#trauma factory nn

[takeyoubytheheart]

[quietbluejay]

Transformers Escalation #2

whoops, I completely forgot about this

Ameripol time

"...reassurances"

The general confirms that stability "over there" is bad for business

Senator: exactly

General: well, relax, Senator, you tell 'em...we're in for the long haul!

some ominous setup

back over to our protagonists

I really like the art here and I'm sad I can't post as much of it as I want, it's very evocative

Ironhide runs through how it was engineered by some human group that targeted Sunstreaker

"There wasn't much left!"

Optimus asks about his remains

it might not be the Decepticons, and even if it is, that's probably exactly the response they want

Optimus tells Ironhide to get the humans back to the Ark

"But Prime-"

Ironhide: Damn and blast

meanwhile with the humans, Jimmy is pounding on the door begging Verity to talk to him

while inside the bathroom, Verity is crying

back to the Decepticons:

they're flying towards what looks like a factory

Skywarp: could be worse, I suppose

They blow up the factory

Skywarp:...could be Starscream

oof

Megatron: with Phase 2 set in motion I should simply withdraw and install a new unit commander

however, he figures it wouldn't hurt to hang around a bit longer

"…where shall I play"

He idly turns the glowing globe

Ironhide: Thing is, Jimmy, they might not have been

it's time for an explanation of what facsimiles are!

The Decepticons use these biotechnical avatars grown in tubes as part of their infiltration

Verity looks wiped out

she flashes back to the skeleton in a suit she saw in the caves

Verity: was...

Verity: was that what I saw in Nebraska?

Verity: a facsimile?

Ironhide says it's more likely that was the original person they based the facsimile off of

What Jimmy doesn't get is, what are the Decepticons trying to achieve with this attack

"and just let you lot wipe yourselves out" honestly the presence of the Decepticons is super useful for the machination they can just play both sides off against each other [SPOILER]'s got a good thing going

Jazz tells him to do it

he's gonna take advantage of a blind spot

he starts cutting into the wire fence

Jazz: I'm in

Wheeljack is leaning over the prone body of a man (and a dog)

Wheeljack: me too, but we may have a problem

Wheeljack: I have one human sentry, evidence of blunt trauma to the head. His animal is dead. Shot at close range

Jazz: which means...

noooo dog is dead too

no one expects the autobot inquisition

"Scramblers! now!" says dark haired dude

this would have been a lot easier to accomplish with holoavatars and you know, the guy on the team who has a police car altmode on the other hand, i'm glad Jazz gets a moment to shine, given he got done dirty later

thats another reference to "field dampeners"

the Machination guys are getting ready to shoot them

Wheeljack is doing something....

it's very fun to me that the HFY guys are unambiguously villains in Furman's run

it's also really fun to me how just about all the writers are doing commentary on the war on terror and the iraq war (Furman, McCarthy, Costa, Barber, arguably Scott and Roche a little)

Jazz gets shot

Machination throws down a smoke bomb and they all scatter

Wheeljack: Jazz?

Jazz winces

Jazz: nn. I'm...okay. Ish. For the sake of my dented pride, I really hope those weren't just humans

Wheeljack: hold it!

lmaooo jazz

Jazz: what?

they both look back at the building

Jazz: oh. oh

they transform back into cars

Jazz: roll it!

and they speed away

behind them, the building dramatically explodes

suddenly there's something in front of him taking up his entire windshield!!!

no one expects the autobot inquisition mark 2! Robot Jesus version

Optimus stares, his expression unreadable

in the distance, sirens are going off

it's funny contrasting these guys to the autobots who get mad at jazz for killing [SPOILERS] and get super into treating human life as sacrosant

Ironhide:…was staged?

Prowl puts his hand on his chin and asks why they'd do something like that

Optimus says it's because thinking Sunstreaker is dead is the only way they could be sure the Autobots wouldn't try to get him back

Optimus: the real question...is who?

for once, he's hoping it's the Decepticons

because if it's the humans, "if they already know this much about us...we're more exposed than we've ever been!"

and now, the news!

Ironhide's holoavatar comes up behind them

"Verity…Jimmy…good news"

Jimmy: Ironhide?

they turn to look at him, their eyes wide with hope

behind them, the senator on the TV gets identified as "Alexander Holt"

Ironhide: it now appears the Lebanon interception was some kind of intricate slight of hand

it's sleight

"There's a chance, however faint…"

"...that Hunter's still alive"

Verity stares at him, looking terrified

behind them on the TV, Holt is talking

Holt: and so, unless firm action is taken to guarantee the security of US business interests in the region, I predict a global energy shortage

dun dun dunn and end issue

i'm still surprised they straight up said he was republican usually comics doesn't actually say the political party

some commentary: I think Furman's Optimus is my favourite IDW1 Optimus. some of the writing was kinda eh over in Stormbringer but then again Stormbringer itself was…you know i cannot believe i'm saying this, but i prefer roberts' ratchet to this one Thundercracker's characterization here has been consistently at odds with every other depiction and not in a good way he's very much henchman #3

commentary from friend: I'm finding that despite the more functional command structure, the autobots are being portrayed as less competent than the decepticons in terms of infiltration missions the decepticons can identify people, where they live, all the political stuff they're already starting to meddle in, they have a plant set up, ore 13 the autobots only just found out Shockwave was on earth, have no sense of human facial expressions without human assistance and they still aren't sure if they've been found and targeted by a human group commentary from other friend: the decepticons being more knowledgeable of humans overall makes sense because you gotta know a lot to do political manipulations but not so much to hunt down decepticons me: huh you know this makes Starscream knowing about fortune cookies and also cosplay make sense in retrospect doesn't make TC's "hilarious" fails at understanding humans make sense but i discard those anyways

I have some additional commentary and memes but I'm gonna make a separate post

[chiseikumo]

"i scare myself to death"

a design for the song "death" by nothing,nowhere., had some fun with the colors

[nothingnowherex]

[nothingnowherex]