#Make A Scene

[singingcicadas]

idw Ratchet is someone who follows orders and respects authority. He might follow his conscience in spur-of-the-moment decisions that allows him the leeway/initiative to act on his own (e.g. setting up clinic on Dead End, breaking cover to save Verity and Hunter, going to look for Drift, voting against Rodimus in mtmte) but he's never openly defied the orders of an acting leader. Regardless if he doesn't agree with said order and thinks it's stupid. Or wrong.

Even when Ratchet thinks Rodimus' treatment of Drift is unfair, he never speaks up against Rodimus during the actual issue of the exile verdict. He only offers Drift silent support by helping him up on the way out, because Rodimus is the captain and you don't argue with the captain. Yes he thinks Rodimus is a crap captain and acts condesending towards him all the time but when it comes to rank and orders there's no ambiguity.

Voting against Rodimus in the crisis act is a legitimate expression of disapproval, made anonymously in private. He doesn't care about Rodimus knowing his vote, but in public it stays anonymous. He does tell Rodimus off about what he did to Drift, but again, he makes sure it's a private one-on-one appointment. He also doesn't make Rodimus formally revoke Drift's exile or sanction his search, he resigns his position as CMO and quietly leaves to look for Drift himself as a personal commitment.

Common stereotype of what Ratchet is not:

Medic ethics and commitment to patients comes first, factions be damned. I don't care if he's a Decepticon, he's my patient.

No he's not actually like that? When Megatron's in custody he's all lets dissect him awwwww why can't we dissect him why does mass murderers still get rights that's so stupid can't I just torture him a little?

Like he spent the whole war patching up Decepticon-inflicted wounds and witnessing Decepticon-inflicted deaths. He's not a saint. He has as much good reason to hate Megatron and his faction as any other Autobot.

In fact he was pretty eager to ask Optimus about what he's going to decide as Megatron's punishment after he heard about Optimus frying Megatron on the voltage harness.

Optimus has his heart on clemency. Ratchet's the one hoping for execution or something equally nasty. Even though their opinions doesn't line up, Ratchet's still 100% supportive of Optimus' decision.

He repairs Megatron only because of Bumblebee's orders, and makes his unwillingness known.

Later in mtmte Ratchet does save Megatron's life of his own volition and repairs him again, but that's after he's lived with Megatron on the same ship for six months (again something that he considers to be a colossally bad idea but is forced to live with because of orders) and got to know him as a person. Not because of bleeding heart syndrome.

Also Ratchet's not just a grouch all the time. He can be blunt but also knows when to be respectful as appropriate to the occasion. He reprimands Wheeljack for being disrespectful to Bumblebee because leaders should be treated like leaders.

The guy's been CMO since Nominus Prime, essentially the highest-ranking of his profession on the planet; you can't get to that type of position and hold it through consecutive leaders for millions of years without considerable interpersonal skills and knowledge of social protocol.

Prowl does have Ratchet on his little blacklist but the stuff on there really just refers to Ratchet saving Verity and Hunter back in Infilitration. I read it as more of a testament to Prowl's pettiness than Ratchet actually being a problem.

[kimmibear]

[defensive-tactics]

Don't let embarrassment or fear of making a scene put you in danger.

[marthawrites]

It's that time again 😁 Here's what I read during May! Thoughts below the cut!

Lone Women: This book was so refreshingly different! Wow! Set in 1915, the story follows our main character, Adelaide Henry, as she moves to Montana to try to make a fresh start (all by herself) on a homestead. She has a trunk with her the whole time and that's where the horror is. This story has monstrous humans, a haunting past, and a brighter future ahead. Historical fiction, women fiction, horror, this story was super interesting and had me hooked throughout!

1984: This is another "classic" book that I never read during middle or high school. It's been on my TBR list forever!! So glad I finally made the time for it. It was extremely creepy, unsettling, and horrific. The end had me both screaming with rage and laying in the rain crying. AGH. It's so hard to believe this was wrote in 1949! It hits a little too close to home on multiple occasions and... wow. Just, holy shit. Incredibly disturbing

Make A Scene: I keep an eye on the audible daily deals and bought this one for $1. It was a cute and entertaining read! It wasn't anything deep, or crazy, or thought provoking haha, but it was entertaining and sometimes I just love those kinds of stories so much!

The Serpent and the Wings of Night: Book one of the "Crown of Nyaxia" series. A mouthful of a title, I know! But dudes hooooly shit!!! I am OBSESSED with this book! I loved it so so so much and have NO idea why it doesn't get talked about as much as other books. I love the lore. It has brutal vampires, badass women, terrifying Goddess' (Nyaxia? Helloooo she's so scary and awesome!), and an epic story of all of them combined. HIGHLY recommend! Oraya is such a great character with layers of complexity, and Raihn is AHHH, I love him

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King: This is the second part of the "Crown of Nyaxia". I loved it as much as the first! Book 3 when!?! I can't flippin wait to read more!

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror: This is a standalone book in the Crown of Nyaxia universe. With how much I loved the other two I knew I'd like this one also. I ate it up just as quickly! Again, there's brutal vampires, badass women, and you learn more lore about different parts of the world, Goddess', and characters. I'm invested in this world and will be reading any and everything the author puts out for it!!

-

Overall it was a great month of books and I recommend all of these!!

I've officially read 24 books so far this year and for me that's AWESOME. Loving it!

[spookyxsam]

💀🎃👻

[princessofbookaholics]

Romance Readathon Wrap Up

Let's wrap up the romances I read this month:

To Hate Adam Connor by Ella Maise

Prompt: pastel cover

Rating: 4/5 stars

a single-dad celebrity romance with a dash of enemies to lovers was a great time 📷

Wrecked by Lauren Asher

Prompt: part of a series, non-illustrated cover

Rating: 4/5 stars

a f1 racer who's attracted to his PR manager is a disaster waiting to happen and i had fun reading about it 🏎️

Make a Scene by Mimi Grace

Prompt: bipoc author, favorite trope (fake dating)

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

this had the fake dating for attending a wedding romance trope which i enjoyed so much 🥖

Hail Mary by Kandi Steiner

Prompt: part of a series, non-illustrated cover

Rating: 5/5 stars

a sports romance with a second chance trope that i loved so much 🏈

The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa

Prompt: pastel cover, bipoc author, last year's tbr

Rating: 4/5 stars

another fake dating romance with fun characters and descriptions of food that i wanna try one day 🇧🇷

In My Dreams by Elin Annalise

Prompt: lgbtq+ rep

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

a short and sweet romance with a lot discussion on allo-ace relationships which i appreciated (tw: acephobia) ♠️

Total Pages Read: 2284 🥳

Thank you for showing so much love to this readathon! I'm so grateful for all the lovely people who participated and posted about this! Looking forward to hosting it again next year! 💗

[shysheeperz]

[so-many-ocs]

[on the verge of having a complete breakdown] i need to make some kind of list or perhaps sort things into categories

[arcanegifs]

ARCANE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 2x03 - “Finally Got The Name Right”

[jesncin]

"Who Is Superman? A Private Interview with Lois Lane" a fancomic about hope and connection. I've had this story in mind for so long and I'm very excited to be able to share it at last. Thank you for reading, and happy Lunar New Year!

[pencildragons]

bro i LOVE indigenous fusion music i love it when indigenous people take traditional practices and language and apply them in new cool ways i love the slow decay and decolonisation of the modern music industry

[mychemicalbrromance]

Guys ive been reading peak

[pidgydraws]

🩸 And Nothing Else Matters 🩸

part 2 - part 3

[gossippool]

*steeples hands under my chin like i'm sherlock* so you see,

[clarisimart]

be careful what you wish for, Fordsy

commission info here

[princessofbookaholics]

currently reading 💕