs resistant to plant growth damage.

Quintus, you crazy scientist of a dreamer, that's not the fucking point!

So yeah, because Quintus didn't have his siblings to kick his ass about sustainable measures (because everything from medicinal to food to construction had to come some somewhere), Quintessa got overharvested or destroyed. Because of the immense deprivation, Quintessons went colonial on their planetary neighbors. Because they succeeded with their neighbors and never thought to change their way of life because of yummy resources, they went on campaign into distant systems where they cut their teeth against mechanical species and subjugated them.

And because the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie pattern would take way too long to get to my point: the Quintessons literally built their way to conquered Cybertron, fuck that planet and its indigenous people and fauna over in the spectacular fashion they did to Quintessa, got kicked off as their empire almost collapsed, but literally had a direct hand to the civil war between Autobots and Decepticons that lead to the final stand off on Earth.

(Funny enough, the civil war was on a scale so massive that it encompassed galaxies and disrupted the current rendition of the Quintesson Pan Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere. They literally built the greatest threats to their own empires. Who would have thought?!)

Religious tensions after the Quintessons been kicked off would have been an interesting direction to explore. Even life during the occupation as the Thirteen would have been symbols of rebellion versus the Quintessons' rabid methods to obfuscate their own origins as well as tactics to break the cultural roots and ties of new subjugated planets.

Because old names become illegal, new epitaphs or names are given to undermine the regime and eventually become the new cultural practice. Then, there's the cultural blend between the natives and the colonial powers as well as the generations purposely raised in a certain cultural mindset. Since the Quintessons took control of the Well, it's a safe bet that they also took control of the institutional pillars of the society: religion, science, and law.

Primes are still titanic figures on post-occupation Cybertron, so perhaps Quintessons had only limited success in destroying mythic tales and religious traditions. Because the newer generations took on the Quintessons' distaste towards beasts and untouched nature as well as kept Quintessons' way of social hierarchy that they knew.

Quintessons emphasized function as Cybertronians (and other mechanoids) are machines compared to them. All machines have certain functions, no? Some machines are meant for certain roles, no? Machines are only capable as much as programmed, but Quintessons are far more advanced because they overcame their limitations with their own creative endeavors!

Quintessons basically treated Cybertronians as living appliances, gadgets, and animals. To them, a Cybertronian was a more fun and dynamic Siri or Alexa than a real person. Sure, a Quint could bond and form an emotional attachment, but it's still not truly 'alive.' And they codified that into their own laws.

Basically, Quintessons would have been okay with Prima and his Guiding Hand. They would have propped up his specific actions on how civilization should be (cement more tensions between city-states and Wilder tribes and unregulated environmental policies), switch up or change key mythology (Prima and Megatronus being split-spark twins that rule together into Prima being the sole Sun and Megatronus becoming a late brother that became the Great Evil that became jealous of the Sun and destroyed Life.), and straight up destroyed or damaged historic and culturally significant items and practices that deem it otherwise (the Well of Allsparks; removing the golden horns of fully-trained doctors that pay tribute to Liege Maximo's ties to medicine; the removal of various sigils of specific Primes and associated groupings, Onyx's Mask removed from stages as it functioned as Comedy and Tragedy masks).