Thinking about TFP Smokescreen and Bumblebee and how they're both child soldiers in different ways because I'm normal.
Smokescreen was funneled into boot camp and then sent to the most prestigious library in all of Cybertron. He was surrounded by thousands of years of Cybertronian history, most likely burying himself in books during his mission because of how bored he got, inspecting a history long forgotten by most of their species. He was forced to watch, forced to nothing, as things became more and more dire on his planet until he took a last stand. But, even then, he wasn't allowed to go down in a blaze of glory and was instead knocked out and captured. Smokescreen was sheltered, and, since he never saw the front lines until Earth, he was 'privileged' enough not to see the horrors of war. However, this means he was never taught how to work with others, and was extremely independent and isolated (he might've made friends at boot camp, but then he was sent away to Iacon and could only talk to Alpha Trion), and the others in Team Prime immediately expected him to be good at something he wasn't taught have. He was immediately thrust into the realities of war, working with people with vastly different world views than his, and he had to adapt quickly. This forced him to change from being very independent (almost selfish, in a way) to barely trusting his own judgement and relying heavily on others making decisions for him (basically, the pendulum swung from one side all the way to the other, which is very interesting).
There's also the aspect of Smokescreen's agency being taken from him by destiny/fate/the plot; he wasn't allowed to fight because he was sent to Iacon, Alpha Trion knocked him out before he could fight and made him the fourth omega key's holder, he randomly ended up on Earth, he was almost chosen to be a Prime even when he obviously didn't want to be/was overwhelmed by the prospect of it, ect ect. It's only when he choses to use the Forge to heal Optimus (aka going against the wishes of his leader, kind of gaining back that independence) that he has some real agency, that he gets to decide what he wants, and it changes his story. He isn't aware of this, of the war forcefully shaping his future and himself. Just like a soldier, Smokescreen isn't allowed to have much of his own agency due to the war and its consequences; he's forced into the box of a soldier, just like everyone else. He truly is Destiny's Child.
Now, the same can be said about Bumblebee, but there's a catch; unlike Smokescreen, Bumblebee was immediately thrust into the war. In the prequel books, I'm pretty sure he started out by being a medical assistant, carrying important medical supplies throughout the Autobot army. He was then permanently disabled by Megatron when his voice box was destroyed, but he was forced to keep going do to the war. He was possessed (once by Megatron in the show, another time by the Quintessons in the books), disabled again (operation bumblebee), literally killed (the s3 finale), and has to watch as others around him die in the war. He's killed people (Megatron, Skyquake, a shitload of Vehicons) and never bats an eye because he's used to it. He sacrifices every single part of himself because he wants to be useful and the only way he thinks he's useful is if he's a good soldier, one that never questions his cause or what he's doing. He follows commands, he does his best, and if his best isn't good enough, guilt eats away at him. He thinks he has no agency, no real meaning, outside of being a soldier. We quite literally see this when he continuously puts himself in danger so he can be useful; he dies because of it.
But there's more to this; there was an article by MTV where Alex Irvine shared a scrapped chapter from the Exodus books about what happened at Tyger Pax, but the article was deleted and I can't find it on the wayback machine - I saved it a while ago on a google doc if you want to read through it yourself. This, of course, goes through how Bumblebee lost his voice; before it happened, we see how Bumblebee acts, which is pretty similar to TFA Bumblebee imo. He's cocky, childish, constantly talking, and he even speaks out against orders. But the most interesting part about this article? It shows a different story of what happened to Bumblebee than TFP's depiction of it.
The Tyger Pax mission happened because they needed to send the Allspark off before the Decepticons could get their hands on it. Optimus, Arcee and Jazz were in the Well of Allsparks sending it off while the wreckers (including Bumblebee) kept the Decepticons at bay. In the show, we're told (by Ratchet to Raf) that Bumblebee was interrogated by Megatron and, because he didn't give him any information, Megatron destroyed his voice box. However, in the article, there was no interrogation; after the Allspark is sent off, Megatron is left standing there until he hears Bumblebee, laughing at him. And, once he's got Megatron's attention, Bumblebee proceeds to make fun of him to his face, even though Bumblebee was injured due to a missile from Starscream and, therefore, couldn't defend himself. Megatron takes this chance and destroys his voice box as punishment. Megatron then keeps him alive for the others to find.
So, why are these two stories different? Well, I'm fairly certain it's because Bumblebee lied. The fact that Bumblebee didn't stay quiet was what caused him to lose his voice - of course, Megatron being a megalomaniacal dictator who feeds off of mentally and physically destroying people isn't Bumblebee's problem, but, from his view point, him losing his voice is his fault. This is further enforced by what Megatron says after it happens: "Let that be your story. Tell it how you may." Obviously, it's a jab at how Bumblebee can't talk anymore, but if you look deeper into it? No one was there but the two of them. Bumblebee could tell whatever story he wanted to, and no one would be there to correct him. So, not wanting to face the ire or pity from the other Autobots (since he thinks this was a his mistake, one he knew better than to make), Bumblebee lied and said it was an interrogation, and that he was the perfect soldier up until the very end. However, Bumblebee knew the truth; he thought that this was all his fault, and this soon became self-hatred only added to his need to be useful, to be cared about. He forced himself to be the perfect soldier because the one time he messed up, he paid for it.
The war has greatly affected both Smokescreen and Bumblebee; one of them was sheltered and isolated, while the other was exposed to the horrors of war. Their agency was stripped from them since birth, and they're both forced to march along with everyone else to be good soldiers. Maybe Bumblebee's jealous of Smokescreen because he never had to be on the front lines of war. Maybe Smokescreen's jealous of Bumblebee because he's a war hero, someone everyone loves, the person who Smokescreen should be. But, deep down, they're both just scared people are barely 18 (based off how they act) and are both trying to live in a hostile environment always trying to kill them.
