#feral optimus is my religion

[bluereo]

All I can think about is Optimus and his feral past. Like. Every bot being extremely disgusted thinking about this as drinking blood.

And right there is Optimus fraging Prime standing in the background having flashbacks to his young years. He is perfect example of vampire.

Killing mechanicals, eating them/drinking their energon (im still not sure myself if he would eat whole being or just suck energon out.) , hunting them.

Bots: it's disgusting. I would never drink someone's else energon.

Optimus: Oh yes. I absolutely agree *nervous as hell*

I have a mildly cursed take:

Based on your post about what different bots and cons fear about earth.

Jack realizing that eating meat bothers Rachet and in an attempt to explain it’s not that weird ends up bringing up how scrapplets are made of metal and they still eat metal too. Which does not help but Miko thinks it’s funny that this comparison is now burned into Bulkhead’s mind after he over hears and also he now has a bit more sympathy about the fact that without knowing what a scappet is they tried to keep on as a pet.

Not sure if my brain went and died or what, but I am having trouble trying to figure out this request. I will try and make something reasonable but my apologies if it ends up deviating from the original thought.

The Bots are Vegans

Due to their experiences with other species in the galaxy, the Autobots were familiar with the concept of other creatures consuming things beside energon for food. However for a very long time the bots had no idea what it was that the humans ate. All they knew was that the humans consumed organic material to fuel their fleshy frames.

And so when Agent Fowler walked into base carrying burgers for himself and the kids, the bots collectively dropped what they were doing to stare as the humans ate. The humans, understandably, did not understand at all as they watched the bots watch them eat with horrified expressions.

When asked what was wrong the conversation ended up going something like this-

Jack: Hey, you bots good?

Ratchet: What the frag are you eating!?

Jack: A... burger?

Bulkhead: But that "burger" thing is made of meat! Isn't that what you organics are made out of as well!?

Miko: Well it isn't human meat. We aren't cannibles!

Arcee: *visibly distraught* But it's still meat... the flesh of other living beings...

Rafael: I suppose if you look at it that way, we are kind of cannibals. But you bots aren't much better in that case.

Bumblebee: *concerned at the implications* What do you mean?

Rafael: You said that your home world is made up of your God's body, and since energon runs through Cybertron's surface and you must consume it to live...

Optimus: That is differen-

Miko: Is it though? I mean you literally drink the blood of your God to live!

Optimus: *horrified at the thought* Our consumption of energon is a unique situation. While we may need to drink it to survive, our usage of it is more akin to blood transfusions that you humans do. no creature upon Cybertron consumes the flesh of other living being as you appear to be doing.

Miko: *gesturing toward the bots* Then explain scraplets. They devour metal right? Specifically living metal.

Ratchet: Scraplets are a different story, they aren't like the rest of Cybertron's ecosystem. But that is beside the point, you are literally feasting on the corpses of the dead!

Jack: It's not human meat! It's cow meat!

Ratchet: It's still meat! You might as well be ghouls!

The argument never reached a reasonable conclusion. The bots, mainly Ratchet firmly believed that the humans were some sort of insane predator species. And the humans suddenly began viewing the bots as vampires unwilling to admit that they are not in fact the Vegans they claim to be.

With that in mind, Bulkhead became far more terrified of the fact that the human children thought it was a grand idea to keep a scraplet as a pet. Sure they didn't know, but then again, a species that is willing and even enthusiastic about eating the matter of other living being despite there being other alternatives is likely one that will not make much sense.

The children like to joke about the bots vampirism and the bots are left gagging whenever the humans go out of their way to eat meat in front of them.

[sunshine-in-a-bottle]

I'm watching Beast Wars again for no reason and so you all have to hear me talk about it.

If I was personally given Rights I would first use them to erase Cheetors weird crush on Blackarachnia because it literally adds nothing to the plot or the characters. Instead I'd take full advantage of my personal headcanon and make Cheetor desperately want a big sister because I am always a slut for Found Family. Like, that scene with Una ?"Aw, she wants to be you!" Like c'mon viewing him reaching out to Blackarachnia because he desperately wants some semblance of a relationship is a lot more wholesome when it isn't romantically coded. Cheetor is Lonely, so horribly lonely, and so young seeming in comparison to the rest of the cast. He hasn't lost that love for the stars or spiraled into cynicism just yet, and I would much rather explore the ways he tries to reach out to his bitter, jaded teammates. And maybe he's left wanting, maybe he gets tired of being lonely, and maybe he fucks up trying to be like them because "he tried to prove himself." And maybe that scene where Optimus, Silverbolt, and Rattrap reach out to him has a little more weight because it isn’t just Cheetor trying to be an adult, but a Cheetor that tried to be them and post Feral Cheetor has real fucking consequences and isn't just a cool upgrade.

I want that episode where Rattrap finds out they spat on Dinobot’s memory by making him into a "dishonorable" clone and goes ballistic. I want him to find the memories Dinobot stowed away and be conflicted. Is it Dinobot without the spark? Could he live with only a shade? Would Dinobot even want that? I want him to try and fail and be utterly distraught over the whole damn thing. I want him to be angry every time he sees Dinobot 2. I want Rhinox to try and fail to comfort him. I want Cheetor to sit with him, neither speaking but both knowing they're in this fucked up mess together now. CONSEQUENCES. WHERE ARE THEY. GIVE THEM TO ME.

I also just really want Blackarachnia to have closer bonds with the team??? Idk, I'm vibin well enough with her and Silverbolt but tbh I'd really just like her to have an episode where she's hanging out with someone else and Isn’t A Complete Rude Person. I think that's something I actually really vibed with in Beast Machines (although my memory there is still pretty fuzzy, I'll probably have to rewatch that to say for sure) Blackarachnia could actually work with the team in a friendly and occasionally sweet way. She was capable of a blunt and angry sort of kindness. Should that happen right away? Nah of course not, she needs to get comfy with her shiny new Dumbfuck Teammates. But there’s no real Solid Connections there other than Silverbolt, which is purely romantic. (Once again I emphasize Cheetor and Found Family)

Rhinox just needs more in general. If I had to guess the reason he was made a villain in beast machines was because he is only Meh as a Developed character after Blackarachnia shows up and takes over tech wise, not to mention rattrap is also pretty damn techy when he wants to be.(it was also probably to increase tension since his whole deal is being diplomatic but that's a separate thing) Sort of an issue when you make them scientists but don't have them specialize in anything and, more importantly, have a weakness in anything. If your character is simply the backup scientist when the other one is out of commission u gotta problem. Rhinox is stagnant personality wise, I can’t honestly say anything about him changes in the whole series. He has functionally gained nothing from this perilous journey, no real trauma, no bonds he didn't already have with the team, not even an upgrade in form. Isn’t rattrap supposed to be his best friend???? SHOW ME MORE THEN. Seriously if this show had let me have Rights I’m not saying I wouldn’t have loved if we had actually Really Dug In to a character arc or something about Rattrap and the concept of Honor vs Loyalty but that’s exactly what I’m saying lets talk about that. Season One Rattrap they played with this a little (After the whole early on “I would not send someone to do something I would not do myself” and “double agent rattrap” WHICH NO ONE WOULD EVER BELIEVE IF THAT HAPPENED ANY LATER THAN IT DID SINCE RATTRAP IS SO ANTIPRED) and the whole Dinobot thing really wedged it in (”But at least you know where he stands”) AND THEN FROM MY SHODDY MEMORIES OF BEAST MACHINES ITS PLAYED WITH EVEN MORE WHEN HE FUCKING GOES TO MEGATRON BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS BEING A LITTLE BITCH TO HIM 

Where was I going with this? uhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh yeah LISTEN Rattrap and his morals are Very Fascinating and I really wished there was more about that. Like, he gives no shits about Doing What’s Right or Being A Good Person, but he rewards friendship and loyalty and not getting him killed by miles. And despite his Hatefest Dinobot he was actually really... shocked? Offended??? about Dinobot handing over the disc because you’re an asshole but you’re also our asshole what fuckery is this did all our arguments mean nothing to you. And then attempting to join Megatron in BM because he might be Evil and it might be Bad Moral Conduct but fuck morals his teammates were being shitty friends. Is that petty of him? Maybe, but if the maximals had been evil but still genuinely kind and caring towards Rattrap I don’t believe he would ever leave for a second, not for all the Morals or Its The Right Thing To Do in the world. And that’s why darkfics that still use Found Family are the best! The End.

All the characters would actually be the size of their animals because goddamit I want a tiny Rattrap that has to be carried around by the others while he screeches indignantly. Or at the very least make him just a little smaller. Just a bit. And maybe they all have a big Sleep Pile. I like physical affection and cuddling and things no I don't care if they're robots no I don’t take criticism. Dinobot would have feathers fight me.

Optimus has died, been tortured, and painfully grew to like 3 times his size why doesn’t he have ptsd someone give him a hug.

Could we have waited for Airrazor and Tigatron to get kidnapped???? We should have gotten more for them. Let me see them more often. LISTEN THEY’RE VERY CUTE I LOVE THEM SHUT UP. 

WHICH LMAO BRINGS ME RIGHT BACK TO CHEETOR BECAUSE HE CONSIDERED AIRRAZOR AND TIGATRON HIS BROTHER AND SISTER AND HE THINKS THEYRE GONE FOREVER AND THEN ITS NEVER REALLY BROUGHT UP AGAIN LIKE CHEETOR AND FOUND FAMILY REALLY SHOULD BE EXPLORED HERE

Silverbolt is fun, but suffers from the same problem as Blackarachnia where all you really remember about them Relationship wise is the one they have with each other. Who does Silverbolt like best among the maximals, who does he like the least? And if I'm erasing that weird Cheetor crush thing then their interactions probably have a lot less tension so... what else do they have.

Depth Charge is an unrepentant asshole and I love him. He is so hostile but it doesn’t stop him from begrudgingly helping out on occasion. He also gave Optimus some backstory??? Like not as much as my greedy Character Loving hands would have wanted but GIVE ME.

Other Stuff:

Nothing will ever be as funny as Optimus being like “Evacuate the base you’re all gonna die” and Rhinox grabbing his fucking plant

Blackarachnia Craves Power 

Cheetor suffer from Bad Bondage multiple times throughout the series, but specifically during the web I remember Tarantulas leaning over him and thinking “wow this is kind of... date gone wrong vibes??? What the fuck”

Rattrap and Dinobot: *Spot each other from any distance* Miracle Hatemance has entered the chat

Why is Megatron wearing roller skates. Who did this. Why.

“Spider/Bird dog is hetero nonsense” - everyone who has to bear witness to them ever, including me the viewer

Tarantulas is completely done with any attempts to seduce him. Ever.

Airrazor tries so hard to be cool and hip oh my god she is a complete dork i love her

“FOR THE ROYALTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY”

please be nice to Waspinator he’s trying his best

Rhinox: exists

Me: hello yes sir I love u wise mentor sir

Holy shit Dinobot’s death scene is a gut punch. Rattrap honestly is what makes this scene perfect. I have never seen him so respectful or emotional is a way that wasn’t meant for comedic relief.

That scene, man

Tigatron’s speech about bringing beast mode and robot mode together is like foreshadowing to beast machines. Or it isn’t. Idk. Would have been really nice if they, yknow,

bothered to bring up literally anything from the previous series to beast machines

 (yes its been awhile since I’ve seen Beast Machines, but I do remember that being my primary complaint.)

This series is so cheesy but Thundercats is still cheesier so its fine

Rattrap was canonically a miner at some point apparently.

He’s also super prejudiced and honestly that’s interesting. HONESTLY SOMETHING I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEE DISCUSSED IN BEAST MACHINES IS THE SUPER MEGA DIVIDE IN PREDS AND MAXIMALS BUT I GUESS WE WEREN’T GETTING THAT OH WELL

The ‘Everyone is blind’ episode was always one of my favorites and it never gets old

Upon rewatching the series I have concluded Cheetor is Babey. Which is weird because I didn’t think much of him from what I remember. Shift in perspective I suppose. They really made Rhinox farting the thing that saves the day, huh. What even was season one.

BITCH THAT IS A TERRIBLE WAY TO TRANSPORT MEGATRON NO WONDER HE FUCKING CONQUERED CYBERTRON Y’ALL DESERVED THIS HONESTLY

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh in conclusion:

Rattrap is my new religion apparently

[bluereo]

Now all I can imagine are this two things:

1. Ratchet giving Optimus a full 30 minute talk about "why you can't go and leave civilization" desperatly trying to make Optimus go back with him.

2. Optimus giving someone at some point in life dead animals as a gift. Like. Not in mean way. More like cats who bring their owners dead birds and mouses to thank them for their care. Just imagine someone (probably Ratchet) enter their office and they see turbo rabbit or some other dead animal left on their desk.

Bonus points if Optimus had porblem with understanding how perfectly fine, dead and full of energon, turbo rabbit could be a problem to anyone

URGE TO READ ALIGNED CONTINUTITY BOOK SERIES INTENSIFIES