#well it's not really been confirmed as a thing in idw for obvious reasons but the “we don't see a lot of ocean-based mobians” is still true

[fstbmp-a]

@anonymous sent: @Mimic. You Mobians actually educate and clothe your females!?

There's a slow blink of eyes as the other spoke. As if the information hadn't sunk in and there needed to be time to process it all. Slowly, gaze turns around them. No, there weren't any cameras. This wasn't one of those silly 'pranks', as there so loved to be for entertainment's sake.

Very well, she supposes there's nothing better to do at the time. May as well humor whatever the hell is happening right in front of them.

"Firstly, 'you mobians', is a bit of a misrepresentation of things. Have you ever even seen an aquatic-based mobian on land save the barest of occasions? Because, in case you weren't aware, we have an entirely different culture than the land-based mobians where I'm from, meaning your wild assumptions don't even have merit to begin with.

So let's work with that, alright? No, clothes aren't really a thing we worry about too much in the ocean. We're more likely to just cause drag and slow us down. It's either a fashion statement or something worn above water to humor the land-dwellers. It's not like we have the parts to be 'indecent', per se, but it keeps people's panties from being in a twist.

As for education, another news flash for you. Don't particularly remember where I heard it from, but guess what? There's no gender in the ocean, genius. We just go with whatever is the most fitting at the time based on what we're told. You're technically talking to a 'female' right now, just out of spite for you."

A shrug of shoulders, twirling combat knife between digits at such speeds it sung through the air it sliced. ..Had Mimic always been so femininely in appearance? No, surely not, but there it was. Spite really did run deep for her, after all, and this was surely one of the most baffling things she's had to deal with. Just altering biology on the spot to fit the feeling of the moment. Maybe it's not best to ask the 'genderfluid' shapeshifting creature about gender norms.

"Finally, I don't even know why you decided to come to me as if I'd be the one to agree how ludicrous it is with you, champ. It doesn't matter who does and doesn't get an education to me, considering I come from a place where gender's not even really a factor. It's entirely a class and circumstantial privilege, rather than something tied to stupid concepts like 'gender' that is so valued by people with nothing better to caer about.

So how about you never show your face to me again and we'll just forget you ever existed, okay?"

[fleetways]

I feel like it’s so telling that they left out sonic 06 on the shadow timeline during the Anime Expo panel, almost pointedly so imo.

to cover shadow’s original arc is one thing, everything from 2001-2005 makes sense, but after that? IDW comics? Really? Sonic Prime makes sense I suppose, but only because there has been so little Shadow in other media before then. They don’t even have the excuse of “different timeline” because they’ve included Sonic Boom up there of all things. Both Boom and IDW are notorious for being some of least favored depictions of the character, at least from a wider fandom standpoint. The decision to include them feels so random, unless I was of course making a timeline for a character I only plan to portray in the context of this very specific time in his life, and ignore any other developments post that, and only include titles where his presence is incidentally or largely devoid of character development.

In hindsight (especially with knowing how they portray Shadow these days), Sonic 06 truly was special for the way it managed to portray Shadow as a character that was linked to the past without retreading anything from sa2 to shadow (2005). There’s a reason that Shadow was so loved in that game, even during the time when 06 was the internet (and let’s be real, Sega’s) punching bag. To not include it as an important step in Shadow’s history to me really just drives home that all we can expect from SxSh generations is retreading of Shadow’s Ark-Amnesia storyline, which is lowkey a little disappointing.

I do feel like it’s a mix of both “writers not knowing what the hell to do” and nostalgia, and of course marketing purposes (which we know is confirmed due to Takashi Iizuka straight up saying this was the case in the Anime Expo panel).

Speaking of the panel, I am a little salty how the announcement tweet promised “shedding light on the ultimate life form”

And yet all we got was mostly information that was already available and in some cases pretty well-known by now….

It also didn’t help that the “Q&A” was just two questions 😭 one of which was clearly a joke. And while the other one was actually very interesting (for reference: “why did shadow call sonic the ultimate lifeform at the end of the finalhazard fight in sa2?”), it was clear it caught them completely off-guard, and the answer that they gave (that shadow said it because he lost his super form while sonic didn’t, declared it on a whim thinking he’s on his deathbed, and then immediately retracting that statement as soon as he gets his memory back) imo seemed like a real cop out. That line in particular has been the source of so many years of speculation and theory-building, so to wave it off honestly is a tad disappointing.

I feel like this panel was really geared towards newcomers, to go along with how clearly obvious it is that SxSh generations is marketing for Sonic 3. But how many newcomers are realistically going to see the panel at an Anime Con or tuning in at 3 pm on a Friday afternoon? Based on the crowd reaction to the Gizoid, I’m gonna say not too many. I would have preferred if they had left, y’know, the actual game to explain to newcomers and have the panel be for the real Shadowheads out there but, but I digress.

TLDR: it was such a fumble to not include Shiro Maekawa in this panel. I don’t know what they would have needed to do to get him involved, but his absence here was severely felt. The way I felt everyone’s answer regarding anything related to Shadow’s character could be boiled down to, “you thought this edgy dark hero was evil….but he’s actually traumatized….” Which like while arguably true on the most surface level understanding of the character, that really doesn’t give anything new to audiences already familiar with the plot lol

okay but it is a little funny to me that they're doing the nostalgia bating with shadow now when his entire character arc was about. oh you know. Moving On instead of welling in the past

[roughandtumble-r]

Ian Flynn at 100 Questions Bumblekast!

So at 100 Questions Bumblekast that happened recently, the main writer of Sonic IDW (and formerly main writer for Archie back when it you know, existed) answered a lot of questions about IDW, and there’s a lot to talk about with what he said. Although there were a LOT of things he said, I’m going to be bringing up the main points and discussing them a bit.

The first thing I’d like to point out is the fact that he once again brought up the fact that characters like Infinite, the Jackal Squad, Mighty and Ray, Team Hooligan, and Sticks are all off limits. What I find really interesting about this is the fact that even though he’s aware of the reasons why Infinite and Sticks aren’t allowed in IDW, Flynn doesn’t really know why Sega’s not allowing them to include the Classic characters of Mighty, Ray, and Team Hooligan. Now, I still think it’s probably because of the whole thing they’re dong where they’re keeping the Modern and Classic worlds seperate and Flynn appears to think the same way, but the fact that they aren’t really informing Flynn of the real reasons why seems rather odd to me. Whatever the reason, just give me Team Hooligan in IDW already, Sega Senpai :(

Next up, we have some miscelleneous side facts! For example, even though Tangle’s favorite food being Strawberries has been a well-known fact for a while now, we now know that Whisper’s favorite food is Poundcake! Also, can I just mention the fact that the world IDW takes place in apparently doesn’t have any form of currency? I’m not sure how that works, but it makes me want to live there even more because I could actually afford things :3

Finally, we have the main point I want to bring up, and it’s the fact that Flynn himself said that he pitched another mini-series idea about “other characters”. Now, this immediately raises about a MILLION questions, like who are these “other characters? Did we finally get that Rough and Tumble mini-series I’ve been wanting? Are they going to start that Sonic Universe-esque series they said they wanted to do? Why am I asking so many questions??? Bear in mind, the idea for the series is still in the process of being pitched, so whether or not it will actually come to be is still undetermined. If it actually is approved and the series will come out, I’d imagine that what it is will probably revealed either right before or right after the end of Tangle and Whisper, though that’s just my own speculation.

On the topic of Tangle and Whisper, I accidentally found a small bit of information (it’s actual source I’m not sure of) confirming that the Tangle and Whisper mini-series takes place between Issues 16 and 17 of the main series. This means that by that point, Sonic (and Rough and Tumble, can’t forget about them) already has the Metal Virus, but because it takes place before 17, that means it probably hasn’t spread very far yet and not everyone knows about it. This also tells us that the inclusion of Tangle and Whisper in Issue 21 takes place a bit after the end of the mini-series, so I wonder if we’ll notice anything in Issue 21 that alludes to the ending of Tangle and Whisper. 

(EDIT: Now, this little tidbit I’m writing right here doesn’t really connect to the whole Flynn Bumblekast thing, but I’ve been hearing some rumors lately about the Diamond Cutters in Tangle and Whisper. I’ve heard a couple of sources claiming that Evan Stanley revealed the species of the other three members of the Diamond Cutters on Twitter, and although I don’t use Twitter, I checked to see if this was actually true or not, and found her saying no such thing. Because of this, this information should be taken with a grain of salt, but it could also be the fact that I don’t know Twitter works, so maybe it was on someone else’s post or something (I’m sorry I’m not hip with the kids). As for their species, the rumor is that Cute Lion Boy is a Lion (he was the obvious one), Suave Cat Boy is an Ocelot, and Green Hoodie Girl is a Howler Monkey. I kind-of assumed that Suave Cat Boy was some sort of cat since he has a lot of similar design elements to Blaze, and I also assumed that Green Hoodie Girl was some sort of monkey, but the exact species of both was still unconfirmed. Like I said, this information might not be accurate, but there’s a chance it is.)

That’s about it for the major stuff. Most of the other answers we got from Flynn were things we already knew, but the few new things he shared in 100 Questions were really interesting, and I’m interested to see where stuff like that new mini-series goes.

[marvelandponder]

Rainbow Power, Y’all

Happy (belated) Pride month, everybody! I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of how I wanted to talk about gay ponies. Mostly because I literally never shut up about it so writing a opinion-based Should MLP Have a Gay Couple? editorial would be kind of self-explanatory. Kind of really self-explanatory. 

Plus, we already have one. Lyra and Bon Bon might have to chant “best friends” a hundred times before they can make goo-goo eyes at each other, but that body language and even just the way they talk to each other in is pretty telling.

Damn, that’s pretty gay. 

Oh and also this happened last year on the official Facebook apparently:

God, I love this show. Taking into account the fact that the other two are married couples, this is a Valentines Day promotion, and that making someone’s heart “gallop” can’t really be misconstrued as platonic, I seriously love this.

So, I mean, I can’t exactly stop you from interpreting them as platonic, but I would consider them canon and I’m even glad for the subtlety. Not all depictions need to state the obvious, so long as it is obvious.

I think with these two the intention was to make it ambiguous enough for parents to decide if they want to explain the concept. Kids aren’t stupid, but I think the demographic won’t pick up on the context clues that this could be a romantic relationship when they’ve been primed with the words “best friends” a number of times.

So, at that point, it’s up to the parents who watch the show with their kids to decide (if they haven’t already) if this is how and when they’d like to explain the concept of a same-sex relationship, with this as a visual aide. If Lyra and Bon Bon end up being baby’s first gay relationship, so to speak, that’s awesome.

So, if I’m so satisfied with those two, why write this? Why push for more in an already accepting climate, especially when an effort has already been made? Isn’t that greedy? Or exploitative? Has my shipping brain finally lead me down the road to delusion?

I hear you answering yes to that last one, but I’m just gonna ignore that.

As to the question, it comes down to the word choice. I’m not asking if it should be done---it’s already been done. I’m not asking if Hasbro would allow it, because whether or not they’d show a lot of support, they have shown some.

I’m asking how it could be done with the intention of explaining why it would or wouldn’t add something of value. 

Because the landscape of children’s television is changing rapidly. From the time Friendship is Magic started in 2010 until good ol’ 2017, the number of kids’ shows that have incorporated LGBT+ characters and couples has only grown exponentially from before.

On top of that, I’m a little biased in my perception, but I’m not the only one whose noticed that this year’s pride month has been the most visibly celebrated yet. For better or worse, the amount of companies trying to support the LGBT+ community during pride has only grown. 

This year’s Amazon Pride float was Rainbow Dash and MLP themed in Dublin. Don’t know if Amazon got Hasbro’s permission to use their character in a parade, but they gave her a horn because unicorns apparently are gay (just as a rule) and now she’s an alicorn. 

By the way, they totally messed up those flags. If it had said My Little Pride, they could’ve been selling thousands of them. To me. Wasted potential, I tell you.

And again my bias showing: I can’t speak for other regions, but where I live all public schools, from elementary to universities and colleges, have rainbow pride flags flying.

All the schools I’ve gone to growing up are now flying pride flags for a full month.

That’s... I can’t tell you how heartwarming it is to see. And my elementary school services kindergarten kids all the way up to grade 8---some children as young as 5-6 years old are now growing up with that being a natural part of their environment throughout their entire childhood.

When we were growing up and I think in a lot of places around the world still, there was a question of when it should be taught to kids and whether the concept alone was age appropriate, but little by little, that’s just not the case anymore. 

From their shows and media to even some of their schools, more and more kids are learning about this in a natural way from a young age, to the point that it is just love and it is just who these people are to them. And for once I mean it when I say I think that’s beautiful.

But things evolve like this at different rates in different places, so we’re not perfect yet, and the push for more is out of a desire to see the progress continue and for more groups than the ones that are typically represented.

Would I be heartbroken if this was as gay as MLP ever got? Nah (besides, through the power of denial, all my ships are already canon!). But at this point the question is starting to become why not? instead of just why? so even if this remains a hypothetical discussion, I think it’s still an important one.

I’m going to forever cherish the subtlety of those Lyra and Bon Bon scenes, but it’s the first pride month that I’ve been out and I feel like celebrating. Let’s get gay.

Love in Friendship is Magic

Right off the bat, I think it’s important to establish that we’re not trying to change the show fundamentally. It’s about friendship, and while other relationships are shown to be deep and fulfilling as well (family and even romantic), the show’s focus on how meaningful friendship is great.

But here’s my thing with the “this show is about friendship!” argument. It’s not like we don’t already have other types of relationships. Several episodes have been dedicated to developing purely familial relationships.

And even beyond the platonic, Spike has (had?) a crush that factored into the plot of a few episodes, Big Mac now seems to have an on-going relationship, and there are a few prominent married couples. This stuff exists largely in the background, comparatively, but it’s not like romance doesn’t have a place in the show. It just doesn’t surpass the focus on friendship.

So, yeah, just because they have a romance doesn’t mean it has to take over the show, nor should it. 

If we were going to go the route of canonizing an LGBT+ couple, that would still be something to take into account.

It doesn’t mean that main characters can’t have a romance necessarily, just that they should work in a friendship lesson along with it.

If Starlight and Trixie were dating for instance (she said, as if it was a random example instead of her ship), a story would probably mostly center around their friends helping them through relationship troubles or preparing for adorable dates. Or, on the flip side, their friends learning the lesson of when not to interfere.

Or, now that Starlight’s cutie mark is on the map (indicating that other ponies can be called if necessary), perhaps a couple could be called to solve a friendship problem instead of two friends.

Basically, so long as there’s still some element of friendship, the writers can introduce a new kind of relationship and develop it in tandem with the friendships already present.

Or, as there is in The Perfect Pear (without giving spoilers beyond what the summary said, for those waiting for the US release), we could just have an episode with a bigger focus on a romance.

Notice how all these scenarios aren’t dependent on the idea that this romance be queer. I’m a bit torn on this issue, because I can see both sides, but I think I usually lean towards the idea that because there ideally doesn’t need to be a difference between straight romances and gay romances, there doesn’t need to be a story reason for them to be gay.

Like I said, I do see the appeal of stories that require the couple and/or characters to be queer, but there’s pros and cons to either side.

We don’t necessarily need to see a story dealing with homophobia in Equestria, in part because that contrasts so much with the Equestria we already know. It’s too loving. It took 4 seasons to address Scootaloo’s disability not because no one noticed, but because everyone accepted her for who she was (aside from DT and SS). It’s not like homophobia or hatred can’t exist in this world, but it’s just not widespread.

A really good reason to include romance in general and even “different kinds of love” so to speak is to give Cadence more screen-time and development.

I’d love to see the Princess of Love guiding her subjects! She could even help a character come out, which would be both a reason to have an LGBT+ character and/or romance in the show, but also make the concept relatable to young kids---a story about accepting who you are and what you love makes sense to them.

I think there’s definitely potential to take this in interesting places, develop pre-established characters and relationships, and all without stealing the focus from friendship too much. 

Who Wins the Dreaded Shipping Wars

On the right, Ashleigh Ball posting a fanmade picture of an AppleDash wedding for World Pride Day. On the left, IDW comic writer Jeremy Whitley arguing for FlutterDash... either way, I’m down for this.

Fan expectation is a funny thing.

We both crave for the show to address what we’ve long speculated on, and dread it.

In the case of the Apple family’s parents, there’s been countless emotional fan-theories, stories, and ideas, and yet The Perfect Pear remains one of the most anticipated episodes (for those who have yet to watch it).

With Slice of Life, we were surprised to find some headcanons confirmed and celebrated, but also some destroyed by canon.

I think when it comes to confirming LGBT+ characters and relationships, it’s really no different. We all have different ideas about who these characters are, and those of us who ship have ideas about who they might like.

So, yeah, even if we went down the road of confirming minor characters as LGBT+, if we already know them, it would likely step on a few toes. But honestly I’d rather step on those toes than introduce a new character for the sole purpose of them being gay. Sorta boils them down to just one purpose/one “trait.”

And in the end, as much as it sucks to have your ship sunk or your headcanons burst into flames, 1. If we never wanted the show to establish new things about these characters, why continue watching? and 2. My friends, I’ve been a shipper for a long time and I can say from experience: a ship doesn’t sink even when canon contradicts you. Denial and imagination are a fan’s most awesome tools. 

Oh and would you look at that, my transition is here.

Love in EQG

Just as a sidenote, because of what I ship, I’ve said before that I think the Equestria Girls franchise would actually be a perfect place to include LGBT+ relationships because the series already has a heavier focus on romance than the show.

If you’re going to have these high school drama romance subplots, which is a staple of the series now, might as well go ahead and make it gay! *Cough* Sciset still makes the most sense from a storytelling perspective *cough*

Queerer than Ever Before

I wanted to include a section like this because it’s something we’re still working on in animation as a whole: representing more than just gay and lesbian relationships.

I’m happy to report bisexuals and in and out of relationships are also now getting more love, but that’s about where the buck stops. Steven Universe has the closest thing to trans and bigender or androgynous representation, which is mostly not literal. As in, they have fusions of two different characters, and characters like Garnet who feel better in a different form, but as of yet there’s no straight up trans or non-cis-gendered characters.

BMO from Adventure Time could certainly count as gender-fluid, though, so it’s not all bad news bears.

Pansexuality and asexuality have yet to be represented in children’s animation (in adult animation, Rick Sanchez of Rick and Morty is canonically pansexual, though!) aside from Spongebob being confirmed to be asexual off-screen by the show’s creator “because he’s a sponge.”

We’re largely still figuring out how these people and more groups I haven’t even mentioned ideally should be represented, but trying is still the first step.

For example, Big Mac’s not trans, but while I reaaaally didn’t love that his cross-dressing was a joke in Brotherhooves Social, I can also appreciate the fact that everyone around him was aware he was originally a stallion but let him compete in the Sisterhooves Social anyway, a trans issue we’re still debating in reality.

So, the comedy of the episode is kinda transphobic (not because Big Mac is trans, he’s not in canon, but because the comedy comes from him being in drag), but once again Equestria itself proves to be a really accepting, tolerant place. 

And I think it can be hard to know how to represent these voices well (there’s also the fact that MLP theoretically could hire on a guest writer, as they do now every season, if they wanted to specifically have someone who’s non-cisgendered tackle a story of that nature), but hey, why not be the first to try? Wouldn’t it suit the show’s loving nature to be inclusive?

LGBT+ in Equestria

More and more these days it’s becoming the norm to include more ways to love others and oneself in kids cartoons. You could argue not every show needs to have LGBT+ inclusion, which I can agree with, but by the same token and especially for shows with an expansive world, no serialized ongoing plot to adhere to, and focus on love and acceptance already, the show doesn’t need to be entirely straight, either.

Ask why not, instead of just why.

There are ways to make romance relevant to the target audience without teaching them they need it to be happy, and there are ways of explaining these concepts to them without forcing a political stance. For kids, it’s simple. Love is love, and you are who you are. That’s really all there is to it.

I’d be over the moon if the show ever had the chance to represent more than they already have. In the same way I wanted to Applejack’s parents to be dead, I’d ideally want to see how MLP specifically would deal with this hard topic with its usual kindness, gentleness, and love. As in the former case, I think it has the potential to be something wonderful.

In the end, though, I of course can’t say if we will ever see more, or exactly would or should it would be handled. 

I suppose we can only hope to follow Lyra and Bon Bon’s example.

Other MLP stuff? Oh yeah, I’ve done that! I’ve got more editorials like this one over here, and episode reviews over here. But because plain old links aren’t pretty, have the last three things I’ve done with purty pictures:

Dr. Wolf Theory Reading, Parental Glidenace Review, and Celestia/Daybreaker Editorial

Year of the Pony

Visuals in this Post Wouldn’t Be Possible Without...

Pinkie Pie Vector by MPNoir Flag Vector by JayBugJimmies Lyra and Bon Bon Poster by BronybyException

Art from talented artists, what could be better? Hit up those links and check out their awesome galleries!

The Real Agenda Here is My Shipping Agenda

[scraplette]

Lost Light #6 Thoughts&Feels

Time for a thoughts&feel post.

With this issue we finally rap up the opening arc of Lost Light. So, let’s get started!

MASSIVE SPOILERS beneath the read more.

=Recap of issue #5: NOT ACTUALLY THAT MANY FUNCTIONISTS.

=Rodimus punched FU!Rung!

HOW DARE

=”What the hell are you doing?!”

“I… I… What the hell am I doing?”

I love Rodimus here. I’ll talk about it more in-depth later, but this is something to pay attention to.

=Luna 2 continues to look awesome. Fair play to Lawrence and Lafuante.

Oh now this is interesting. I twas hinted that there might’ve been a little something between Skids and Nautica, but I think this is the first vocal confirmation of it, or at least of something.  

Because, even if there was something, Nautica chose to keep it platonic. She went to Rewind for advice regarding Cybertronian Amica/Conjunx rites and he revealed that the Amica rite was only performed after one or both bots involved felt they weren’t romantically suited.

Did Nautica choose Amica because she honestly saw Skids as a friend only? Or did the looming thread of the DJD effect her decision?

=I’m loving Kaput’s design!

I-Is that Prowl?!

=Still loving Drift and Ratchet’s new looks and more supportive outlook.

=Also loving how upbeat Drift is in the face of moon-related death.

=Ratchet desperately trying to stop Rung is heart breaking :( he knows it isn’t his Rung, but it must be hard seeing one of your friends sacrifice themselves right in front of you. This comes not even a day after Skids’ similar death.

=”The pain… It’ll be like nothing you’ve ever experienced.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.”

ACK! MY FEELINGS!

=Lug’s full name is Lug of the Celestica Tetracorna Caprica. Lug, I love you dearly, but that is a looooooooong name.

=Nuuuuu :( poor Lug.

=Have we ever seen the rites of transition before?

=I like that Anode is annoyed on Lug’s behalf, but I also find it funny that Lug gave up on religion after a day.

=OMG! Kaput has to do a splits to kneel down!

So, we’re on a planet with an abundance of spark energy, and a Cybertronian who can create crystals that store spark energy. Hmm…

=Methinks Anode has a plan.

= [Glares at Terminus] Oh, so you were aiming for the tractor beam, were you? You KNEW Rod and company were on that cog.

I got my eye on you…

It must have pyshically hurt Minimus to say all that.

=GASP!

OMG

YAAAAAAAAS

BEST. TITLE. PAGE. EVER!

This is so ridiculous and I unabashedly love it. The sight of a Titan-sized Rung punching the Functionist controlled Luna 2, accompanied by the tagline “This machines kills fascists” is the best thing ever and totally makes up for this arcs failings.

=Seriously. Love it. It’s my new lockscreen image.

=And the sentio metalico is brought back into play. Anode is going to bond it to the flickering remains of Lug’s spark, hopefully resurrecting her.

=”Bloody Hell, he just punched the moon!”

[Sobbing tears of joy] This is so good.

=You know things are serious when Brainstorm tells you to focus.

=Rodimus, that isn’t how you use quid pro quo- Ah, no worries. Minimus corrected him.

=I feel like the finger of silence is an actual things Rodimus uses often.

=”I liked him better when he was useless.”

I really feel for Clicker. Know that the person you looked up to, and was the figurehead for your rebellions, disproves everything you fought for must be beyond demoralising. Thank goodness, Megatron is there with some inspirational words.

I crush your little head.

=Rodimus. For the last time. That is not how you use quid pro quo!

=”I’ve staying behind.” No one cares, Terminus.

Oh Rodimus :( I’m so sorry.

=Always happy to see more info about baby Transformers.

=Oh! It’s Nine-of-Twelve. I wondered what happened to him.

=”Goodbye, Terminus. Seeing you again- if only for one more day -was a miracle.”

It’s still so weird to me that only a day has passed since DOTL.

=Still really cool that Megatron intends to keep his word. He’s really come to trust Minimus and Rodimus.

=Okay. There are two ways to interpret this scene. Either Roller lied or mucked up the information about the new transmat locations, or Terminus lied.

I’m more inclined to believe it was terminus because, through this whole arc, he’s come across as really shady. He’s also made it no secret that he wants Megatron to stay on FU!Cybertron.

=I’m really dissapointed by FU!Rung’s death ]=

He died trying to save Cybertron, and he did so whilst suffering immense pain on top of two millions years worth of torture. He knew it would kill him, but he still did it. Apparently his sacrifice garners two panels and a “Let’s go!”

:[ Yeah, I’m gonna write fix-it fic where Megatron and Clicker come back for his body and give him the burial and respect he damn well deserves.

And now it’s times to talk about poor Rodimus. What Getaway, and the rest of the LL crew, did has deeply effected him. His outbursts are obvious signs of his frustrations and anger. His shock and confusion after punching FU!Rung is so sad. Without a healthy outlet for all his emotions, he’s lashing out at those around him, namely Megatron. In Getaway’s absence, Megatron is the perfect target for all of Rodimus’ frustrations since Megatron is the major reason for the mutiny in the first place. Everything that happened- all the deaths -wouldn’t have happened if Megatron hadn’t been on the ship.

The mutiny still would’ve happened, Rodimus is not blameless here, but it wouldn’t have escalated the way it did(DJD, Galactic Council, OVERLORD) if nor for Megatron’s presence.

Putting his trust in Megatron and having it, seemingly, broken was the tipping point. If Minimus hadn’t said what he did, I honestly think Rodimus would’ve waited a moment longer.

But, once again, Rodimus let his wrought emotions take over. He’s reminded of Getaway, and all that rage and bitterness comes rushing forward. In that moment he makes a decision he can’t undo. There are going to be consequences.

=He’s got so many emotions!

=I’ve seen other posters suggest Minimus purposely said “Get away” to goad Rodimus into leaving Megatron behind. Not sure how I feel about that. However, it’s clear he and Megatron were close. If LL'7 covers are to be believes, it might explore their relationship in the next issue.

=Conveniently coloured coded transport rooms!

Firstly. Shut up, Terminus.

Secondly. Oh, Megatron :(

Oh no. Oh no. OHNOOHNOOHNO!

Not gonna lie. This is the my favourite panel in the whole bloody arc. Yeah, it’s even better than MEGA RUNG PUNCHING THE MOON. Ratchet is so happy and relieved to see Rung alive and whole. He cares about him so much! Ratchet unabashedly showing affection! Look at his face!

Also, someone finally hugged Rung! It took five years but someone finally hugged that sweet boy!

Look how befuddled Rung looks! “Oh goodness! Physical affection! What do I do?!”

Oh! YAY! There’s a chance Lug will come back… But will it really be her? Her brain, and all her memories, are in her old body. She’ll basically be a blank slate.

=”You were phenomenal.”

Damn right. Bless you , Brainstorm.

=I will never tire of Megatron’s speeches. Roberts does a wonderful job with them..

=Oh. Hi, Glitch. You’re an outlier so I’m amazed you alive.

=Peace through empathy.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

=Kay. Enough screaming time. Time for some serious talk. I’ve seen so many differing opinions on Megatron’s departure from the series. Some are happy. Some are upset. Others are saying, after everything he’s done, he doesn’t deserve a second chance.

As for me… It’s not my place to say wether a fictional character deserves redemtpion , especially in a fiction as complex as IDW. All I’ll say is if Starscream can rule Cybertron then anything is posible.

I’m actually pleased Megatron was written out in a way that allows him to return. As much as I’ve enjoyed MTMTE/LL Megatron(bumpy plots and all) I’m happy he’s being put aside. He DOMINATED season two in a way not other character did. Now that he’s gone, it allows focus to shift back to the original LL crew and, maybe, even the quest.

=NEXT ISSUE PLEASE