Hmm I suppose seeing as a lot has happened since you must've 'misremembered', I'll forgive you seeing as I do actually feel a bit sorry for you being dangled like that
- sincerely, the bestie
Thank you, colourful companion human. I'll keep this post brief, as im currently focusing on not purging my entire fuel tank onto the Humans sofa. Frankly, it would serve her right for dangling me like a freshly caught electro-fish.
Then again... I do not wish to earn the Ire of the nest-master, the Humans carrier. She is far less forgiving of mess than the Human.
I have a years of bitter resentment built up so I have a lot of starscream apologism meta kicking around in my head but I just keep thinking about how messed up tfp was. It was just so messed up. Do you remember how messed up that shit was
Imagine being a young dumb idiot going through some shit watching the aftermath of your favorite fictional faggot getting the snot beaten out of him, like they just have him hooked up to hospital monitors and its idk a joke I guess??? Its just a plot point or whatever. and the narrative is like "yeah well thats what he gets for having a rotten personality and trying to fight back." and then you go online and people are like "sympathizing with this character means you are a dumbass idiot. no matter how bad hes suffered, never forget he is a weak, selfish coward and a terrible bastard unworthy of respect or love"
One of the things that bothers me about tfp starscream meta is it seems like a lot of fans would prefer to talk about him as if he exists in a vacuum separately from the narrative where he is being psychologically and violently physically abused, but you actually can not do that because it affects literally everything about his character including on a metatextual level.
So people see that and go "oh you just want to excuse his behavior" or something, like it isnt a fair criticism to suggest that it might influence the metatext when a story portrays explicit and violent abuse and then dismisses it as something someone can deserve if theyre a bad and unpleasant enough person. And, maybe, just maybe, that might influence a lot of the fandom's attitudes towards this character and the narrative as a whole
...But nah, musta fallen for the ol' starscream sympathy trick again, goddammit
All of this! I swear to *god*, I hate when people say "Oh, he deserves it because he's a treacherous asshole." Well, has it occurred to them that maybe he's one because he's being beaten to within an inch of his life on the daily?
So for context, I'm a newer Transformers fan that started Transformers Prime as my first introduction to the franchise around last month; at the moment, I've just finished Prime, and I'm now moving onto watching Transformers: Animated. My plan afterwards was to watch Earthspark.
...Now I'm at a crisis, though.
For context, week or two prior to finishing Prime, I checked the Transformers SubReddit to see general opinions about the show - from what I saw, it was a decent show that just so happened to aim for a more family-friendly and childish audience.
But when I finished Prime's penultimate episode, I checked the Subreddit again...and now I'm finding out it gets bad during and after Season 2 - and its not even an unpopular opinion either, even people who like Earthspark could agree that beyond Season 1 is when the series plummeted in quality in pretty much...well, everything.
So to those who have finished or are at least almost finished with the series, is Transformers Earthspark STILL worth watching despite the alleged quality drop, or do you suggest another show to watch?
If you are a Starscream fan, *stop at season one*. I will not post spoilers here, I will simply say what they did to his character during Season 2 was *bad*.
reblog this to let all your mutuals know you're a-okay with them sending you memes, tagging you in random starters, replying to your open starters, hopping into your ims to plot, and just poking you and offering interactions at any time!!
If you see a mutual reblog this, consider it an open invitation to poke them! No need to worry about annoying them!! đ
It occurs to me: So much of Starscream's sharpness is the environment he's in. If he ever truly defected, you'd see a much calmer, much more Armada like Starscream, and he wouldn't be OOC. That's just him in an environment where he's allowed to have self regulation without it being called weakness.
AO3 is no longer anti-censorship. They may allow things like ships and rpf of real minors but they have been banning and deleting any Palestine content and anyone who advocates for Palestine. The content is no longer âfully anti censorship.â Although I disagree with the notion that any portrayal of anything is okay in fiction, Iâm not going to argue with you about that because you clearly have your mind made up; please just acknowledge this. Being anti-censorship is inherently political. AO3 is not anti censorship as long as they continue to pick and choose the contents of their platform, and a full and complete defense of the platform without nuance (and containing a currently false argument) is harmful.
the way I knew this was gonna be about Palestine the second I read âAO3 is no longer anti-censorshipâ and I was right đ. anyway I have already talked about this here
AO3 did not remove works advocating for Palestine because these works advocated for Palestine.
AO3 removed works advocating for Palestine because these works violated the siteâs terms of service. something you have to click âI agreeâ on when you first made your AO3 account.
and AO3âs terms of service already stated very clearly in the beginning that only transformative works are allowed on their site.
someone making a post about Palestine on AO3, where the work section of their post isnât fanfic but a political statement, goes against the siteâs terms of service. and so the work is rightfully removed.
someone mentioning donations (or anything that involves money) anywhere on their AO3 goes against the siteâs terms of service. and so the work is rightfully removed.
you cannot use AO3 to ask for donations (or anything that involves money). you cannot use AO3 to make a political statement. you cannot use AO3 like a social media and vent about your day in the work section of your post. if you do any of these things, your content will rightfully get removed.
AO3 is for transformative works/fan-contents only. anything else goes against its rules, and therefore is removed. and no, it is not censorship, it is called âfollowing the rulesâ, something everybody has to have clicked âagreeâ on when they created their AO3 accounts.
another thing Iâd like to mention is that AO3, as a nonprofit organization and pretty much a library, cannot get involved in politics (other than their no censorship stance).
Also this may be tone deaf but surely ao3 is a horrendous website to host a fundraiser on? Famously there's literally no algorithm so there's no way for it to get pushed to people. The solution then is to what- tag the hell out of it? Even then, ao3 encourages you to filter through what you do and don't want to click on so like, going into ao3 with the mindset of wanting to read xyz and all of a sudden abc is under those tags you're VERY likely to skip it. Additionally, the UI isn't very attention grabby like say, tik tok or other platforms used to promote fundraisers.
Tldr this whole situation baffles me because the way ao3 is structured means that things rarely if ever go viral the way that you'd want a fundraiser to
Iâm chronically on tumblr enough to know that falling in love with Haurchefant is a capital M mistake, given the fan art Iâve seen.
⌠but thereâs no way this man is not in love with the WOL. He just spent a whole cut scene raging about how worried he was that I let the Scions test Aether currents on me, then called me stupid and reckless, and then called me brave and inspiring.
I really shouldnât fall in love with him. I know it will end in tears (my own mostly)⌠but Iâve fallen in love with him
Respectfully, that is what proship means. You can be uncomfortable with some things in fiction, you can hate and be disgusted by them. But as long as you donât condone harassing real people over fiction, you are in favor of the proship stance.
Because proship isnât necessarily about âliking taboo thingsâ, itâs about âanti harassment and anti censorshipâ
[M!A] You've heard the whispers, haven't you? About an unexpected illness that has infiltrated the community, infecting both mechanoids and organics. The Mistletoe Virus. And you thought that it wouldn't reach you, didn't you?
You blink once... and suddenly, you've gained a companionâa sprig of mistletoe, with its ice-dusted leaves and snow-white berries, decorated in a bright scarlet ribbon and hovering a tiny distance from your forehelm!
Hastily, you attempt to grab it, swat at it, but... your servo phrases right through it!? You watch in astonishment as the sprig of mistletoe explodes into glimmering digital fragments⌠before they swiftly rearrange themselves back into its original shape.
Until the end of the day 12/25, you will be accompanied by an untouchable, indestructible mistletoe, leaving you open to receive holiday affection (kisses; hugs; nuzzles; gropes; helm bunting; etc.) from allies and enemies alike!
THE RULES:
No Violence! Respect the Mistletoe Or Else
Should you attempt to retaliate with violence, you will be compelled to channel your aggression into more passionate / sensual contact. (e.g. If you attempt to bite during a kiss, you will be compelled to deepen the kiss. If you attempt to punch the other individual, you will be compelled to leisurely touch their frame.)
So, be nice! Or you'll find yourself getting a little naughty.
The Mistletoe Will Not Be Denied
Do you have a retractable mask? It no longer closes now! Do you have a place that you could disappear to and wait this out? Now you've been barred entrance to it! You cannot hide!
When Mistletoes Collide
Should you cross paths with another individual infected with the Mistletoe Virus, you have sixty [60] seconds to approach them on your own.
If you refuse to do so (or you attempt to run away), the mistletoes will become magnetized, and you will be forced to close the distance. You will not be able to separate from each other until you've shown one another some form of affection!
Remember, the Mistletoe Virus...
IS A VIRUS! So, be certain to spread it all around the community, editing it as you see fit! đżđ
sent this reaction image as a response to whatever in the seeker gc, everyone but my mom thought it was absolutely hilarious â¤ď¸ i could hear skywarp dying from across the room
Me: oh, easy! It's a toxic, codependent, fucked-up-but-fairly-equal relationship between two terrible people! That's my whole jam.
Friend: okay so why do you like tfp Megastar?
Me: well...
Look - first off, shipping doesn't mean 'viewing in a romantic light'. It means 'oh my god these guys have an interesting dynamic and so much history. I want them to divorce and never see each other again, and for both of them to heal and grow separately - but I also want Starscream to brutally murder Megatron because that would be cathartic for me, personally'
Tfp Megastar is blatant abuse - flavoured with hints that they Used To Be Something, only their once-noble ideals were warped by the war! Megatron fell back into the cycle of abuse and violence he's been trapped in his whole life - since he was a literal slave! Starscream is his favourite victim.
But because he and Megatron had very different coping mechanisms when facing abuse and brutality, Megatron feels justified in looking down on Starscream for fawning and freezing rather than fighting back.
(hell, a part of Megatron wishes Starscream would fight back because in his mind that would be Growth for his cowardly little lieutenant, even if Megatron would just fucking annihilate him. Meanwhile, Starscream knows he's brutally outmatched, which is why he begs and sobs and pleads because it's literally his only option from his perspective. A survival tactic is a survival tactic is a survival tactic; one is not morally superior to another. But try telling Megatron that, lol)
There were good times but they DO NOT make up for the horrific bad times. But there were still good times, y'know?
Anyway, Starscream continued the abuse cycle to a lesser degree with Knock Out and the drones (and later the Predacons), because he cannot conceive of any other way to be Powerful. He is so fucking insecure and has internalised a lot of the way Megatron talks to him as being true, even if outwardly he projects a narcissistic self-obsessed veneer of confidence.
BUT HE STILL ABUSES OTHERS JUST LIKE MEGATRON WHENEVER HE GETS THE CHANCE! LET'S NOT PRETEND OTHERWISE!!! THAT'S STILL VERY MUCH A THING!
Anyway. Things change for the better! Starscream walks the fuck away because he's sick and tired of being Megatron's punching bag!
It just... doesn't last.
He can't build a life for himself in part because he has 0 support network, but also because he's a self-obsessed neurotic bastard (whether as a survival tactic where he's learnt for so long that it's safest to only care for himself, or because he's just a trashy person, ymmv). He fails at meshing into the Autobots even as a Neutral.
So he goes back to Megatron and begs for another chance.
He gives up on all hopes of being anything but Megatron's lackey for him to smack about as he sees fit - but Megatron also stops hitting him? He seems to realise that treating Starscream that way was just fucking him up???
Of course, this doesn't mean things are miraculously fixed, or that the abusive dynamic is broken. It isn't even the typical 'honeymoon phase' you see in abusive relationships. It's... worse.
Because Starscream is desperate for Megatron's acknowledgement and respect. With every snub from Megatron, he fucks up more in his panicked scrabble to Prove Himself Worthy. Although he proves his competence on occasion, he doesn't get anywhere enough appreciation to fill that BLATANT gaping hole within him that's sooooo desperate to be seen and loved, and still obviously feels very precarious and paranoid in his position within the Decepticons.
But like. Megatron does protect him from Dreadwing. And I suspect Starscream reads a bit too much into that, believing that their Bad Times are behind them and he finally has Megatron's respect.
(Which. No. But from an abuse survivor's standpoint, clinging to scraps to paint a shinier picture of your relationship... hahaha relatable right????)
Anyway - then they reach the final battle.
Megatron fucking dies.
And Starscream is screaming and clawing and trying desperately to reach him - the monster who hurt him more than anyone else, who stood with him in the burning ruins of an Autobot base and smiled at him like he was proud! Starscream has to be physically carried away by an ally to stop him running to Megatron's corpse!
ONLY WHOOPS, SPOKE TO SOON.
MEGATRON IS REVIVED BY THE ROBOT DEVIL. After which he... basically treats Starscream like he's entirely inconsequential. They defeat the robot devil, and Megs gives some shitty speech about Losing His Taste For Tyranny - but hardly fucking looks at Starscream, the guy who was literally shaped by that tyranny, before jetting off to space to live Happily Ever After
Leaving Starscream. Fuming. Furious.
He flies off alone to continue the Decepticon legacy - because how could Megatron walk away after everything? After everything he's done to their species? To their world? To Starscream?
Only he's not as alone as he thought.
Starscream finds himself facing three vengeful Predacons, who he spent the earlier season treating like shit in a direct parallel of how Megatron treated him. And they tear him apart while he screams and sobs and begs to be spared. Just like he used to beg Megatron.
Sooooo yeahhhhh all of this has been living rent-free in my head since I was like, 13 lol
This take hurts my soul so much because dammit this explains so much about RID. He reformatted to be stronger because he wanted to be able to take down his abuser and actually have a chance at it. So when Bumblebee mocks him it's just. . .bringing back all of those old emotions of being smaall and powerless all over again. So when he finally gets the minicons and discovers he can't handle that level of power, and he fails., . .he just shuts down.
And it hurts me to see. Because despite the collateral damage you want him to succeed. You want him to free himself from the cycle the only way he knows how, and when he fails you grieve for him.
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