i don’t know if it’s intentional but i’ve always liked how post-upgrade both optimus and starscream’s colorations reflected each other more closely: both lose a lot of the red in their designs which goes to their face instead (dark red optics, pale red face), they share the same overwhelming blue that replaces a huge portion of their original color scheme, similar dark blue/purple (grey?) accents for their shoulders and arms, etc.
it’s kind of a contrast to everyone else’s, most of whom get color-upgrades that involve a lot of red and are still colorful, if a little saturated. optimus and starscream, however, get mostly dark designs; their color palettes are the exact same with the exception of the variation of yellow in their yellow accents. even more interesting i think is armada’s general playing with the color of the characters’ optics, in this case giving optimus his dark red optics and starscream her white optics. optimus trades his yellow optics for a stern, more threatening red; starscream trades her yellow optics for a soft, more gentle white.
it feels like starscream’s not only emotional reflection of her preference for optimus expressed in the episodes following up to her death but physical reflection is being portrayed here, having her be closer to optimus in design (sacrificing the reds from galvatron’s design to be closer to optimus’ blues). in fact, he’s the one to bring their designs even closer, obtaining his color upgrade after her death. it’s as if the impact of her death is reflected in him physically as well, obtaining her color scheme.
going back to their optics, i think they reflect this too. starscream opens up because of optimus, becoming enamored by his leadership and, as megatron tells her, she became “soft” after being with the autobots; her optics are now softer, more emotional. optimus witnesses who starscream is, and what she does for him despite their originally clashing ideals, and her sacrifice opens his eyes; his optics are now harsher, more stern.
drawing optimus again... also sketching out ideas for a ratchet design, she is the older and experienced butch at your workplace whose handshake will 👏 leave 👏 you 👏 in 👏 the 👏 ER.
This bullet almost killed me! During clashes and exchanges of fire by the army, this is exactly what happens here at every moment. We do not know what the correct direction is or what path we should take. We do not know what the future holds for us. This bullet passed by my side at a distance of not one meter! It almost separated my life from my death, so I hope you will help me so that my family and I can escape genocide. When you donate, you give us a chance to survive and search for a safe life outside the war zone... Thank you for your valuable time ❤️ ..