Neutral Faction?
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:42 pm
I've kind of seen the whole label of "Predacon" and "Maximal" (and "Decepticon" and "Autobot") as symbolic of something resembling political parties. To say that it is symbolic of ethnicity or nationality doesn't really add up....you can change your party affiliation any time you want to just like you change whether or not you are a "Predacon" or a "Maximal," but you can't change your ethnicity or nationality (no matter how many times Michael Jackson tried). So it doesn't seem like an adequate representation of ethnicity or nationality.
"Predacons" are typically seen as the "bad guys" and "Maximals" are typically seen as the "good guys." But in the TV show, we can see development of characters who realize that they can still stand up for what they believe, but they don't have to be Maximal to do that. Blackarachnia, for example, says to Optimus (and I paraphrase), "I will fight with you against Megatron, but I'm not a Maximal." She holds on to her Predacon identity despite fighting against Megatron (until she's forced to change her identity because of the core programming Tarantulas implanted....whole other argument....I thought that was the biggest mistake ever...she should have stayed Predacon). It's made clear to us that the "bad guys" are really Megatron and his band of extremists (terrorists, perhaps?), but not necessarily all "Predacons."
In our version of the story, we're starting to see this develop as well as more and more Predacons like Frilla and Onyx choose to become Maximal following in Dinobot's footsteps from the show. So, I'm wondering what others think about running with this idea that being a Predacon does not necessarily mean that one agrees with Megatron and his actions and that Megatron and his extremist ways are not the definition of a Predacon.
We already have some bots who are kind of unofficially neutral so why not just make it an official faction?
I guess where I'm going with this is that I don't think a bot should feel like in order to stand up against Megatron they have to revoke their entire identity. Why does one have to be a Maximal in order to do what is right? Why can't one "do the right thing" and still be a Predacon? I don't mean that if one is becoming neutral that they are choosing not to choose, but that they are choosing to acknowledge that they don't have to let Megatron and his band of cronies define what being a Predacon means to them. That being a "Predacon" is not "bad" or "wrong...." just different from being a Maximal. They are, more or less, agreeing to disagree....agreeing to give peace a try....and turning their back, not on being "Predacon" but Megatron himself and his distortion of the word "Predacon."
Obviously, this is something that will take a lot of heads to discuss and develop fully in order to use it in the story line which can be discussed in detail later. Maybe the players need to discuss and decide what a Predacon is if it is different from what Megatron and his followers are doing.
Right now, we've already got ourselves a little neutral party started with the spiders' little team-up so maybe that can be kind of how this all starts. Their goals right now are much different than what I'm suggesting, but all things have to start somewhere. In the show it kind of started out as an arachnid team up, but I've always felt that it fizzled out and went no where. There was a lot of potential behind it......maybe it fizzled out because of fear or maybe because they didn't get along....or maybe because the depth and complexity of identity was over the heads of the intended audience...who knows. But I think we should kind of continue to let this little plot point develop instead of having it end up going nowhere like it did in the show.
Obviously not all bots are right for this....and we can't have too many....other wise it becomes over-kill for the Preds. But like I said....it's really just a proposition right now...specifics can be determined later once we've given the idea itself more thought.
"Predacons" are typically seen as the "bad guys" and "Maximals" are typically seen as the "good guys." But in the TV show, we can see development of characters who realize that they can still stand up for what they believe, but they don't have to be Maximal to do that. Blackarachnia, for example, says to Optimus (and I paraphrase), "I will fight with you against Megatron, but I'm not a Maximal." She holds on to her Predacon identity despite fighting against Megatron (until she's forced to change her identity because of the core programming Tarantulas implanted....whole other argument....I thought that was the biggest mistake ever...she should have stayed Predacon). It's made clear to us that the "bad guys" are really Megatron and his band of extremists (terrorists, perhaps?), but not necessarily all "Predacons."
In our version of the story, we're starting to see this develop as well as more and more Predacons like Frilla and Onyx choose to become Maximal following in Dinobot's footsteps from the show. So, I'm wondering what others think about running with this idea that being a Predacon does not necessarily mean that one agrees with Megatron and his actions and that Megatron and his extremist ways are not the definition of a Predacon.
We already have some bots who are kind of unofficially neutral so why not just make it an official faction?
I guess where I'm going with this is that I don't think a bot should feel like in order to stand up against Megatron they have to revoke their entire identity. Why does one have to be a Maximal in order to do what is right? Why can't one "do the right thing" and still be a Predacon? I don't mean that if one is becoming neutral that they are choosing not to choose, but that they are choosing to acknowledge that they don't have to let Megatron and his band of cronies define what being a Predacon means to them. That being a "Predacon" is not "bad" or "wrong...." just different from being a Maximal. They are, more or less, agreeing to disagree....agreeing to give peace a try....and turning their back, not on being "Predacon" but Megatron himself and his distortion of the word "Predacon."
Obviously, this is something that will take a lot of heads to discuss and develop fully in order to use it in the story line which can be discussed in detail later. Maybe the players need to discuss and decide what a Predacon is if it is different from what Megatron and his followers are doing.
Right now, we've already got ourselves a little neutral party started with the spiders' little team-up so maybe that can be kind of how this all starts. Their goals right now are much different than what I'm suggesting, but all things have to start somewhere. In the show it kind of started out as an arachnid team up, but I've always felt that it fizzled out and went no where. There was a lot of potential behind it......maybe it fizzled out because of fear or maybe because they didn't get along....or maybe because the depth and complexity of identity was over the heads of the intended audience...who knows. But I think we should kind of continue to let this little plot point develop instead of having it end up going nowhere like it did in the show.
Obviously not all bots are right for this....and we can't have too many....other wise it becomes over-kill for the Preds. But like I said....it's really just a proposition right now...specifics can be determined later once we've given the idea itself more thought.