This Is For My Own Personal Descent Into Madness

Literally I don't know which part annoys me more: Jetfire existing in the background solely to go "ORION PAX FUCKING SUCKS AND IS A HYPOCRITE", Orion being written like an edgy asshole who hates everyone, or Soundwave talking like an unhinged terrorist and the narrative expecting me to see Orion as the hypocrite for using violence to arrest terrorists.

Soundwave is seriously like "You have no proof we assassinated the Senate, but if we did assassinate the Senate it would've been justified, but also totally trust us bro, just because we could've hypothetically murdered the entire reigning government doesn't mean that we're violent bro come on just bc we assassinated-- I mean could have hypothetically had the means and cause to kill like a hundred people doesn't mean we were gonna kill anyone else, come on bro why are you calling us violent just bc we think some murder is okay" while Jetfire is in the background like "WOW ORION I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE WILLING TO BE VIOLENT IN RESPONSE TO OTHER PEOPLE BEING VIOLENT. YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR OWN SIDE'S FLAWS EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE LITERALLY DOING AN INVESTIGATION TO DECIDE WHETHER ONE OF YOUR COPS COMMITTED AN UNJUSTIFIED KILLING OR NOT. YOU HAVE DONE LITERALLY NOTHING TO TRY AND FIGHT THE CORRUPTION IN SOCIETY." (Jetfire had no way of knowing about OP and crew fighting the Senate's schemes in Shadowplay and Elegant Chaos, but as a reader it's very frustrating seeing Orion getting lambasted as never having done anything to fight society's corruption when he literally did, and by the time he was even working for Zeta Megatron was already evil and had the whole Senate assassinated.)

Like ughhhh oh my god I could have maybe enjoyed this story under a better writer but as it's written it's some "yet you participate in society, curious" levels of political commentary where at least one character seemingly only exists in the scene to shit on OP (something that happens a lot in Barber's works, like with Pyra Magna and Slide) and where OP is framed as a hypocritical asshole for a reaction that's very understandable given the context.

And also it's weird because Barber wants so badly for you to read Orion as some sort of hypocrite for being against terrorist activities but being willing to employ violence himself to arrest terrorists, yet... it turns out the big twist of the story is that the Decepticons WERE smuggling weapons and Soundwave DID lie to Orion (even if it was unintentionally), thus vindicating Orion's entire distrustful attitude? Like, it seems as if it was supposed to be an ACAB story showing how evil the police are for killing people and how Orion (as a cop) is evil for being a cop that uses violence on behalf of the state. Except uh. Then Barber wrote a plot where the Decepticons literally were smuggling weapons all along (and this is alongside lore from Megatron: Origin where we as the readers know for a fact the Decepticons/Starscream killed the Senate) so.... Like, it just seems to me that if Barber wanted to write an ACAB story about how the state monopoly on violence is bad, he probably shouldn't have written the Decepticons as actually being terrorists who literally did lie about smuggling weapons?

I feel like a better way to write an ACAB/anti-state-monopoly-on-violence would've been to like, explore the way that states take advantage of catastrophe/using scapegoat political movements to gather more power to themselves and justify removing citizens' rights with "it's an emergency, we're taking away your freedoms to protect everyone." Like, maybe Zeta passes some law saying that officers can search citizens without a warrant, which he justifies with the fact that Decepticon terrorism is so rampant that officers need immediate permission to conduct raids/searches. Except this is obviously a problem because people have a right to privacy, and probably the cops are super overzealous and end up arresting innocent people without cause (like idk, maybe just being friends with someone who is sympathetic to the Decepticons gets someone landed in jail? Maybe Jetfire gets arrested bc he's critical of the state and has hung out with Decepticon sympathizers before). So then Orion has an actual "are we the baddies?" moment where he wants to stop the bad people, but he realizes that his side are infringing on people's citizens and justifying police brutality for the sake of a nebulous "greater good," and that even though he and his cops were given greater power to supposedly "protect citizens," in practice they're actually doing great harm to citizens by invading their privacy, creating a surveillance state, and imprisoning people without just cause? Basically "we were given this power to stop terrorists from hurting civilians, but now we're hurting civilians too so are we actually doing any good?" Because that way Orion and his cops would ACTUALLY be in the wrong and their state monopoly on violence would be an actually widespread institutional thing where they're clearly being allowed to do bad things just because they're cops. Not just Orion investigating one singular police killing.

But with the story written as "Orion suspected the Decepticons of murdering the Senate (he's correct about this) but still investigated one of his officers to see if he committed a wrongful murder (literally him paying attention to his own side's wrongdoings, Jetfire), and it turns out the Decepticons WERE smuggling weapons and doing terrorism (Orion was correct about this)" it's just.......... like, Orion may not be morally correct, but his hunches/investigations about the suspected criminal activity were literally correct. AND HE WAS WILLING TO DO THIS INVESTIGATION IN THE FIRST PLACE. But for some reason he's still framed as if he's an asshole for this? Even though this is a point in the pre-war lore where Megatron won't back down from violence and has lost his way from his original pure intentions, so it's not like Orion can just go "let's put down our weapons and be friends and mutually trust each other to not stab each other in the back."

Off the top of my head these are some series/storylines/issues where they interact directly. Defining interaction as anything from "the whole story is about them" to "their interaction is a plot element but not necessarily the main focus" to "they interact but only for a few lines":

The Autocracy trilogy (Autocracy, Monstrosity, Primacy)

Stormbringer

All Hail Megatron

The Transformers ongoing 2009 (with emphasis on Chaos Theory and Police Action for the most gay moments)

That one issue where Megatron grabs OP's spark through his chest Mortal Kombat style

Dark Cybertron

MTMTE (past OP in Elegant Chaos, Functionist Universe OP, and current day OP during Dark Cybetron and Megatron's trial)

And then there's other times where IDW1 Megatron and Optimus aren't in front of each other interacting/speaking with each other but are still thinking of each other:

The prelude to Dying of the Light where OP hears the LL distress signal and is afraid (not explicitly for Megatron but like he put Megatron on that ship)

MTMTE, Megatron tells Ravage that something he said to Optimus was the turning point of how he viewed himself

MTMTE again, Megatron all but says aloud that he made Tarn into Tarn to spite Optimus

One of the GI Joe crossovers where Optimus symathizes with a Joe over what it feels like 'to believe in someone who everyone else sees as past redemption' while an image of Megatron is literally behind him in his thoughts

when chromia and crew were being pursued by deceptions elita warns them in quite possibly the most cryptic way she could

there’s this cover where she’s perched like a cat. no one else is doing this. just her.

in idw1 she sits on a throne of body parts

they’re parts of those who’ve lost or sacrificed their lives for her ship but a throne of body parts is still a throne of body parts

and in cyberworld she keeps doing unnecessary flips when, again, No One Else Is Doing This

Let's make the sparklings even MORE terrifying by basing them off hexbugs.

Idea is that once Optimus Prime comes back to life and Rodimus steps down as Prime and becomes Hot Rod again (or keeps the name Rodimus. havent made a solid decision on that yet. so imma call him roddy for the rest of this post), Ultra Magnus takes up the same role under Optimus as he did under Roddy.

That being Commander, Advisor, and unofficial secretary. XD

And Magnus is initially quite relieved with the role. Ah yes, finally a return to the gravitas and severity that this station requires. Not that he disliked serving under Roddy. He was unconventional but worked hard and certainly couldn't be called uncaring. Magnus just wasn't used to the kind of open and casual dynamic Roddy seemed to impose on the mantle of the primehood while he held.

But that was over now. Things can go back to the way they were before!

Except they can't.

Things are different after Rodimus was Prime. They have cybertron back, the conflict with the decepticons is different, and their roles are way more secure than they were when Optimus was in charge. The difference in leadership style and circumstances has changed peoples expectations. Including Magnus!

And oh my god does Optimus absolutely welcome it with open arms!

All the autobots are way more casual with him now. Not just the ones in his immediate circle like before. They feel way more comfortable talking to him about common every day things. And they're calling him "Optimus" way more than they call him "prime". (he feels a little ashamed to admit hes happy about that)

But especially he likes paperwork snack time.

Oh my primus, yes. A casual energon snack alongside Magnus while they're working through the monotamous piles of paperwork that comes with being Prime.

It's like the parting of the clouds and Optimus revels in it.

At least until Magnus realizes what hes doing one day and immediately apologizes and tries to go back.

This leads to an incredibly awkward moment of Optimus trying to convince him to keep the changes in place without admitting he wants to keep the changes in place. A conversation that makes Magnus... realize a few things.

Optimus and Roddy aren't actually that different. They actually have a lot of the same concerns and worries. Optimus was just WAY better at hiding it.

While Roddy was more than wiling to come right out and admit he was struggling and get help, Optimus was never willing to. After all they were in the midst of war and he couldn't afford to show weakness.

Optimus has spent his entire time as prime essentially being at war and really REALLY wants to get out of the war time mindset.

Optimus probably could have REALLY used some snacks at many points when he was prime but no one ever got any for him because they thought it wouldn't be proper, and OP felt selfish for asking.

Holy hell, Roddy handles his emotional issues way better than OP. At least hes open about them, OP just buries them and convinces everyone they dont have to worry about him.

the temperature in the quarantine chamber keeps rising. both of them are practically steaming, panting to release as much heat as possible, but it's not enough. rodimus loses control first; he squirms in his corner of the room, whimpering in discomfort, as his interface panel finally forces itself open. the smell of lubricants and lust makes magnus even dizzier. he tries to resist, he tries to be dignified and proper, but unconscious whimpers are escaping his own vocalizer and it's getting hotter and hotter and it hurts.

his own interface panel snaps aside. he's gushing, his whole array throbbing, his spike achingly hard. he and rodimus avoid optic contact for as long as possible at opposite ends of the room. ratchet even put up the privacy screen, he told them they'd probably feel better if they burned off charge with each other, but it's so embarrassing...

rodimus cries out when the painful ache in his lower body gets unbearable. his shaking hands go subconsciously to his array, so desperate for any release. magnus finds himself crawling across the room without even realizing it, whimpering and moaning lowly himself.

they end up rutting against each other mindlessly, making out sloppily, and desperately trying to get more in the center of the room. the pollen has taken full effect and they both feel practically dumb, succumbing to base instincts and the need to touch and be touched. they're pawing at each other, whining for more, trying to nuzzle each other for comfort when they both start tearing up at the pain and the relief of rubbing their arrays together.

when magnus manages to slip his fat spike in rodimus' array, they get loud. they're both huddled in a corner and magnus is curled over rodimus protectively, lapping at his captain's throat and face, clinging to him, and rodimus just moans and takes it. he tries to rock back into magnus' sloppy thrusts but it's so hard to stay coordinated, he's shaking too hard, it feels too good to be fucked.

the floor is covered in lubricants and transfluid after just an hour. they've swapped positions dozens of times and nothing is enough, even as magnus whines through a few overloads on rodimus' spike or the two of them rut their valves together so hard they both squirt. they both feel so hot and itchy and they need to overload, again and again and again. they need to be closer to each other, magnus needs to lick the tears off his captain's face, rodimus needs to soothe his SIC's pleading whines.

the soundproofing on the quarantine chamber isn't nearly enough. outside, people may not be able to see in, but all the noises leave nothing to the imagination. all anybody can hear is muffled yips and cries and loud, rhythmic clanking and slurred words of praise and moans of each other's names.

Magnus and his Prime 💙🧡

Since I got into the RodPod Zine, I thought it would be fair that I drew this ship again for old time's sake 👀✨

But Prowl's heats turn up his sensory processing to the max so he's super sensitive and needs to be very gently loved. And he won't hesitate to kick his partner off if they get too rough or he's too overstimulated.

So Optimus has to oh so gently make love to Prowl, talking him through it and expertly making him overload again and again and again. Prowl sobs his way through the whole thing, all while actively begging for more.

If one day we stop functioning

like, imagine. cybertron has long since abandoned the idea of the matrix of leadership having any power because no one's ever been able to properly bear it, so its power has just been reduced to a myth. orion stumbles across the temple where it was once kept, a crumbling monument on the surface, and out of some odd desire he can't name, he begins maintaining the temple. clearing away the vegetation, rebuilding portions of it, scrubbing away the dirt. eventually, he starts talking to primus as he works. not anything crazy, just talking about his day, asking him questions, things like that. he doesn't know why he does these things. they just come naturally to him.

he doesn't know if anyone's listening, but primus has been paying attention the entire time.

This exactly.

The perfect mix of the horror of Cybertron being a living being that thinks independently of its creations and the hilarity of Cybertron being a living being that thinks independently of its creations.

The planet is alive. A person. A being that moves and breathes and reclaims what is abandoned to re-stoke the flames beneath the forge of creation, abandoned cities slowly but surely wiped away to make room for the next one to come. As is the nature of transformation, nothing is permanent and what is new must be created out of the old. You must give to receive so she must take to give.

Cybertronian: What is THAT?

Human: Oh! That’s an old abandoned building. Over time nature just takes back over the area.

C: Weird.

H: What… what happens to your ruins?

C: Oh! Primus opens a chasm in the surface and takes back that which was his!

H: YOUR PLANET EATS YOUR RUINS?!