#hiraethoharth

[witchofthesouls]

Sorry the worms are back.

Just. Miko walking through a list of mushrooms and all the horrific ways they can kill you, from spontaneously melting organs to causing your central nervous system to go on strike.

And some Eukarian going "oh yeah someone in my clan died to one of those- poor bastard lost all motor function before his spark ruptured" while a Camien takes notes on what can and cannot be fed to humans

That's basically the relationship between the planetary cousins.

Earth and Eukaris share food stories that are either 'gruesome death if consumed in any form' or 'can be edible and is very delicious with the preparation but will end with death any other way' to go along with the 'this is very dangerous but we domesticated it to amp it up since it's fun/yummy/useful to us' and the 'this fauna is dangerous but the wild one is more so and here's the cultural impact.'

Camiens are excellent hosts and have a passion for anything and everything, so chances are there's a few recording the conversations and taking it back to Caminus, along with foodstuffs to recreate dishes.

Meanwhile, the natives of Cybertron are just shitting bricks because why!? Why would someone do this? Who came up with this endeavor???

[witchofthesouls]

You're the first person I've come across who opened the for to these kinds of conversations, so might I propose that liquid energon is considered only for military, medical, or neonatal purposes on the colonies.

As you and many, many others have theorized, before the Quintassons and before the Thirteen began to die off, Cyberton most likely had an incredible complex biosphere that would make even our most diverse and most extreme seem bland. There would've been several generations who would've learned how to cultivate and forage and hunt on the surface and in the highest caverns and tunnels.

So assuming the Titans who became colonies took "pieces" of Cyberton when they left, they likely ended up preserving whole swathes of nature without actually intending to. Modern day Velocitrons and Camiens would thrive off "leave no footstep" culture as they hunt and move.

How horrific would the state of Cybertronians be to the colony denizens? Mechs who claim civility and order yet seem to lack any and all ability to actually feed themselves. What they will eat, they waste massive quantities, and they seem to be deeply suspicious of someone taking or sabotaging what little they can keep.

I think this could go a lotta ways.

Ohhh, I love worldbuilding like this. It just makes more sense to really delve into the differences between Cybertron and the Lost Colonies, besides "they got girls and no war lol."

Each of the Titan cities has a unique culture and cast, so it's a shame that it all got dropped or it didn't really tie neatly as it could had, so-

I'm going to make it make sense, even if I need to get the blender on canon lore to make a soup!

I did talk about some cultural differences and clashes between the Lost Colonies either through posts ('Caminus' and 'Titans' tags) or in the tags, and I had talked about how liquid Energon may have been playing a role of starvation rations. (Ehhh in TFP since they seem to be on a pure liquid diet, but it can be included in IDW/MTMTE).

But yeah, I can definitely see liquid Energon being used for medical, military, and neonatal usage. It would be interesting to explore differences and similarities in processing, storage, supplements, approach in distribution, and any associated folklore about it (i.e., Eukarians' farm-to-table fuel as it suits their beast-modes versus Velocitron and its pride over solar-derived Energon allowing them to delve into racing and research versus Caminus' recycling culture to mimick the Forge).

Funnily enough, the ones that develop the "Leave No Footsteps" as a whole would be the Eukarians as Chela left the planet's indigenous fauna relatively intact for beast-modes to be truly free. The tribes of Eukaris seem to mimic very early forms of civilizations along with hunter-gatherers. They're not ashamed to utilize the full scope of their alt-enhanced perception. Similar to how they adapted to their new home, the indigenous fauna adapted as well. Frightenly well to other Cybertronian perspectives; the Eukarians as a whole would be more familiar with different kinds of relationships with plants and animals, both the wild creatures and domesticated stocks. It would be interesting if the tribes managed to develop unique agricultural/livestock methods from each other (i.e., Fur Walkers are focused on ranching and semi-nodamic for their stocks versus Wave Walkers' aquaculture and mutual relationships with aquatic hunters or consumers to hunt and forage). Personally, I think the Eukarians would be the closest to understanding Earth's chaotic biomes and fauna. (Most definitely tensions with Cybertron via its Functionist society that Chela took his people to escape and the policies of organophobia, terra-forming, and stigma/discrimination against beast-modes and the nature.)

Velocitron came from scientists searching for fuel alternatives. Like, what if they tapped into the powerful solar rays that plagued the half the planet? In some ways, then modern Velocitron is a victim of its own success as the strong fuel basically led to too much excess energy and hyperfocus to point of ignoring all else, combined with their search for more fuel efficiency and race against the scorching suns, it's no surprise why racing became so dominant to the point Navitas was severely neglected. A meritocracy drenched heavy elitism as they're a highly educated group with a deep disdain for any frames deemed "too slow" or "too clunky."" They managed to figure out their own fuel issues. How the hell Cybertron with all of its resources to throw into their civil war couldn't? (On a side note, it would be absolutely hilarious and in-character if they snubbed Optimus and Megatron since they're not racers and weren't formally educated by Velocitron standards.)

Camiens, unlike many of the other Cybertronians, would actually forge mutual and positive ties with their organic neighbors via mercenary, exploration, and trade as Caminus deeply values social ties and community to the point that Cybertronians not raised in their city-state can be uncomfortable on how 'open' Camiens intermingle with one another as field byplay is a very used communication method. Caminus is situated in a planetary system that has immense raw resources but lacks the infrastructure that would have enticed the Galactic Alliance to add the space, and many are wary of the Quintesson's empire as they typically strip everything from planets via legal contracts or economic force. The work provided by offworlders allows the city-state to supplement their diet. They're a passionate and creative people, and it's seen on their takes on stretching out food as they blend whatever available to consume. So Depression meals, rural cooking, and recipes that channels 'End of Month' Food Challenge. (Most definitely have tensions with Cybertron as Camiens are appalled how distant and cold each mecha carries themselves in a strange self-imposed isolation as well as the sheer waste of fuel that happens, organophobia, and Functionist teachings as Camiens typically collect multiple skills and careers since everyone works.)

[witchofthesouls]

I've been twisting this idea in my head for a while.

So assuming that Cyberton had Yore/Fae/Magic at some point but don't in modern day, what do you think wiped them out? Was it just a natural consequence of the loss of wild spaces- the seas drying, the forests and plains and marshes being dessicated by natural disasters? Intentionally by way of Prima's Forceful Guiding Hand? Quintassons desires for a world to more readily be defined and controlled?

In my mind, it was a bit of all of the above. One dominoing into the other until it became too much and the Cybertonian version of Elsewhere collapsed on itself. But that would pose a potential for them to still exist on the Colonies, no matter how reduced.

I kinda talked about it already.

Personal take, especially since TFP did had line about magic and science from Solus' Forge, it's a combination of all that, plus more.

Prima established the city-states as the beacon of civilization and progress as it's by 'birthright' as the first to be and 'rule of strength/might.' He is the Eldest Sun, formed by Primus' own Light. The absolute God-king.

Of course, Primus still had Unicron to provide a check, so Megatronus rose immediately to life from Prima's very own shadow. Primes aren't meant to stand alone, and Prima needed someone who was capable of stopping him, no matter the cost.

Despite the personal writings by the Prime of Light, Prima and Megatronus operated as joint rulers as no one else was able to withstand their combined strength. When they stood together, nothing could budge them.

Basically, a lot of things went down to sow distrust, a tragic dirge of miscommunication, and connecting the wrong dots that led to the Prinal Wars. After it decimated the Primes to the remaining Prima, Alpha Trion, and Alchemist, Prima went far more extreme, even ignoring any and all advice by Alchemist who had to take on a more moderate capacity as he singlehandedly assumed the role of the bridge between the Primes and their mortal kin. Alchemist, unfortunately, didn't have the strength to challenge Prima directly. Not on his own, especially since Alpha Trion is one of the more passive siblings and won't stand against the Eldest's new goals as Alpha is deeply tied to the Quill and saw no point in recorrecting things if the far future painted a better prospect after all the misfortunes that would come.

Prima essentially laid waste to very cycles of renewal that was supposed to revitalize Cybertron in an attempt to call back Megatronus, and the Quintessons took advantage of that to completely break the more fantastical power elements via 'standardization' as they messed with the Well of Allsparks and strip the planet into the what modern Cybertronians know as the Wastelands.

Prima was the one that started the processes to drain the oceans, harvest the volcanoes, excavate the mountains, wetlands dried by reroute, forests cut, desert mined, and grasslands turned to ash as Prima tamed nature to search for his twin. After Prima's disappearance, Alpha Trion gave up as well after the Quintessons messed the Well and Megatronus never returned.

Before Cybertron functioned as a gateway to Elsewhere due to the connection between Primus, Unicron, and Gaea. So the Wilders did have tales of strange beings and stranger places... but after the combined feats between Prima, the Quintessons, and early Golden Age had long stripped the planet's capability to sustain those gateways. (It's also why the connection to reestablish space bridges to the Colonies failed.)

The Colonies would have began to flee from the Guiding/Forceful Hand under Prima, so the potential gateways still exist with them (attested by how some of their people would disappear if they wander too far) but the means to truly navigate them, much like communicating with Titans, space-bridge repair, and the rearing of magic talent, had been lost to time as each world deals with their own crises.