Currently obsessed with whatever these two had going on in the same sense of morbid fascination that one has watching a burning building. They're fun to think about and I put more effort into this shitpost than I originally intended because I liked how it was turning out 😔
As I'm actually fully reading through the IDW1 Wreckers saga for the first time, it's wild to me how many folks woobify Mesothulas/Tarantulas while vilifying Prowl. Like "aw, Tarantulas was such a father and wanted Prowl to love him! But Prowl is mean and a terrible father!"
No.
Prowl complimented the guy and Mesothulas tripped over himself to invent whatever weapon would help him. There's no real indication that Prowl did anything more than support his work and gave him some compliments. Tarantulas's ravings are unreliable as he was entirely obsessed with Prowl and that kind of person isn't likely to tell (or perhaps even realize) the truth.
Beforehand, I thought Mesothulas created the Noisemaze in complete secrecy before revealing the finished product to Prowl. That is actually not what happened at all. Prowl knew about the concept and told Mesothulas not to make it. Then he went and made it anyway. Gasp and surprise that Prowl, in the middle of an ethical crisis, shoves the guy into the horrible torture chamber of his own design.
Also... At least Prowl was committing atrocities for a cause. Mesothulas was entirely non-aligned. He committed atrocities because he wanted to impress Prowl.
god we do make a lot of jokes about tarantulas bc he’s a silly little goofy guy but his “i can’t be apart from—!” line as he’s thrown into the noisemaze and away from ostaros— his last cries not a plea to be spared the million years of relentless mental torture, but to be spared the pain of separation from his son…