#motorbolt

I was kind of disappointed when the main cast barely reacted to being back at Cybertron, to be honest. 😭 Imagine that you've been fighting for your homeland for centuries, watching it fall apart bit by bit, and then you get stuck in a completely alien planet for a very long time with no way of knowing what's going on back home... One would think that when you finally manage to get back, you would be very emotional about it.

But the characters barely react at all? There's no sadness in the sight of a now-fallen Praxus or worry for the well-being of those that were left behind. They are just back at Cybertron and that's it. We even have one of the Terrans say "This place sucks." like hello? 😭😭😭I understand they are children and children have no filter sometimes, but the lack of a response or offense taken by Megatron or Bumblebee was very telling for me that the emotional weight of the entire scene was not taken into account at all. It honestly made me really, really sad.

((Edit: Rewatching now, Bumblebee does say "I can't believe what's left of my home." later into the episode. But that is not enough for me I fear... Give me the weight, the despair!))

BUT ANYWAY 💥 I would've loved to see the characters react with terror and sorrow at the sight of a Cybertron in ruins. They knew things were most likely not going to be okay with the loss of both Faction leaders and the Allspark, but seeing it for themselves is still crushing. Their home is just thoroughly destroyed, and they don't even know if they can gather together the resources to fix it at all.

Additionally, I like to imagine that those who were left behind on Cybertron managed to survive by working together. ((I understand why more characters weren't shown in the last season of Earthspark since budget was an issue, but at least a mention of more others would be interesting to me.))

In the AU, I was thinking that the Aerialbots were left in charge of the remaining Autobots. Their combined power as Superion and Silverbolt's experience with leadership makes them the perfect candidates. Similarly, Constructicons are also big names on the remaining Decepticons' side.

When the Allspark gets lost and the Faction leaders are stuck on Earth, the battle on Cybertron would end pretty quickly with the remaining fighters retreating. Both sides would try to fend for themselves and survive on their own, until Silverbolt proposes the idea of a truce for the survival of everyone. So, when the Earth team comes back to Cybertron, most of the Decepticons and Autobots are working together to survive. It is tough times though. Not everything can be transformed into Energon, and mining without proper fuel is extremely hard.

((This is where I imagine some Cons and Bots willingly follow Liege Maximo. Their desperation is too great to care about any ulterior motives he might have.))

Going back in time to the war a bit to explain Motormaster's thoughts on Cybertron: When it comes to Motormaster, I always love thinking about how the purpose of her creation would clash with a now-spite-ridden Megatron's views... Motormaster was created to obey Megatron, and Megatron's goals started off as creating a peaceful Cybertron where everyone is equal and the land prospers. It all makes perfect sense to her to want these things, and she finds it easy to fight for such a great cause. But then Megatron's behaviour becomes more hostile, more erratic. He seems to slowly let anger control his actions more and more until the Decepticons are flattening cities and destroying Cybertron, all under the guise of sacrifices made for a greater cause. This is where Motormaster and Megatron start to clash and have regular arguments. Motormaster was born into this war and she believed her purpose was to help end it and save as much of their homeland as possible, but here she is being asked to destroy whatever is left of it. It is conflicting and confusing. For Megatron though, her feelings on this are infuriating.

Motormaster's thoughts and words on the situation reminds Megatron of what he started off as. She is a reminder of what he failed to stay as and a reminder of how he lost his way to anger and spite. Which, unfortunately, makes him angrier. Megatron's desperation for Motormaster to just go away and stop questioning these things is the main reason the Stunticons ended up being as unstable as they were.

Coming back to the present day: Motormaster's dedication and love for her homeland stays strong. It was shattering for her to leave Cybertron to pursue Breakdown's trail, as she felt like she was betraying Cybertron by not sticking with it in its last moments. Of course, Breakdown's safety was more important, but the sadness was still there.

After all the events on Earth conclude, learning that a spacebridge has opened up would be an immensely exciting news for the Stunticons! One of the very few moments where Motormaster smiles wide. Earth has been welcoming and an opportunity for healing, but it was not their actual home. So, learning that they can finally see Cybertron again is wonderful news! A lot of high frequency signals and loud celebrating shared among the gestalt!

Though, it also comes with an equal amount of anxiety. After all, they know the state of Cybertron will not be pretty. And to add onto that, whoever is left back on Cybertron, Con or Bot, will not be happy to see them. Nobody is aware of the development the gestalt has gone through and the amends that they've made between each other. For those back on Cybertron, the Stunticons are still labeled as "the unstable ones", and they will most likely be treated as such. But the fact that they can finally help their home again, even just a little bit, is enough determination for the Stunticons to look past these facts.

Upon entering the spacebridge, the sight of Cybertron would be a mix of emotions of dread and sadness, and comfort. Such a good feeling to be back, but oh how the beauty is lost beneath all the rubble and dust.

I think the Terrans would be disappointed in the sight. They imagined Cybertron as such a mighty place in their heads, despite knowing it was a constant warzone, that seeing it like this now is such a letdown for them. I like to imagine the Stunticons pointing at random places and talking about their memories... Stuff like "There was a huge bridge there, you remember?" or "This entire area used to be a garden." and maybe "Ironhide drop-kicked me into that wall over there one time." The Terrans would listen to every story with such interest and then share the sadness of not seeing Cybertron in its glory days.

Motormaster would be more silent, though. She is not one to talk about her feelings. Especially since she still doesn't think she managed to make up for everything she had done to the Stunticons back in the day. She feels like it is not her place to open up about her sadness. She just lets the rest of the gestalt mourn the land in their own way and not interfere with it.

The reminiscing ends when a scout team from the ones left on Cybertron finds the Earth team, including the Stunticons. Optimus and Elita do most of the talking while Motormaster stands behind. She is tense for the rest of the time there as she is focused on shielding the Stunticons from any comments that may be made towards them. Or perhaps from an attempt at hurting them.

Even when the Earth team is led to where the Cybertron population now resides, Motormaster is still on high alert. Others would give her and the Stunticons a lot of looks since... I mean, what are they even doing here? "Are we really letting them into whatever is left of our cities and risk them wrecking havoc?" Motormaster can just hear them think such things.

All the stress and withheld anger would ease out of her the moment someone very familiar enters the scene though. Silverbolt would be such a welcoming sight for her. ((I've thought about them meeting up and talking about their views way back when they were first created. So Silverbolt is still a positive figure in Motormaster's head.)) She does feel a twinge of anxiety about Silverbolt's reaction though. She is not sure if Silverbolt will be easy on the Stunticons after how many battles they've went through and how sour their separation was.

To her joy, Silverbolt is thrilled to see her and her Stunticons! Motormaster can tell that she is approaching them very warily, and so she returns her smile and shakes her hand. It is a shock for everyone around them, of course. But they are very content in their peaceful reunion that they do not really mind whoever thinks what.

After everything is done with and the Earth team is up to date with the situation on Cybertron regarding Liege Maximo, Silverbolt would take Motormaster away. Both to chat with her and to ease that stress from her shoulders. Motormaster feels content in leaving with her since she knows that the rest of the Stunticons are with the Aerialbots. No one can harm them while the Aerialbots are there, and they will be forced to converse and bond with the other gestalt in her absence. Win win.

Silverbolt and Motormaster would have a long conversation well into the night. Both of them catching the other up on their lives and apologies being exchanged for their rocky past. In the end, Motormaster would have the opportunity to let her emotions out regarding how she feels about seeing Cybertron in this state. How much she regrets not challenging Megatron enough and how painful it is that she was born into a war that took the opportunity of ever witnessing the beauty of her land from her. Silverbolt would return her feelings, and open up about her struggles on the topic as well. It would be good for Silverbolt too, to finally take a break from all the stress of leading and sit down to chat with someone like-minded. She notices her own shoulders losing their tension just the same as Motormaster's.