#pharma was just one doctor with no friends no backup and no fighting ability just medical skills

[lord-squiggletits]

Bc like if I look at it from a meta perspective it's as boring as "Pharma was just meant to be a minor antagonist and any depth he has was added retroactively by JRO when he realized there was maybe something there"

But then if you look at it from an in universe perspective the Pharma Torment Nexus is so much more prominent bc you really have every single Autobot ignoring Pharma being blackmailed by the DJD (including ones like Ambulon who really shouldn't be so dismissive), Ratchet throwing every insecurity in Pharma's face and then leaving him to die without even looking for his body, otherwise chill mechs like Skids saying that Pharma had better hope they don't decide to beat him in prison after they finish the Tyrest business, Pharma having millions of years of exemplary medical service only to have every mention of his name come with "before he started murdering patients" as if that'sthe sum of his entire life's worth.

The entire "the Lost Light is where people go to have second chances uwu" crew not even thinking about or remembering him and no one even mentioning Pharma or going "damn now I know how he felt" during Dying of the Light when oh whoops we're being stalked down by the DJD and it's so terrifying how we're all going to sie horribly. Amd how no one had problems with Drift but everyone hated Pharma. But that's a reach honestly.

Honestly it just makes you wonder what the hell Pharma did that made every Autobot ignore the extenuating circumstances and immediately hate his guts, say he was always a horrible Autobot, focus only on his crimes and never his service, and even say he deserves to be beaten in jail. Like goddamn did everyone just already hate Pharma and him going insane under duress at Delphi was the excuse for everyone to go "I always fucking hated that guy" bc like wow. Even Ratchet patted Drift's head and went 'oh aren't you afraid of the DJD you poor guy' and then went 'YOU FUCKING ORGAN HARVESTER' to Pharma who literally WAS blackmailed under threat of his death and everyone unser his care's death too.

Again the more simple explanation is just "it's not that deep" but spinning an in universe explanation or headcanon is good for whump bc it really rubs in how much everyone just fucking hates Pharma and doesn't give a shit about helping him or paying homage to the fact that he was an Autobot once and he literally fucking dies/is presumed dead twice and maybe one person has anything to say about it at all

Angst is great and the good thing about Pharma is that his whole life (well, mostly his time on-screen but still) is literally just one unending torment nexus of pain, isolation, exploitation, lack of bodily autonomy, torture, mutilation, and dying (more than once, even) and canon has basically nothing to say about this fact, leaving plenty of room for me to come in and write fic going "hey isn't it fucked up that..."