Not sure if this counts but a slight spoiler for Skybound's Transformers Issue #25.
This is just a random thought when looking at a panel. I'll write my thought process underneath this.
Decided to catch up on Skybound's Transformers because I was impatient and bought the issues instead of waiting for volume 4. I have so many thoughts runnning through my mind. This rough comic doodle being one of them. The panels of Starscream just laying on the pile of trash and corpses seemed so poignant. And the position he's in made it look like he's resting his head on Astrotrain's shoulder. It most likely wasn't the intention, but that's what it looked like to me. Then when that thought came to mind it just made it seem like the corpses were comforting each other since the other decepticons threw them away. Not sure if Starscream is dead yet, but we'll see. He is a tenacious guy. So thinking about the corpses comforting each other just made me have this comic idea. Made the stars blue since sparks are blue, so it's like Starscream and Astrotrain are talking in the afterlife. But yeah. IDK. Random thoughts. :p
Hmm I know he's gotten a few posts (reminds me to work on the masterlist for skybound and others) but as of late.. no. Soo gimme a hot minute and I'll get some from the horde, may you enjoy and thanks for sending this in!
1. There's gonna be a lot of crazy emotional whiplash from me in this post.
2. Thundercracker's actions supports my headcanon that one of the few things the Seeker trio have in common is their capability to be absolutely petty. Although, silently telling the people who killed and desecrated your sibling's body that they can go fuck themselves is not really petty, and is instead a totally reasonable and justified reaction. It's the kindest thing a person can do in response to that, actually. (The headcanon on the Seeker trio is kinda long, but I hope it'll be a fun read)
3. I'm not just saying this because Starscream is my blorbo, but messing with someone's wheelchair because they "deserved it" shouldn't be made into a running gag. I know the guy blew up a hospital, but this gag is setting up a bad precedent, ya know?
4. My apologies to Trailbreaker for misreading his name and thinking that he doesn't exist.
5. Am I the only one who thinks that Cliffjumper's plan to merge together fragments of multiple people's souls into a single person is lowkey horrifying? This new mf is practically gonna be a spiritual Frankenstein's monster.
6. Megatron counts as a disability rep if he thinks he needs an animal guide to see.
Imma share my headcanon that fabric can only exist on Cybertron is they were imported in from other planets. Since, if a regular ass cloth was made locally on Cybertron, it implies the presence of organic matter on that planet. Plastic fabrics are still made of fossil fuels, and therefore still require organic materials. The holographic cape in the One movie wasn't just because it looks sick as hell, but also because the 13 Primes shouldn't be able get their hands on fabric made with organic fibres.
Ok I just fact-checked myself and it turns out fabrics made of mineral fibers does exist, but usually as construction/machinery material or used as a middle layer in clothing to provide features like thermal insulation and flame resistance. I guess their texture as a fabric isn't too comfortable for direct contact with human skin, but Transformers probably won't have this issue. Imma make a little worldbuilding tip post based on my findings on this topic.
Sorry that I forgot to include the absolute hilarity of Starscream's tunnel vision in the last issue. Bro was so locked in on Soundwave that he completely ignored the Autobots. Like, he sped past Optimus Prime and didn't even spare a glance at the big guy ( ≧∀≦)ノ
ASTROSTRAIN CAN ALSO TURN INTO A TRAIN Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)!!! I didn't know they can swap altforms like that in G1. I wonder if Starscream's squad took a break somewhere along their roadtrip of vengeance just so Astrotrain can scan a train, and they seriously took a moment to discuss on how to set up this bit later.
Lmao look at Mr. Self Awareness over here
Thundercracker really did just go: Bro you were too crazy dawg we had to put you down
Ngl, my mental state is at a state where I wish I'm so unhinged that everyone collectively decides to put me down. Because, to me, getting politely ignored is worse than getting insulted. Like, I need feedback ((ヾ(≧皿≦ﾒ)ﾉ)) What specific aspect of me is too much for you? Do I need to up the ante to be worthy of a reaction? Even calling me disgusting would be better than complete silence (｡-｀へ´-｡) Don't worry, I'm not going to really fight back if I get insulted, I just like receiving notifications as proof that someone out there thought of me, and I'm worth the effort to be hated (///∇///) When everyone around you have treated you like an unwanted creature they're forced to interact with, you just start fantasizing for one of them to despise you enough that you're worth the effort to be killed, ya know? I'm not the kind who likes to ragebait though. Ragebaiting feels like begging, and that is beneath me. I want my killer to hate me as a person, to thoroughly analyse my pure authentic self, and despises it enough to wipe me off from this world (*^▽^)/★*☆♪
One of the reasons I'm so attached to Starscream is because we're both pathetic af. Although, I might be even more pathetic considering that I'm self-aware yet deeply fantasizes about people just saying it to my face. I just can't motivate myself to give a shit about my own well-being without external input, which is why I tend to look up to narcissistic characters, because they can care about themselves. Unfortunately, personalised cruelty is the only form of love I'm willing to give to myself.
Btw yes, the two previous paragraphs are likely a part of a feedback loop that is making things worse me. No, I'm not going to exit it peacefully now that I'm aware of it. I'm going to see if I can up the ante until I destroy myself so spectacularly that no one can ignore me anymore. Look, I desire to be hated because I can no longer see kindness given towards me as anything more than a ploy to shoo me away, so if I stop hating myself, who else is going to care about me?
The "go fuck yourself" look lololololol XD
Inside me are two wolves:
One wolf says that Starscream not having control over his own mobility is narratively ironic considering that his entire thing is trying to take control over his own destiny to the point of controlling & manipulating others
The other wolf says that messing with someone's wheelchair is never funny even if it happens to a guy who once blew up a hospital. Like, Starscream is already the most pathetic mf in the universe, DWJ don't need to reach for such a low hanging fruit and make people pushing away his wheelchair into a running gag.
Aaaaaand the 2nd wolf is winning ngl. I just don't want it to be a precedent that messing with someone's wheelchair is okay if they've done something to deserve it, since what counts as "deserving it" is dangerously subjective.
Lmao Thundercracker really did just go: Screw you guys, I'm going home. Like, bro even ignored the Autobots too
One of my headcanons on the Seeker trio is that they all have the capability to be absolutely petty. However, the way they express their pettiness is different: Starscream prefers to lash out verbally, Skywarp prefers to do so physically with a mean "prank", while Thundercracker prefers to sulk. They can follow up or add to these methods with other means, like Starscream wanting to murder his target too, but they're known for their main methods. If they're all ticked off against a common target, that target will want to hide in an underground bunker for the foreseeable future. This is pre-war though.
After Starscream joined the Decepticons, Skywarp and Thundercracker joined the faction too, but their relationship starts to fall apart. What happened specifically was that when Starscream told his siblings what happened after Genvo died in his arms, Skywarp joined the Decepticons without hesitation and dragged Thundercracker in too. Skywarp may have acted like he totally cool with joining the war and had always wanted some real action in his life, but he actually wanted to keep the trio together so they all could survive the war. Tensions and energon scarcity issues have gotten bad enough that Skywarp got a feeling that if Skywarp and Thundercracker try to survive as a neutral duo during a planet-wide war without Starscream, they would not live for very long.
The three of them balance each other out. Starscream is the nerd who's really good at calculating things and other technical mumbo-jumbo, but he can be stupidly impulsive to gain attention and easily gets tunnel vision. Thundercracker is the creative one with a lot of potential and just as a big of a spark, but he can be so open-minded to the point of naivete, and his tastes can get pretty freaky. Skywarp, is, well he isn't confident that being able to read the room count as a form of intelligence. He can read a person well enough to prank them, and figure out how to catch anyone off guard, but he doesn't feel that these abilities counts as a talent compared to what his siblings have. Maybe he's the dumb brute to balance out this three way scale the trio have.
Plus, regardless of how annoying Starscream can be for the trio, Skywarp also got a bad feeling that he shouldn't leave him alone with Megatron with no one else to look out for him.
Skywarp's hunch was right. Megatron made Starscream into his "2nd-in-command", but never let him actually command anything and has been using Starscream as his personal weapon. The trio is technically still together in the Decepticons, but Starscream has been socially isolated from everyone else, causing him to slowly drift away from his siblings.
Megatron probably sensed Starscream's desire to prove himself and thought that he could direct it into serving him personally. Skywarp got a feeling that this will backfire in his face someday, as Megatron has no idea how big Starscream's ego can get.
Despite all of these, at least Starscream and Skywarp both agreed to not let Thundercracker know what kind of crowd he's truly in. Although, weirdly enough, Thundercracker seems to be cool with the whole "the strong should have power over the weak" thing the Decepticons got going on. Maybe he interpreted it in the nicest way possible as he usually does. Skywarp personally doesn't care about the philosophy Megatron intends to impose over the whole planet, but he does like that it causes the people in the Decepticons to appreciate a funny prank. Starscream seemed to have taken this philosophy to heart though, in a "to preserve his sanity and be able to sleep at night" kind of way. Maybe he's spouting the same nonsense he's telling himself to Thundercracker and the other Decepticons so that he won't be alone in believing that they're the good guys. While Starscream keeps the morale up, Skywarp pulls Thundercracker away from the gruesome stuff that may make him second-guess his allegiance to the Decepticons. Even teleporting him away if Skywarp has to, even if it's really energon-intensive for him carry anything with him on top of a full-body teleport.
With Skywarp and Starscream out of the picture, Thundercracker eventually came to the realisation that his siblings have scammed him about the Decepticons' true level of brutality. Ever since he joined the Decepticons, Thundercracker has seen people get killed right in front of his optics. He himself have snuffed out the sparks of multiple warriors. And yet, he only very recently found out that Commander Shockwave's favourite past time is torturing prisoners of war, and everyone else in his faction is totally fine with committing a massacre on innocent civillians that can't hardly hurt them back. His siblings have treated him like a damn sparkling yet again.
Now that Starscream has lost his patience and practically confessesed the atrocity he and Soundwave committed onto Skywarp, Thundercracker is officially fed up with everyone. They can all go fuck themselves.
(I want to know if I cooked with this headcanon or if I don't know what I'm talking about. I predicted that Skywarp likes pranks and acting non-chalant based on vibes alone before reading his wiki entry in TFWiki, so I want to know if I'm on a streak)
(About the non-chalant thing, I headcanon that it's a mechanism Skywarp developed to balance out Starscream's and Thundercracker's passionate personalities. Skywarp is perfectly capable of freaking tf out himself, but he has a reputation to uphold, and he doesn't want the people he cares about to see him like that)
Ah, I misread "TrailB" as "TrailS" in the last issue. No wonder I couldn't find shit on him on the wiki. Sorry for claiming that Trailbreaker doesn't exist y'all. A quick skim of the top of his bio also implies that he would feel particularly sad if someone thought that he wasn't an existing character due to a misread of his name. I'm sorry dude (^-^;
Aw, don't feel bad Optimus, the two Combiners are super likely to accidentally hit the dam(n) wall anyway and cause it to leak. (Also, it's super funny that Carly and Spike had left their town in Optimus' hands for a day, max, and it got fucking flooded lmaoooo)
I know what Cliffjumper wants to do is supposed to be a good thing for the Autobots on Cybertron, but it's kinda horrifying to create a singular new person using a fragments of multiple dead people's souls. That's like, a spiritual Frankenstein's monster. I know that they all very likely didn't want to die in the first place and prefered to be alive, but as proven by how "well" the Autobots had handled Skywarp, Jetfire, and Ultra Magnus, who each went through some seriously traumatising shit, I don't think the Autobots are equipped to handle the possible existential crisis that this new fella is gonna experience when they are resurrected. God, I hope there will be an existential or an identity crisis of some sort (／▽＼) Preferrably both. The other end of the spectrum, where this mf somehow processes the circumstances of their existence/identity and deadpanly think to themselves "...Ok, what am I supposed to do with this information from this point forward?" will be super funny too. All I want is for this stuff to be acknowledged, ya know?
Is- is Spike homeless now, too? I get that he's supportive of Carly, but- actually, I take that back. It's perfectly fine if Spike's so supportive that he's willing to live a "van life" with Carly. I actually headcanon that to this day, he still holds some mixed difficult feelings towards Optimus and the Autobots in general after what happened to his dad. He probably never stepped foot inside of the Ark after what happened, in fear of ending up in the very same room where his dad died. He's friendly with the Autobots, sure, but he isn't comfortable hanging around them for too long. That is probably why he likes hanging around Beachcomber.
Oh hey Megatron has finally joined the plot. I guess he's the 3rd visually impaired rep in the cast (the 1st being Jetfire, who's completely blind, and the 2nd being Starscream, who has lost one eye). I know that he's using a seeing guide animal literally, but the fact that he thinks he needs one means that he counts as having a vision disability.
This one is part me having a blast, and part me analysing stuff. WaveWave is mentioned.
Sorry for forgetting to use emoticons for these last few posts. I guess I subconsciously thought that they were a hassle, since I spent a long time picking the right ones. However, after reusing them again, choosing the right emoticon is a fun process, although it does feel like a fine art that requires scrutinising sometimes, as even the spaces between characters can convey a different meaning. However, emoticons are still less anxiety-inducing than emojis, since emojis are way less straight-forward in application.
I thought these guys only landed on Earth like at least a couple of weeks ago in the story's timeline ( ﾟ 3ﾟ) I guess them being on Earth before human civilisation began explains why the US government didn't swarm in on the Arc. Although, considering how exploratory humans are, I'm surprised that a couple of teenagers found it first, since the thing is easily visible from the outside. Could there be other forces at play here that kept it hidden? It can't be a formal organisation, since they would've at least put up some sort of barrier between the ship and the rest of the world, for one reason or another.
I guess the Transformer species are really good at keeping their minds pre-occupied to keep themselves sane, as Beachcomber managed to keep his screws tightened after spending millions of years literally sitting on his ass and doing nothing to conserve fuel.
Or maybe his special ability is that he's really, really, fuel efficient, so that's why he can still move around without refueling for such a long time.
Beachcomber specifically said that he's afraid of the Autobots fucking things up on Earth and restarting the war, and he didn't even take the Decepticons into consideration, even though he should've obviously seen them laying in the Arc too. So, the Autobots has their flaws too, huh.
Lmao this Beachcomber guy has some crazy skills if he has been out of action for millions of years and yet be able to tie down someone the size of Astrotrain just after encountering the guy
LMAO THE ARC IS SO LOW ON ENERGON BECAUSE BEACHCOMBER FUCKING LOOTED IT (for decades, possibly) WHILE EVERYONE ELSE WAS ASLEEP (.○＞∇＜○.)
Ayyyy Astrotrain ships WaveWave lol
So is Beachcomber saying that he's going to sit this one out entirely, or is he going to try stopping the war from the outside using pacifistic means, somehow?
Fuck, I don't have it in me to ship WaveWave in this series now ( ´Д｀) imo, if your man doesn't respect your love for your cat, then that relationship will never work out (。･`з･)ﾉ Unless Shockwave's stance on Ravage changes, which I doubt it will, then I just don't have it in me to ship him with Soundwave here. Soundwave is cursed to be a single mom dawg ┐(´д｀)┌ (He counts as a MILF/DILF/secret3rdthing to me <3)
I think this is the most heartbroken Soundwave ever looked like (´；д；｀) He's so horrified when Shockwave was this close to killing his cat for good that all he could do was reach out in frozen horror. Soundwave is definitely more of a silent, frozen horror type than the screaming type.
I never expect to be able to deeply relate to a millions-years-old giant alien robot techdude/explosive expert dawg. Like, you'll totally get this if you're a high achieving student who's aware that you're not really that smart and your grades are mostly supported by lots and lots of exercise books, tuition, and self-studying. Like, I got an A in math not because I'm a genius who understood things quickly, but because I did so many exercise questions that I memorised what to do when dealing with certain types of questions, like how a speedrunner gets good at RNG-heavy games by practicing their run a million times. Usually, I find it hard to really relate to the nerd characters even though I can def be categorised as a nerd myself, because even though I can emphatise with their passion for their field, they are usually written as geniuses who can instantly come up with shit when required for the plot. 99% of the time, their struggles are just them staying up late at night or for several days straight, but that show of effort is more of a bragging right than a struggle, since I pulled off the same kind of stunts myself just for school assignments. This is probably one of the very few cases where "saying" feels more real than "showing". It actually feels really validating to have a fellow nerd just say "that was so difficult, I struggled a lot". I love this take on Wheeljack. (I want to rope him into my cybertron college au now. I'll post about it later)
I don't want to infantilise Thundercracker, but how tf did this sweetheart end up with the Decepticon crowd in the first place (*´･ω･)? Did Starscream rope him in through propaganda? Bro is NOT going to handle it well when he finds out that even though Optimus is the one who injured Skywarp, it was the 'cons who ultimately decided to install Skywarp on the Arc.
Also, how tf did Thundercracker never knew what Shockwave's schtick is despite that amputee having enough influence to be handed the reigns over Cybertron while Megatron is gone? Did the internal propaganda among Decepticons hide their own flaws that well? Wait, if that's true, then it will explain why Beachcomber doesn't believe in the Autobots all that much, since unlike the Decepticons, the Autobots wouldn't maliciously hide their own flaws from their own people.
I know this line is usually used to indicate masculine dom stuff, but Soundwave is still the mom friend of the Decepticons lol (￢∀￢) Like, he just pulled Thundercracker away so he wouldn't witness Shockwave's torture session and then try to comfort him. Soundwave's schtick is that he does his best to take care of the 'cons lmao
I got a strong hunch that when this issue came out, Elita got so much hate. She is telling Optimus that Cliff & Jazz are doomed and saving them is going to be extremely difficult, since she knows full well what Shockwave can do, and yet she was the one who decided those two are goners and rushed Optimus into leaving them behind in the first place. And then she had the gall to express her resentment towards Optimus for abandoning Cybertron. Look, I'm not forgiving her sins or giving her a pass just because she's one of the few female Transformers in this entire franchise and the 2nd one to appear in this comic series, but I'm not wasting energy on honestly hating her. She's a fictional character who's meant to make things interesting ffs. She makes readers challenge their assumption about the pureness of the Autobots (as Beachcomber hinted earlier). She's supposed to contrast Arcee not just in shape design, but also in terms of personality, including gentleness. She will definitely clash with the other Autobots later and/or make things difficult for them, but maybe it'll be refreshing for the Autobots to have their own internal issues too instead of just the 'cons. Look, we need the representation of bitches who are bad not just in a palatable fun edgy way nor one-dimensional evil way if we want female characters to be treated as independent plot movers. It'll be good for the ecosystem, even if not everyone will react kindly to these characters.
Yeah I think I get it now why Soundwave call Shockwave's methods as brutal and simplistic, because even though the guy is very technologically proficient, he prefers straightforward methods. Like, he prefers physical torture over psychological interrogation methods. Draining other planets instead of long-term sustainable energy solutions. Teleporting Cybertron over to Earth despite possibly knowing that the civilisation on Earth has nuclear weapons (if Shockwave did check out the nuclear-powered submarine that Soundwave used to jump start the Nemesis). Although, Beachcomber did call Shockwave a strategist, and Shockwave has took over and run Cybertron even after Megatron's gone. Maybe Shockwave's infamy is propped by the works of other 'cons and circumstantial evidence? Or is Soundwave just talking shit about Shockwave because he doesn't like the amputee?
Here's another series panels to appreciate Shockwave's strong emotional expressions from his expressionless face XD
Bro is so girlboss-coded now that I take a close look on his postures. Slayyyyyyyyyy King (literally~ ﾟ+.ﾟ(*´∀`)bﾟ+.ﾟ)
Wait, Shockwave states that he wants to let Soundwave have a throne on Cybertron too... HOLY SHIT DOES SHOCKWAVE HAS AN OBVIOUS CRUSH ON SOUNDWAVE THAT EVEN ASTROTRAIN PICKED UP, BUT SOUNDWAVE (currently) DOESN'T LIKE HIM BACK?!!!!!!!!!! AGHAJLADSJFNKJADBLJDHGKLJAHSDF I actually would've been so onboard with WaveWave given these circumstances, but my Funny Bone and my principles are whispering to me that it'll be really funny if Soundwave won't like Shockwave back because he tried to kill off his cat lmaooooooooo Like, Soundwave would've honestly considered sitting on a throne next to Shockwave if the guy didn't say that his Recordicons (*cough* kids *cough*) are easily disposable.
Hol' up, did everyone just forgot about Jetfire? I get that he's a side character and no one else in the cast is close to him other than Starscream, but he got turned into a taxi against his will, crashed painfully during his first drive, and then not even the 'cons acknowledged him? Idk if this is intentional and will be addressed in later issues, or if DWJ honestly forgot about him too due to juggling so many characters existing in different locations. Still, I wouldn't wish this kind of disrespect on my worst enemy. If his ass fucking died off-screen, I'm going to scream.
