I was at Adeevka where the Ukrainians are trying to take a strategically-located overpass from the Separs (I was there as a peaceful tourist who never even touched a firearm, of course) and the positions there are about 400 or so meters away from each other, so if you scream loud enough the fucks on the other side can actually hear you.
Up to this point, I’d observed a guy dropping his phone like it was going to bite him when I told him the Bruno Mars song he was playing was gay, and could reliably make people leave the room by asking them “would you rather sit on a chocolate cake and suck a dick, or eat a chocolate cake while getting fucked in the ass”, so it’s at this point in the trenches that a flash of inspiration hits me.
In my best Russian (which was utterly broken but “proper” Russian grammar is barbaric caveman-speak anyway) I scream out “next guy that shoots is gay”. And I swear to whatever god exists that two solid minutes of silence followed. It was some guns-fall-silent Christmas miracle shit
After learning of
Rung’s function, I can’t help but wonder about this exchange.
It’s heavily implied
that Rung, rather than the factories, was the source of the photonic
crystals used in the CC process. If that’s the case, it makes Rung
serving on the Ark 1 quite significant. Was he, as he claimed, going
to serve as a psychiatrist? Or was Nova going to use him to create
more troops for his conquest of the galaxy.
The Senate “couldn’t
do without him”. I always thought it was weird that the Senate, of
all things, wanted to keep one psychiatrist on Cybertron? Like, they
actually intervened, presumably against Nova’s wishes, just to ensure
he didn’t’ leave. Is that just a nice way of saying they didn’t want
to lose their potential crystal maker? Even with Rung, the Matrix is
needed to imbue the crystals with spark energy. The Matrix was still
on Cybertron, so it doesn’t make much sense to split the two up.
I also think it’s weird
that the trigger for creating new life is pain or trauma. Maybe it
ties into Rung’s memory loss? Rather than it being Info Creep, maybe
he’s repressing past trauma. It could even be the result of
Shadowplay- although, I’ll admit, I don’t think Shadowplay was around
at that point. Not just yet –
Just another thought,
the Matrix itself is a photonic crystal. Did Rung create it? Was
Solomus also a crystal maker, and Rung is his replacement? Something
to mull over.
OOOOH I love these Rung thoughts!
I think you’re probably right that the Senate intervened to keep Rung on Cybertron because of his crystal-making abilities – and that could very well be why Nova wanted to bring him along. Either to make crystals for new troops en route, or just to keep a valuable asset with him, maybe as part of a power play with the Senate. (Which, to my mind, also opens up an interesting question – why did Nova Prime not take the Matrix with him on his journey? Might the Senate have intervened there, as well, and Nova wanting Rung was a counter-move – like, well, if you’re keeping the Matrix I’m keeping the crystals, and neither party can make a move without the other?)
The trigger being pain is interesting. I guess you could argue that it makes sense in-universe, like, if the crystal-maker is feeling pain and loss, Cybertron might be in a state of crisis that requires soldiers to fend off a threat – more soldiers more quickly than you’d get by waiting for the next hotspot to ignite. I find it kind of pleasing in a symbolic way, in any case. Because there’s a darker implication – we’ve seen how destructive Cybertronians are to everything around them, hell, they’re even created in pain. (That might have even contributed to the sense Tyrest had that there was something intrinsically bad and sacrilegious about cold construction; instead of a hotspot lighting up magically, you have this poor bot going through immense pain to generate the crystals.) But there’s also a more heartwarming side: a lot of people do respond to trauma by feeling an impulse to create something, and making a new life out of the pain of losing someone has a nice symmetry to it.
And I hadn’t thought of the repressed trauma aspect, but that makes a LOT of sense. It might even have been part of Rung’s decision to become a psychiatrist, seeing the same pain (even if it’s pain he doesn’t consciously remember) in other people. (I wouldn’t necessarily rule out Shadowplay being involved; to be fair, we don’t know when Rung stopped being able to remember that part of his past, just that he can’t do it now.) And repressed pain and the effects of Shadowplay are things Rung is the expert on spotting and ameliorating in others. Who would spot them in him?
(If Rung has been shadowplayed, it adds a new and rather awful layer to his objecting to the government using it on Megatron. Also, I would put money on Froid and Trepan being the ones who carried it out on Rung, if it happened.)
Okay so I mentioned the whole, having ocs and stuff and talking about Rattles’ fave Lewis so we’re going to show off his boy because I know he loves him dearly. Prepare your ass for some OLD ASS ART.
SO WAY BACK IN 2009 the movie 9 by Shane Acker came out and it was a good film about rag doll robots living in the post apocalypse. The characters were collectively called stitchpunks by the fandom. It was short, good, sad, and enjoyable. And since it was sort of open ended and only had 11 characters or so everyone made ocs for it.
I made mine is sets of 9 as the main cast is also a set of 9.
Lewis is part of a set known as the Evepunks (which was Rattles and I’s way of denoting what set they belonged to and the name of their creator etc.) All of them are named after authors. He is named after C.S. Lewis.
He became a complex little character pretty fast. He started off only being able to recite quotes but that changed after a repaired injury and then he became a huge chatterbox. He’s shameless, loves attention, fiercely protective of his extended ‘family’ (they don’t actually have relatives in the traditional sense), and is a huge flirt. He’s incredibly good at pantomime given his history with being unable to speak freely and often falls back into it around his ‘sister’, Carroll who still does speak in quotes.
By and large a lot of our ocs for this didn’t give two shits about gender because everyone is a sackcloth robot why does it matter? There’s one or two where it does and they usually spent more time when humans than others. So Lewis is polyamorous and has a cute little group of lovers:
The bright ass fuckers on either side belong to Rattles because of course they do.
He’s also got a bit of a fatherly streak to him with certain characters like Poe or the Twins. So while he’s a wild playboy style character he also has a more down to earth side as a loving family figure.
Rattles loves him…probably because he’s a show off and a clown with a heart of gold because Rattles loves those types. Also becasue seeing this old art is killing my eyes here have some newer pieces of him:
There’s this video of a lil baby whale shark following scuba divers around because she thinks the bubbles emitted from their air tanks were plankton like I’m so proud of her.
Reblog if you’re proud of this beautiful baby
THERE SHE IS
this is one of the purest things ever captured on video.
And the divers are doing exactly the right thing: they’re moving away from her, not trying to touch, trying not to get in her way. Makes this whole thing even better.
2: If you could convert a decommissioned missile silo / underground bunker into a home, would you?
3: If you had the money to buy a private island and build a custom castle on it, would you?
4: Have you ever attempted to start a micronation?
5: Would you ever wanna start a micronation?
6: Do you like to dress fancy?
7: Have you ever considered running for office? Either on a national or subnational level.
8: Do you have any famous family members? What are they famous for?
9: Favourite James Bond film?
10: Where’s the most “exotic” place you’ve been to?
11: Have you ever voted in a national election? What about local?
12: What do you identify as, politically speaking?
13: Would you move to another country if you fell in love with someone from that country? What about state (or other national subdivision)?
14: Do you wear hats often?
15: Would you ever enlist in your nation’s armed forces?
16: Would you ever consider mercenary work?
17: When you go to a sandwich shop (such as Subway), what do you normally get on your sandwich?
18: What would perfect date be for you?
19: What do you like in your coffee?
20: Have you ever been to a formal party, other than prom, a wedding, or homecoming?
21: Of the many obscure languages of the world, which would you most like to learn?
22: How many children do you wish to have?
23: Have you ever been arrested? If so, what for?
24: What is a show you love that not many people would know you love?
25: Have you ever jumped out of a window?
26: Do you like to dress fancily?
27: If you could bring back any style of fashion from history, what would you bring back?
28: Do you like to dance?
29: What is your favourite style of architecture?
30: Do you have a favourite flag?
31: What is something you like to eat that others might find odd or gross?
32: Have you ever fired a gun? If not, would you like to?
33: Do you like to cook?
34: Do you keep a journal?
35: Linux, Mac, or Windows?
36: What does your ideal house look like?
37: Do you prefer playing on a computer or a console?
38: If someone offered you a secluded cabin in the woods, with all modern conveniences (such as internet and running water), with no strings, would you accept the offer?
39: Have you ever accidentally left the house without an article of clothing?
40: Do you enjoy documentaries?
41: Do you have a favourite letter (of any alphabet)?
42: Where is a place you’d like to visit that people don’t generally think of as a big vacation destination?
43: Prefer you the City, Suburbs, or Country?
44: Do you collect anything?
45: What is the worst injury you have ever received?
46: Do you have a favourite coat of arms?
47: If you could have your own coat of arms, or flag, what would it look like?
48: What is one food that everyone loves, but you hate?
BettSplendens Tumblr Evac 