The Diego Diaries: Interlude for Stuff :D
When I first decided to write this story, it was going to be a short one, about 40 parts and an ending. But it sort of opened up into the kind of story I usually write, one that is endless and huge. I decided when it was clear to me that Optimus calling for soldiers would attract refugees, that this would be long, huge and needful of mountains and valleys full of background and information. I located and bookmarked every resource I could find, then began to write.
It was evident to me that there were cultures and sub cultures inside those cultures, that there were as many body types as there were characters and that they had their own views, religions, politics, family structures and beefs the same as us. But given all that, they were still aliens and had to remain that way which meant that some of the things they do and believe might not jibe or seem reasonable to our human sensibilities. One of the things that really frags me off about human science is the idea that if a planet doesn't have things we have, water, carbon, etc. then it can't possibly support life. That is a human looking at the greater universe and only attempting to see themselves. I personally believe that the universe is TEEMING with life that runs the gamut of possibilities but if you're only looking for yourself, or if you look at aliens with your own point of view, you're going to miss the bigger picture.
This is supposed to be one of the oldest races that exists in this universe. Therefore, they've had a lot of time to create their cultures. Given the exclusionary nature of class and caste systems, those who don't get or have tend to make their own worlds around them sometimes for self protection. I decided that there would be different aspects, groupings and ideas within the greater culture that were made to protect and define different groups.
Stanix and her people are a case in point. Extreme poverty and oppression have created the big family clans there. When you bond, all through the courtship and through the bonding parties, the newcomer to the family is pulled aside and read the riot act about how to behave as a bond to their family member. Also, the family cares for each other, they protect each other … its rather like my family who have clannish outlook, too … if you hit one of us, you hit all of us. That's how that works with a lot of the big family clans. You had your independence but you always were part of something bigger that was there for you. Stanix bonding parties are legendary.
Praxus is a more refined version of this practice and outgrowth of life on Cybertron under the caste and oppressive systems. Though they didn't have the worst part of life, the system was their prison, too. They have The Code, a byproduct of the Praxian Elites who made their specific version while the greater Praxian population live by a more modified one. Elites live to dampen the effect of The System and to keep the worst excesses in check. They also only pass their version of The Code amongst their own group. Its a good thing, too, or everyone would see that it was designed to keep oppression in check among the high castes. The modified version just teaches their people that the family is the most important unit, that one has a duty to their children and their children to them and that was enforced by law. They are a conservative practice, something that felt like prison to Prowl but something he honors because it defines who he is as a Praxian and gives his life shape.
The city-states were very at odds with each other and since those born in them took their last surname from that place, the loyalty that individuals feel for that place is huge. Football is a way of expressing identity of place and person, so the rivalries are real. They were contrary enough that Tarn and Vos obliterated each other during the war without too much persuasion. Even people who owe nothing to a place like the twins are fiercely loyal to Kaon and play for it to win. Its a tribal identity that gives someone a persona, a sense of themselves that goes beyond poverty, oppression and thwarted ambition. When Iacon lost games, everyone celebrated because Iacon is the richest and most powerful city-state on Cybertron. When Kaon did, Kaonians celebrated. It gave you pride for a moment. It was something that couldn't be taken away from you.
I wanted the mechs to have back stories. I fixed the Hot Rod part. I forgot about Nyon. He's going to be from Nyon then. I will look up his story again. :D
This started as a story about Ironhide and Ratchet because they were hilarious to me. Then it grew and grew. I wanted the mechs and femmes to come from somewhere, to have families and experiences and to seem more real than otherwise. They would have relationships (which are canon), be affectionate (kissing is canon and so are conjux enduras), have hobbies, foibles, rivalries, grandchildren, children, games, pranks, barbecues, religions, battles, hurts, grudges, banter, joy, misery, and all the stuff everyone else has.
But I also want them to remain aliens.
I want them to have things in common with us but also not. I want them to be as mystified by human behavior as humans might be about them. (Magnus: What did he mean? Optimus: When Agent Fowler is oblique, I just nod my head.) The soldier femmes just love them so much, they fell into their vibe almost immediately. They have no fear, they love them without conditions and they strive to understand them. They expect nothing in particular and so what happens is fine with them. They learn and fit in faster because they are so open. The soldiers are as well though their learning curve took longer.
("You mean they FUCK?!")
The strange ritual family rules might seem odd ball to us but they're what make up the fabric of the lives of these individuals. I can only imagine what aliens hold dear out there in the universe. In Italian society, you are always the son of your father as long as your father lives. In gypsy life, you are us and everyone else is them. There are cultures all over the world that do things that might seem as alien as you can imagine. I remember watching a show once that talked about what families in the not so distant past in Bulgaria (I believe it was, or Albania) when they had no sons. (They may even still do this in the countryside.) They chose a daughter and made her the son. She dressed as a man, worked as a man, was treated like a man and did the oldest son stuff for the family. The women were interviewed, all of them looking completely like men, and it was an amazing show filled with amazing people. It was also incredibly alien to most watchers, I'm sure.
Given that the show was created by Americans and set in America, a lot of the transformers reflects life with humans and thus, they live in houses, eat, recharge, go to the doctor, work, play, frag around, fight, tell stories, have elders who are wisdom receptacles, kids (the first TF kid I ever saw was a little kid running across a mall with his femme mama after him … I still see that image and if there is one image or thought that is responsible for 99% of this story, its that one), great cities, great highways, sports, and the like. They have libraries, armies, commerce, an empire, tech, fun, and more fun.
The games like War For Cybertron and the like show Cybertron as an industrial park kind of place but that's for the purposes of gaming. The images of Cybertron going back into the 1980's with Wheeljack and Bumblebee being the first we ever saw of the bots show great cities and lots of folks going their own way. Thus, they have a lot in common with us but I want that strangeness, too.
(BY THE WAY- NEW TF CARTOON ON CARTOON NETWORK SHORTLY! EXPECT UNUSUAL CARTOONING, BEE WITH A VOICE, WINDBLADE AND OPTIMUS WITH ANOTHER VOICE! I WILL KEEP YOU UP TO DATE ON WHEN IT HAPPENS.)
They have adopted human holidays. They heard Christmas called a surprise so they call it Christmas Surprise. That always gives me a chuckle, that they sort of slightly skew things they hear and see. I want them to have their own holidays, their own rituals, things to do and pass on. They now have a place to be themselves again and to raise their kids in their own ideas and cultural expectations. They manage that pretty well with the human influence.
I'm not one who wants to watch a TF movie with a lot of kids and humans. I didn't get Miko until Bulkhead got hurt, then I did. She's a fearless individual, a Wrecker in human form and someone who loves them so much she's merged herself with them. I liked her immediately when I figured her out. That being said, humans are a part of this because they are. I love the soldiers. I love their families. I want to represent what I think Earth would feel about this. I see it 75-85% love at first sight and intense interest, 10% uncertainty bordering on hostility based on fear and 5-10% out right hatred of the bots. I think they're fairly represented in the groups that live on world. Probably a good 97% are intensely glad and even ecstatic to be here while a solid 5% are looking for opportunities and ways to get things or undermine the bots. They add a certain amount of tension and drama that would be missing otherwise and I like to explore the human propensity to fear what they don't know. It makes the Olivia Bowers types fun to play with. Even Charlotte Mearing has buy in.
There will be hot headed humans, human activity and other things related to humans and Earth in the story but the majority, the bulk of it will be about the bots, the saving of their people everywhere and the Empire and its planets in particular. There will be enemies, some not known in the story yet and the thing will be how do they manage all of it? The mirror universe bots will be coming and going in the story long term as Alt Megatron and Optimus decide what to do with them. And always … the shadow of Megatron is there.
This story is one way for me to do something for Optimus that almost no one who does a movie ever accomplishes. This is a way for me to present him with the respect he deserves as the First Disciple of Primus, as the Prime of Cybertron bearing the greatest matrix of their people, as the leader of an empire that was old when Earth was cooling off, that is an astonishingly educated, patient, virtuous, kindly, gentle and generous, wise mech who is made of integrity. Bey had no idea what he had in his hands when he began his movies. This is my way of making that right. Optimus Prime is the embodiment of respect.
Few characters entertain my imagination as much as these do. The idea of Metrotitan falling hard for a wild ass little mini-con femme is hilarious to me. He was a bad boy forever and now he has a life. I want them to have lives, to go to the club, to attend the Temple, to argue over cards, to go to dinner together, to get drunk and lost on the train system, to play with their kids, to laugh with the humans. Ratchet goofs around for the good of the order around humans but he's wise and kindly because he wants everyone to have a good life. Ironhide gets him and he gets Ironhide. It's a love story for the ages Prime and Prowl are a more elegant version but they found each other and I am glad.
All of this revolves around Prime. All of this for me is the most fun I've ever had as a writer. I want them to have fully formed and detailed lives. I'm spreading them out into different cities so I can tell of them and how the mechs/femmes lived there. I also want to show that all was not beer and skittles, that there are families still split by war and the caste system and that they are coming or not. Hercy of Helex, Springer of Polyhex, the twins and Drift from Kaon … Tarn and Iacon are the biggest cities of Cybertron but I'm spreading everyone out. That way I can do more with those cities and the individuals backstories. They have a lot in canon, the mechs and cities, but I'm going to add more to make this full and more detailed.
All of it has a point. It's up to me to make it. You guys policing the story are my heroes. Sometimes, I think you know it better than me. LOL! Right now these are the story's stats:
Chapters: 3,244 (includes Chronicles of Orion as part of the series)
Words: 7,7521,199 (includes Chronicles of Orion as part of the series)
I'm editing this behemoth and so far probably edited 500 parts. The easy part is rewriting them with Easter eggs and expanded sections. The hard part is loading them up. The best part is finding things I want to re-insert in the story. :D:D:D
Hugs to all who read this. Its long and sometimes that can wear you out. I personally only feel halfway there to the ending. Take care. I hope this gives you a glimpse of the philosophy of this story. I like to write things that tell something more about the characters than the moment they find themselves in. Hugs to all! The segment for today is coming,
ME, tip-tapping away.