#the Terran’s deserve their show

[trashhole]

Tfe season 2 situation hot take

you can stone me, cancel me, send me threats for this I don’t care I’m saying my opinion.

Earthspark isn’t ruined just because your blorbo isn’t in it or isn’t perfectly written.

Tfe is about the terrans.

Everyone jumping to conclusions because of a rotten tomatoes synopsis that’s 2 sentences each is craaaazy. We haven’t even seen batch two and you guys are saying the season is trash? People worked hard on this to make something and we’re judging it before we’ve even watched it.

Have hope, not everything in life is immediately bad, and I’m sure the tfe team worked hard to make something great even if it’s not perfect.

And if the whole show is ruined to you because your side characters blorbo isn’t done justice you were never watching the show for it’s main purpose anyway so don’t expect it to cater to you. You can be mad but don’t be surprised. It’s not about them and never was.

I love idw but it’s not the end of the world that I won’t see my faves in tfe, because that’s not what it’s for. Ultimately it’s about the terrans, and the plot will suffer if they aren’t the general main focus. (Especially Robbie, bro is 2d, flat, and static. He needs to join an emo band.)

TLDR: stop sending hate to tfe before we even know what batch 2 looks like, it’s about the terrans not your faves y’all look like clowns for this, my daughter twitch did not die for your sins just for y’all to ignore her smh 😤/hj - sincerely, that one guy who drew almost exclusively tfe starbee for half a year

[fleshandwires]

she's so important to me (crying sobbing)

[arceespinkgun]

You reblogged a post saying Earthspark has addressed things effectively, so what's your stance regarding the recent discussions about its anti-immigration message?/genq

I'm not sure how I feel about being asked to give an opinion on things people haven't said to me. If somebody sent me an ask being like, "I think Earthspark is anti-immigration, here's why, what do you think?" then I'd have no problem with responding and giving an opinion! But this is like, tagging me into a discussion that I don't really feel like I was involved in/should butt into? On the other hand, you're asking for my opinion directly, and I have seen people publicly saying they think it's anti-immigration in the show's tag, so I guess maybe it's okay if it's like, a public discussion. Plus, I'm a non-binary, disabled, mixed-race person, meaning the show addresses people who share experiences like mine, and one of my parents is an immigrant...

I wouldn't have reblogged any posts saying Earthspark's handled issues of marginalization successfully if I didn't agree! I think believing that the show is anti-immigration is like… a bizarre reading because it ignores an incredible amount of context and blatant messaging to the audience. The sense I got from when I saw people saying this in the tag is that the reasoning is something like: "It's unintentionally anti-immigration because the transformers brought their war to Earth, resulting in human death, and at least some of the Decepticons intended to colonize the planet. So when the show suggests it's wrong to discriminate against transformers, it falls flat because the immigrants WERE dangerous colonizers all along."

But that's not true. First of all, while yes, the Cybertronians are technically immigrants, when most people talk about immigrants they mean people who intentionally wanted to be in another place, you know? Not people who were stranded. And let's think about why they were stranded. The Autobots destroyed the Space Bridge to sever the link between the two worlds as a last-ditch attempt to prevent further destruction to the Earth and its people. They did this because they KNOW it was a terrible thing to have brought the war to Earth—the Autobots, as far as we know, always knew it was their duty to protect humanity and the planet. They stranded themselves on Earth and potentially destroyed their homeworld for the sake of the Earth. So while of course people might be right to fear Decepticons specifically, transformers in general DON'T deserve to be hated. To hate all transformers is to hate someone for their species, isn't it? Plus, the Autobots since the 80s have been refugees of a war, which they are in this series, too… you know, like many immigrants are in real-life? It's also important to see that Autobots doing morally dubious things in Earthspark—like working with GHOST—have been doing it because they're so desperate to protect humans and have their trust that they have become self-destructive.

I've also seen people complaining about how people find the Decepticons very sympathetic. But… how is that the show's fault? The show extends sympathy to the Decepticons 1) who have chosen to become better people, or 2) are being tortured by GHOST/other humans. Okay? I see no problem with this? Dot drove her car into Swindle's face, everybody. It's not saying self-defense or suspicion is always bad, just exploitation/abuse of POWs. Why are we not celebrating finally having a TF show that is extremely anti-military? The show has blatantly said over and over that it is people's actions that should be judged. The actions of people like Mandroid are not reasonable... it is impossible to justify in any way things like his hatred of the Terrans (who were born on Earth and have never hurt anyone, by the way).

I also want to say that it would be one thing if the show never explored ACTUAL real-world racism or if (shudder) we had some white family as the main characters instead. But this isn't the case. The show has successfully and clearly explored actual, non-fantasy racism multiple times. We saw the microaggressions against Mo and Robby from their teacher at school. We saw Agent Schloder making Alex be his driver and do errands for him. We saw Dot and Alex, fearful at the racetrack, as they're first held in suspicion by the military, then later have to pretend to be grateful. Also, I get the sense that people who think the show is anti-immigration think the show villainizes humans, but like. Half the main heroes of this show are human. Kids watching have great role models in the Maltos... judge people for their actions, not their identity. People deserve a second chance, but might not take it. Advocate for yourself, and when something feels wrong, speak up. I see nothing wrong with the philosophies of the human Maltos, and the experiences of mixed-race human characters are centered and explored excellently? The show presents a range of humans, some heroic and some villainous.

Finally, I think the most important thing I can say here is that when you want to examine the media you consume with a critical eye, that is good. But a critical eye doesn't mean "only focusing on bad things," and it DEFINITELY doesn't mean, "only focusing on tearing down representation of marginalized people as worked on by other marginalized people." What I mean is this: maybe you disagree with me and think Earthspark is bad representation. I don't get how, but you're entitled to your opinion and to share it. But I would implore you and everyone to also consider how much better it is than everything that has come before. I know it's the show that just came out, but if you're going to be this critical of it, remember how much worse everything else is, too: Carbomya in G1. Everything about Cab in Masterforce (extra relevant here since he's from a fictional place in the Philippines)! The really uncomfortable portrayal of (sigh) Una and Chak in BW. Everything involving the Sumdacs in TFA. TFP's main Black character being tortured and the aftereffects being portrayed as a funny joke in the premiere. The Combaticons working for a fictional son of Kim Jong-il in IDW. I could go on and on. I don't mean to say that we should settle for lackluster representation (though I see no issues with Earthspark's representation), but just that, well... it's weird to focus so heavily on the least problematic of all representation in the franchise IMO. And I think that to publicly argue that you are on the side of the people writing things like, "Transformers go home" may not ultimately be serving your communities.

[katzske]

Thoughts on Earthspark Season 2 (first half)

Spoiler Free:

I must admit I’m dissatisfied.

The animation and rendering definitely looks cheaper. Sometimes it feels like frames are missing, animations not polished, scenes not fully rendered. 2d and 3d poorly blends. It’s quite noticeable unfortunately. Characters also do the TFP Megatron stare now.

That being said, time was taken to revisit old models of characters and give them a new appearance. (4 i’ve noticed) It makes sense given a lot has changed during one year time skip.

The writing often feels either like exposition dumping or naruto filler episodes. I was never at the edge of my seat even during the climax. I ended up skipping through episodes due to the lack of relevant plot information.

Something ES managed to maintain were carefully composed shots that make great still images. While that’s nice for screenshots and redraws, I also feel like it’s the only unique aspect of ES’ animation style that remained. The rest, as previously mentioned, has lost quality.

Character Details I’ve noticed and want to talk about (spoilers ahead)

half of season 2 part 1 is filler. optimus trailer episode, great america with cosmos, a pachycephalosaurus-truck fighting mushrooms, hashtag taking ten years to dispose of hard drives…. each episode did have a few minutes of either cute or important moments. but the majority is a waste of time.

I was hoping that we would learn more about the decepticons. now that they’re free, what are they up to? how are their dynamics? how did season 1 finale change their perception on things? would they try to convince the terrans THEY are the good guys? nothing like that though.

There is no satisfying character development for starscream. ES Starscream was perfect to explore a more neutral version of him, who does not do bad things out of pleasure, but due to necessity; following his desire to be free. In the show he mentions he wanted to get rid of his oppressors (in his eyes autobots and humans), but a real “bruh” moment was when he told Hashtag the only reason he opened up to her last time was to tell her “take care of yourself first”. It completely disregards the fact he came to help in the season 1 finale after reflecting on Hashtags words. It also aggravates me that the writing could have been a very easy fix. “hey i’m not being selfish by destroying this town. im doing this for the decepticons, we have lived under the control of the autobots and then of humans. this needs to stop, we deserve freedom and i will do anything it takes.”

the show managed to establish some friction between starscream and shockwave but for deception standards it was very tame. overall i think it was written okay; he purposely let the Terrans escape with the fragments, and he bailed on Starscream once he went bonkers. I hope that he gets to be a Decepticon leader in the second half; i don’t think we have seen that in any TF TV show before. i also like that his antennae and eye color give away his emotions now.

i feel like the autobots are treated even worse than the decepticons this season ngl. they merely exist; and when they do have the spotlight it’s often for comedy.

why the fuck did shockwave not wait for hashtag to just dump the hard drives and leave. if someone walked up to me yelling “give me your trashbag” as i’m trying to dispose of it i’d be weirded out too lol.

i hope the chaos terrans don’t return. aftermath imo was, plot wise, redundant. spitfire at least was interesting and had an impact.

i wish there were more interesting fights like in season 1 instead of, oh no they’re hitting the trailer with sticks, oh no we are an abomination of dinosaur and vehicle for what feels like 15mins straight. i miss seeing soundwave slay.

[beemochi-art]

Kaaaahhh!! *falls & eats the curb and drops all of my chaos Terran doodles.* BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING I KNOW CARS ISN’T DREAMWORKS!! I already got erm actually-ed. Spitfire and Am my poor doomed kids.

For both their designs I took a lil spin on it. For Am this the way I like to draw him. He acts gross so now he can look gross. He also doesn’t look baby in the show so meh, No further comments.

For Spitfire I gave her features that make look stronger and meaner even tho she’s mostly supposed to look just like Twitch. To me there is no point in drawing her just like twitch because the evil twin thing can be ruled out because they are completely different colors and they also went with the body swap thing. So I think making her look stockier and emo is more fun. I should draw a side-by-side comparison sometime.

Spoiler S2 rant* I get a little bit into delulu land so bear with me.

Jokes aside. I liked the chaos Terrans and the way they were handled wasn’t right. I hope they are able to make a comeback In the future and get redeemed because they deserve it. I feel really bad for them. It’s like they were labeled as Chaos and not to be trusted from the beginning I don’t think anyone truly understood them. I get that the chaos Terrans had wronged the Malto’s multiple times from the start but I think the way they went about handling them was so laxed. They just let the decepticons have them so they could be further influenced into the wrong path. It’s like they were doomed from the start.

After all they were just kids. I’ve been labeled as the bad, dumb, asshole kid before. Most of my school days I was in special ED and I was also pretty high energy too. So I can relate, if you are already labeled as bad or dumb why try to be anything else? Or trying to be cool and hanging around the wrong crowd just to be taken advantage of in the end.

They weren’t completely chaos either. They listened to the Decepticons. Following orders till the very end, if they were chaotic like their name implying would they just not listen to anyone and do whatever they wanted without any care of anyone else? Here’s what I think. The chaos Terrans (mostly Spitfire.) we’re trying to impress what they perceived as the cooler badder bots. That’s some kid shit, most kids try to get in with the group of cool kids. Why not stay with the Maltos? Cause that’s not cool to them. Do you want to hang out with the teachers pet or steal and break shit.

In defense of Aftermath. He’s capable of playing nice, he’s not evil. Him and Jb had a relatively good day with each other. He didn’t out right attack on sight. I think he took the water cause he didn’t want to seem like a looser in his heavily flawed mindset. Am is more of an impediment of Chaos, he just smashes and breaks shit cause he can. Honestly I think if you him just take him to a rage room he’d be fine.

In defense of Spitfire (who is a wayy more complicated case.) She was literally born that morning how was she supposed to know not hurting humans was an autobot rule. I think deep down she was jealous of Twitch’s family and opportunities. She has a competitive spirit and I think she wanted that mission to impress the bigger bots (even if she was rude to them.) when she was in Twitch’s body and said things like Chaos Terrans are bad and not to be trusted I wound if she was projecting what she thought they were thinking about her already. When she was cast out and went with the decepticons was they don’t like me and they don’t like you either so I’ll just hang with you guys. With that being said she’s naive too (it’s fine BECAUSE SHES A KID.) see the way starscream tells her good job or touches her shoulder, she wants his approval and to make him just like all kids with their parents. And then when she is ultimately betrayed, she’s a deer in headlights, shocked and afraid, probably realizing that she provided the weapon needed to killer her and her brother. She looked up to Starscream. Showing her fear and shock by being betrayed like that really showed us that Spitfire is so much more than just a bad guy. It really made me sad when she was screaming and saying no, god she needed help.

None of the chaos Terrans had gotten the opportunity to really learn or get to find something they like to do. The other Terrans had plenty of time to think about an alt mode, learn lessons get nurtured and cared for. The chaos Terrans had to get their alt modes immediately both out of necessity. Most of the time Am was just wandering around bored, he wasn’t being nurtured or taught anything. The cons didn’t care about them at all, neither did the autobots or Maltos that much. 

Saying Chaos Terrans are going to chaos or decepticons are gonna do what they do. Is super incorrect. It’s just labeling and not expecting anything more from these individuals which goes against the entire point of season one.

HOLY CRAP IF YOU READ ALL THIS. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. Hopefully Some of this made sense.

[otomotoelzhinee]

This might be their sweetest moment so far.

But, I can't say it feels deserved? At least, from what I gathered. This change of heart comes out of nowhere. I think it's incredible seeing Shrike try and show interest into something that Beebs enjoys. Not only that, he's getting to enjoy it himself as well. Something as simple as playing the guitar, only because he probably saw Beebs doing it and he decided he wanted to do it too, cause it's cool to him! But it also means something to Beebs, and Shrike was able to pick up on that, so he offered a time for the two of them to continue playing together. Shrike's shown to have little care for others so far. When the Lythops were murdered, he was shocked, but he was able to dismiss that part entirely the moment his ship got wrecked. As he said, that's when it became personal. He didn't care about the genocide he just witnessed anymore, that was secondary, if even a concern at this point. Beebs, however, as little as time as he had with the creatures-- Who he barely interacted with compared to Shrike, is haunted by this.

And Shrike dismisses these feelings, unintentionally perhaps, but he's still avoiding them. Despite the fact that, deep down, he does feel some remorse. But it's unclear if it's for this particular incident, or something else entirely.

I feel like it's just the subject of "regrets" that gets to him, rather than him feeling any consequences from leaving Punti and letting his family be turned to paste.

But regardless, although he doesn't care much, that doesn't mean he does not care at all for other people, nor is he "incapable" of caring. There's things he wishes he could take back, just like Beebs. How they cope with this, however, is entirely different. But I don't think this disagreement is used at all for this ep. You could argue it's because this episode is not about them, or Shrike, but about Beebs.

Beebs finding his own way to come to terms with what's happened, about his own regrets he isn't ready to speak of, perhaps accepting them, or allowing the possibility to accept, in some capacity. But not letting these stop him from continuing to seek out to do things right, not letting these regrets cloud his vision, prohibiting himself from caring anymore.

That's a sweet and incredibly powerful step to make, to continue to choose to be kind, to choose to love, no matter how many times it has hurt. To continue to lose people around you and still finding meaning in connections with others, no matter how brief.

It's a direct parallel to what Shrike is doing. Isolating these feelings from everyone, not confronting them, brushing them aside. "Things happen and there's nothing anyone can do about it, so why bother." It feels like this should've brought up a conflict of sorts between the two. But, it never does. The last segment should wrap this aspect about their relationship, at least for this episode. It should be the two of them agreeing there's things they don't want to talk about, Beebs choosing to give Shrike another chance. Even if they can't see things the same way, Beebs still trusts Shrike, he chooses to. He's seen he's not as cold as he wants to make himself out to be, and therefore chooses to spend part of his time with him, to get to know him. He's his friend, and there's so little they know about eachother, he wants to change that. Shrike, on a similar note, is incredibly excited to get to gush about one of his many terran interests. But he's always done that with Beebs, he's always given him the attention. This time, he wants to return the favor. But I'm only left wondering why. After their conversation on the bridge, Shrike is too busy bickering with Scratch and gushing over Terran stuff to have any more interactions with Beebs. During the rest of the epiosde, nobody but Beebs knows what's happening, and Shrike isn't the least bit concerned. Not even for the state of Beebs' hand.

So what made him change his mind? Why does now he care if he's bothering Beebs or not with his show?Maybe out of courtesy, because of what they just went through, to "give him a break". But that feels a bit too considerate of Shrike at this moment. It feels like I just missed a key scene that was meant to bring these issues to light, and them finding a solution to help the Agari. When Beebs can't play anymore, it should've been the moment where Beebs gets a true glimpse of who Shrike really is, the moment where he has to relay on him, unwillingly putting his trust in him to make things right in such a tense moment. But then realizes-- he can trust Shrike.

Shrike notices how nervous Beebs really is, that his arm has failed him, and all he wants is to play his guitar?! No, something else is going on, something Beebs can't explain at the moment but it means everything to him right now. And Shrike chooses to trust him and aid him. Friendship! It would've made more sense then, for Beebs to look at Shrike and say "We're getting there" when the Agari asked him if he had found his way yet.

It would've made this last interaction between Shrike n Beebs watching cartoons all the more powerful. Without a real disagreement, without a small conflict between the two. It's still a sweet moment... But it almost feels empty, there's no resolution behind it, no real meaning. It's just a "small bonding moment", and after everything that went down, it doesn't feel like that was the point.

I've rewatched this ep for a bit and, although I loved everything we got lorewise, and getting to see Beebs be the focus-- I don't think the emotional impact hit as hard as it wanted. I wish I could say I cared for the Agari as much as I did for the Lythops in a single episode, but I didn't. I wish I could say Beebs going from "He's my friend…Or something" to staring into the possibility of considering Shrike an actual friend, got to me. But, it didn't feel like anything happened to defy that in the first place.

So, what changed?

[klemsk-a]

TL;DR

S2a undermines the concept of redemption so badly it makes me want to cry.

Megatron changing for the better is interesting because it’s complicated. He used to be a warlord, a tyrant, people suffered directly as a consequence of his actions. Unfortunately ES fails to show us these consequences. The closes we have are Starscreams words and that is far from showing us anything.

There are no flashbacks, no actual conversations. Nothing but the present and most of it is from childrens perspective.

This lack of nuance is frustrating. For all we know Megatron might’ve acted exactly the same, but changed factions therefore he is a good guy know.

And this “autobots = good, decepticons = bad” morality is so on the nose in s2a it’s actually kind of pathetic.

The new season needed a villain, and all the hatred for cybertronians apparently evaporated (everybody else just had a change of heart ig and the only 2 people who actually disliked them are dead) and the cons were “always” bad so it doesn’t matter.

It allows the writers not to think about Megatron and problems accompanying his redemption because his victims are terrible so… it’s all fine, don’t worry 👍.

Perhaps it isn’t this way and I majorly misinterpreted the show.

The existence of the chaos terrans really makes me doubt it tho. It also makes me incredibly mad.

Aftermath literally comes into existence, has no idea what’s going on, who is everyone and they’re all fighting. So he does too. And immediately gets called terrible, basically the evil version of the terrans.

WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES IS THAT?

That because you aren’t from a perfect family you’re evil? That is what I got out of it.

Terrans = whole Emberstone = good

Chaos terrans = broken Emberstone = bad

For a show about acceptance and empathy that is a terrible plot point 😀

The episode with Aftermath and Jawbreaker (was extremely boring imo but that’s not important) gives you the impression they’re going to further develop Aftermath. Have him questioning orders and thinking about his choices. But no, he STOLE the entire water from a cave in one tank (how did he even manage???)

Spitfire is an even worse example.

On her first day alive, she gets told that if she wins a race she gets to go on an autobot mission.

She wins, by endangering Alex, and they tell her she won’t get the reword. It’s all understandable but the writers clearly don’t know anything about raising children or children in general.

Yes Spitfire did a bad thing and has to be taught that her behaviour was bad. No they cannot be mad at her for not immediately understanding and agreeing with them. That’s why children (especially toddlers) are infuriating. They don’t know better so you have to teach them, but they will find a loophole to help them get what they want (obviously depends on a child but we are rolling with Spitfires personality). Now depending on what they’ve done to get to it you either reward them or punish them. Because they don’t necessarily understand what they did wrong, even if it’s obvious to you, it can be hard to explain in a way that satisfies a child.

Spitfire lashing out and attacking Twitch is common for kids who believe that someone got something they deserved. It’s especially common if a kid has problems with aggression.

That could’ve been an interesting character development and a good message. Sometimes children won’t be easy to deal with (as all the terrans are, sure they can make bad decisions but ultimately they don’t cause much problems), sometimes they have unpleasant personalities or behavioural problems but it doesn’t make them evil. Being there and loving a child isn’t enough to raise them, discipline is needed and so is patience.

But no.

Aftermath and Spitfire are chaos terrans so they are evil by proxy. Too bad lol.

Twitch and Thrash needed to learn everything. So did Nightshade, Hashtag and Jawbreaker. There was a great deal about self discovery.

Aftermath and Spitfire already have alt modes (at least Spitfire I don’t actually remember Aftermath) and they are just terrible, no good people.

Case closed, problem solved.

Oh. And then they died so…

Unlucky 🤷‍♀️

Redemption in media, especially kids media is important. It sends a message that you can in fact mess up in life, make a couple (hundreds) of mistakes and still come out on top.

But redemption is earned, and it can be (and often is) hard to changed for the better (as opposed to changing for worse).

You shouldn’t change for those you have hurt but so it won’t happen again, so you won’t hurt others again.

Some will come back, some will not.

It IS important that you try nonetheless.

Because no matter what explaining isn’t excusing and no one is born evil.

This show is so FRUSTRATING to me because I cared, and still do obviously (I wrote two versions of this but accidentally deleted the first one so had to write one again).

I really hope S2b will be back on track about acceptance and redemption.

I think Starscream deserved better but sincerely hope they (autobots) will get a hold of him, and him and Megatron will actually talk.

At least let Starscream have his father-daughter relationship with Hashtag, please 🙏.

[bougiebutchbitch]

I have seen The Spoilers for ES. and. hm.

I will withhold judgement until I watch the actual show because 1) Starscream would not change his entire character after a single Terran was kind to him once and 2) an abuse victim choosing to become a badass villain because FUCK HIM. AND FUCK ALL OF YOU WHO WORK WITH HIM. AND FUCK ALL OF YOU WHO THOUGHT WHAT HE WAS DOING TO ME WAS EXAGGERATED OR FUNNY FOR ALL OF THOSE YEARS is actually a very cool fun arc.

I'm definitely a fan if Starscream stays a Decepticon and does Decepticon stuff, but improves their work culture and stops the horrific cycle of abuse! I want villains who are actually decent to each other, and who are formidable because of their relationships in the same way as the Good GuysTM are!

But.

If they go down the 'Starscream was an awful person all along who deserved it, and in fact he is worse than Megatron' route...

If they have Starscream going back on his canonical soft-ish spot for the Terrans and trying to actually kill them without fully exploring this as a scrummy fucked up 'Starscream hates feeling vulnerable and feels his concern for the Terrans weakens him, therefore they must die' conundrum....

If they decide Starscream doesn't deserve a chance at redemption when Megatron, his canonical abuser, got one... And he's Just Evil and was Warped Beyond Repair by Megatron's abuse, as opposed to him choosing to be a bastard because he's a power-hungry little gremlin... And don't even show that he has the potential of choosing to do better in the future..........

I ain't interested lol

Give that flappy-bird some agency. And if you're gonna go for Evil Villain Starscream, at least make his motivations interesting.

(Obligatory note that yes, I love ES Megatron; he is my peepaw and he can fuck. But he also treated Starscream like shit and that's interesting character writing actually. Abusers can put in the work and change for the better - and their victims will still owe them jack shit.)

So, uh. Anyone who's watched it all already.... lemme know if you thought it was a Yay or a Nay in the comments!

[samscartoonsofficial]

You know what, fuck it *self inserts myself into the monkey wrench universe*

Loves old Terran anime and niche internet Terran culture.

cringe culture is dead and I’m tired. ‘I’m more inclined to actually make her more oc like, but I’m making her a lot like me. Chronically online and hyper-fixating on cartoons. #Monkeywrench is an amazing cartoon and I intend to make more fanart because this show is awesome and deserves SO MUCH more recognition. Thank you @zeurelart and @neatotito for fueling my next hyperfixation. It’s my favorite indie project currently!

[krockdove]

You know, after watching the last batch of Earthspark, I was really disappointed for a number of reasons. I was angry about it.

But then I learned the producers were treated terrible by Paramount and had no choice but to end a lot of things in season one, now I'm not mad at them at all. I instead curse Paramount forever.

so....I'll write some headcanons I was looking forward to in Earthspark. I maybe do a series of related posts. Today is about one of the most important characters, Starscream.

Warning! This post contains spoilers.

Let me make one thing clear: I have no beef with his redemption. No, rather, I believed that Earthspark would do it as a matter of course. I never once doubted it.

The one of themes in Earthspark is "Second Chance". Starscream is the character in the Transformers franchise who most deserved a second chance, the character who could become the most dramatically three-dimensional with a second chance. Even though S1C was made under pressure to wrap everything up quickly, his redemption eventually came, which is what the show was meant to do from the beginning. The problem is, because the story had to be wrapped up in one season, all the dramatic plot points, connections between moments that should have been important, and characterizations were weakened across the board.

We are happy with his Redemption, but this is Earthspark. Not TFP. That means, we once had the opportunity to explore Starscream's character much more deeply. Not just in one episode, but a few.

Especially since I was serious about what was hinted at in the Warzone episode, I was disappointed that it wasn't used in the story.

I've seen several theories about that episode, the conclusion was that Starscream was caught in the Space Bridge explosion and was officially declared dead. I was actually pretty sure. That's why his appearances were low throughout the season, and he survives the explosion, BECAUSE Allspark revives him and fuses with him, right?

It makes it natural for Megatron to talk about the battle like that way and reveal his trauma, especially if he thought he lost both Shockwave and Starscream because of his actions. (This explains Soundwave's anger too.)

So Starscream was treated as dead, but actullay he was secretly imprisoned by the evil GHOST. He was unconscious when it happened, so it would have taken him a long time to figure out what was going on. He doesn't know that others to think he's dead. He sees his comrades locked the cell and thinks Megatron has really abandoned them.

This misunderstanding would have been a very important source of conflict when he was later reunited with Megatron. I even expected him to be the one to reveal the truth about GHOST.

I was almost certain that the GHOST and Mandroid plots would carry over into S2, so I thought it would be a conflicted ending with Starscream revealing the truth at the end of S1. It would have been nice if Starscream's character to be explored at the beginning of S2, along with his redemption, and the past war story.

And that would have made for some interesting drama not only between him and Megatron, but also with Optimus.

Imagine if that really happened. Starscream insists GHOST is wrong. How do you think Optimus and Megatron would take it?

Yeah, I can hear their doubts up here.

The point is, Starscream is seen as untrustworthy. Megatron would have a 50/50 chance of trusting him, but Optimus certainly wouldn't. From his perspective, Starscream would be seen as trying to drive a wedge between him and Megatron and reignite the war. In this situation, no one is lying, but someone ends up being unfairly labeled a liar. Optimus would compromise for the sake of the people he cares about, but they wouldn't include Starscream.

And I think this is the perfect moment for Hashtag to appear!!

Like, she's going to show up and be one who believes Starscream. If she believes in him, so do some of the Terrans – not all of them for now – but eventually the Hashtag and the Terrans believe in Starscream, and it would be really touching if that led to his redemption!

(also it inspires Terrans to dig into the truth of the GHOST themselves)

After it was revealed that he had an Allspark inside of him, he must have had an internal conflict. When he realized that the hope of his home planet and their people lay within him, could he handle it?

He struggles with it, but eventually does something heroic to help the Terrans. Maybe he uses the power of Allspark.

Terrans believe in Starscream when even Optimus doesn't, and it changes him, it would have fulfilled the show's message – Everyone deserves their second chance.

[hidden-quintesson]

I'm not sure if this is a popular opinion, but I think TFES Bumblebee and Breakdown are closer to brothers than lovers. They enjoy each other's company and are protective over each other in a familial way, and they easily might have had a sibling-like relationship when they were younger similarly to what the Terrans have. They refer to each other mainly as friends, but I think that's because the brother/sister terminology that the Terrans have just isn't a thing on Cybertron since it's impossible biologically aside from split-spark twins.

I think those kinds of familial relationships deserve some spotlight in fanon over slash. Slash shows up so often and is seemingly more desired content-wise in fanon compared to celebrating friendships and familial bonds sometimes. Along with BreakBee, some do MegaDot even though Dot is married. Like, can we just appreciate the fact that Dot is friends with a fucking badass warlord, the one and only leader of the Decepticons, no less? A lot can be done with that that isn't sexual in nature.

The slash where slash isn't needed issue has happened countless times across other TF content, so I suppose I shouldnt be surprised when it happens to TFES characters. At least most of it is between adults. And I guess I get it. For some of us, it's just having fun with different ideas and outright creating entirely different AUs in which huge deviations from canon can occur. And I guess for a few others, it's an unrestrained obsession with giant alien robot sex in general lol. Anyway, it would be nice to see more fanon focus where friendship/brotherhood is the ultimate goal of a relationship. I suppose I thought of this because TFES has definitely pulled out my inner child with how much I enjoy it, and it would be nice to see some of the show's wholesome familial energy permeate fanon even outside of just ES fanon. I already am a huge fan of parent/child TF relationships (which definitely isn't a common main plot point in fan works) that I'd love to see more of as well as seeing more friendships that remain such or siblinghood that's focused on as JUST a siblinghood rather than twin-lover situations.

[sweetaliencheeks]

THE ONE WHERE HE KNOCKS

“Who is it?” I threw my cardigan over my shoulders as I approached the door, barely missing to trip over the corner of the rug. It was late at night, and I had taken my shower, swiped my make up off, and sat down in front of some stupid reality show with a hot tea. I had been enjoying the relaxing scent of dried leaves and honey, and the comfort of a warm blanket over my legs when someone knocked on my door. I was most definitely not expecting guests, so my first thought had been a neighbour in trouble or in need of sugar or flour, my second thought had been a scam to have me robbed. Either way I had gotten up and walked towards the entry.

“It’s me” nothing could have prepared me for the voice that echoed in the hall on the other side of the door. It was like hearing a stranger, only I knew him by heart, like the palm of my hand. I took a deep breath, wondering if I really should open the door, if it was a good idea to let him in again both literally and figuratively. I exhaled slowly, almost disappointed that I wasn’t a robbery and that I was about to be put face to face with heartbreak.

“Hey” the door swung open and my eyes locked on his, my breath hitched in my throat “What are you doing on Earth?”

“Visiting a friend, thought I’d come by” he replied calmly. He seemed bothered, almost uncomfortable. Maybe by the sheer fact that he was standing in front of me covered in guilt and the lies he had told me, or maybe by the way my question might have made him feel like he wasn’t welcome.

“How did you find me?” his eyes darted from left to right, before landing on the printed carpet of the building’s hallway. It was terribly ugly, a faded deep red with yellow lys flowers printed on it. Nothing that deserved the attention he was granting it “Nevermind” it was an effort to make him feel less pressured to answer, not that I actually wanted to hear said answer. All that I wanted to hear was an explanation. After a few seconds of silence, fearing that I might have come across cold, I finally spoke “I’m sorry, I’m just surprised to see you”

“Yeah, thought you’d be. That’s why I decided to knock instead of coming in through the window” he nodded towards the kitchen window right behind me “I saw it was open, that’s uh, kinda dangerous”

“I know” my voice sounded like a child who had just been yelled at, I was almost embarrassed and looking for a way to make myself sound like a big person who could live alone safely. I sniffled and looked over my shoulder at the small window just over the fire escape that he would climb to come and visit me during the time period of the blip “It’s been open ever since you left, guess I’ve always hoped you’d come back” a dry chuckle echoed in my chest, not knowing what else to say “Maybe that’s why I was so surprised” I had initially gone for a shrug, but the way my shoulders dropped in absolute defeat, made me go for a self hug, arms crossed tightly over my cardigan and around my body “Because you knocked”

“Yeah” he forced out a chuckle, and we resumed looking at the floor.

“Shit, sorry” after a few minutes of looking in between one another, the floor and the ceiling, I finally caved in and stepped aside. Letting him come into my home again was only one step away from letting him back in my life and into my heart “Come in. Do you want a drink, or something? I’ve got like whisky, I think? I don’t drink much anymore” I began frantically roaming through the cupboards, trying to find something that he could have enjoyed. I was afraid that if I took too long, he might change his mind and leave.

“What are you drinking?” I looked down at my cup, which was still sitting on the coffee table where I had left it. I scrunched up my nose thinking about how cold it must have been by then “I’ll have that” he nodded towards it, sounding both very confident and completely terrified of trying something such as a Terran stupid calming drink.

“You drink tea?” I half chuckled.

“I do now” something about him drinking tea made me smile. He wasn’t a tea kind of guy when I met him, I wasn’t even sure he was a water kind of guy when I met. But the idea of him holding and drinking a calming, sweet, comforting cup of tea was absolutely precious to me.

“So… how’s life?” I asked over my shoulder as I made my way to the kitchen. He seemed to have found a comfortable enough spot on the sofa, although he still seemed quite awkward and stiff. The silence was heavy, and it would have been deafening if it hadn’t been for the water boiling in the pot. I added the teabag and some honey in the bright pink mug and walked over to him “I’m bad with small talk”

“Look, I’m sorry I left” I was taken aback by how quickly and harshly it came out. He probably thought I was still angry at him, but I could tell there was regret in his words by the way his voice trembled.

“It’s ok, I understand” I handed him his cup, and proceeded to pick up mine from the table before plopping down next to him “I mean, you got your family back and a whole galaxy to save. You had no time to waste with a human” I had always known that I was never a priority in his life. How could I be? He was a modified literal space genius whom, on multiple occasions, had had the fate of the entire galaxy between his tiny little hands. And I was nothing but ordinary. So when he left, I didn’t try to find a reason, or which one of us was to blame. It felt like it was just the way it was meant to be.

“Still shouldn’t have left like that” his reaction to his first sip of tea was somewhere between expected disgust and happy surprise. I smiled and watched him go for a second one, with a giddy shimmy of his shoulders this time.

“You shouldn’t have… but apology accepted” the tv remote was right next to me and I had to fight the urge to turn it on. I couldn’t take any more of the silence and the terrible dread that it was to sit in face of someone I cared about so deeply, with whom I had shared intimate moments and secret thoughts, and feel like he was nothing more than an acquaintance that I was smiling at out of politeness. He had changed, that was a fact. But he was still himself, only a better version than the one who left in the middle of the night a few years back. So although I wanted to blame my distancing on him, I couldn’t. He was being nothing but nice and sweet towards me, I was the one to blame. I had been alone with myself for so long, that the reflection on the mirror had somehow convinced me that I was over him, that I was no longer sad, that a nonchalant approach was a far more appropriate way to deal with things than to drown in alcohol and hold a grudge forever. I was the one who was angry and bitter and revengeful, I was the one who wanted to hurt him for the hell he had put me through, but he seemed to have worked so hard to fix himself, that it didn’t seem fair to punish someone who no longer existed “I forgive you, as long as you let me know when you leave this time”

“I will” a small smile tugged at the corner of my lip at his answer, maybe because it would stop me from crying, maybe because I just wanted him to feel like I would believe it this time “I, uh… I wanted to ask you something”

“Sure, I’m listening” I had to fight a scoff, but couldn’t help my eyebrows from raising in astonishment. I clenched my jaw, teeth grinding against each other and a ball of rage building up in my chest.

“Are ya still good with animals?” my eyebrows twitched before falling into a frown. But the situation was so preposterous, that I laughed.

“Yeah, why? Need your shots?” I nodded towards him in a taunting way, as angry as I could have been at him, I would have done anything to catch a smile on his face.

“Very funny. No, I need you to look after someone” without any further explanation, he reached behind his back and handed me something. I wanted to ask if that was the reason why he had been sitting strangely from the beginning but I didn’t have to, since he instantly leaned back on the pillows.

“Oh! Oh, my God! It’s… Is it…?” I reached out for him too, and grabbed what he gave me. The little raccoon instantly began sniffing my hands, small whiskers tickling my wrists and tiny claws scratching into my palms. It was so small and so soft and fragile, the fact that Rocket had been like this once before he was pulled apart and put together was heart wrenching. It made me sick.

“It ain’t mine” Rocket scoffed “I’m just looking after him”

“He’s so cute, look at those little hands” I brought my face closer to the little creature and cooed “Hi, baby”

“So, will ya help me look after him?” I looked between the little puppy and the pleading eyes behind him. I was about to make a mistake and I knew it, but saying no to those two sets of eyes was impossible.

“Coparenting sounds like a lot of fun, but what? Do I send him on train to Knowhere on the weekends?” joking had always been my go to coping mechanism and an easy way out of tough situations, and this one was particularly complicated.

“No, you uh, you come with us” he avoided my face, he didn’t look at me, not even a glance. It was a mix of frustration and anger that tightened the grip around my cup until I could see my knuckles begin to turn white.

“To fucking space?” honestly, I couldn’t tell if it was a laugh or a growl that passed trough my teeth.

“To fricking space” Rocket pointed at the baby with a quick motion, arm extended and palm turned towards the ceiling. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that, as a regular raccoon, this little guy wouldn’t be able to swear either he heard the words or not. I set the small baby on my lap, and kept petting him, focusing on his soft breathing was helping me keep myself together.

“I don’t know… you do realise that I can’t just go and move to space?” thinking that it would have been obvious enough for the space genius was a mistake. Given the expression on his face, it seemed like all I had to do was throw my toothbrush and a pair of fresh underwear into my handbag and fly away into the stars “And did you seriously come all the way here to ask me to babysit?”

“I came here because I missed ya” his voice changed in a split of a second, and all I could do was bury my face into my hands, elbows set on my knees. I didn’t know what to say. I missed you, too. Why did you leave? Do you love me? Have you ever? I would go anywhere with you, the galaxy, the sea, the edge of the world. Did you think of me as your spaceship took off? When you looked up at the sky? Because I did. All the damn time.

“I’d have to sell my appartement, and my car… Quit my job, say goodbye to everyone” and that was only to list a few of the things I had thought about saying instead of what I really wanted to say “It’s really not that easy…”

“You don’t have to answer now” his eyes were glossy when they finally met mine and it hit me so hard that I had to look away. Too many memories were brought up in that second and it was like finding a piece of my past that I wasn’t ready too deal with. Not again. Not yet.

“Yeah” it was a whisper, nothing more, and a trembling lip that quickly turned into a sniffle and an awkward change of sitting position as I tucked my legs under my body, ready to change the subject “Where did you find the emotional bribe?”

“Some lab was gonna test on him. Had a whole bunch of them, found them homes” he replied plainly, as if it was nothing and as if he hadn’t mentioned having been on that same terrible situation when he was just a puppy himself. I wasn’t about to bring it up, or to ask questions or to push him to tell me more. He never shared much anyway, and I was trying too hard not to cry to throw myself into a subject that could so easily be the last straw. I have to admit that the idea of going to space to look after this small loving creature and help him look after an even smaller and just as lovely creature, was beginning to sound more and more like a future. But I knew I couldn’t and now I had to give Rocket my answer. But as I was about to open my mouth, he grabbed the baby from my lap and lifted him up to his eye level “But this one was different”

“You’re different” I blurted out. This loving, kind, nurturing side of him wasn’t new, he had many times spoken about Groot and how he had raised him like his own. But witnessing it first hand and drunk on nothing but tea and nostalgia, was making me fall for it. The love in his eyes and in his voice and in his touch, made me realise that maybe I had never fallen out of it in the first place. He lifted an eyebrow and put his cup down on the table, right next to mine.

“What?” he chuckled, and that’s when I saw him. I saw that mischievous grin and challenging gaze. I saw that one twitch on a certain point of his muzzle. And just like that, I knew I had lost a battle I hadn’t even signed up for, amidst a war I had surrendered long ago. I had fought my feelings for way too long, choosing to ignore them and finding ways to tell myself that it was better that way, that things had always been meant to be like that, that it was cosmic will or fate or anything else out of my reach. That it was anyone’s fault but mine. And at the same time, I often found myself lying awake in a state of haze wishing I had made him stay, knowing it wasn’t someone else’s fault.

“You’re different. You’re healing” tears started to pool in my eyes as a wave of realisation and relief slowly took over me. He was broken and torn and painfully tormented when we met, he was like a ticking time bomb, that could have blown up at any moment. And I worried for him, I worried every day that he was around and even more everyday that he wasn’t. Even through tears and a broken heart, I wished him peace and now, looking at him on my sofa holding a tiny little part of what he once was, I saw it. I saw peace. And I saw hope and love and joy, and so many other things he had never let me see before. My hands travelled up to the sides of his face and I brushed my thumb across his cheek “You’re softer, stay soft” I whispered, a tear now running hot down my cheek. As his hands went up to hold mine where they were, I looked him in the eyes. And in that deep dark brown, I found hope, too. And I found the love he had taken from me all those years ago, and accepted that he was willing to give it back if I only gave him the chance and the time. And just like that, I found myself wondering where I had put my suitcase “It looks so good you”

This is so long and I’m sorry, but I haven’t written in so long and gotg3 really put me in my feels. Hope you enjoy it! Also want to say thank you to all of the love you guys have been showing to my old stuff, it means the world to me x

Love,

Your local Rocket Raccoon fanfic dealer <3

[nobodys-hekatonchires]

My thoughts on Earthspark as I watch it

!!Spoilers for Episode 1-3!!

Episode 01

WHY WOULD YOU TRANSPORT IT IN AN OPEN TRAILER ARE YOU STUPID OPTIMUS???

Thank god they fixed Mo's face but I still don't care about the humans. Sorry. I didn't like the voice over thingy either.

Optimus- you're still ugly as hell. Twitch looked crazed in that family photo. Megatron and Elita looked as hot as ever

STOP WAVING THE SHARD AROUND OMFG. The cons deserve to win at this rate

Optimus: I have the situation completely under control...WAIT WHOSE THAT!??!?!

Optimus is useless.

Can't Starscream just remove the shard from Aftermath?

Mo and Robbie look cool I won't lie

Poor Breaky. He needs KO

Nightshade also looks cool, I love their voice

Megatron ain't doing anything bur standing but it's hot omfg. Elita is hot. Optimus you married to hot mechs.

The pacing in this episode feels off

What the fuck is this. What the fuck. Huh?????

Aftermath's chain disappeared

Nightshade is the only competent one

WHO MADE THIS?? IT LOOKS AWFUL IM CACKLING

Episode 2

I liked Nightshade turning their head all the way around. <3 love the Owl

Why have all the traps and the door, when YOUR ROOF IS OPEN

How does Mo know no one's seen the glyphs?

If Mo wakes up the Quintessons...

Growly thingy has pretty eyes. They just left his ass??? CALL OPTIMUS OR SOMETHING!!!

They're so casual about these ruins. Idk maybe they should look into them or something because of Terrans coming from Quintus or something I DONT FUCKING KNOW

How did no one see the weird robot??? MO!!! I know she's a kid but wtf. Everyone in this show is stupid

IT IS A QUINTESSON OH FUCK

The quint transformation was kinda underwhelming

Doesn't Thrash have comms with the rest?

I hope Alex never says Big Daddy again.

Thrash you can turn into a bike, yaknow??

Mo had the brain cell briefly

The Quintessons have daddy issues

Thrash got TFP Megatron eyes

Episode 3

Shams about the ice cream trucks

oh god...Optimus put your mask back on

The droid bodies just disappeared

Shockwave <3

You'd think they'd check the hardrives or knows NOT to put Croft's one in the recycling centre with shit on it

RAVAGE!! Ravage is so cool. Man, she should run Cybertron

Does Hashtag know she can turn around? And stop? And transform???? How did she get to the edge of the cliff??

Maybe Hashtag should call SOMEONE. LIKE THE AUTOBOTS??

ILLOGICAL!

Idk maybe some back up would have helped, Hashtag

The new altmode is cool. But goddammit they're all so dumb

Shockwave, you sneaky bitch

[keef-a-corn]

ok ok ok ok, what the actual fuck? you think he was a child soilder?

*grabs some popcorn* You have caught my interest. Please, elaborate. Thoroughly. *starts munchin on popcorn*

Yes, yes I do.

I’ll be honest I made that post when my Melatonin had kicked in but considering that you and others

Had responded, I will talk about it.

So we’re all on the same page here are some definitions of Child Soldiers and an important note.

The rest of the hc is under the cut.

This is a UNICEF page about child soldiers

Most importantly

As well as this save the children definition

ALSO I don’t have this head canon to glorify Child Soldiers. But I will take this moment to encourage donations or to raise awareness about child soldiers and general exploitation of children. Everyone deserves to feel safe, loved, secure, and to have a proper childhood.

Okay now let’s be clear, it’s a Head Canon, like I don’t think that it was implied throughout the show.

Cool? Cool.

As the anon had highlighted, the hc is that Bee was a child soldier. Literally a child that was a soldier.

Very similar to the fact that the Terrans (who aren’t even a year old) are being trained to be soldiers.

Like let’s address that real quick. There is no way in hell that the Terrans are even close to being adults. They are for all purposes children. However they are being trained for combat and have been involved in fights since they were first created.

Which is where the HC stemmed from. (Not all of this is canon compliant, especially not with G1, but I try to keep it close to TFE canon)

Bee has a very… loose idea of self preservation. He mostly hid from GHOST for Optimus’s sake, believing that if he was caught Optimus would be in trouble.

He believes his only purpose is to be useful and he’s only useful when he’s making progress on something, hence why he was in such a rush and so desperate to begin training.

Along side that is that Bee didn’t consider that the Terrans needed time to come around to the idea of training, having had that thrust upon him since a young age.

He had no time to settle in or come to terms, why would they?

When he was growing up, he also wanted to get involved with the big battles, use weapons, and do other field work, but was told he wasn’t ready yet. However after minimal training he was brought into battle and an active participant- which is why he thinks the Terrans are ready to be involved in a super important mission without any other backup.

Bee didn’t think much of the fact that the Terrans were being trained at such a young age because the first part of his childhood had most likely been long suppressed by then, while the second part, where he was trained and involved in a war, was all he could remember and use for reference.

In his eyes that was how he was raised and since he ended up so similar to the other Cybertronians, that means that he was probably raised very similarly to them and if he wasn’t, they all ended up in the same place, so it didn’t matter and he was fine.

However he isn’t. He was so used to ignoring that he was so young that it left in an uncomfortable place when it came to socialising. He was unable to relate to anyone younger than him, but would actually struggle when socialising with his fellow Cybertronians (unable to pick up queues [like when he was annoying Megatron, or when Arcee was poking fun with the idea that she was the kids new teacher], relying heavily on Optimus for support and having trouble asking for assistance from others, so on..)

He has experiences like most other characters, but he went through it differently. Those were bots that had seen what Cybertron had to offer, he had to trust that under all that war was a civilisation that could be restored.

I think that a huge part of the hc though is that Bee’s behaviour did change and that was because his perspective had begun to be challenged by the Malto’s.

He started to give the Terran’s more time to have childhoods and not be so overwhelmed with training and the worry of battle after he started getting supported by Dot and Alex. Dot wouldn’t let Bee overwork her kids and Alex would dedicate time to relaxing with Bee, to build habit within the Scout which is why there was less pressure and stress to train when it came to the Terrans. Then Security protocol happened and the self worth started taking hits after losing Breakdown, which is why Bee then went on a stupid dangerous mission, where he then pushed himself to the limits because there was that part of him that had been developed since childhood to believe that he was only useful when progress was made and because the support, that reassured him he was able to take a break, was gone.

TLDR:

Uuuuuuuuhhhhh

Bee was a child soldier during the war because yes, it explains the social awkwardness, the desire to achieve progress, and shit happens because childhood habits die hard.

Did I properly explain this?

Probably not.

Is that intentional?

Nope.

Do I accept follow up questions?

Yes, please. I work best with questions more specific to certain elements. I was just trying to write down general ideas while also trying not to be vague.

Do I accept critiques?

I do, although I would much rather feedback be more about what can be developed/taking a certain point and reconstructing it to make more sense.

Do I want people to be messaging me/writing comments that are essentially expanding this hc, adding their own flair, and/or brainstorming?

FRAG YEAH! It’s how the best ideas come around!!

Final notes:

I do think Bee is an adult in the show, but more a young adult than anything. Also I have thought up how this would be addressed in a show like Earthspark if anyone’s curious about that.

Also I did some sketches

[i-mean-technically]

meant to finish this aaaaages ago for @them4ng0 based on their art here and here!

no warnings, just cute fluff uwu enjoy!

“This is going to be a wonderfully bad idea.”

“Nonsense, Megatron!” Optimist Prime said cheerfully. It was closing in on fall and the air was crisp. It was Megatron’s favorite season in this part of the continent. Optimus’ engine rumbled as he shifted gears, slowing down as he turned off the main road and Megatron followed. “The younglings deserve to have a treat, and the Terrans can’t share with Morgan and Robbie.”

“So you want to be the one to give newsparks candy?” Megatron asked, following above and behind the truck.

“Of course! Wheeljack made this batch specifically for them, I’m not not going to give it to them.”

“Then you get to deal with the hyped up fledgling and her equally tiring siblings.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad, have a little faith,” Optimus had to slow to a near crawl to go down the driveway of the Maltos and Megatron was once again thankful he was capable of flight as he watched Optimus’ chassis rattle and bounce. “They’re only younglings.”

“Famous last words,” Megatron muttered as the Malto farm came into view. He spotted Twitch’s excited waving before he heard Mo’s scream of joy.

“Mister Optimus!”

Megatron had manners, and so lowered himself on his landing gears before transforming. Human architecture was so fragile in that regard, and from what Dorothy had told him her house was old. And therefore even more fragile than typical human homes.

“Hi, Megatron!”

Megatron kneeled to greet the human children, lowering his hand for Mo to trustingly leap on, “Hello, Mo.”

“Are you guys here to wish me a happy three-fourths birthday?” She asked with a bright gapped-toothed grin, hair bouncing as she settled.

Chuckling, Megatron shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. But happy three and a quarter birthday.”

“Thanks!” Mo sat cross legged in his hand as he stood again. He was no longer afraid of handling the humans, but when it came to Dorothy’s children Megatron tended to take extra care. Fearless as they were, they were just as breakable. “Sooooo… whatcha dooooooin’?”

Megatron felt a spark of mischief and smiled down at Mo. “Optimus has candy for your siblings,” he whispered, feeling his smile widen at her gasp of surprised glee.

“Optimus has CANDY?!” She nearly shrieked, and Megatron watched as the terrans all paused, then started shouting at once, rushing poor Optimus to tug at his armor.

He started laughing as Optimus yelped in shock, trying to walk forward even as he was swarmed. “Megatron!”

“What?” Megatron replied, trying to choke back his laughter. Mo was a giggling lump in his hand. “I didn’t do anything!”

“I was-,” Optimus cut himself off with another yelp, wobbling in the air on one foot as Hashtag scaled his back and Jawbreaker hung off his arm. “I was going to give it to them later.”

“Oops.” He was completely unrepent.

“Alright, alright,” Optimus said loudly, scruffing Thrash from where he was inching up Optimus’ arm. With his free hand he reached into his subspace and pulled out the box of goodies, immediately having to raise it high above his head to avoid all the younglings making a desperate lunge for it. “One at a time!”

Megatron had made his way over by the barn at this point and it suddenly occurred to him as he watched Twitch’s pupils dilate to three times their normal size that they probably should have gotten Dorothy’s permission to give her children candy. It was too late by this point, and Megatron just settled in to watch the show.

Many hours, and an empty energon goodie container later, and Megatron was covered in passed out Terrans after helping Optimus chase them down on their ‘sugar high’. Thrash was limp on his head, little fingers having dug into the edge of the plating to hang on. Jawbreaker was snoring faintly against his chassis, arms down by his sides and settled against Megatron’s hip. His other arm was occupied with Hashtag, who was somehow still awake and groaning faintly with every step he took. “It’s your own fault,” he had informed her when she had complained of a stomach ache.

Glancing back at Optimus showed that he was only in a better position than him because he was carrying less. Nightshade had been all but thrown over Optimus’ shoulder while Twitch drooled on his other arm, all but curled up in his hand.

They were all so young it was almost painful.

“I think they’re all finally asleep,” Optimus whispered, clearly afraid of waking them all back up.

“Good. I’m blaming you for this,” Megatron said as he stepped carefully over a fallen log, trying not to drop the children in his arms.

“What? You’re the one who-”

“I did no such thing,” he said through a snicker, relaxing as the Malto farm came into view. “You have no proof that I did anything. Meanwhile…”

He knew the moment that Optimus saw Dorothy, the heavy steps behind him pausing before reluctantly starting up again. “You’re the one who gave her children candy.”

“Traitor,” Optimus muttered and Megatron smiled at Twitch when Optimus passed him.

“I can live with that.”

[sunlightera]

okay earthspark spoilers under the cut

"youre just made you didn't get a starscream redemption arc" no!!!!! absolutely not !!!! i'm mad starscream didn't get an arc at all !! what can laughably be called his ""arc"" is like if you threw a ball in the air and then walked away and forgot to catch it!!!!!!! and then came back and blew up the ball with dynamite!!!!!! and mocked the very idea of catching the ball!!!!

like . are we not all sick of being told since tfp that starscream, megatrons abuse victim, is somehow inherently a worse person than megatron?? his abuser ????? tfp killed him off. cyberverse told him he was doomed to be a failure no matter what he did because of who he is. and now THIS. and in all of these universes, MEGATRON gets to be a good guy. in cyberverse he got the goddamn matrix of leadership and saved the day. why? why does he deserve that? why does he get to run around free while the people he led into battle and then betrayed and abandoned get locked up in cages or continue to suffer from his abuse?

would i love a starscream redemption arc? absolutely. abso-fucking-lutely i would. because as far as im aware theres only one canon where he's EVER been given one or had his abuse at megatrons hands taken Seriously. and that should really make you all more mad than it does with the lack of care it shows for real victims and also the lessons it teaches kids. but i wasnt even expecting a full starscream redemption arc. i was just expecting them to keep building on what they themselves ALREADY ESTABLISHED. i was just expecting him not to do a complete 180 on what they established his whole CHARACTER to be in season 1!!!!!!!!

instead, they openly insulted a fanbase who hoped they would write an emotionally intelligent show by opening season two up with "of course the cons didn't help for long! they are CONS after all!" as if being so makes them inherently evil and irredeemable (except if youre megatron. never forget that. megatron can do whatever he wants and receive endless pardons for it. he picked an earth alt mode you guys!!!!) and then they made the chaos terrans, who are also Born Inherently Evil. Like do you HEAR yourselves when you write a sentence like "some people are just evil because of Biology"???? do you not understand the real world parallels that come along with a statement like that??????

i expected the bare minimum, a little respect for the narrative that they themselves set up, and i am still utterly, bitterly disappointed. as a starscream fan it upsets me and as an abuse victim it sickens me.