lexicorp

[lexicorp]

Yiissss fr!

We legit deal with so much of the aftermath of it that it's wild that we haven't had that many straight up scenes from that time. The rotation of the blorbos is real tho, and this lad bleeds stuck in the diplomacy, war time, prepared for anything grindset fhdbfjdbdj

Mayhaps indeed, altho it might be instead that the enemy has in fact been cornered within the sus structure instead :0

revenge @kylinvartilo of Fenriss! almost forgot to post him tbh nivnekdnvkndv

[lexicorp]

Transformers Earthspark: Another Place, Another Prison

Primus did everything about this chapter take a long time- I swear I am not kidding when I say I have been writing this scrap for /months/, bit by bit

School and school adjacent scrap has been kicking my aft, but finally, it has arrived. And lemme say, these two are silly, and I love them very much XD I've been looking forward to this chapter for /so long/ and I def think that was part of what made me be so particular about tryna write it with all these dang tiny notes and phrasing and shite like oml nwviblvlwvr

Previous Chapter: Helm In The Cloud

First Chapter: The Need For Read

Next Chapter: Just A Routine Check-Up

Chapter 18: Scientific Method

Starscream found himself pacing, with his servos tied neatly under his wings. A particular line of wear on the path he trailed was becoming apparent, but that wasn’t the focus of his thoughts. Once he halted in front of that cartoonish poster–displaying Megatron’s hilariously humiliating state being tossed across that ravine–Starscream pulled a servo to rest thoughtfully beneath his chin. What were that Nightshade Terran's genuine thoughts of him? 

They had arranged this room, been the first to seem enthusiastic at the start of all this, and listened to Starscream’s combat teachings with earnest; but that did nothing to give him a clear concept of their true thoughts. They said they wanted this redemption scheme to go well. They played nice quite skillfully. But was that only for some sake of their peers? Do they have a vision of their own for what will become of this ordeal? Nightshade is a scientist in their own right, and that can be a dangerous intuition. 

Perhaps they’d agreed for Starscream to be in such close proximity in their own pursuit of research regarding the Emberstone, and was interested in his powers that had resulted. Sure, the kid had been oddly distanced for the majority of his stay. Nightshade seldom instigated interactions apart from that initial need for feedback. Although that did not mean this room organized by their design was not rigged top to bottom with sensors and cameras so expertly hidden that even Starscream could not expose them. They could have even conspired with Wheeljack with something embedded in the cursed device upon Starscream’s ped at this very moment. 

The other Maltos appeared extraordinarily transparent with their opinions towards him. They were all quite ridiculously easy to read, even if it still didn’t always make it easier to predict how they wished Starscream to behave on certain matters; which was frustrating. Yet Nightshade was suspiciously passive about it all. They’d only nod along with their siblings, and merely stare on occasion. Any comments were relatively brief, which Starscream was starting to find…unfortunate. He was curious about that odd Terran and their potential. Now that he and Hashtag seemed to be on acceptable terms again, perhaps it would be pertinent to branch out with other connections. Especially with the arguably second most likely Decepticon amongst them.

Starscream chuckled a byte to himself as he broke away from the poster towards the room’s exit. They all thought this redemption slag was to get him on THEIR side? Ridiculous. He was slowly recruiting them to rebuild HIS armada, right under their foolish gaze. Starscream would have them eating out of his servos in no time. 

Yes, he was quite confident now. Meridian’s mocking tone held no relevance. Starscream was most certainly on track to convincing them of how impressive, inspirational, and indisposable he was! It was not as if Bumblebee held any useful knowledge to pass upon the fliers of their group. They needed him, really. Those other ungrateful slaggers that left him behind would regret it when he replaced them just as easily.

Starscream exited his quarters and surveyed his surroundings. In surprising convenience, Nightshade seemed to be the only one remaining after the others had sent to the surface on their exploratory exploits. The only other Malto present was their femme mentor, Dorothy; who was sitting at one of those miniscule balcony tables on a tiny computer, typing away. Her schedule he’d logged in his files stated it was most likely business in line with her duty as a Park Ranger. Although, she typically ventured elsewhere for her station, so this behavior was more indicative of her inclination to remain at base as a supervisor. This was proven accurate as the moment Starscream’s precise ped steps tapped a light echo across the cavern walls, she looked his way. He ignored her presence. Instead, Starscream continued on his path with the intent of inspecting the project Nightshade was working on, to obtain whatever data he could on the kid, and ideally come to a satisfactory conclusion regarding his pestering curiosities. 

Starscream set his servos professionally under his wings again, as he lightly leaned around Nightshade’s shoulder to peer at the split spherical device sitting partially disassembled on their workspace. “What is it you are tinkering with, Nightshade?”

“Oh!” They seemed to be startled from their train of thought by his sudden presence. “Why hello there, Starscream! This, is my Smart Trainer soon-to-be 5012! It has gone through many stages in its functioning, and although perhaps it would be more efficient to start from scratch, I am admittedly quite attached to my first design here. It is…nostalgic, I suppose. A physical little remnant of my beginnings.” They pet a scrap of the thing fondly as if it were an old cyber-dog they were too sentimental to part ways with near its end. 

Starscream raised an optical ridge. “That so? What exactly do you intend this thing to accomplish?” 

By the looks of the parts strewn about, it harbored potentially algorithmic software with 360 degree firing capacity. But condensed into one little sphere in the way they had it now, would only fry its processor the more weaponry it deployed. The past attempts no doubt went haywire with its logistics corrupted not long after training began if its shots weren’t limited. It was a decent design in theory, and it seemed they had mitigated that flaw by small increments through their improvements, but stubbornly restricting it to this base format was no doubt hindering their progress.

“Well,” Nightshade didn’t even flinch at the judgment in Starscream’s tone, “It is meant to be a drone that can predict patterns of combat so that it may provide a steady increase of difficulty in a training exercise. As well as give encouragement through the words of our beloved mentor Bumblebee! He…wasn’t exactly thrilled at first about my borrowing of his voice–but I am confident that I have now convinced him of the flattery! I am certain it only bothered him when the Smart Trainer 5008 malfunctioned. BUT! I have ensured the S.T 5011 to be far more conversational, accurate, and currently, I am performing some improvements regarding its weaponry! It isn’t meant to be all that powerful–as to not be dangerous–so if I can reduce the power projected into the lenses, it could also reduce the risk of overheating.” They paused a moment from their ramblings and fiddling of parts to halt and actually turn to face Starscream. “Would you… like to join me? I know Tarantulas and Shockwave as Decepticon scientists. Do you perhaps have experience with such things as well? You did work with them, yes?”

Primus. Nightshade really got to talking once properly prompted, didn’t they?

A scoff escaped Starscream’s intake. “Yes, although Shockwave more so than this Tarantulas. Disregarding them I have plenty of my own scientific prowess to speak of! I was the only seeker to get into the Iacon Science Academy after all, I’ll have you know!” He boasted proudly with a servo to his chassis. “Although mechs do not care for xenobiology or astrophysics over a good blaster, the Space Bridges certainly grew in popularity as Cybertron’s energon reserves depleted. Of which I was quite involved with! Yet a strategist and artillery construction was highest in demand entering war time of course. Which I am excellent at! So I am more than qualified to take a look at your amateurish drone. I’m sure it could be far more than a soft-sparked air blower if you were more adventurous.”

Nightshade clapped their servos together and cooed like one of those odd Earth avians their alt-mode resembled. “Ooooh, fascinating! What–” They looked just about ready to begin a flurry of questions before apparently remembering who they were speaking with–“Ah, but, I do want to reiterate that I am content with the Smart Trainer in a matter of it lending to a softer style, since it’s gone wild in the past. So perhaps-”

Starscream plucked the hemisphere from the table to get a better look at it. “Yes, of course. Now, how attached really are you to this silly thing? It would be exceedingly more efficient to remove all these ridiculous lenses dotting its surface for your weak willed lasers in favor of constructing a more complex central processor within this primary drone. Then, pair it with a set of magnetized miniature artillery that can be called back to its artificial gravitational mechanism. That would greatly extend its range in the matter of delegating defensive and offensive sub-drones to perform its duty as a formidable training opponent. Your sentimentality surrounding this impractical prototype is below you. I mean, what was your plan for when it is shot to end the exercise? Build another? We will of course need to add an energy field to the operator core and–”

Nightshade snatched back the husk from Starscream’s servos before he could further disassemble it. “No no, now wait a moment! While I admit those ideas are intriguing, I do not wish to deviate to such a degree from my current system. As I asserted previously, this one…means a lot to me. So I would appreciate it if you listened to me on the matter.” 

Their expression was far more firm, despite their volume hardly raising by a decibel or two. Were they angry with him or not?? And why should they be anyway?! Starscream was only giving them solid marks of improvement on a clearly flawed design! Avoiding progress merely on the basis of one’s nostalgia was stupid. It wasn’t as if he was going to rig the drone to turn against them. 

Starscream’s faceplate scrunched as he tossed out a servo in exasperation, a small crimson spark leaving its tip to electrify a nearby motor. “Do you want my help or not!? Hindering yourself with such attachments–with a broken tool no less–is only going to hold you back.”

Dorothy stood. Looking just about ready to stick her grimy hands in on the argument with more ridiculous dribble. But Nightshade barely flinched. 

“That is fine.” They placed the hemisphere near its fragmented half on the other side of the table. “I do value your experience, and potentially your company in the lab–as my siblings do not share this same passion…but I insist that you heed my parameters on certain matters. Now,” Nightshade’s silly, disarming smile returned as they reached down to rummage within the cabinets, “speaking of siblings, perhaps you could create one for my Smart Trainer 5012 with your vision! We can give notes on each other's progress as we go along, and perhaps have a bit of friendly competition. Oh, we could even test them against each other in the end like one of those robo-fighter video games! I might just have to add a force field of some sort as you suggest if you intend to make yours as excessively aggressive as it sounds.”

So they do have a bit of sass in them. Interesting. 

Starscream straightened himself with a sideways glance at Dorothy as she sat back down. “A competition you say? You’d better be prepared to lose.”

“Do not discredit the resilience of the S.T 5012 so quickly! We will just have to see, won’t we?” A spark of determination grew in their optics as Nightshade’s posture straightened as well at the declaration. 

“I suppose we will…” 

Starscream kept a careful optic on them before beginning to assess the materials at his disposal. It all was an abhorrent amalgamation of cybertronian and human technology. He didn’t care to even touch that pathetic human scrap. The thought disgusted him–although…as his servo reached for it regardless…it surely wouldn’t hurt to experiment. He even got the sense he knew just how to work it into the growing blueprints forming in his processor. 

A cloud of silence fell over them that Starscream hardly noticed as his focus was far too locked upon his task. He could prove to Nightshade how much better his design was–of just how skilled he was in this common ground–and they would have no choice but to be utterly and completely impressed and enthralled by his glory! He would get this strange beastformer on his side in no time at all. This was clearly what they cared about most. Perhaps this could even be simpler than he first thought. Starscream was sure they’d value a blatant display of skill, as proven in past reception during training, after all. 

They worked alongside each other for quite some time, with the only notes of conversation being those of light criticism from either side on the other’s progress. Or, simply questions of curiosity on contrasting strategies. Although Starscream intended to keep an intriguing air of surprise to up the suspense of the grand reveal of course. 

It would have missiles, deflection barriers, null rays, cont–...OH! He should add a confetti cannon! Hashtag would love that. Perhaps even a separate disco drone to be deployed that’d signify the end of the exercise! That would surely put him above that bug on the, very real, mentor scoreboard. When he was done, the Auxiliary Revolator was going to have a whole fleet of secondary drones under its command! And what better voice to give it than his own? Now, filling it with meaningless words of encouragement as Nightshade insisted on for their design would be ridiculous. If they earned praise from the session, Starscream would give it himself with far more substance. The Auxiliary Revolator would be programmed to instead deal out different levels of taunting remarks. This would better serve to remind them of the need to ignore distractions in combat, or even practice their ability to conjure quick retorts! 

Then, as he was searching for a suitable power cell for the reflection field to finalize the central core processor, needed before he could move to painting the casing: Nightshade’s vocalizer cut through his train of thought.

“You are surprisingly comfortable with merging human and cybertronian tech. Tarantulas and I encountered many difficulties during our partnership regarding such things to perfect his initial invention.” They were further inspecting his work, as well as the array of parts he had accumulated. “It is quite impressive!” Another irksome, unreadable grin laid flat upon their faceplate.

Starscream wasn’t certain why their statement stirred such an odd mix of bothersome emotions through him. A response failed to come to his processor for a lingering klik as he rummaged through the Autobot crate. Why did the mergence of the two make so much sense to him? It was obviously because he was an intuitive genius! Nightshade truly should be impressed. All according to plan.

“But of course it is!” Starscream’s wings fluttered gracefully as he stood with a showboated twirl to his gait as he returned to the workstation with the A.R’s new power core. “I did tell you I am quite skilled in this sort of thing! I certainly outrank Tarantulas. He was so insignificant in fact, I didn’t even remember him until you reminded me of that ridiculous old beast. It is of no surprise to me that he couldn’t figure it out without the aid of a sparkling.”

Nightshade arched an optical ridge, and this time, it was quite clear how bothered they were at his comments regarding their apparent acquaintance. “Tarantulas is not ridiculous, or insignificant! He’s my friend!” They waved their servos about animatedly as if they were mimicking a superhero from one of those absurd comics. “You do not need to tear others down in order to raise yourself upon some–higher pedestal. Is it not sufficient to be proud, and appreciate our accomplishments as they are, without comparisons?”

Starscream rolled his optics. “I wasn’t the one who brought that predacon into this conversation to begin with…” There was a pause as they continued to stare at him with those wide optics, as if he had personally defiled their designation instead. Even that Dorothy human was glaring his way in disapproval. Scrap. Now there was that other ridiculous feeling in his tank.

It had always been crucial to ones standing in the ranks to prove their superiority over others. He didn’t need Nightshade thinking this previous partner of theirs was better than him! Starscream couldn’t lose to some inferior lackey! That’d be an insult! Especially when Tarantulas was clearly a deserter since he did not reassemble under Starscream’s rule before. Perhaps he could escape Nightshade’s query with his own if they wanted to speak of that arachnid so desperately.  

Starscream folded his arms across his cockpit. “Although…What do you see in Tarantulas anyway? It is not as if I’ve seen him scuttling around amongst your little group here.”

“Well yes, he does not live here. We all helped him get an apartment on the outskirts of Philly so that he could utilize our holoprojector, and follow through with his wish to blend in alongside humans!”

“Why in the worlds would he want to do that?” Starscream cut in with undisguisable disgust.

“He was…tired of war. He said the only choice he had in joining the Decepticons was choosing to survive…”  Nightshade had lifted their servo in a clenched fist to their chest plate as if in reverence. “So, he wanted to disappear into the shadows. Do something else with his life that was his own. We actually still talk quite often! We started a book club! It is just us–but he has even gotten into crafting interesting little sculptures! I enjoy the fascinating, in-depth conversations we share, and he is very kind at heart, even if he can appear rather aloof.” 

Sacrifice for the sake of his illusion of freedom. Living amidst humans. Delving into hobbies, devoid of conflict. Forsaking his faction in favor of his own gratification. And they all call Starscream selfish.

Nightshade seemed to notice Starscream’s expression had hardened, and tilted an extended servo in his direction as the spines on their forearms flicked flat, then flared as if bobbing their hidden wings in acknowledgement. “Do you not wish for more beyond seeking victory from an old war? You mentioned your studies in xenobiology and astrophysics? I would love to learn more! Even if I am far more focused on solid constructive means in a matter of machines or structures. I’m sure such topics could only widen the horizons for what we could do for the team! You seem to have knowledge far more valuable than how much destruction you can bring. There must be a number of passions you could rekindle! Surely, there is more to you than merely being a Decepticon as well.”

Starscream wasn’t so sure of that. A Decepticon is what he’d been for so long, it was difficult to imagine anything beyond its suffocating ambition. Was this honestly what Nightshade was interested in? Suggesting…Believing in the possibility of a stupid, passive, recreational life? Indulging in scientific study alongside those of like minds. Furthering the worlds of knowledge with exploration and academia. Living in the moments of quiet, or exuberant celebrations with comrades. 

Those dreams had died with Skyfire. Those ideals had died with Thundercracker.

These kids were too, only temporary. Whatever pleasantries he could have with Bumblebee, were temporary. Any effort Starscream had made for the sake of others, had only blown up in his face. Any loyalty, twisted. Any partnership, defiled. The meaning of “good” in intentions was always in such a state of debate.

One’s own survival truly was the only thing that mattered. He couldn’t get attached. 

Starscream flatly turned his attention back onto tinkering with the Auxiliary Revolator. His wings tipping back out to their poised, militant stature with a momentary downwards lilt of dismissal to Nightshade. This time, the stiff atmosphere of silence–the only sound emitted from the tapping of keys and the clinking of metal–only compounded his irritation at the thoughts spiralling in his helm. 

As his stupid mystical glitch became faintly active, that feeling of ghostly strangulation only gradually increased in its intensity. A feeling which aided serrated claws in the effort of ripping wretched memories and long capped emotions from his intake. Those servos and that emblem, all too familiarly clasped around his throat. There was nothing more he could be than the same coward he’d been, clinging to the false pride and grand aspirations branded upon his wings.

Suddenly, Dorothy’s voice was the one to cut through the thick air as her incessant typing came to a halt. “How about we start small. Instead of all this worryin’ about who or what you are in the whole complicated scheme of things. Start with something manageable. Like, you two are over here talkin’ in so much science jargon, I have no idea what you’re sayin’ half the time!” She laughed casually, “So there’s obviously something you have in common there, right? It doesn’t have to be a competition, with each other or anyone else. If you’re having fun, it doesn’t have to be so serious, right?”

“Well–” Starscream and Nightshade both started before she cut them off. 

“Okay fine, it can be both, but still!” Now Dorothy’s focus was aimed directly at Starscream. “Factions or status don’t matter. I know it can be hard to get yourself out of the battlefield, especially when it keeps comin’ to find you. That’s why it’s important we appreciate, and remind ourselves of the time we have like this. No ruminating about what could happen, or preparing for the worst. And you don’t have to try and prove your usefulness to stay here.”

Starscream rolled his optics at the final pathetic lie she used to punctuate her sentiment. Her words began to fade out like static. Too much old noise filling his audials.

“You don’t have to put on some bravado either. Ya ain’t impressin’ anyone with that. The only thing we need you to show us is that you’re actually on our side, as a team, and want to get better.”

“Right!” Nightshade put their digit up with a sparkle in their optics. “I’ve been a touch apprehensive about how to approach you, Starscream, I admit. You are quite intimidating. Especially after…well, everything that happened when we were on opposing sides. It is a bit difficult to know how to approach you without something comfortable to bridge the gap, so to say. Like science! Or your room! The offer for further remodeling is still there, by the way.” They leaned in briefly with a knowing sly smile and a wink like those more absurd items that had been placed in there had been some sort of baiting tactic. 

What else was it they’d said? Nightshade thought of him as intimidating, yet had the gall to concoct such a ridiculous scheme as that? So, there was no true fear, then. They didn’t actually believe Starscream would retaliate in a violent manner towards them at silly, petty insults as those posters. Was that confidence in his chains or his character? 

Starscream remembered when he had such foolish confidence in a mech’s character. 

He shook his helm of those memories, and brought his attention back to the two in the room with him. Starscream raised an optical ridge at the looks they wore on their faceplates, and in-vented slowly. Then leaned a servo on the table with a casual grin. 

“I just might take you up on that offer, Neutron.” Starscream winked at them in return. “Another time. We are quite busy with our current, decidedly not competitive, drone race.” He flicked his wings with a glance Dorothy’s way; she rolled her eyes and shook her helm, despite surprisingly not displaying any real annoyance.

Nightshade gasped softly as if in awe, “I have a nickname too? Hashtag told me you two were having such a conversation the other day! Oh, I must know: why is mine not a gem like hers?”

“Hm? Ah–” Starscream’s wing twitched back as his digit tapped the table–”well. It simply felt more fitting. Science and all, hah.”

Nightshade looked through him with those knowing optics. “Come now, that can’t be all it is! Tag said you gave quite the explanation into hers. I know neutrons are the subatomic particles of which lack a charge within the nucleus of an atom. Perhaps it is that you perceive me as a…stable, neutral force? Because they balance the atom? Um…because they play key roles in nuclear reactions and you spoke of my explosive potential…?”

“You aren’t going to let it go, will you?”

“Nope!” 

“Would it be sufficient if I just gave you a gemstone designation to match? You certainly look like an emerald.”

Nightshade crossed their arms and arched an optical ridge. Clearly unsatisfied with such a proposition. Even with how equally fitting it was.

Starscream ex-vented exaggeratedly. “Fine, fine. You did make some astute observations. Although more specifically, I had a Neutron Star in mind.” As he began to absentmindedly ramble, he picked back up his tools to finish sealing the Auxiliary Revolator’s central drone. Selecting the perfect paints to detail its finish. “Now do not assume I am calling you exponentially dense by the intellectually offensive meaning of the word. More so in the way that you are…difficult to see through. Challenges are often encountered when attempting to observe neutron stars directly. As are they equally small and unassuming. They are formed when a star considerably larger than the one present in your solar system loses the battle against gravity and collapses in on itself. The stellar core itself is saved from further collapse by the quantum phenomenon known as the neutron degeneracy pressure. Which is when the neutrons within reach a point of density they can no longer exceed. These stellar constructs are occasionally referred to as a “star corpse”, due to of course–in all their creative genius–the fact that they were born from a star’s death. A grand, illustrious cosmic entity crushed by its own might…” Starscream laid out a stroke of red paint marking a sinister smirk, akin to ones he often doodled on his missiles, upon the core. A grin came back to his own faceplate as he twirled his servo. “Ah but that is a byte off topic, hm? I suppose the name simply came to mind as you remind me of myself in the old days before the war. Particularly if you were to allow yourself more spunk now and again, Neutron. Adamantly standing up for your convictions and focus with such poise is commendable.”

 Nightshade blinked a moment before realizing the conversational baton was passed their way. “Ah, I see! My goodness is that fascinating–” they tapped the tip of their chin thoughtfully– “It is difficult for me to discern how these neutron stars exactly link to my reminding you of yourself… But I believe I appreciate the compliment nevertheless! And I do quite like it.”

Dorothy hummed from her perch. “Even without all that, I think it suits you baby.” She tilted her helm at Nightshade with a soft expression only these Maltos seemed capable of with one another. Then she looked to Starscream with a stare far more contemplative that he could do without. “You know Starscream. Maybe if you let go of that obsession of yours to be the best at any expense, you wouldn’t have to put who you were in the grave like that. I’m sure we’d appreciate whoever that mech was over what he became. I believe we’ve seen quite a few glimpses of him these past weeks, in fact.” 

“Have you now?”  

Nightshade looked between them as the gears turned in their helm. “Oh! Yes I get it now, I do believe we have as well! The moments when you were not concerned with usurping Tarantulas as my tinkering partner, were indeed particularly pleasant.”

Starscream glared at the two a moment before he scoffed and rolled his optics. Setting aside the A.R.’s central core to pick up the half constructed casing of the first secondary firing drone. “That’s ridiculous.” He glanced over at Nightshade’s partially constructed ring they had begun to design, meant to gyrate around their Smart Trainer as a deflection device. Starscream smirked and tipped his wings up in amusement. “Perhaps if you weren’t so distracted with how immensely fascinating I am, you’d have that blockage you’ve run into figured out by now. Hm?”

“Wh-I’ll have you know that I am by no means distracted!” Nightshade straightened proudly with a servo on their chestplate before lifting their device in demonstration. “And I have hardly run into a block. In fact, I have been contemplating a fix as we spoke! You see, the problem is whether the magnetism will be stable, and consistent enough to not lose control of the ring when it breaks off to become a long range block and grapple mechanism. So, I have been thinking, if I were to remove one of the Smart Trainer’s lenses, to instead act as a lock for one end of the ring extender, when it flings out to its full length it will retain ample control to not fling haphazardly to the abyss!”

Starscream nodded. “A sensible solution. One that might even allow you to build potential energy between the two as they spin to both engage and disengage quickly. As you know that such a flinging movement from the whip while attached to the core would bring it in that direction as well. If you are crafty about it, that grappling capacity could be used as a maneuverment device utilizing its surroundings. As well as dizzy your opponents by taking hold of their servo or weapon.”

“Exactly!” Nightshade beamed as they pulled back up their holoscreen to display their blueprints and simulations. “See, while I wasn’t too keen on making drastic changes, I did find your idea of exterior assistance intriguing! This addition will allow pin pointed projections of deflection shields at its sides, which can be used to keep track of how many hits it would have taken, while not actually allowing it to take sufficient damage in the exercises. Then, I got a fantastic wave of inspiration from an anime Tag had shown me recently of the potential whip-like devices can be capable of! And thus, the Smart Trainer 5012 is truly coming into view!”

“I admit it is quite impressive. Although one of my own drones has a projectile grappling hook method of its own. One that is not limited from one direction or ring, as it will have a collection of wires capable of electrifying a target from any direction. You still limit yourself through a passive lens, Neutron.”

“I am in fact simply retaining my focus on who the Smart Trainer will be used against. Electrocuting my own team doesn’t sound necessary in the slightest.”

“Oh come on. The voltage can be regulated. They are not quite that fragile that they couldn’t handle a shock as minute as a blaster set to stun.”

“Hm. Yes, I do suppose not. And if we were to use them for alternative purposes like when I lent the S.T. to Bee, a means of pacifying an opponent could be quite useful! As well as the multitude of little tentacles as you describe which could be used to input a code! From the feedback I got from Bee then, he ran into a bit of trouble with that.”

Starscream chuckled. “Oh I can only imagine the highjinx that bug could have gotten himself into without thought.”

Such casual conversation persisted as before as they both continued to work side by side on their little projects. It was refreshing to work with someone who didn’t gatekeep every circuit within their invention without considerable prying. And though it took some effort, Starscream relented to some of the sparkling’s suggestions on his own design as well. Perhaps not every piece of the drones had to lend to such destructive purposes. The Disco drone didn’t have to double as a mass laser projector. It could simply act as the deflector…with a speaker to blast victory music instead of plasma. 

Dorothy had now long since entirely ceased her tapping. Having replaced it by entertaining herself with conversation with the rest of the human Malto’s who had returned from their outing. She seemed to be in a particularly in depth conversation with her conjunx, occasionally glancing back his way. But Starscream had more important things to consider as he noted Bumblebee lingering at the bunker’s entrance speaking with Jawbreaker. Nightshade’s Smart Trainer 5012 was just about complete, as well as his own Auxiliary Revolator and its trifecta armada! Now, all they needed was a test subject. 

As they screwed in the sealing panels to their creations, Starscream whispered his plan to Nightshade, who snickered with delight at the idea. First, Nightshade took hold of their own creation in their servos to get the bug’s attention. Showing off the glorious new addition they had crafted. Then, Starscream readied his own fleet for deployment, with a steady digit on the switch.

“Sensors up Neutron!” Starscream tactfully interrupted the Terran’s explanation to toss his activated drones their way. A display which would no doubt get Bumblebee to spring into action, despite Nightshade themself knowing their Smart Trainer was more than capable of deflecting any blaster fire their way. 

Predictably, the bug reflexively pushed them out of the way, servo blasters at the ready with an immediate shot at the Auxiliary Revolator. As the blast was easily deflected, the A.R.’s speaker rang out with mimicked laughter of Starscream’s own vocalizer, of which he couldn’t help but echo. Especially when the Taser Core shot repeated little bullets at his peds to make him dance.

“Augh Starscream!! SHUT THAT OFF!”

“Worry not dear teacher!” Came Nightshade’s triumphant line as they dutifully deployed their S.T. 5012 to retaliate against Starscream’s drone in their long awaited battle. “For we have prepared for a situation precisely like this one!”

“We??!” 

Bumblebee was left baffled as Nightshade’s drone tactfully defended against the Auxiliary Revelator Armada's every attempt at getting another shot at the Autobot. Starscream would be infuriated if he wasn’t so proud. They were perfect rivals. Every shot they would get on the other would inevitably be matched, to the end that they’d go on for eternity if left to their devices. So, with a glance and a nod Neutron’s way, he had the perfect solution as he looked out at their newly arrived subjects.

“Well, as it seems our fabulous creations are far too equally matched against each other: what do you all say about a thrilling training exercise with Starscream and Nightshade’s amazing S.T.A.R.mada 5012!?” Starscream announced grandly with outstretched servos.

The S.T. gasped, “A teamup? Now that will be a great learning experience!”

The A.R. scoffed, “If you’re looking for a lesson in humility maybe! Haha!”

Jawbreaker transformed and flicked his tail with anticipation, the rest of the Malto unit converging on his location. With all of them eagerly coming to an agreement in unison, “Oh you’re on!!”

Bumblebee looked on as the struggle began with disbelief in his optics before a sigh left his intake with a laugh. “Of course this is what you two would be up to.”

Nightshade clapped their servos excitedly as they kept tabs of the drone’s condition through their holoscreen. “Aren’t they fantastic!? I would join in on the test as well but we must make certain that if there are any malfunctions they will be swiftly dealt with!”

Starscream slipped alongside them to pull up his own screen, adjusting a minor problematic variable. “Yes, I am sure the famous scout could handle a surprise simulation.” He flicked his wings tauntingly at the bug with a smirk.

Bee rolled his eyes with a grin as he began hopping side to side. “You know it Screamer, you can never catch me off guard!” He gave a ridiculous wink before dashing off to pull Thrash out of the way of a tentacle from the Skatter Whip drone.

Such a silly scene to behold. Something not unlike what shenanigans Starscream and his trine had gotten into in the past. Too many things here have been reminding him of those days. Yet he wasn’t so sure whether he hated it or not.

As his attention was pulled to the fight, he began a new petty competition for who could give the best advice to the sparklings. It was always extremely amusing to witness the bug squirm anytime Starscream interrupted his attempt at a pointer with his own, far better, interjection. Twitch began calling them out on it, but it was futile to get either to admit they were doing anything to trample the other’s peds. Besides, Hashtag seemed to find it entertaining enough. 

A crimson spark flickered though his optics as his monitor closed behind him while he leaned unbothered on the rim of the table. He didn’t need any more glitches or paranoia corrupting his view at the moment. He was finally starting to gain some concept of this strange situation. 

Nightshade needed a lab partner. Hashtag needed a mentor. Twitch reminded him of Spitfire if she took a dose of high justice moral fuel. Thrash was just about as ridiculous as that Moe human, yet oddly endearing from a distance. That Robby one seemed satisfied as long as Starscream played sufficiently nice with his siblings. Jawbreaker however, was an enigma he truly would never care to crack.

Regardless. They could figure it out tomorrow. Perhaps, there wasn’t such a need for rushing back into a scheme for victory or revenge. Meridian even finally ceased his incessant whining. 

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revenge @kylinvartilo of Fenriss! almost forgot to post him tbh nivnekdnvkndv

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Revenge @Oobleckladd of Silas Harpstring! always love doodlin a revamp of dis fab lamb tiefling each year and her fit keeps gettin more neat istg-

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ARTFIGHT PEEPS

I really hope I'll be able to do a decent bit of the /loads/ of creatures I have bookmarked

I have some schemes in mind and want to be free from school/work bs so bad to do all the writing and art omg-

crystal creechur time

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I finished half of the next chap of my fic ages ago and havent been able to finish it and am dying so in desperation i wanna at least doodle a ridiculous glimpse at the shenanigans taking place-

[I'll prob actually line this for the chap cover later]

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currently figuring out how to help this lad get out of the cult and boiling cesspool of mental illness, trauma/abuse, dependence, denial, abandonment issues--

Playlist tho! :D (same as transformers Seriph's lol]

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They are very social awkward, and can come off as abrasive and they often have to correct their volume. Very insecure and rather paranoid about being replaced. As well as quite stubborn and defensive at times due to them trying to assure their competency.

Also loves plants but has inconsistent luck when it comes to growing them, whiiiich they get greatly frustrated by.

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Agree Logistically

Sense is 

As comprehensible as common sense

As normal as formality and sociality

As baseline as an incline

As linguistic as a non verbal tic

It is given

It is assumed

It is lived in

It is pursued

Something mythical

perceived to be clinical

When it is nothing but theoretical

Expected to be universal

Then 

There are explanations

Given in the sense of logic

For a set plain of actions 

With no choice but to pick

Because

They seem sensible 

Achievable 

In the theoretical

They are veritable 

Now 

Left nothing 

But to agree

When failing 

Is a fallacy

Even 

When it leads to something suffocating

Compiling and crushing

Upon continuous strains

Of agreed upon pains

Because

They made sense

They sounded logical

Sensible

Attainable

Probable

They sold themselves

As necessary

As the only

As the unavoidable

As critical

Because

Trusting one’s own judgement

Is criminal

Until

The senseless sentiment

Becomes available

That recognition

Of those piles of dirt

From that sensible relation

Only leaves enough to exert

Exhaust fumes 

And the mere promise of a bloom

Something

The agreer only agreed

Out of the script given to a mannequin 

Rooted from a practiced mantra to concede

Opinion in favor of a peaceful placid pin

Then

Is sense one's own or another

Getting trapped in a gutter

Meant for a believer 

And never a dreamer

For they

Contemplate the cosmos

Wishing for paths they could dispose

Only to agree

Logistically

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Rlly have no idea dude and it is hella frustrating when that favoritism shines thru fr

The Red Alert paranoia lore is so dang real, especially paired with those dreaded eggshells. Its so aggravating when you'll say some shit without thought and then it just activates something in them and it's just like goddamit- then ya gotta damage control and it's just so much

And hek yeah! Love me some OC lore and yours is hella intriguing! :D

I definitely think it's a very good thing for Arc to still not let him get away with it. Get a bit of that more healthy style banter where it doesn't need to get physical and learning the boundaries of what can and shouldn't be prodded at.

Also Star kinda low-key weaponizing the Megatron accusation because of how sensitive he is with hyper analyzing similarities is so real. Cuz it'd be a means of shutting Arc's defensiveness down as a means of regaining control, as well as possibly a subconscious effort of preventing a progression of full on aggression on her end. Since that's what would have got his mind on the Megatron comparison, even if logically he doesn't think she would or would be like "I could take her" anyway; I think that underlying paranoia/fear do be bubblin.

Also your mentioning his jealousy when she's gentle with others reminds me of Discord from MLP fim so much actually--

And the mirroring that sorta behavior rlly does invoke the sense of that ridged fairness/equality in a way. It happens so much with those who always go with the rules and then if they fuck up once get hell for it, but someone else who breaks them all the time doesn't actually get punished, or you do instead. Happens /all/ the time with school 😒

Then your season 5 lore with Megatron's petty ass tryna drag his second down with him I feel just bleeds canon XD like that is such a dick move and perfect for him tbh djdbdjbd

Some people just really spec into that Charisma stat and it can be horrifying

I agree it's very hard to explain. I think it certainly has something do with being able to break the experience down to kinda process it better while also having that kinship when elsewhere the experience is isolating

Then the oxymoron amidst the struggle to mirror what made him, vs the uncomfortable realization that he hated what did so is so palpable

Reminds me of this text post I saw a while back where the person had been held up in their room a bunch, and finally came down to exist with the fam. Then the dad made some backhanded comment akin to "the tenant has revealed themself" (hella paraphrased), but then after it came out he was like "wait. My dad used to say that, and I hated it. Sorry bout that." And honestly that instant recognition is very impressive

Starscream is very complicated in his flavor of cowardice, ego, insecurity, pride, lust for power/control-so on and so forth. Its so, so much to break down. And I love that about his character

i need to see more starop where starscream is having trouble breaking the cycle, so he falls back into his old habits.

one of the most difficult parts about breaking the cycle of abuse is trying your hardest to not repeat the behaviors your abuser imprinted on to you. speaking from experience, it can be very hard when you enter a healthy relationship and find yourself thinking like your abuser.

so imagine, starscream finally joins the autobots. by some unfortunate circumstance, they lose an important battle. optimus encourages his team, but privately, he retreats to somewhere isolated to think. starscream finds him and asks what he's doing.

when optimus admits that he's disappointed in himself for not doing the best he could on the battlefield, starscream finds himself scoffing. "well, maybe we wouldn't be in the position if you'd done a better job to begin with," he grumbles, his voice slowly escalating. "i thought you were supposed to be some great leader. or is your reputation all a myth? because of you, now the decepticons have the advantage, and we're one step closer to losing this war!" outraged that optimus hasn't said anything, he shouts, "are you even listening to me, prime?!"

when optimus turns his helm to look up, starscream is spooked by what he sees. he doesn't see the face of someone about to drop to his knees and beg for mercy. instead, the look in his normally lively blue optics can best be described as haunted, almost dead, but clinging onto the last shreds of life.

the realization hits starscream like enemy fire. his voice box shorts out as he trips over his own words, trying to take them back. one thought comes to mind, and he knows optimus is thinking it, too.

i sound like megatron.

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Absolutely better than the "just cuz" shit. I know when I write my ES fic, particularly in the moment of one on one between Megs and Op, he's more distant and even tosses in a bit of offhanded disses at Megs in his kinda like snark/professional way. Their dynamic is one that fascinates me in its own way, since I relate to the situation of wanting a relationship with someone who wasn't/isn't that great to you.

And starting out on it with no build up or deeper explanation absolutely just bothered me so much 😑 like I've tried to come up with a bunch of theories to make sense of it, wrote a post on it actually, but still it feels lacking. then the IDW and Sky bound shit just is so wack with that. Idk how well IDW Megs redemption was but even if it /is/ done good, it feels plain wrong to not allow Star his own imo.

Probs why when it comes to my SS lore, both of em get a chance, tho it's complicated amongst many levels. Idk if you'd want me to rant on that--prob would have to be its own post istg XD (do plan on an ask blog at some point actually)

And omG dude! SERIOUSLY! Sure, I like the humans in TFP, there, I think they did a decent job keeping the focus the bots with the humans stuff getting in the way at times. And I at least like Alexis in Armada (but lemme tell ya dude when I first started that series I had to go out and back in to make sure cuz I outwardly was like "wtf are with these humans? I signed up for bots bitch idc bout ya dang high school" XD). Or ES with them, like, I don't mind em. I like the conflict note with humans being antagonists. But my lawd would I love more TF shows with just no humans, or at /least/ no human main characters. Just Cybertron lore. Something that really hit everything for me with TFOne dude

That is one thing I can appreciate from Cyberverse (tho I need to finish it), is that they actually didn't have any human main characters. All was about the bots even when on earth which is like 👏nice

The warping reality lore that abusers do really is so universal I think. The abuser trademark- the biggest form of control for them being the ability to have a grip on your sense of what is and isn't and your own mental grasp of right, wrong, and the direction of blame.

Its so ridiculous how it can make you feel insane as everyone is calling you as such, and the fact of the abuser having a truck load of yes-men that they've too manipulated to their wim just is crafted to affirm that statement. Then that inane flat hypocrisy telling someone to be what they are not (like the open minded example), just too furthers the doubt of what the meaning of that thing is.

Then the constant battle between those people on one side and the other just too tends to feel like nothing's even happening.

And even if you have mentioned ur experience before, I very much welcome reiterated expressions of your frustrations^^ it clearly still needs to be let out and said and those things just linger so hard with the confusion thick bullshit like that invoke. Like it makes absolutely no sense, and it's contradictory for ppl you perceive as smart to condone stupid shit. It's like a damn paradox. It sucks, and is tiring as shit.

That perpetual shadow of that risk of mirroring or becoming an abuser rlly is so hard- cuz y'know that cycle loves to repeat itself. Like the characteristic of stubborn "I'm right and I won't let my opinion be changed", could easily slip out after all this time of being told you're wrong and drilled to be so subservient and apologetic for sticking up for your sense of reality. Since it'd come from a rebellious and compounded anger of "y'know what, fuck you". Which is understandable. Even if problematic.

But even if that /could/ happen, being self aware and willing to take notes from those who aren't on the side of your abuser, can keep it from rooting too deep. Like I think that your ability to express your standing on not liking Megatron to be redeemed full stop, while recognizing objectively other possible approaches to a character's forgiveness, is proof that you are doing just fine my friend^^

And man that quote from your fam-- nah that is... /Very/ questionable. Like that sorta statement is an isolation tactic. I very much wish you luck and good fortune navigating that dood ;-;

New meditation strat just dropped

Instead of letting the salt thoughts strict down a river, toss ur problems out Astrotrain's airlock :D

Me, at the entirety of the transformers franchise: wow starscream may deserve a lot of things but not that

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It rlly is hard to say with stuffs like dat fr^ I'm always more inclined to sibling lore myself, (prob cuz my AroAce flavor where I like more platonic dynamics over all) so I absolutely write them that way. Tho if other peeps wanna do it differently not like it gonna bother me any, it's more funny when ppl try to argue which is the true canon when any of it is so fanon by this point regarding em having a deeper relationship

I adore the capability in writing to have that knowledge of everyone in a situation's thought processes dood it's glorious and hella fascinating. And it rlly is funny comparing and contrasting different TC's to mine. Like I kinda have a combo of zeropro's G1 lad, Cyberverse, and a bit of I'm p sure it was an IDW I saw. Then how he is with his trine and higher officers vs lower rank peeps or on the battle field or particular autobots-- I'd have to make ya a whole ass power point for my Steel Sparks lad XD

And Skywarp /absolutely/ did NOT read that atmosphere at all (vine) theyre rotating either a fortnite dance on loop or one of those death scenes from Final Destination

Chaos gremlin cat Warp lore is glorious dood-

That StarCane convo would be ✨not fun✨ for anyone I'm sure

That scene in TFOne rlly was just /so/ dang brutal dude, and rather iconic as a result I think

Arcane meeting the same fate as her King in the end has some sort of Shakespeare tragedy core to me

I find the name Meltdown to be intriguingly ironic given how his story progresses. As well as his character with the internal vs external struggles surrounding his initial loyalty and belief in Megatron being backhanded by Galvatron's needless act of violence/cruelty blatantly against Lazerbeak (and extension Soundwave). I like that flavor with Meltdown bringing the Cons back together as a community and having his own personal beef towards the Autobots surrounding how they treated him, and the human alliance. Is he an Outlier btw? Wot sorta powers he have that made the bots particularly averse to him?

I just had a huge realisation yesterday and I wanted to share this after going through some pretty horrible stuff over the weekend: Something I've always asked myself ever since getting into G1 Transformers was "why do you like Starscream so much even though he's a narcissistic bully? Why are you, someone who is a victim of narcissistic abuse, taking comfort in a narcissistic character?" Well, I think I finally figured it out. Because Starscream is also a victim of that very same abuse. I mean, he's beaten, called names, bullied, unappreciated, abused, and put through the wringer…and he internalised all that abuse because he knew no other way. He had no one to turn to, and the few bots who did support him, he treated like dirt. Once he had that freedom and power, he abused it and became the very thing that abused him. I have no doubt he was always self-centred, selfish, had a huge ego, etc. before all that but honestly? I think Megatron's abuse caused him to turn out the way he did. I could have turned out that way and it's a little scary, some of the parallels I'm drawing with him.

@ichbinmeltdown wrote a great analysis on Starscream that I want to share here:

"Megatron was abusive as hell to Starscream. He treated him horribly, and I legitimately almost cried a few times watching it. There's an episode called Starscream's Brigade that introduces the Combaticons, and I think that perfectly demonstrates the cycle of abuse. The entire world is against Starscream at pretty much every turn throughout the series, but none more so than Megatron. Every word out of his speech synthesizer to Starscream is to berate him, and he's constantly throwing him around, beating him, even ripping out his speech synthesizer in a scene from a previous episode (Hoist Goes Hollywood, IIRC). His own teammates don't like him, and even his brothers- Skywarp and Thundercracker, going off of the idea they're brothers- just... allow Megatron to abuse him. (Not to get into headcanons here, but I personally believe that Megatron's abuse fractured the Elite Trine's family dynamic. They are still brothers and love each other, but they're all too afraid of Megatron to really... stand up for each other as they did in the past.) And Starscream seemed to just snap in this episode. He treated the Combaticons poorly, and even when teaming up with Shockwave, he subjected him to a lot of the same ridicule and torment that Megatron put him through. He failed to realize Shockwave was the one of the only bots who would give him a chance- and unfortunately lashed out at him, which ruined his chances of Shockwave ever being a true friend and ally to him. Once Starscream had finally gotten a taste of power and not being under another bot's boot, he too became the very thing that he lived in fear of. And that really is how the cycle goes- when you're finally free from abuse, it can be tempting to overcompensate and take back all the power you were robbed of, at any cost whatsoever. Starscream, like D16 in Transformers One, snapped up this opportunity."

And the sad thing is, I've seen this in real life and I've internalised some of the abuse I've dealt with too. I'm not proud of it. Like the Seeker Trine, my own family dynamic has been fractured by similar abuse. I know there's traces of narcissism in my behaviour too, and I'm NOT proud of it. Maybe this is why I can forgive Starscream for being a narc, because I can see a little bit of my own personality/attitude/behaviour in him. Maybe it's because I know where it came from, I get why he acts that way and it's not just random and out of the blue. Maybe it's because--and I know this is a bold statement--I don't think he would do some of the stuff my own family did to me (blah blah blah he's a fictional character).

I didn't mean for this to turn into a long rant, so

TLDR: I finally figured out that part of the reason I love and relate to Starscream so much despite him internalising some of the abuse I went through, is because he was the victim of that same abuse.

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owo wuts dis

me randomly deciding to try and make a song that I wrote eons ago into existence when I already had a billion other things I could be doing?

totally not

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Oh my Primus I love /so much/ of your points in this

Noting on the s2-3 ES Star discourse, how you explained it rlly helped me figure out why I've been so unsure about it when I found how just how feral the fandom is about it. I my opinion, all the characters still seemed /in character/ going forth after season one still. (Even if the Breakdown stuff was a bit wild, the anger ppl had at his portrayal there rlly is still them thinking of other versions or their own influencing the fact maybe we just seeing more of this ones flavor). Starscream didn't act anymore abruptly insane or something to me, he still acted very much like himself. And a decent bit of the show's plot and such was decent, I'd say I like Earthspark, flaws and all. Cuz they do still have quite a few with management, pacing, and bad guy transitioning. Cuz the main thing that threw me off going into s2 was the need for an in-between to touch on that moment of the cons working with the others and what really suddenly triggers the realization about the shards that spurs that. Like, that would have been /so/ interesting to see unfold. And I would have expected nothing less of Starscream to seek them after realizing the power they have. Both because of the perpetual distrust of stability/safety leading to that perpetual divide between the others, and his ambitious nature.

He's really good at being all nice and shit--bringing up TFP just accentuates that point! Starscream constantly tried to work with people and shit, but it was all out of survival mode and figuring out to get what he wanted/needed. I love TFP, I rewatched it a bunch, but it does indeed have its flaws just like Earthspark. My rage around how TFP Starscream was treated got rekindled SO HARD watching season 3 of RID'15... He also had ten billion chances at redemption, but something pulls him back, be it himself or others. Which sure, accurate. This shit is hard and it wouldn't be instant like you said (my slow burn af post s3 es Star redemption is a struggle with his self sabotaging aft). He doesn't rlly /have/ to be redeemed in the uwu way imo. I like him as a neutral creature tbh- but in the shows, it's those lil ways they throw shit in his face that make me be like "eugh". Or the weird shit with TFP stars Stockholm syndrome at Megs in s3 only for at the end of predacons rising to be dismissed. He wasn't allowed to have nearly as much agency. They dunked on his intelligence so much, even with how /clearly/ capable he is.

And I like how in ES Star is shown to be plenty competent, while losing his shit a bit at the end-

Its all really just so complicated to break down istg

And geez yeah, I really don't like it when ppl in the fandom try to overly lil meow meow-ify him, or just tie everything back to his trauma and Megatron. It's like ya said about the agency thing, he's his own person. Starscream himself I feel would be pissed at those interpretations (tho it's not like I hate reading those fics either - I can understand the self-indulgent nature of the quick fix. Navigating growth is hella hard.) I like a lot more to focus on the impact the trauma had and those deep rooted behaviors that resulted. Like I've often found that just focusing on them (in this case Star) as a person, as the central point, and go out from there. (That's the best way I can describe it idk djdbdjbd)

Like one of my OC's, Kyren, has gone thru just so much abhorrent shit. But he's also had a lot of good things go for him. But a lot of the time, his own deep seeded coping mechanisms are what trip him up. Sure it's a result of what he went thru, but when I take my alternative version of his same base character that dealt with a different set of stuff of lower quantity, it's still /there/. He's still who he is, even if the stressors change. Its just about recognizing the problematic natures littered in em and try to improve. Kyren would /hate/ being defined by the DR (a huge source of his trauma lore), and would rather be known for what /he/ created from it.

Sorry for the side OC rant but like--

Yeah I also hate ppl tryna be all supportive but then putting words into the mouth of victims when that shit already happens so much.

It reminds me of when my brother wrote a story about su!cide lore, and someone told him that he portrayed it wrong, when like, he is/was the demographic dammit so like???

Thank you for your Ted Talk and hopefully my wack contribution made sense

The fandom's portrayal of Starscream's abuse (A rant from an abuse victim's perspective)

To preface this, I am NOT saying that every abuse victim thinks like me or that Starscream is the "perfect" potrayal of abuse or anything like that. Nor is this directed to anyone in particular and it's definitely not a hate message or anything towards anyone who thinks differently. This is my personal opinions on the view as a victim of abuse myself and as someone who deeply relates to Starscream (especially es!starscream) on a personal level.

Now, if you're in the Transformers fandom and especially if you're a Starscream fan, you may have seen a lot of other Starscream fans opinions on Starscream—particularly in the way of how Earthspark handled him—and have seen many people discuss his trauma.

From what I've seen, many people (especially in fics) tend to potray Starscream as this "Perfect Victim" that does no wrong. And this, obviously, is a very harmful sentiment because there is no such thing as a perfect victim. People react and are affected by trauma and abuse in different ways and as someone who people would call the exact opposite of a "perfect victim", Starscream is NOTHING like the way the fandom tends to potray him.

Starscream is more often than not potrayed as a cowardly, selfish, and egoistical individual who does terrible things for his own benefits. NOTHING about that screams "poor little meow meow" to me and honestly? I like him better this way, especially in the case of Earthspark, because in my experiences, that's how my trauma shaped me.

I (unfortunately) used to be one of the people wary of Earthspark due to the loud critiques of Starscream's character in s2 and so I stayed away from the show believing it to be a terrible exmaple of how abuse can affect someone (don't hate me lol! I was an idiot). But that was until I did a little digging myself and I realised... He's literally just me???

Now I'm not saying what he does is right or that I do EVERYTHING that he does. But I think some es!starscream fans have a little skewed perception on what a "Redemption Arc" truly is. As well as what an abuse victim should be. We cannot generalise all victims as "Sympathetic innocent souls" or "Unsympathetic corrupt individuals who deserve what happened to them" because... trauma is so much more complex than that.

In my case, abuse made me violent (not towards innocent people but towards my own abusers) and selfish and at times cowardly. It's not due to an innate desire to harm others and an inherent evil within me but because I was a scared child who didn't know how to protect myself other than mimicking the people around me.

To insinuate that es!starscream did the things he did in s2 because the writers were trying to convey that he's inherently evil due to his trauma (despite that, to my knowledge, nothing in the show implies such a thing) can be a harmful thought because.. 1. It's taking agency away from his character and tying him down to his abuser and 2. Trauma can influence people to do bad things but that doesn't mean there isn't a level of accountability and agency when they do. To villainise that fact just because you want a character you like to be redeemed can be damaging to the already ill conceived perception of abuse victims that are anything but "perfect". We shouldn't shame abuse victims for doing bad things (Unless of course it's something REALLY horrible) but we should still hold them accountable in a safe and respectful manner. Especially since most of the time (at least in children), abuse victims do these bad things in order to protect themselves.

In my personal opinion, I don't think the things that Starscream did in s2 was purely due to his trauma—though I do think it may have influenced him in some way, because trauma tends to influence our decisions in life—but I don't think it's due to some sort of inherent evil within him. People doing bad things doesn't mean that they're born with an inherent evilness. Experience shapes us into who we are, external factors influences our mindsets, and sometimes we get into situations where it seems like we have no choice but to do something bad. (The best example of this I can think of right now is Magneto from X-Men: He wasn't born evil, but due to prejudice and trauma, he felt as if he had no choice but to become the villain.)

As I said, obviously trauma may have influenced Starscream's decisions but to tie every single decision he makes down to his abuser takes agency away from his character and makes it seem like as if he's nothing more than is trauma, which is NOT true. Time and time again across multiple continuities we can see that whether or not he experiences the same thing as es!starscream, he's still the same cunning and egoistical bastard he is because that's who he is!

Just because continuities like Earthspark brings more attention to his abusive relationship with Megatron doesn't mean that's his only characteristic. His decisions are still his own decisions and even if it's somewhat influenced by his trauma in any way it doesn't take away from the fact it's still his choice and in my opinion, to blame everything he does on his trauma feels honestly disrespectful as if victims cannot do anything that is unrelated to their abuser as well as the fact that it once again enforces that whole "Perfect Victim" narrative. Victims can be (for lack of a better word) "imperfect", and it's important that victims like Starscream is represented as much as victims that are perceived to be "perfect" are. Trauma and abuse is a complex topic and when handled appropriately, ALL victims should be represented. Not just those that fit into people's ideal expectations of what a victim should be.

There's also the fact that almost EVERY character in Earthspark or other tf continuities are technically also victims of different forms of abuse or other forms of trauma. Whether it be physically violent or emotionally damaging, so many other characters have been traumatised in various ways and it's not ONLY Starscream that has been abused by Megatron or in general.

As an example, Hashtag: I think when people hear Hashtag say "When bad things happen, it isn't always our fault" towards Starscream, they think it's directed solely towards Starscream and forget that it may have been also directed towards HERSELF. If I'm remembering the orders of things right, Hashtag has also went through a traumatising experience which has influenced her relationship with Starscream. She felt a sense of kinship within their trauma and when she says it's not a victim's fault, I got the sense that she wasn't saying that only to validate Starscream but also herself.

Hashtag has also experienced trauma—not as violent as Starscream's, but trauma nonetheless—and if Earthspark is truly claiming that being abused or traumatised is the victim's fault like es!starscream fans like to claim, then why is that sentiment not extended to Hashtag? Or if you want a more violent example, the Autobots, who have also technically been violently abused by the Decepticons during the war.

Earthspark, in my opinion, isn't villainising abuse victims or anyone who has experienced any kind of trauma in general, nor are they even villainising anyone in general. They teach children again and again that someone's actions is not an excuse to treat them badly, but it doesn't mean you can just LET them continue doing it either, especially when it harms you or others.

If you want an example of actual continuities that DOES justify abuse for "laughs" or because "they deserve it" then turn your attention towards Transformers: Prime. The treatment of Starscream's abuse is highly questionable there yet hardly anyone (Especially es!starscream fans, who I find to often be tfp fans) discusses it. Sure, it could be because it's a kids show. But Earthspark is also a kids show. So why are we justifying tfp's potrayal of abuse but not Earthspark—a show that actually does encourage you to respect victims and makes an attempt to validate victims trauma? (This isn't hate towards tfp or anyone that enjoys it btw. I too love tfp but I find the quality and writing there to be very questionable at times.)

Also, people who criticise Earthspark's handling of Starscream's trauma tend to claim that it influences abuse victims (typically children) to believe that it's their fault. I've spoken to a few of these people myself and how that in my opinion as a victim, I find how the show handled trauma—although not perfect—quite respectable and that the show makes it clear that characters like Starscream, as I said, shouldn't be disrespected just because of their choices, and that although the line may be a bit unclear at times, Earthspark does a decent job at clarifying that trauma isn't excuse for making harmful choices but it doesn't make you inherently evil either nor does your actions excuse being abused. When I brought this up however, they tend to.. brush off my opinion? And repeat the same things again. Which I quite frankly don't get because if you're that concerned about how abuse victims, especially child abuse victims, will perceive Starscream's characterisation, then why won't you take into account the perspective of an actual child abuse victim?

In my opinion—and not to generalise, it's just a personal observation—I think most Starscream fans honestly don't actually care about how his abuse is handled or about what real victims will think. They usually seem like they just want their favourite character to live out their ao3 "Starscream redemption" fanfics. Again, I don't mean to generalise but this is just something I see a lot of in es!starscream fans. I don't mind when people criticise a piece of media when it potrays a group of people in a harmful manner but like... it's kinda pointless if you don't take into account the actual group's perspective in question.

Another thing I'd like to mention; it's not exactly restricted to Starscream fans nor is it exactly about abuse but an issue I see in a lot of pieces of media is that people tend to forget that a individual character's story ≠ the general story plot. Sure a character's storyline may influence the plot and vice versa but it doesn't mean that the character's story IS the plot. When people say that Earthspark's story sucks just because Starscream's (or any other characters) personal plot was unsatisfactory to them, I can't help but question them because even if it IS bad, one bad character doesn't always make the ENTIRE general plot bad. Of course there are exceptions but in this case? I think Earthspark—with what little I've seen of it—is already MILES better compared to other continuities. Which is a strange thing for me to say because when it comes to Transformers—or more specifically, the animated adaptations—they tend to be less than stellar in terms of quality of animation or in storywriting, or sometimes both! Sure it's not perfect by any means and there are definitely a lot of things that are worth criticising, but neither are any of the other continuities and I hardly see them get any criticism. So then why is Earthspark singled out? (Honestly, I think I know why but I don't want to generalise everyone who dislikes Earthspark here.)

And for my final opinion: Some people say that Starscream's potrayal in s2 was too sudden compared to his characterisation in s1. Which... I respectfully disagree.

First off, Starscream BARELY had any screentime in s1. He was pretty much a side character until s2 and had very few screentime enough to draw a conclusion to his character.

People claim that his characterisation in s1 was a "set-up" for a redemption arc or that he already has been redeemed, purely due to the fact he was sympathetic and was nice to Hashtag. And I personally don't quite get that from both a literary standpoint and as a victim: victims can be sympathetic... and still do bad things. Shocking, I know. But just because Starscream was sympathetic and nice to Hashtag doesn't mean he was ever gonna be redeemed or already was redeemed. A redemption arc needs MUCH more than just a few moments of kindness or sympathy. Plus, his moments of kindness towards the Terrans/Hashtag was like... two episodes in comparison to his multiple episodes both in s1 and s2 in which it is setting up his eventual villainous actions AND his offscreen DECADES of destruction and violence against the Autobots and humans during the war. Just like how doing bad things doesn't make someone inherently evil, doing good things doesn't make him inherently nice or redeemed. And it makes much more such for him to not be redeemed because there's virtually no set up for a redemption arc in comparison to his story in s2.

Not to mention the fact that Hashtag is a child. Starscream isn't the type of person to suddenly forget about his trauma and his goals for a child he barely knows, especially a child associated with his abuser. It makes more sense that his "kindness" towards Hashtag was fuelled by his ego getting stroked at the fact that she believed him because I and many others similar to Starscream typically don't just completely forget about our trust issues because of kindness but rather because we feel validated when someone believes in our abuse and trauma and assures us that it's not our fault.

Plus, it makes less sense—in my personal opinion—when all those "Starscream Redemption" fanfics make him immediately flip a switch and suddenly become all nice and selfless simply because he joined the Autobots or whatever. Not to shit on the writers or anyone else who enjoy fanfics like these, I like them too. It's just from a literary standpoint as well as when considering his trauma, I highly doubt he's going to immediately change his entire ideals and perception simply because he bonds with a child or because he joins the Autobots. And in the case of Earthspark, I highly doubt he'd want to join the team that is allies with his abuser, or even just be nice to them. Megatron and the others aren't entitled to Starscream bending over backwards to becoming nice and good for them and neither should the Autobots and the others completely exempt Starscream from the consequences of his actions simply because he is a victim.

That's all my thoughts for now. Again, this isn't to shit on anyone who many have different opinions or just finds es!starscream's story unsatisfactory or anything. I just needed to rant about how the fandom treats Starscream and his abuse (or any fandom with any traumatised character in general) because honestly I'm sick of seeing his trauma being brought up only to infantilise him and take away the agency in his actions or to make fun of his trauma and insinuate that he "deserves" it (which is an awful thing to say, considering the fact real people experience such things). There's nothing wrong with having a different opinion than mine or anything, I just really needed to get this off my chest because I heavily relate to Starscream, especially es!starscream, but also as someone very interested in literature I can't help but need to rant both about the treatment of abuse victims in fandom and the lack of media literacy these days. Feel free to share your thoughts on this post, just keep it respectful.

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Istg

That comment just absolutely encapsulates this shit /so/ much.

And it really is just so trippy having Optimus seem to forgive Megatron just so simply with but a smack on the wrist. Altho I do at least appreciate in ES them showing the shadowed tension that is still present between them. I feel like with lore between Megs and OP can make sense why Optimus would want to just move on and not make delve into all those repercussions mainly due to them still needing help rebuilding, their past friendship in many continuities that could make Op just not want to lose anyone else (even if it's Megatron, at this point), and just a sense of thinking it's necessary to be virtuously forgiving just for the sake of preventing revenge driven perpetual violence. It's hard to say. And in ES, OP might have given that same treatment to Star (at least tried to tell Megs to not be rough with him), but like there's so much stuff in the background and Starscream likely denying that offer /because/ of OP seeming to favor Megatron so it's just like- ÆaAæ

They seemed to really try to note on Megatron being held accountable for what he did, but SO much of the focus was just on the terrans and human kids and shit, that I really don't feel it was shown as much as it was just said.

Then, the perpetual survival mode thing is just so, so real. Everything about trauma responses are about survival, to not just physical threats, leading to layers of defensive, guarded, and aggressive behavior.

And those slap in face comments are just so degrading like. Over here telling the victim that they need to be understanding of the nuances, while everyone around them just wants some flat, simplified answer fed to them (usually to the wrong person's detriment)

The funny thing is, my person that I've struggled with the most with layers of indirect negative (also unsure of saying abuser because of all the nuances), I very constantly find this level of disconnection in myself from it. A lot of my psych interest has come from trying to understand the people I've dealt with. But even if you know what they're going thru or have been through, and can understand the logical trait of events and behavior, doesn't always mean it'll help at all. Which is frustrating. And to just hear the constant: "be patient", "he's just in a mood cuz of x y z, don't take it personal", "/you/ did do x", "I don't remember that". Or just the fact of feeling indebted to them so there's no right to be hurt, or frustrated, because they've given you everything.

My problem now seems to be being the thing of: oh great, I'm open minded, now what?

It doesnt always help, and that statement shouldn't be used to shut down a conversation tryna address an actual problem.

Me, at the entirety of the transformers franchise: wow starscream may deserve a lot of things but not that

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more assorted sillies

i have so much project shit i could be doing but man, theres so many creatures to choose from, sometimes ya jus gotta throw em at the wall like one of those things that then slowly flip down to the floor-

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Right! Omg the trine lore is my FAVORITE fanon shit to have stumbled upon istg. Those sorta situations rlly need to be shown more fr. Modern She-rah kinda did it, but then also they gay so it's hard to say sibling lore there XD (tho ppl are so divided on what tf the trine is there too ngl.)

E x a c t l y, in the comic oml. It rlly is an "everyone sucked here" situation. TC really tried, and it's not like he can read Star's mind on how his well meaning words are interpreted either. Then even Warps instinct to throw what he meant to be a lighthearted jab just exploding more than they thought, is like nah they rlly should have read the room better on the sensitivity, buuuut they didn't. And Star has a right to be hurt and pissed about it, but not justified in lashing out in a violent manner. Both of em just over here thinking they can predict the other but failing because of that dissonance created by Megatron.

And ah man, am glad the last panel was really able to hit that note because it rlly encapsulates that divide to me in so many unspoken ways. The third empty seat, Star being distanced even from Soundwave and Megatron in the background when he was talking with sound before, the sharing of passions that Star isn't a part of to persist that closeness in casual conversation, and the final quote between them leading from TC and Warp interaction of "I'd like that"-- just lingers that sense of longing for something dangling out of reach on all angles to me. Everyone has a different perspective lens, and there's just so many factors corrupting the divided visions amongst them leading to TC and Warp not understanding Star's behavior while Star just feels more isolated the more they don't seem to understand or disregard something he thinks they know and just don't care about. (Or just other angles that would be so much to list-)

XD Warp will forever be the pranker menace- but yeah uh that would /not/ have been a good idea at all. It rlly shows how they still don't get why how they responded to Stars voice in the beginning wasn't right. And TC is just /so/ tired-- they all got their ways, whether it healthy or not fr

Lmaoooo and yeah omg dude the kids just being like "man that guy sounds like an aft!" And Star is like " Yeeessssss, *cue maniacal laughter* VALIDATION!" XD

Speaking of coping mechanisms :D ✨revenge✨🔫

*insert very real [not click bait] gif of Arcane splitting TFOne Sentinel style--*

I just had a huge realisation yesterday and I wanted to share this after going through some pretty horrible stuff over the weekend: Something I've always asked myself ever since getting into G1 Transformers was "why do you like Starscream so much even though he's a narcissistic bully? Why are you, someone who is a victim of narcissistic abuse, taking comfort in a narcissistic character?" Well, I think I finally figured it out. Because Starscream is also a victim of that very same abuse. I mean, he's beaten, called names, bullied, unappreciated, abused, and put through the wringer…and he internalised all that abuse because he knew no other way. He had no one to turn to, and the few bots who did support him, he treated like dirt. Once he had that freedom and power, he abused it and became the very thing that abused him. I have no doubt he was always self-centred, selfish, had a huge ego, etc. before all that but honestly? I think Megatron's abuse caused him to turn out the way he did. I could have turned out that way and it's a little scary, some of the parallels I'm drawing with him.

@ichbinmeltdown wrote a great analysis on Starscream that I want to share here:

"Megatron was abusive as hell to Starscream. He treated him horribly, and I legitimately almost cried a few times watching it. There's an episode called Starscream's Brigade that introduces the Combaticons, and I think that perfectly demonstrates the cycle of abuse. The entire world is against Starscream at pretty much every turn throughout the series, but none more so than Megatron. Every word out of his speech synthesizer to Starscream is to berate him, and he's constantly throwing him around, beating him, even ripping out his speech synthesizer in a scene from a previous episode (Hoist Goes Hollywood, IIRC). His own teammates don't like him, and even his brothers- Skywarp and Thundercracker, going off of the idea they're brothers- just... allow Megatron to abuse him. (Not to get into headcanons here, but I personally believe that Megatron's abuse fractured the Elite Trine's family dynamic. They are still brothers and love each other, but they're all too afraid of Megatron to really... stand up for each other as they did in the past.) And Starscream seemed to just snap in this episode. He treated the Combaticons poorly, and even when teaming up with Shockwave, he subjected him to a lot of the same ridicule and torment that Megatron put him through. He failed to realize Shockwave was the one of the only bots who would give him a chance- and unfortunately lashed out at him, which ruined his chances of Shockwave ever being a true friend and ally to him. Once Starscream had finally gotten a taste of power and not being under another bot's boot, he too became the very thing that he lived in fear of. And that really is how the cycle goes- when you're finally free from abuse, it can be tempting to overcompensate and take back all the power you were robbed of, at any cost whatsoever. Starscream, like D16 in Transformers One, snapped up this opportunity."

And the sad thing is, I've seen this in real life and I've internalised some of the abuse I've dealt with too. I'm not proud of it. Like the Seeker Trine, my own family dynamic has been fractured by similar abuse. I know there's traces of narcissism in my behaviour too, and I'm NOT proud of it. Maybe this is why I can forgive Starscream for being a narc, because I can see a little bit of my own personality/attitude/behaviour in him. Maybe it's because I know where it came from, I get why he acts that way and it's not just random and out of the blue. Maybe it's because--and I know this is a bold statement--I don't think he would do some of the stuff my own family did to me (blah blah blah he's a fictional character).

I didn't mean for this to turn into a long rant, so

TLDR: I finally figured out that part of the reason I love and relate to Starscream so much despite him internalising some of the abuse I went through, is because he was the victim of that same abuse.