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Om Maya Freekin' Lawd!

I too have yet to fully peruse this, but...

*sharp intake of breath*

Yowies!

Truely a testament to the fiction and the passion the fans have for it. Someone get these guys some good kudos and karma!

Wow, that is awesome. I always loved the mosiac's, but they always left me wanting more. This is perfect and too awesome for words.

Jeysie wrote: I already mentioned page 7, but I'll also say that now that I think about it, it reminds me of a similar vibe to that Deep Space Nine episode where Sisko ends up decking Q. ("P-Picard never would have hit me!" "I'm not Picard!") But Slingshot's belligerence *does* have more focus and purpose here than his usually just being a blustering jerk.

I'm a massive fan of DS9 although the outline of it wasn't based on that episode! What I like about the page that Josh wrote was that in fact Slingshot's right, he's an ass, but he is right. It's actually Hotspot who's in the wrong by striking his subordinate, no matter how emotionally charged the use of Pyro's name was. It's a very subtle sign to his troops that Hotspot's struggling too, but in many ways he needed this confrontation to make the decision about sending Silverbolt to his death. I think Hotspot knew what the right decision was but couldn't bring himself to do it. Slingshot is shooting his mouth off without realising the consequences of doing the right thing and making the tough calls. That's why I had Slingshot be silent a couple of pages later, he know's Hotspot's right and suddenly he's not so cocky.

Jeysie wrote: An interesting take on his fear of heights, too, in it really being a cover for deeper worries. (As the old quip goes, "It’s not the fall that gets you, it’s that sudden stop at the end.")

Spot on in your analysis there, everyone knows he's frightened of heights, but like you say the reality is we're being reminded of our own mortality that really brings the fear.

Jeysie wrote:The take on Superion is indeed creepy and original. Much more Frankensteinian than the ultimate expression of teamwork it's usually portrayed as.

I could have written 22 pages just on Superion coping with being who he is now. I had so much more I wanted to write about him but I'd only allowed for the one page in the outline so it was a challenge to cut so much of what I wanted to do and compress even more. I wanted a different slant and origin for combiners but one that wouldn't be convenient, indeed one which would be very INconvenient for everyone involved...

Jeysie wrote: I really, really feel sorry for poor First Aid in this one. First he loses his partner Minerva. Then he finds that no matter what he tries to do to make things better and save lives, he just seems to keep making things *worse* instead and digging himself (and everyone else) into an even deeper hole.

When Tom and I first started talking about WJ in the concept stages he mentioned a desire to use the Protectobots and to have combiners (be careful what you wish for) and he mentioned First Aid. I'd just written a Ratchet Mosaic and was not up for the idea as I wasn't sure how to make them distinct. Tom had mentioned doing it as a more grounded trench story and then his arc as a field medic out of his depth came to me in one go along with the arc of the aerialbots. Josh took the outline and did a wonderful job of making First Aid the everyman of the story - he's not a hero, he's just trying to cope, he's trying to save lives and he's struggling to do either very well.

Jeysie wrote: and has it be completely for naught as Optimus more or less consigns him and the others to the same fate he was forced to give the Aerialbots. Ouch.

Can you imagine how hard it must have been for Hot Spot to try and rally his troops at that point given how easy it would have been for him to slip into dispair? In many ways he's feeling like First Aid, but he has to take control and inspire them to the end, just like Pyro did for him.

Jeysie wrote: Nice little twist on how the Protectobots got their name.

Jeysie wrote: I *think* that's everything I can think of to say here. It was indeed worth the wait, and I'm incredibly envious that you folks got enough talent to come up with something this good.

All I can say is thank you and that I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! There are things I'd tweak and change if I could do it again, but I just think everyone did such a good job that I have no regrets. Hopefully whatever comes next will be even better!

i_amtrunks wrote:I stupidly posted this question in the double thread, think it'll get answered better here.

Any reason as to why Flash was used? Were his other Turbomaster brethren already decimated? I know, not really important, but I do loves seeing my fav figure getting some time in the spotlight!

We needed to use characters which were largely (read: completely) untouched by IDW to avoid contradicting them as long as possible and to allow this to be read as a companion to those books until then. It was Josh's idea to have Flash be one of the background players (he's also one of the few Turbomasters I had). It can be inferred that a lot of the Turbomasters fell during the events preceeding the events in WJ, although it wasnever intended in any deliberate way that they definitely did...

Originally I was going to have Boss be Hotspot's mentor but then I remembred Pyro who's personality fits as a great leader and Hotspot and Pyro have related alt modes so you can imagine a mentor/protege relationship there. Without a lot of backstory to establish their bond we needed to use some of that symbolism to cement that connection.

Autobot Jazz wrote::shock: That...was...awesome!

Primus C-00 wrote:Om Maya Freekin' Lawd!

I too have yet to fully peruse this, but...

*sharp intake of breath*

pleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegood...

Primus C-00 wrote:Yowies!

Truely a testament to the fiction and the passion the fans have for it. Someone get these guys some good kudos and karma!

Phew! Everyone on board did this for the love of TF's and thankfully a love of the story and script. All of us have had competing demands and priorities (I swear Josh doesn't sleep) and we managed to get it all done with a couple of days to spare. Somehow I've managed to fit the outlining, editing, writing, colouring and coordinating of this with a senior role at work, studying for a Masters and the odd other creative bits and commissions.

Everyone gave 110% on this, really putting the work in and finding time where life and sleep should be to make this the best they could.

That people are enjoying it really is the greatest reward we could hope for.

Although that karma sounds good... Actually do you have any cash?

wordmongerer wrote:What I like about the page that Josh wrote was that in fact Slingshot's right, he's an ass, but he is right. It's actually Hotspot who's in the wrong by striking his subordinate, no matter how emotionally charged the use of Pyro's name was.

Yeah, that's another bit of what I liked about it, too. Honestly, if the show's writers had written him more like that and his turn in "Aerial Assault" - namely, still a jerk, but one who means well in a weird way - I probably wouldn't dislike him half as much. ;P

wordmongerer wrote:Spot on in your analysis there, everyone knows he's frightened of heights, but like you say the reality is we're being reminded of our own mortality that really brings the fear.

Yeah, one of the reasons I like Silverbolt is because I'm acrophobic myself (one of the very few things I'm scared of to the point of panic), so... I've had some thoughts on the matter. In my case, it's more a lack of control... namely, the idea that you could be moving towards your death without a way to catch/save yourself.

wordmongerer wrote:I could have written 22 pages just on Superion coping with being who he is now. I wanted a different slant and origin for combiners but one that wouldn't be convenient, indeed one which would be very INconvenient for everyone involved...

Well, you certainly succeeded there! I think it's one of the reasons why combining is limited enough in the cartoons, actually... that it takes a certain bond in a group of individuals to be willing to try and merge your individuality/control with other minds that might be very different from yours. In this case, being forced into that (and the fact that you can't get out of it again) is what adds the creepy factor for me.

But you know, if you want to write more on the subject, that's what plain ol' fanfic is always for. I always love reading a good psychological tale.

wordmongerer wrote:Josh took the outline and did a wonderful job of making First Aid the everyman of the story - he's not a hero, he's just trying to cope, he's trying to save lives and he's struggling to do either very well.

*nods* That's the appeal of the character, I think... trying to be a pacifist and bring relief in a world of endless fighting. Ratchet seems to have dealt with it by hardening at least somewhat, but poor First Aid's still that fresh, well-meaning, idealistic type. Kinda hurts to see him lose that, even if it's necessary to keep one's sanity going.

wordmongerer wrote:Can you imagine how hard it must have been for Hot Spot to try and rally his troops at that point given how easy it would have been for him to slip into dispair? In many ways he's feeling like First Aid, but he has to take control and inspire them to the end, just like Pyro did for him.

Oh, I can imagine. One of the many interesting parallels in the story, and one of the reasons I liked it.

wordmongerer wrote:All I can say is thank you and that I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! There are things I'd tweak and change if I could do it again, but I just think everyone did such a good job that I have no regrets. Hopefully whatever comes next will be even better!

How does that saying go? Something about creative work never really being done, you just have to pick a point to push it out there and move on to the next thing.