Spoiler: exRID 12-15 Reading All Hail Megatron right before Megatron shows up in exRID is super painful, it turns out. No wonder Starscream's reaction to Megatron smiling and moving is to freak out and try to bolt. And then Megatron is all "oh Starscream, I had such HOPES that you'd lead the Decepticons" (even though every time Starscream tried to do that, Megatron reacted with violence and rage) and Starscream quietly says to himself that he would have led the Decepticons, he really would have... </3 I have sad Starscream feelings and I'd like to register a complaint. (I also have sad Megatron feelings, but I've had those since reading MTMTE.) eta: also, Megatron asking Bee if he broke Bee's cliche inhibitor along with his face made me choke on my drink.
Oh my god, I know, right? Their whole dynamic is so ouch :( I have some serious emotions about Starscream that I really need to write out, but it's all such a painful mess that untangling it enough to figure out what I even want to write is seriously difficult. But also I'm so proud of him for still kicking even after all the times he's been brutally smacked down.
i can't believe how much i love starscream now..... this isn't fair. this is not what i signed on for. no one told me i was putting myself in danger of Starscream Feelings. there was no warning on the package
I came into this smugly reassuring myself that I wouldn't be one of those people who get too invested in Starscream and yet, here I am.
Spoiler: exRID 16 liveblog "Call me a coward again." Oh my god, Ironhide yelling at Prowl until Prowl had an identity again. Prowl slowly losing it was so horrifying and then the literal power of friendship (and yelling) brought it back. This is delightful. "I thought you were my friend." "I was." Starscream, you terrible jerkface. You magnificent bastard. This is not how you friend. That line about opportunism earlier in the issue, holy shit, Chekhov's Giant Robot. AND THEN YOU STEAL HIS SPEECH. Arcee's everything. I mean. What a hot robot. That last shot of Starscream in the crown makes me think of No Church in the Wild. "what's a mob to a king? what's a king to a god? what's a god to a non-believer?"
Well, I'm bored, clearly it's time to get to that reread! I think I was on... Spoiler: mtmte 14 I don't know if I remember this cover because I already liveblogged it, or because it just stuck in my head, but I'm gonna start here because Domey is always great. I realize it's probably Translation Convention working again, but I'm a little disappointed the background signs are in English :T give me the fantasy languages, dammit! ...hhhhhmmmm. I was talking about Partial Empurata wrt Shockwave still having his hands (well, a hand and an armcannon) a few days ago, and Three-of-Twelve just makes me more curious. Selective empurata'ing based on social status? Whirl obviously loses his hands because they were an essential part of his ""improper""" job, but there are other random empuratees we see who also have claws instead of hands. And then there's Shockwave and Three-of-Twelve, who have empurata faces but usable hand(s). Hmmmhmhm. OOoh, and further data about Cybertronian maturation processes! Context and phrasing makes it seem like "the Nurturing" is the process of a spark growing its protoform shell. Not much to go on, but it's something! [rolls around in worldbuilding] Doooomeeeey you prideful motherfucker. You just had to lecture him on all the specific ways he's held captive, didn't you? orz I kinda wanna see Domey's altmode, he looks like he'd be a pretty car. Everyone Is Megatron's Victim is just gonna be a running theme until he gets onboard isn't it. ughughugh this is gonna be painful to read through. Dooomeeeeeey you're a magnificent bastard and we all know it but please, please stop showing off. [cringes, waiting for the inevitable] snrrrrrrk the calligraphy-swirls on megs's chestplate still get me. bro. why. "Stay conscious, this is important." I don't think that's how this works, Domey. Proud Parents Megs and Shockwave and their darling murderson aaaaaaaand there we go. Domey, you really aren't good at interrogations. Go back to playing with science. Okay I'm pretty sure I reread this recently but oh well, Domey is always good. Except when he's being a dumb shit, but compared to Prowl he's always good. "His name's Rewind." "Whatever." ~Sooomeooone's jeeealousss~ "You want me to interface with Overlord..." [ugly snorting bc fandom slang] PROWL STOP TRYING TO CONVINCE YOUR EX TO RELAPSE YOU FUCKING DOUCHEBAD ...that was supposed to be "douchebag" but I think I'll keep that typo Goooddammit Domey. I mean. Prowl absolutely deserves a punch to the face, but D8 he's not worth relapsing over! I'm sorry baby D8 "Why is there a giant naked human in your workshop? And who'd have thought I'd have to ask you that twice in one lifetime?" I still wanna know the story behind the first time "You definitely think they need clothes...?" Brainstorm, do you have an organic kink you're not telling us about Did Brainstorm intentionally bolt a replica of Perceptor's eye-targeting-thing to his face. You giant dork oh my god I still really like the framing of this conversation, artist does a good job expressing emotion when only one of the characters involved actually has a human-reading face. (Also, yeah, Drift, asking CD about this while Rewind is possibly dying was. Maybe not the best move, kiddo.) "The last few months haven't been easy for me either, you know." you say, to the guy whose conjunx is DYING IN THE FUCKING MEDBAY. Drift. Dear fucking Primus. You are not good at this. "...which explains why you burst into my habsuite last month, in the middle of Rewind's story about overload..." [CACKLING] I realize from context "overload"'s probably supposed to be a name, but. This font has no capitalization and I can dream okay. Give me the awkward story of Drift bursting in on Rewind telling CD in excruciating detail how he wants to be fragged tonight. [Zim voice:] Give it to meeee! Overlord has The Ray Smirk in this particular panel and it's bothering me :T oh NOW there's alien lettering! When we only see vague reflections on Chromedome's body and can't ACTUALLY FUCKING READ IT! [grump grump] I realize it's supposed to mirror his actual physical pose as they shift back into physical reality, but. The way that panel's framed absolutely looks like Overlord's thrusting his crotch at Domey. Why this. [Purple Tyrant blaring in the distance] ROBO GHB IS IN THE HOUSE!
Shockwave actually does have the claw hands for a while, I think he gets the hand-and-gun combo from Megatron shortly before murdering the Senate on the grounds of "Well, you don't really need to pretend to care what they think anymore" and also so he can Science better. Whirl could totally get his claws replaced with working hands, maybe not as good as what he had but good hands, there's nothing stopping him from doing it except himself. He doesn't.
Spoiler Yeah, Shockwave's hand is from Megatron. The entire Functionist Council has the mono-eye+hands deal. I think the mono-eye for them is some form of performative asceticism combined with a "we are above your foolish emotional/expressive needs" type thing. Note that the mono-eye doesn't seem to interfere with anyone actually doing their jobs, only with expressiveness; the hands, however, make a big difference. See, for instance, Whirl's "I want my hands," but only complaining about his mono-eye when using the targeting visor made for people with 100% more eyes.
WELL, trying to wait for natural light only netted me a thunderstormy afternoon, plus these spotlights are right in the middle of the hardcover, so getting the pages to lie even semi-flat was... fun. Photographing these issues was an adventure :P For placement purposes, spotlight: trailcutter and spotlight: hoist take place concurrently, between MTMTE #5 and #6. Also also also please, please yell about any newfound emotions about these characters, because I am feeling all sorts of emotions over these precious children. (and apologies in advance, this is going to take six posts total to get it on here) Spoiler: Spotlight: Trailcutter 1/3
Spoiler: rambles about spotlights WHIRL (also "I knew a guy named Scalp" "WHAT'D HE TURN INTO A GIANT HEAD" "hey that's a real name!" "why'd he have it" "because he turned into a giant head" OH MY GOD YOU INFANTS) haha interface with the door panel haha (trailcutter you are a DARLING and i'm doubly sad that you're dead now) oh my god swerve. ALSO SUNSTREAKER AND BOB ARE PRECIOUS?? "matter of time. decepticons are obsessed with combiners" OH HOW THE LATER exRID ISSUES PROVE THIS RIGHT SWERVE BABY YOU HAVE A REAL ISSUE WITH LETTING YOURSELF DIE QUIETLY WITH NO ONE AROUND BBY NO aw hoist sweetheart WOW HURTY HEART FEELINGS NOW
