#just an ordinary night of interspecies discussion

[sweetbitterbitten]

@patriiiarch

She sits sleekly, a river of red in the dark decor of her host’s decadent den; middling frame lengthened like the slanted slash of a burning sword, one leg crossed gracefully over the other. The delicate stemware housing her bordeaux of choice, a rare and devastating year from the Addams own cellar, braced lightly atop her thigh in a gentle cradle between the controlled fingertips of one hand - the other - laid longways across the back of the svelte settee.  “I don’t mind monsters.” She enumerates. “It’s the claws and teeth I take issue with. I’d rather see what’s about to sink it’s fangs in me before it does. Sadly, surprise seems the cornerstone of most beasties hereabouts.”

[my-writings-and-musings]

Hi, I really like your berth sharing headcanons. They're so cute! But in the post about Thunderclash there was something about the medics starting to wonder if recharging next to a human had benefits. I was thinking it would be cool if you maybe considered making headcanons about the medics, maybe trying to test it. Feel free to take as much time as you need. I really like your headcanons, and I hope I don't come off as pushy or anything!

You don't have to apologize for absolute GOLD, anon! You're not pushy at all either!

For the sake of simplicity, I'll leave who the human is dating vague, so you can imagine whatever bot you'd like spurring this scientific wonder. Each medic discovers something a little different, but they're all based on ideas I have regarding how bots and humans are ultimately a great team when they're cooperating.

Ratchet

·This mech considers himself to be a solid and unwavering voice of reason, so while he's seen them performing their duties more effectively than ever, he's still positively baffled when the bot you've been cuddling turns up for their next exam and appears to have improved on every physical level. Their reaction time, fuel efficiency, speed, stamina... it's all better than ever before!

·It's a great development, obviously, but he's bothered he can't make sense of it. Sure, he's well aware that a good relationship can be a benefit to mental health, which obviously has an impact on physical well-being, but this is well beyond what simple positive thoughts should be able to accomplish.

·For the sake of his sanity, and because he's genuinely interested in the potential medical benefits of your species, he proposes conducting a study to you and your significant other. He knows it sounds silly, but his reasoning is solid enough to convince everyone involved to try.

·Always putting the well being of his patient's above all else, he keeps the tests simple and (mostly) unobtrusive, and a great deal of the data is gathered by simple scans overnight or through questionnaire. He's especially interested in whether or not this phenomenon is found in all humans or just you.

·It's hard to be put off when you see how serious he is about the whole thing, particularly as he starts to put together all the ways humans and Cybertronians are alike, and the results absolutely fascinate him and get him genuinely excited.

·Drift has suggested on a few late night research sessions that he may just be underestimating the power of positive thoughts, but he doesn't push that answer, not so much to avoid a wrench but because he too is quite curious about the potential interspecies benefits. Like Ratchet he reasons that, if the two races can find such benefits with each other, it would go a long way to encouraging harmony through the universe.

·After many nights of brainwave mapping and days of simple physical exams, Ratchet announces that he has developed a theory! He's beaming, partly because he's been proven sort of right, but mostly because there does appear to be some solid evidence of a medical benefit!

·From his studies, he reasons that humans are capable of triggering a number of hardwired responses in Cybertronian biology, and those he's managed to confirm are all related to social interaction, protective instincts, and even stress reduction.

·In essence, he concludes that humans just naturally appear "cute" to bot's once they've formed a bond with them, and the instinctive drive to protect smaller lifeforms as well as socialize is satisfied to fulfillment and beyond by regular physical contact, which leads to a boost in all systems and a general sense of elation.

·You're incredibly surprised to hear bots would have an internal drive to label you as "cute", but that pales in comparison to your shock when Ratchet suggests more humans be brought on board for study. He then gives you complete medical clearance to share a berth with your partner every night, along with the promise to provide whatever resources or assistance will make it easier for the two of you, especially if you'll offer to help any of the other crewmembers on their quest for human partners.

First Aid

·Always one to look for new solutions, he immediately notices when the bot you're with has a huge boost to their wellbeing, well beyond what he'd expect even from your particularly positive relationship. Without hesitation, he calls you both in to discuss potential implications.

·His enthusiasm is convincing in its own way, particularly as he begins to theorize that Cybertronians being so ostracized from other species means that a great deal of potential benefits from interaction could be waiting to be discovered! Thus, the rarity of your relationship makes this quite a unique opportunity.

·His ideal study would involve a number of humans, but if you're comfortable with it he'd love to see if you have the same effect on other bots as well, as that could provide some absolutely fascinating data!

·Scans of your entire physiology are requested, along with samples of whatever you feel like providing, though he quickly realizes he'll need to study humans in general to make sense of his results. The process of learning everything related to the biology of a new species keeps him enraptured for days at a time.

·He's especially interested in whether or not you've experienced similiar benefits to your bot partner. This means he has quite a few questions regarding your wellbeing and would like detailed answers. After all, if the process benefits one species but hurts the other, that's important to know too!

·At times you're absolutely baffled by what results he seems intent on analyzing. The exact number of hours you slept, down to the second? What kind of pajamas you wear? The total number of breaths you take each night?

·His insistence on the importance of details at least convinces you to let him continue. Though he keeps it to himself, he clearly has something to be excited about, but will deny absolutely anything when pressed.

·Finally he calls you and your bot partner in to share his findings, at least before he plans to propose an official theory. His board of data is covered in notes and miscellaneous papers, most of which you can't even begin to understand, but his tone is calm and his delivery smooth when be finally speaks.

·He's elated to explain the countless benefits he believes both species derive from sleeping in close proximity, some of which he's only just begun to scratch the surface of, and many which he believes can be confirmed by studying more individuals. Humans receive exceptional stress reduction and an increase in bonding hormone production, and bots see something similar but also appear to experience a boost to their self repair! By the time a half hour has passed he's listed so many these are all you can remember.

·You're impressed and fascinated, especially because you and your partner were mostly just... cuddling? It's hard not to be amused when he starts proposing a serious interspecies initiative, and lays out his plans to do so, complete with contacting the leadership of each species to request volunteers.

Velocity

·Ever the more observant and subtle of the medics, she initially keeps her awareness of the boost your partner has been experiencing to herself, quietly taking note of the phenomenon and accumulating a small file of her observations and thoughts. Once she determines there is indeed something going on, she decides to get some concrete answers.

·She approaches each of you individually for an actual examination, which is relatively routine so you think nothing of it. Checking for any potential explanations in your anatomy, she doesn't find anything out of the ordinary, which is good news because it means nothing is amiss and she can begin to do some real science!

·Sitting you down in the privacy of the medical bay, but only after assuring you nothing is wrong, she lays out some simple notes and explains what she's been observing. Describing the unique benefits your partner has been experiencing, she lays out her desire to learn more, because bots need all the help they can get staying healthy.

·Not one to be obtrusive, a lot of her research is focused on the mental health aspects and their benefits to the physical, which she accomplishes mostly by asking questions to measure your feelings.

·With your permission she gets a bit of assistance from Rung on these matters, as his understanding of the Cybertronian processor and how it relates to mood, as well as his experience with emotional wellbeing, make him an excellent guide on the information she gathers.

·She's less focused on testing a specific theory than she is on simply putting together information and analyzing it, mostly because her "sample size" is much too small to rule anything out to her satisfaction, but she is absolutely determined to prove something is happening.

·Being more cautious means she's going to take her time to properly analyze everything she gathers, which takes a little while both due to her tendency to prefer hands on study and her fascination with what she starts to put together. It's actually hard for her to keep everything confidential once she gets an idea of the positive implications of what she's seeing.

·Almost out of the blue she sits you down and starts to delightedly relay her observations, going so fast at times it's hard to keep up. Thankfully she catches herself and backs up to clearly state her thoughts as well as answer any questions you may have.

·For Cybertronian benefits, she actually believes this sleeping in close proximity to a human is having a kind of healing enhancement to your partner, specifically to their brain. All bots have endured trauma, but for your partner the effects of their unique mental struggles have been lessened, as if they're recovering at a supernatural rate.

·While she admits to being less experienced with humans, she confidently states that your own body appears to be experiencing a similiar phenomenon, and while its obviously not "cured" your brain is showing an incredible capacity for handling new stressors and processing old ones effectively. To say she encourages the two of you to continue is an understatement.