#i wanted to include panels but theyre only tangentially related

[machinedramon]

Im gonna be honest, i know 0% about transformers but how enthusiastic you seem to be about it is really the best. Whats your favorite thing (or things) about it?

haha well my enthusiasm is honestly in an echo chamber at the moment because I have no one to properly talk to about it because no one I know is into transformers

Well no, I have one friend, but he's not into the comics. I am into the comics. He's into the cartoons. I am not. there is a...disconnect. although sending him out of context panels and plot points gets fantastic reactions.

I'm on a rant here so hopefully this read more will work and I'll spare everyone the length/spoilers or not thanks for being a functional website tumblr

honestly my favorite anything is really just a couple of comic book lines in the IDW verse, but they're all great. They're very well written, the art is great, and the characters are all unique individuals. And any story that makes me want to throw my phone because of how upset I am over a character dying is a winner.

One of the best things is the fact that a lot of LGBT themes are so commonplace. In a society where people are A) predominately "male," B) just being introduced to the idea of a different gender, and C) unable to reproduce, relationships wind up being "other" just as a matter of course since traditional gender roles don't exist. And they're all treated as no big deal. Two characters of the same gender get together, no one bats an eye. "I go by she now," no one bats an eye. It's refreshing that things that are such a huge point of contention for no good reason are just everyday occurrences that no one judges anyone for. In fact, theres only one "hetero" couple I can think of off the top of my head. It makes me hurt in a very bittersweet way.

Even mental illness is a real thing that isn't ever treated as anything other than such. Fortress Maximus and Crankcase have demonstrable PTSD, Misfire has ADHD, Whirl has BPD, Swerve suffers from depression, Skids is an amnesiac, etc. Krok even wants to open up a mental health clinic, because he recognizes that after four million years of war, everyone has troubles they need a safe place to talk about.

Bad guys are made into sympathetic characters with good traits and dreams that have been corrupted. Megatron was a peaceful but disenfranchised miner with poetic dreams of revolution who experienced violence from the privileged rulers of society and police, and let his anger take over to catastrophic effect. Starscream was someone who felt lost no matter where he was, and only wanted acceptance but didn't know how to attain it without manipulation and suffered for it. Of course there ARE completely awful bad guys (looking at you, Overlord/Tarn/Onslaught/Galvatron...) and despite them having mostly reasonable motivations, they're still monstrous.

The "good guys" aren't infallible. And it's not a "lol whoopsie, I made a forgivable mistake" kind of shit, either. After the war is over, the Autobots stick explosive chips inside the heads of the Decepticons that keep them from changing shape and will detonate if they use lethal force. The fuck!!! Prowl is such a conniving asshole that he gets mind controlled by some loyal Decepticons and no one except for Batshit Crazy Berserker Queen Arcee notices because murder was completely in character for him. Bumblebee decides the best way to react to Starscream trying to talk to him is to shoot him. Rodimus tries to violate a demi-god's mind to gain access to his memories, and banishes his best friend so he doesnt have to take responsibility for nearly killing everyone on board his ship. Optimus Prime annexes Earth without consulting anyone and uses people's faith for his own gain. The Autobots all have flaws that cause them to make serious mistakes, and they're all the better for it.

Like the whole thing is just everything I've ever wanted from a story. Everyone has their flaws, everyone has their shining moments. Good guys that are unrepentant murderers and thugs, bad guys who are honorable and well-intentioned, and then people caught in the middle trying to survive amid the tension. Then the second half is a society that has been split down the middle and subject to four million years of war trying to adjust to the lack of it.

It's just amazing that a bunch of thirty foot tall robots can feel so human and identifiable. Even if someone isn't interested in comics or the Transformers, I would still recommend the IDW comics. There's even anthologies put together in chronological order to make it easier.

Idk it just makes me happy, and those things are in very short supply these days.

edit: paragraphs got out of order somehow. thanks Tumblr.