#ranting about ratchet

[assassyart]

I know he sacrificed his life at the end to save the universe, but I always found a but weird that after he killed Ratchet in a fit of rage, he didn't seem to regret what he did like ik he was probably thinking he could fix this when he saves the lombax but still tpu would've thought he would've had a "what have I done moment?"

I also find if weird that the great clock isn't a time machine and yet it can go through the past by 6 minutes

Ah. Yay. :) I love talking about Alister Azimuth's thinking process. Thank you for the invitation to rant about this!

The end of A Crack in Time is one of the best parts of Ratchet & Clank, period. It has two incredibly emotional scenes, and every character is so well done. Buuut there is obviously one part of the ending that sticks out, and that's when Alister Azimuth killed Ratchet. This was the moment the player finally realizes just how far gone Azimuth is and that all of those flags were, indeed, bright red. To understand why he made this decision, we have to get into Azimuth's mindset. It's important to note Azimuth's decision wasn't just a fit of rage.

Azimuth had revealed to us that he does not view this current time he is in as "real" and, as such, has been treating everything he does and everyone he meets as temporary until the present gets back on track and he fixes his mistake. He sees talking to Ratchet about the past as pointless because it'll be "fixed," so why does it matter? (But even he can't stop himself from gushing about Kaden.) He even declines to help the Vullards while they're being attacked by the Agorians until they offer him something he needs to reach his goal. He views everyone as just another stepping stone to reaching his goal. He's detached himself emotionally from this world because it is not real to him.

This is similar to how Nefarious views everything in ACiT as well, just less exaggerated and silly. In a way, the two are pretty similar. Nefarious copes with his loss believing he can rewind time to "wrong" the "right" while Azimuth copes with his mistake, chasing after the idea that he can still fix it. Both are consumed by their failures in the past.

While Azimuth does try to care about Ratchet, it's clear that he doesn't let himself care that much about any one individual more than his goal. He doesn't even care about himself making it out alive after being captured by Vorselon— he only cares about fixing his mistake (and pushes this duty onto Ratchet as well). He is still putting up that emotional wall between him and Ratchet, so he won't get attached. Because to him, Ratchet won't exist once he "fixes" his mistake. This Ratchet he is currently fighting alongside will be gone, replaced by a completely different person— a Lombax that got to be raised by his father and mother, and never had to face the hardships "Ratchet" went through.

In Azimuth's mind, once he achieves his goal and fixes the past, this "Ratchet" will die. There is no point crying over someone you already accepted will not exist. He will simply care about the Ratchet that he will "save" in the past, not the one he doomed in the present.

Azimuth believes The Great Clock will fix all of his problems. Ratchet going back into the past to find out what happened to Orvus only strengthens Azimuth's belief that this will work. It has to. He does not even want to entertain the idea that it won't work, because that would mean he'd have to sit with himself and think about all of the awful things he did to get to this point.

"For the Lombaxes," he says, as he kills one of his own. "For Kaden," he says, as he kills his best friend's son. "To fix the past," he says, as he ruins the present.

It's only when he is faced with the fact The Great Clock won't fix his problems, that Ratchet (just like Kaden) is desperately trying to salvage the mess he made, that he has doomed the universe... that is when he realizes that he was chasing after something that was never going to work. You can't run from the past. You must learn from your mistakes. Azimuth wouldn't listen to Ratchet, just like how he wouldn't listen to Kaden. History repeated itself, and now his mistake was going to get Ratchet killed. All of his guilt from everything he did washes over him at once. He apologizes, but that doesn't change anything.

And he knows that. Azimuth's redemption comes from the fact that he doesn't run from this mistake. He faces it head-on, and his last words break the emotional wall he had set up before—

"Take care of yourself, Ratchet."

He's finally acknowledged the past can't be fixed and that he's doomed Ratchet to being the last Lombax yet again, but his final words are one of care and hope. He sacrifices himself for Ratchet and the present. In this action, he atones for his mistake.

And gah. This character is so amazing. I hate him. I love him. He's one of the best characters we have in the series, and I could fill an entire video essay just babbling on and on about this beautiful ending. Every character in this ending can be dissected for their choices, and this ending has definitely impacted the series far more than any of the others. I would dare Insomniac to top this ending, but I think it's dumb to even try. There's no topping this.

The game itself might have some flaws, but this ending is just perfect. I'd change absolutely nothing about it. What a banger ending to a banger character.

[starscream-is-my-wife]

I realize that in Nature Doc au, they could figure out Ratchet's name by somehow stumbling upon an actual ratchet! Since ratchets are an actual tool used for repairs, and they were invented before the current time frame of the au

It would be so funny if the somehow still didn't get it right though

If only Ratchet and Clank was a thing but they missed it by several years, how unfortunate!

Bumblebee looks a lot more like a Bumblebee so it was easier to but two and two together for him lol

[saltynsassy31]

*drags myself through the floor and slams this down*

I present to you

FULLMETAL BARTENDERS AVIAN AU

Divine Nugget Au

(Rant as to why I chose the White-throated Needletail as Blurr's bird and some minor AU lore under the cut)

And that's not all! It comes with a FULL FLEDGED COMIC!!!!!

I spent a whole fucking week on this

I haven't done a comic in 4 years now, I can't believe this is my come-back XD. Though, on that note, know that I probably won't be pumping out any more comics - not any time soon, at least. But I do got more stuff planned for this au! If you ask about it, I'll 100% rant about it LOL

Tw// ⚠️mild gore in the 3rd panel⚠️

While exploring the woods with his team, Swerve had an unfortunate encounter with a crazed hunter. In an attempt to escape, he got injured, but it seems he wasn't the only one caught in the crossfire...

.

.

Okay

So when you look up what the fastest bird in the world is, Google with show the Peregrin Falcom

But there's a catch

The Peregrine is only fast when diving

When it dives to catch its prey, it can go up to 389km/h

Which yeah, pretty fast

But when casually flying, it only goes up to 120 iirc

The Needle Tail?

It can go up to 170km/h

Some have even recorded going over 300! (Close to the Falcon's dive, I believe)

Additionally, these birds only fly. Their habitat is literally listed as "the air," and some even believe they sleep while flying! They only ever land to brood and mate, and then they're off again. Their legs are so short that, if they ground, they can't fly again because it doesn't give enough room to flap their wings.

It fits Blurr perfectly!

It also has a blue-ish colour pattern I can work with lol (it's green, but it looks blue, lol)

Though, also, he isn't 100% like the Needle Tail, just based off of it. I still want avians to be sorta their own species and doesn't have to be exactly like their bird counterparts cuz they aren't them, they're their own thing.

That said, Blurr is one of the shortest from Avians population, still.

They're pretty big.

Another trivial detail of the design!

I was stuck between having his arms be his wings or have them be separate

Until I saw a drawing where they had both, and I realised, "Wait, why isn't that done more often! That's so cool!"

So that's sorta what I did

It's mainly to catch small prey when grounded and to stay better perched up on trees since they're much bigger and having extra fingers helps a lot. Or when they're climbing against a tree to pick up fruits, it gives them an extra boost and can better hang from it

But they're pretty much useless besides that lol

Just neat lil design choice

Other lore stuff. The time in which the au takes place is vaguely modern? But with fantasy aspects? I still haven't decided lol

Technology exists, but not in the way we have it sort of deal, idk, this au is pretty bare bones right now, so go wild with it XD I don't mind it, I love brainstorming it with people. I know this au isn't as big or complex as some others out there, but it's fun, and I hope yall like it too fjsjajaj

[ithecrystaldragonheart]

Transformers Prime Incorrect Quote

Optimus:And this is our medic, Ratchet.

MC:...

MC, with their whole chest:UPGRADES PEOPLE, UPGRADES!

Ratchet:???

Rafael, the only other person who's watched the movie:*Trying and failing to keep upright, he's laughing so hard*

[toastingpencils37]

TFP Ratchet makes me so fucking ill

[brandwhorestarscream]

Reincarnation AU

Poor Mom of Triplets Rodimus so Exhausted. Luckly the Lost Lighters have heard the phrase "It takes a vilage to raise a child." Suprisingly Whirl is up there in compatition for most beloved uncle with Drift. Seriously who knew the Psychocopter was really good with bitties.

It's probably a good thing since Roddy wasn't the only one to fall to the Reincarnation shenanigans. He was merely the first. When Drift, Ratchet and Megatron all fall pregnant the call back to Cybetrton reveals Optimus, Starscream, and Prowl are all greatly gravid.

[Meanwhile somewhere off stage Tarn is feeling Things™️. He kept his array pure for Lord Megatron The Cause. And somehow he is experiencing the mechpreg.]

He's having such a hard time lmao. Even tho the crew adores the bitties and are always happy to help out their captain, they're still very young and can't really be away from their carrier for too long. Offers to babysit last perhaps a megacycle, tops, before the bitties get squirmy and cranky and their tiny sparks begin reaching for their maternal bond, and Rodimus has to hurry back to them

Funny enough, he actually gets the most rest when he's not by himself: though he trusts Drift and Ratchet completely with the triplets, and go an extent Ultra Magnus as well, Roddy struggles to actually relax when he's alone in his habsuite or office and his kiddos are elsewhere. It's like a reflex he can't control: whenever his sparklings are out of sight it's like a switch just flips in his mind. His thoughts swirl around them, always insistently pulled away from whatever he's supposed to be doing. Wondering if they're alright, if they're hungry, or if Pinky is getting anxious without him like he tends to, or if Maroon was still trying to choke himself by sucking on his own fingers. What if they miss him, what if they're too much for their sitters to handle, what if they think he's abandoned them, what if they trip and fall and hurt themselves and he's not there to make sure they're ok?! What if something terrible happens, like what if they fall down the stairs and break their cranial casing? What if there's another psychotic sociopath hiding aboard somewhere that takes his sparklings hostage when he's not there to protect them?! What if they get attacked by space pirates?! What if they DIE?! Of they die it'll he all his fault and he's the worst mom ever and-

On and on it goes. Whenever the exhausted carrier tries to nap by himself, his thoughts just spiral and throw him headfirst into a fit of anxiety. Rodimus has some of the worst imposter syndrome we've ever seen, and i think that would carry over to how he sees himself as a parent: he has no idea what he's doing and he loves these sparklings more than life itself; the only thing he wants, more than anything, is to do right by them. To give them the life they deserve, to be the mother they deserve. He's scared to death about raising them, honestly, so afraid to make a mistake and ruin their lives. He'd never forgive himself if he let them be hurt or, worse, if he hurt them. Having them out of sight exacerbates his anxieties, because he can't possibly know exactly what they're getting up to.

And because of all that, exhausted mama Rodimus gets his best sleep either on his berth with the three ragamuffins puppy piled on top of him, or in common areas when someone else can keep the kiddos occupied and he can keep an eye on them. Knowing they're safe and right in front of him but also knowing that he's not the only pair of adult hands available, the combination let's his body finally relax and he is out. Either helm down on the table or crashing onto the nearest shoulder, Rodimus drops into such a deep recharge so fast the first few times it happened the crew worried he had actually fainted. And when I say out I mean out, face completely limp in exhaustion, mouth open, and snoring. Everyone in the vicinity is happy to let him recharge, Primus knows he needs it. Drift makes sure to get him a blanket, and it's not long before the triplets are lured in by the warm softness and their mother's form, getting all comfy in the little blankie nest at his side 🤭

Sorry, that Rodimus part went on waaay longer than I expected it to, I just love him sm ok 🥺

BUT HOO BOY THE NEXT ONE

Ratchet and Drift and Megatron all at roughly the same time? Damn. I feel like idw Megatron would be quietly horrified because, in his (probably correct honestly I love him but I shouldnt lie) opinion, he is not fit to be a carrier. Ratchet is crabby with Drift when he finds out, grumbling about outdated contraceptives and overly affectionate conjunx, until he's able to actually do a paternity test at Rodimus's prompting. His babies don't have a sire, so maybe...?

Ratchet is surprised and suspicious when the same turns up for him. Once is a random occurrence, twice is a coincidence, thrice makes a pattern. For the three of them to all turn up carrying at roughly the same time was already very unlikely, but for two out of the four pregnancies onboard to be asexually conceived... the chances of that happening randomly is astronomically small. He pulls Drift in for the same test, and wouldn't you know it? No sire. Same story with Megatron. When they get in contact with Cybertron, he finds they're all thankfully on the same page. Starscream had pegged it as incredibly statistically unlikely, though he hadn't had paternity tests performed to determine the lack of a sire. It's almost surreal, once said tests are done, hearing that every single one of them is expecting what is, essentially, a naturally occurring little clone of themselves.

Final closing thoughts because I've rambled enough: I'm still incredibly amused by the idea Tarn in labor, high as a kite from the epidural, tell Nickel, "Nooo don't touch my seal, that's for Lord Megatron" 😂 poor Tarn man, saved himself for all these years, only to get slapped with virgin mary syndrome and BOOM, magic baby. He gets all the pains of childbirth without even experiencing the act of conceiving the baby in the first place. Press F

[mothraranger]

I read one fic and now I ship the Animated versions of Ratchet and Ultra Magnus, I shit you not...

...aaannd I wanna give them a kid or two!

[knockouts-medibay]

The Forbidden World AU rant 2

Okay so since last night was a story tl;dr because I don't like writing actual stories/don't like HOW I write actual stories, lemme get onto how I think a few mechs would get their alt mode and what it'd be on the world where Monster Hunter takes place

Rodimus - Rodimus is one of the first to get an alt mode as he was the first one who got absolutely bodied by the unique fighting styles of each of the different monsters. He'd try to scan a Rathalos (but since there's an oppy x silver rath figure out there it's not that), gives up, and settles on Teostra as his alt mode after finding the elusive fire cat dragon and being able to scan it without problem unlike the Rathalos.

Megatron - Megatron is one of the more hesitant to give up his cybertronian alt mode but eventually settles on Arkveld because it looks absolutely badass and fits his color scheme better than most the more avaliable monsters.

Tailgate - Tailgate is immediately infatuated with the smaller monsters and falls in love with the Amstrigian, a small bird like monster and adapts that as his alt mode. His second choice would've been Tracktail Lizard

Whirl - Yian Garuga. He loved the way a smaller sized monster beats the shit out of anything in its path, breathes fire, can poison and screams at the top of its lungs. Still a wildcard but now can scream at people even louder

Cyclonus - Another one more hesitant to give up his cybertronian alt mode, but after a scuffle with a few large monsters, Nargacuga was his choice as it was swift and he felt was easier to traverse dense brush with.

Rung - He was one of the few bots lucky enough to have accidentally seen Estrellian, and gotten close enough to scan the rather elusive beast before it walked away. Hopefully now people will be less likely to forget our boy, Rung 💀

Swerve - Oh Swerve. He was another one of the few bots off the Lost Light immediately after landing. Getting lost almost immediately, my guy found Zamtrios and chose it as his alt mode. He didnt know about how it went from chunky shark to absolute unit of a monster. Someone has yet to tell him about that

Ratchet - Ratchet was stuck with Swerve after the silly guy got lost and had to track him down himself, on the way he found the Ivory Lagiacrus, choosing it as his alt mode. It makes travel through rougher and watery terrain a lot easier

Comment who I should do next coz I do have a bunch of ideas but I dont want to absolutelt destroy the length of this post with bots and their alt modes

[waywardsou2]

Does anyone remember Ratchet and Clank: All for one. I fucking loved that game as a kid and I haven't seen anything about it in fandom. Do people just not like it? Did it just not gain enough traction. Like where is my boy at?

[dezmolad]

WORDS CANT DESCRIBE HOW I HATE THIS PLOT IN REGENERATION ONE. its so disappointing as ratchet was one of the most prominent characters in G1 Marvel comics?? He was super important to Optimus, and we saw it multiple time across the comics. He was important in megatron story, too!! Both in megatron's plot and in a more personal sense. Reducing it just to Megatron torturing and using Ratchet's knowlege is just SO SHALLOW AND USELESSLY EDGY. It's expecially sad when we get to the fact that in original comics there was a plan to continue the plotline of Megatron's and Ratchet's mental connection, with Megatron controlling Ratchet. It was cut due to the comic being closed. But I imagine it would be something way more interesting AND giving Ratchet way more agency than that

It sucks that at the end Ratchet just exists to die to finish off Megatron. He was one of the best characters in the Marvel comic. I joked that Furman constantly tortured him, but he genuinely gave Ratchet some of his best moments, and in the end it feels like his death barely registered for anyone, even Optimus. A shame really.

[assassyart]

Question: what's the story behind the picture you made of Ratchet in a dark-looking area looking back at the viewer with some weird evil-looking creature above him?

Ah, yeah, I suppose this does look weird out of context! This drawing is All 4 One fanart, one of the Ratchet & Clank games I...actually don't like playing, but I did enjoy the story. This game centers on a creature called a Loki that can possess life forms. The Lokis are enemies with the Cragmites as well, which is a detail I found interesting.

This fanart is basically a bad ending AU of All 4 One, where the Loki Master chose to possess Ratchet (whom he has captured in the beginning of the game) instead of the larger creatures he favors. This is why Ratchet's visible eye is blue and matches with the creature— the Loki above him is actually inside of him, I just added the visual cue to make that point clear.

The Loki himself says the "smaller ones are easy to control" ... besides the glaring fact that Ratchet is a badass and that Lombaxes being the sworn enemy of the Cragmites is an added flavor of irony, it just seemed like a cool idea to me. It's rather impossible to make Ratchet a villain under normal circumstances since he's so naturally kind-hearted, so I have to get creative if I wanna have fun with it lol.

[kingghoost]

Quickly analyzing a one-off line from The Optiratch Argument™ because I'm bored

We all know that The Argument™ was mainly about Ratchet's frustrations with Optimus' "cowardice" (BIG quotation marks) but one of Ratchet's lines really stuck with me:

"Oh- and let me guess, I'm just the medic." (TFP S1E22)

Typically when people are angry, they don't vent about just one thing. Though he was talking back to what Optimus said about the Vehicon being a miner and not a warrior, that comment seemed completely irrelevant to the argument's main topic (at least in my point of view)

One big (yet hidden) flaw in Ratchet is his lack of self confidence. His job is to cure the sick and injured, yet he never really seems to realize the value he has on his team. He truly is great at what he does - and he goes above and beyond to be of service (medic, scientist, sort of engineer... that's impressive!) Despite all this, the fact that he is the only non-fighter really seems to eat at him. His main whereabouts most of the time being in the base makes it worse paired with the fact that he seems to be the most eager to jump and "get things done." Their numbers are already small, so he feels that anything he could do isn't enough to overthrow an entire military.

By saying "Just the medic," it implies that he determines his self worth by his rank. In his eyes, he is "just" the medic. Not a great warrior that overpowers the enemy and saves his comrades, but a doctor forced to sit by and wait for his teammates to return with fresh new injuries, dead or alive.

"-Help us, we know. But you nearly caused the loss of something.. Irreplaceable. Our medic, and our most trusted friend." (TFP S1E22)

Now Optimus, on the other hand, does acknowledge what Ratchet has to give to the team, most importantly Ratchet's worth as an individual. He knows what lengths Ratchet goes to save his comrades (and, most of the time, himself) from the brink of death, he knows what a genius his old friend is for being able to conduct such intricate research with limited supplies - Hell, he knows that Ratchet built some of those supplies himself.

Learning about how Ratchet thinks so lowly of himself must've been shocking, to witness the one closest to you feel the need to experiment on himself with untested material in the hopes of being "useful" ... I think it broke Optimus' heart a little, not to mention how he was already hurt by Ratchet's rant.

Though the episode ended with things working out in the end, I really like the idea of The Argument™ making a huge mess out of both of them. At that moment they were fine and made up, but what they said/learned about each other that day will never quite leave them.

[keferon]

You all flatter me! Now I am all pumped up to continue on the TF mecha au train. Ratchlock has me in a chokehold. You can't compliment me like that, It goes to my head! I haven't writen anything in like 12 years 😭. Also Yes yes to all the angst. I thrive on it more then the fluffy moments. Jazz and Deadlock/Drift are lining up nicely for a possible meeting. But first Deadlock WILL bath in blood! Wanna see?

****

Ratchet will not let Deadlock follow him around. Nope. Instead he keeps Deadlock on strict bed rest /he's learning human terms in his free time/ with the oh so sweet promise to weld him to the wall if he doesn't listen. He knows better to not test Ratchet, he'd do it no hesitation. Deadlocks fangs and claws only cause a raised eyebrow and wave of a slipper near well... anywhere in Ratchet's swating or throwing range. Since both of them honor their word/glyphic, they made a deal that if Ratchet comes home on time then in return Deadlock will be on his best behavior.

They use every extra moment together to learn, heal, and plot together. Deadlock's wounds are fully healed by now. He is ready to be the guardian knight he vowed to be for Ratchet. Ratchet's knuckles still ache which makes his hands shaky at times, especially when cold, but his squishy perseveres like a true warrior. Deadlock has learned that revving his engine to build up heat and letting Ratchet rest against his chassis helps with those trimmering aches the bioengineer tries to rub out.

He wants to give any comfort he can to Ratchet while he's working in that cursed lab with those ungreatful sacks of slags. He has photos of each one of those fraggers saved in his proccesor. The list only grows the longer they wait to leave. If he can work around Ratchet somehow, he'll cross them off at some point with a deep satisfaction while doing it. Ratchet has been as sly as a turbofox. He's been sidestepping, talking around, and out ranting the higher ups for a while. Deadlock is so proud of him for not backing down or falling silent. Right now Deadlock has the tv playing a sitcom while tinkering with his long range blaster. His audial fins flick as the door opens and closes. Ratchet looks at the show while shrugs his winter coat off, "So has Sam confessed his undying love to the ice cream vender Carly yet?" Ratchet asks walking over to the lazy-e-boy chair.

Deadlock reaches out and taps his back before he can sit down. "Refuel first." He reminds him before going back to tightening some wires. He smiles at the grumble and is pleased when Ratchet listens to him for once and heads to the kitchen, "and no the episode ended with him getting hit by a waste disposal truck. Now it's a filler episode. Jack is trying to get out of going to an Amica Endura's beach party. He is playing up a illness called the pox."

Ratchet comes back with a warm plate of food. Deadlock nods pleased with the portion. Ratchet rolls his eyes and sits down, "They did that same plot with Raphael four seasons ago." He grumbles and bats at Deadlocks claw when he tries to ruffle his hair, "If they drag this out for three episodes like last time I am popping in a different show." Both are content, they banter and complain about the show while Ratchet eats. When Ratchet reclines his lazy-e-boy chair Deadlock puts his weapon away, "They are transferring some of us to a different base in the morning. You know First Aid. They are putting him on a transport to the sister base north east of here. Called the Alpha Blade Strikers."

Deadlock tilts his helm, "That's the one that was visiting here? The commander of that base is the one you knocked out for slagging you off right? You mentioned the base being cursed." He asks leaning forward a bit, his servos tingling for revenge.

"Yes, same place and person. Don't believe in any of that cursed stuff but a lot of talk does go around about it. Mostly one pacific mecha being the main cursed object. First Aid was stressed to tears about being transferred. He had just gotten comfortable here with his friends. I feel a bit bad for the kid." Ratchet mumbles rubbing his face with his unbandged hand.

Deadlock gives a soft smile, "From what you've told me, he keeps his helm down. I am sure he will find friends or leave when he can. But if you are worried I am not opposed to taking him with us."

"We do not kidnap people, Drift. He wouldn't want to come along anyways. He wants to 'do his part for human kind'. Besides it takes him a while to get use to change and the possibility that we may be hunted down once we leave would most likely send him into cardiac arrest." Ratchet tilts his head back gives Deadlock a stern look, "On the topic of leaving we'll need to do that sooner then planned. Something isn't right, I don't like how hyper focused Pharma has gotten with quintessons corpses. Now he is showing intrest in you. He wants to know how I programmed a mecha to be powered by an AI system so flawlessly. It's driving him up a wall to not know. You know, since a mecha has never moved around without a pilot and can not talk. He keeps begging the higher ups to let him 'partner up with me' or let him take over the 'project' since I am just 'playing around with you'."

"Right fine. No kidnapping the youngling. But do not assume we will be the ones being hunted." Deadlock hums amused but turns serious when Pharma is brought up. That name is at the top of his 'don't let Ratchet catch on' splat list, "But me being 'imprinted' on you is keeping them from letting him get his quintessons gut covered servos... Err hands sorry, on me."

Ratchet nods rubbing his face again with a tired sigh, "I made certain they know you'll attack anything that isn't me." Deadlock can tell Ratchet is fighting a yawn. He lays down behind the chair and rumbles his engine. Ratchet's lips twitch with a smile hearing how smooth it's running now, "Pharma has never been a good listener though. Just be on guard okay kid... he's ploting something." Ratchet mumbles soaking up the heat coming from behind him. He tilts his head back against the head rest looking up at Deadlocks handsome, smug, sharp fanged grin, "He tries touching you, you can kill him. Don't let him into your system. I fear what he'd do. Probably make you even more loony and unbearable." The bioengineer yawns his voice full of fondness that makes Deadlock's spark sing.

Deadlock purrs as he gently pets Ratchet's head with a, claw retracted, digit. Ratchet's eyes grow heavy missing the most feral, down right demonic, energon hungry look Deadlock has at the permission to off Pharma, "He will not harm me. But I can tell he has worn on you today. You are more drained then grumpy, your insults are lacking any heat. Recharge Ratchet. I will reconfigure our supplies and time line while you regain your strenght. Then I'll show you in the morning. You can edit it while you fuel." He chuckles as Ratchet grumbles and mumbles at him. His squishy can't fight the cozy warmth and soothing pets. Deadlock's humming engine makes a familiar white noise that has grown to mean safe to Ratchet. In no time Ratchet is out cold. Picking up a blanket with a careful pinch he lays it on top of Ratchet and follows him into recharge.

-- --

They are so close to leaving. They have a place picked out and a time. Their supplies are packed and hidden away with a close friend of Ratchet's. The thing still keeping them on base is Ratchet's need to clear out all of his research. He doesn't want anyone to have anything of his, to have a chance to twist it into something that would cause more harm and death. It's been a tedious process but Ratchet has been deleting his work bit by bit so no one catches on.

Four days before their chosen leave date Ratchet walks into his lab only to be escorted to a debriefing room. One he has have never been to. Deep under the base. He had tried getting anyone to speak up about what's happening but the escorts, six of them for fuck sakes, don't even look at him. His gut instinct is screaming DANGER the deeper they go. His skin is crawling with uneasiness and he is fighting his fight then flight instincts. He taps at the small circler tracker he has in his winter coats collar as subtly as possible. Hoping it looks more like a nervious tick then a trigger to call for help. Hopfully they aren't to far down for it to work. The group stops at a vault door and Ratchet cuts off a growl growing in his throat when one of the 'escorts' pulls out some heavy duty cuffs. "Tell me what reason you have for those or their not going on Spike." He warns fists clenching at his side. He huffs at the click of a gun and someone has the balls to press it into his back.

The young soldier, Spike, frowns and waves his hand at the others behind Ratchet, "Ratchet please it's just procedure. You have saved a lot of our lives don't make us be rough. We don't want to be. Just put them on so I don't get yelled at later." Ratchet narrows his eyes, frown tightening. Spike groans, "I don't know what they want. No one told us anything. Please I am just doing what I was told."

Ratchet can tell Spike is holding his breath, pleading silently for Ratchet to listen. Ratchet does let a growl slip when the guns barrel grinds into his spine. His head snaps around and he glares hard enough to cause pause, "Cut that out, I know exactly how far to shove that to not kill you but make damn sure you wish I did." He snarls as he holds his wrists up to Spike. The comment earns him muffled chuckles and a few glares. Cuffs on Ratchet walks into the room. Spike shoots him an apologetic look as the door closes behind him. With a heavy exhale Ratchet takes in the room. A concrete floor, circular shaped room with thick metal walls. Cameras line the ceiling edges. His exhale catches in his throat as the metal walls start rolling up to reveal bullet proof glass filled with quintessons in various stages of dissection and tests. "We have another sublevel secret lab bellow our sublevel secret lab. Of course we do." Ratchet mumbles flatly to pissed off he didn't know this base was more fucked up then he thought then to be scared.

Speakers crackle on and an annoying whine comes through, "Not the reaction I was hoping for. Come on Ratch buddy show a bit more emotion then that. Less grump more begging maybe? At least shock." Pharma's voice chimes around him in an irritating way.

"Looks like all of this has been going on for a while. Why bring me into this now Pharma?" Ratchet says calmly since that seems to piss Pharma off more. He looks at his cuffed wrists and his blood runs cold as the hair on his neck stands on end. Goosebumps cover his arms making him shudder under the heavy coat, "I am not here for shop talk."

"Mmhmm, I am going to miss that snarky brain of yours Ratchy. But you did do a lot of things that put the base in danger. Security has taken notice of a lot of data, intel, cameras and video footage being tampered with." Pharma almost has a mocking sing songy tone to him. Strange, Ratchet knows he didn't tamper with anything that would jeopardized the security of the base. Definitely not the cameras or video footage, "You know what you've done and what we do to traitors. I already have received the ok to take over your work. The good commander is allowing me to say goodbye to you since we were such good old friends. Don't worry. I'll take good care of your Mecha." Yeah, Pharma sounds real choked up about all this, Ratchet rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, he'll take care of you Pharma." Ratchet keeps his tone and body language nonchalant as he studies the cuffs. He takes note of the little bit of gap, if he dislocates his thumbs.. "Only thing that's annoying about all of this is I'll be late getting home."

"I swear you are boring me to death on purpose Ratchet!!" Pharma snarls as a thud noise rings through the speakers

"Oh could I be so lucky?" Ratchet sighs sounding hopeful. He stiffens as the room lights turn red and multiple hisses of compressed air being released surrounds him. A robotic voice rings out a warning that the test subjects are being released. Ratchet whips his head around stepping in a circle as snarles and screeches drowned out the warnings. Ratchet steadies his breathing as best he can as his hands trimble and heart beats wildly. Deadlock would be livid if he doesn't go down giving it his all to get back to him. Ratchet would be just as pissed to, "I'll do what I can but you better hurry kid..."

-- --

"You weren't suppose to do that Pharma." A flat voice speaks up from behind Pharma after picking up the chair he had kicked away. Pharma scoffs and grumbles, "You are not even going to ask him what he ment by being late to his quarters?" The chief of security drones on.

"Be sure to capture all angles. I want detailed shots of it all." Pharma growls removings his hand from the release butten he hit hard enough to crack. "You are being paranoid per usual. Don't tell me you never heard the rammblings of a dying man?" Pharma sighs, with a dramatic flick of his wrist he walks out of the room.

"No, but I imagine I will soon enough." The security director mumbles under his breath. Reaching over the chair he resets the cameras.

OH. OH THEY ARE FUUUUUUCKED

OH THEY ARE SO SO INCREDIBLY FUCKED THEY ARE GONNA GET SPREAD EVENLY ALL OVER THE FLOOR AND I WANNA SEE IT SO B A D

Next

[w1tchd0ct0r]

Gonna leave some thoughts here cause I probably won’t be doing anything with them sooner or later

Anyway while I can see ratchet sorta just coming in and taking FA away, I can also kinda see something happening to Pharma and FA kinda just coincidentally ends up in ratchets care. Ex; Delphi arc/tyrest/tarn. Everything in mtmte and ll makes me want to think that the timeline would have first aid be born near thes start/middle of the war but a small part of me wants first aid to be made maybe somewhere near the Delphi arc and the lost light crew will just have a sparkling First Aid running around their medbay lol. Then again, we have Tarn in the mix and then there isn’t really a use of Tarnma meeting. (Unless you want to count Damnus in the mix as well which is just as juicy)

But I can see First Aid being a sort of unwanted sparkling especially if Pharma is having him during the Delphi arc. Ambulon would probably help babysit him when Pharma’ll go out and give Tarn his cogs. Not that Ambulon knows of course. Pharma I imagine is very soft with First Aid but Tarn I’m kinda iffy with. Not too sure if he would also be softer/overprotective or the same self aka mass murderer. Both sides are surprised when they find out about First Aid however.

First Aid would obviously be quite clueless about the whole red rust. I mean his carrier has been locked in a space where he can’t hold him, everyone around him is dying sooner than later, Ambulon is stressed, so he’s stressed—it’s all a mess really. He becomes torn after Delphi—going into a similar state like when Ambulon dies. With Ambulon being the only person close enough to get him out of such a state. Ratchet will try to tell him that it was for the better I imagine. That Pharma, his own carrier was someone who helped kill and gave no mercy to the ill and bedridden patients of Delphi. By all means, First aid should hate Pharma but First Aid loves his carrier. And in memory of his carrier, he sees Pharma. In a younger FA timeline, he probably doesn’t know what happened or how but he knows that his carrier is died. Or at least in a similar state. Add in the sensitivity of carrier/sparkling bonds and you have a damn lot of angst lmao.

In turn, Ratchets and First Aids starting relationship is very strained. He doesn’t know who this mech is or why he’s here but all he knows is the Ratchet killed his carrier. Eventually they will become close but First Aid will still hold that grudge. Even when the soft and gentle words guide and teach him through a surgery or procedure. First Aid can’t help the boil in his blood when he watches Ratchet relax his optics and looks at him with something so tender and parental. He yearns that where Ratchet stood, there was a jet frame colored like a painting with reds, blues, and whites. He’s remorseful and I want him to be like forcefully adopted by dratchet like a kitten hissing their heads off when you try to pick them up lmao.

I haven’t thought to much about the tyrest arc but when Pharma meets Aid again, his voice suddenly turns fragile. His wings’ll tilt down in an inviting manner. It’s unsettling due to the fact that he was just talking crazy to a body less ratchet. But Pharma is crazy. Pharma is a bad person. Pharma is his carrier. If Pharma were to continue with ambulon’s death then I can definitely see First Aid becoming resentful. Now he holds resentment towards both his REAL creator and his current caretakers. Talk about mommy issues…(he just like me fr)

Maybe his sire is a better person..? WRONG! Because apparently his sire is TARN of all people…Who would have known. I think that Tarn and First Aid’s meeting would make most sense if the whole sparkling + creator bond stuff were especially established. Because I genuinely have no idea how Tarn would find out. Maybe they meet when Tarn is flying to rip Megatron and his crew in pieces on that flower planet(can’t remember name) idrk I haven’t thought too much about it.

AU IDEA

An AU. Listen. Vague posting till I actually get all the details laid out somewhat on discord. An au where Pharma is First Aid's carrier and Tarn is his sire. Tarn is NOT involved till later on and Pharma is a struggling single mom. Ratchet comes and fuckes everything up like he likes to do, and basically CPS's First Aid and takes him against his will. Pharma gets depressed and goes into denial about having a son till the events with Tyrest where they reunite for a while. And thats all im saying for now

[muletia]

Ratchet is the type of bot who when asked "would you still love me if I were a worm?" would respond with "no" in the most indignant and irritated tone, only to immediately start explaining how he’d take care of you anyway <3

“Ratchet?” you ask, staring at the medic as he reads a report at his workstation.

“What?” he sighs. “I’m busy,” he adds, though he tilts his helm slightly in your direction, making it clear that you have his full attention.

“Would you still love me if I were a worm?” you fire the question.

The writing stops. And although you can’t see his full faceplate, you can make out the emerging grimace of irritation.

“What kind of stupid question is that?!” he bursts out. He turns to face you, gesturing wildly. “No? Do you have any idea how much time I’d have to spend educating myself about such primitive organisms? How many hours I’d need to ensure you had the proper living conditions? I already have my hands full as it is.”

You’re convinced that he’s finished his rant and given you a clear answer, but before you can open your mouth, Ratchet adds:

“And how do you even imagine functioning, hmm? The probability of someone stepping on you would be practically certain. I’d have to keep you with me constantly to make sure you didn’t end up dead, and that’s just what I need. A worm crawling all over my keyboard, and having to warn everyone to watch out for you. No, absolutely not.”

The tension fades when he notices your smile. Ratchet falters, now realizing he’s fallen into your trap.

“Ugh, don’t talk to me for the rest of the day.”

“I’d still love you if you turned into a worm too.”

He turns away from you, but it’s not enough to hide the growing blue blush blooming across his faceplate.

[radioactiverats]

Mentor Starscream x seeker!reader (13/?)

More timeline jumping :,) After you sneak off to learn first aid from Ratchet, but before you get beat by Megs.

Starscream gets taken captive by the Autobots - and doesn't expect the rescue party to be a party of one.

---

From your shared berth, you sleepily watch Starscream prepare for his mission.

"It's just some run-of-the-mill recon task," He sniffed, clearly having deemed it inferior to his abilities. "As usual, better done under the cover of night." He goes through weapon checks with a scowl. "I don't understand why this couldn't have been relegated to anyone else. Even the Delta Squadron could do this. Fly over the coordinates, report back on what you see. But what our glorious leader says is law, hm?"

And tonight's law was apparently for Starscream to carry out the task alone.

"If you deem such a task beneath you, Starscream," Megatron had drawled, "that must mean you're more than capable of handling it yourself."

You'd added that to Starscream's ever-growing list of grievances against your supreme leader. He'd stormed back that night and ranted and raged himself into a near-catatonic state.

"I know that I sometimes say things I shouldn't when Megatron comes up with an exceedingly stupid plan," He'd hissed, "but I didn't even do anything that time!"

"Sounds like a trap to me," You'd said offhandedly, from where you were perched on the berth. Starscream had frozen mid-step then, pacing interrupted by your statement. You both knew Megatron had something against Starscream. Enjoyed tormenting him at every opportunity, but something wasn't adding up about this mission - you were just surprised that Starscream thought the same thing.

"Megatron still needs my abilities," Starscream said carefully. "You may be right, but I doubt he's going to actively attempt to be rid of me at this juncture."

You offered to come with him, but Starscream immediately shot your idea down. "And what if it is a trap? You get yourself captured as well? Absolutely not."

So, you see him off at the door. "Be careful, okay?"

He smirks. "What, are you doubting me?"

"...You know what I mean."

On seeing your expression, he caves.

"Alright, alright. I promise to be extra careful. Satisfied?"

You nod, placated. "I'll save you a cube."

Starscream gives you an affectionate pat on the helm. "See that you do."

Only the next morning, he isn't back. It's not uncommon to encounter unexpected delays in missions, you try to convince yourself. Maybe he found something really good and got held up on the bridge with mission reports.

But deep down, you know that's not it.

It's only when you return from afternoon training to see the cube still on his desk, untouched, that you begin to panic in earnest.

Knockout has a servo to his comms when you burst into the medbay. His optics dart to you, expression frozen. You immediately know that something must have gone terribly wrong.

"What is it?" You say shrilly, rushing to him. "Tell me!"

"Woah, okay. First, let's stay calm, alright? It won't do any good to work yourself up into such a state-"

"It's Starscream, isn't it?"

Knockout grimaces, and without warning, hoists you bodily up to sit on a medical berth. He leans in, effectively caging you against his frame so you couldn't squirm away to do anything rash. Your spark drops. That bad?

"Megatron's got bots working on it. So what I'm about to tell you, you promise not to do anything impulsive?"

You nod, terrified of what you're about to hear, yet desperate to know.

Knockout ex-vents loudly.

"Starscream's been taken captive by the Autobots."

"What?"

Knockout ex-vents again, turning his optics to the ceiling.

"He said it was just some easy recon mission!"

"Things happen," Knockout attempts to soothe you. "The Autobots aren't like... Decepticons. They won't treat him too badly. And like I said, Megatron's got bots working on getting him back. So just sit tight, okay?"

You do relax a bit at the reminder of how the Autobots treat their prisoners. If anything, your previous experience in the Autobot base tells you that Starscream's probably not severely injured, if Ratchet has anything to say about it. But somehow, you're not entirely sure about Megatron.

Before setting off, Starscream had narrowed the mission coordinates down to a sandy, desert-like area. You'd gotten a strange feeling, then. Desert? Like where you got picked up by Bumblebee? But then again, Terra had many deserts, so you reluctantly put your hunch down to uneasiness and nothing more.

Now, you weren't so sure. Your optics slide to Knockout, who's still staring at you apprehensively. Maybe your 'conspiracy theory' was best kept a secret for now. Maybe Megatron would have him back in a few days. Maybe Starscream would manage to escape. Maybe you were just overthinking it?

You proceed to overthink it for a few more days, and by the end of the week, you've lost all patience.

"Surely we're not this incompetent!" You rage, your pacing wearing a hole in the floor of the medbay. "It's been a week!"

"Sweet Primus," Knockout mutters under his breath, wearily spinning round from his desk to face you. "You're just like him."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Knockout says smoothly, ignoring your suspiciously narrowed optics. "What were you saying?"

You stalk over to his desk, and Knockout groans internally. Nothing good can come of the grim set of your intake.

"Knockout, something is wrong."

You turn away, and Knockout grimly watches as you do another few laps of the medbay. It's only a matter of time before you come up with an idea that will get yourself killed. Three... two...

"I'm going to get him myself."

...one.

Knockout groans. "And how do you plan on doing that? Look, I know you care about him and all, but listen to yourself. You're talking about taking on the enemy faction alone - and might I add that Starscream is an exceedingly valuable prisoner?"

"But no one's looking for him!" You burst out. "If I don't go, no one will!"

"It's a suicide mission," Knockout warns. "Think about what Starscream would say."

"Well, he's not here, is he?"

"I'm serious!" Knockout snaps, throwing his servos up. "Starscream's most likely alive, but if you try to break him out, it'll be seen as an attack on the Autobot base. I'm not worried about his survival, but if you attack first, you're a dead mech for sure. And did you realize that you're woefully unarmed? Even their scout has those..." Knockout's faceplate crinkles with distaste. "...knife hands."

"Then give me a weapon," You plead. "I'll take my chances."

Knockout stares at you, speechless.

"You're out of your processor. Don't be so willing to throw your spark away," He hisses.

Your helm dips as you stare at his pedes.

"...I don't have anything going for me if he's not around," You say softly. "The way it looks, we're either going to die in this war, or die trying to get out of it. I'll take my chances."

You don't dare raise your optics, but eventually, Knockout sighs.

"I've got some older null rays from a recent repair," He says tiredly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

He looks over his shoulder at you. "It'll hurt."

"It will...?"

Knockout laughs, but it's bitter.

"Of course it will. How do you think they're powered?"

"I... I always thought it was an external weapon."

But now, thinking back, you'd always marvelled at how smoothly Starscream handled his weapons. Almost like... they were a part of him.

"Most cogged bots have some kind of weapon," Knockout says. "But if you want upgrades, or to permanently add another weapon, it needs to be fused to your energon lines."

Oh.

Your grimace says it all.

"Look," Knockout says gently, "you don't have to do this."

You shake your helm, denta gritted as you climb onto a medical berth.

"You know as well as I do that if our roles were reversed, Starscream would come for me."

---

As a high-ranking military officer both in the Vosian Air Forces and the High Guard, Starscream was no stranger to being captured. However, it was the first time he'd been captured by the Autobots since the civil war had started.

He paced his cell restlessly, a snarl low in his vocaliser. His internal chronometer told him it had been a week since he'd been captured. Admittedly, the Autobots' treatment of POWs was way better than that of his own faction - his cell was clean and he was given rations three times a day. He almost wanted to scoff at how the Autobots' moral code ranked above their dwindling energon supply, but as things stood, he wasn't complaining.

A week. Surely the Decepticons weren't that incompetent - he'd trained a good portion of them himself. Which led to the only other possible conclusion - your voice echoed in his processor.

It had been a trap.

Starscream snarled, slamming a servo against the wall of his cell. He should have known something was wrong from the very beginning - this was clearly a test of some sort, to see whether or not he'd outlived his usefulness.

Megatron wasn't coming for him. A week of waiting had made that abundantly clear. And he was still stuck here, not for lack of trying - but the Autobots had apparently discovered some ancient Cybertronian technology on Terra that allowed them to craft Enforcer-level containment. As much as Starscream hated to admit it, he was practically powerless on his own.

But even if making it back to Megatron didn't matter, there was still you. He'd promised you.

Starscream gritted his denta.

You were the only one who actually cared about him. The thought of you worried out of your processor unsettled him deeply.

Not only that, but a lot could happen in a week.

What if you'd crashed during training? What if you were being bullied?

What if... what if Megatron had decided to eliminate you, too?

Starscream had to get out of here. Staggering to his pedes, he scanned the cell for any weak points - perhaps, even after using his null rays, he'd still have enough in his reserves to fly -

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

Starscream whirled around, intake bared in a snarl.

Ratchet.

"Medic," Starscream snarled. "Come to put me out of my misery?"

Ratchet's faceplate scrunched in disgust. "Of course not. I volunteered to deliver your ration, but now I see that I've come at the wrong time."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand!"

"Actually, I think I do." Ratchet's gruff voice had softened.

He seemed to hesitate for a klik, though.

"...I'm assuming you know about... about the...?"

"The what?" Starscream spat.

"You have a student, don't you?" Ratchet hedged.

At mention of you, Starscream stiffened, hackles rising - not unlike one of those Terran creatures that the children had once brought to base. Kot. Cat?

"What's it to you?" He hissed, wings flared.

...Okay. It was clear that you hadn't told him about sneaking off. To the Autobot base. That made sense. But evidently, Starscream still hadn't found out about your little jaunt to Ratchet's medbay.

Ratchet ex-vented. A frame-deep, weary ex-vent. He was way too tired to deal with this scrap.

"Forget it."

"Forget it?" Starscream shrieked. "You can't reveal that the Autobots have knowledge of my student and tell me to forget it!"

"Keep your fragging voice down," Ratchet snapped. "And it's just me, not the Autobots."

"You? What the frag are you -"

"Shut your intake for a nanoklik and calm down," Ratchet interrupted. "Your systems are going absolutely haywire, and it's not because of the cell." Ignoring Starscream's protests about being scanned, he steamrolled on. "I'm sure you're worried about your student, correct?"

Starscream fell sullenly silent, refusing to answer.

"No?" Ratchet pressed. "I was going to offer to comm Knockout for updates on them, but if you're not concerned, then -"

"Wait, medic."

Starscream ex-vented heavily for a klik, servos clenched into tight fists. "Yes. I do want to know."

Ratchet regarded him silently, taking in his lowered helm, hunched shoulders, trembling wings. Primus, Ratchet thought. He really does care.

Eventually he ex-vents. "Fine. I'll let you know."

Ratchet pushed the energon cube into Starscream's cell, but hesitated just as he turned to leave.

"You know that kid would do anything for you, right?"

"I don't need you to tell me," Starscream snarled, but his spark clearly wasn't in it.

Ratchet's reply is cut short by a strange scraping sound at the ceiling of Starscream's cell. Following Ratchet's confused gaze, Starscream whirls round just in time to see flakes of concrete crumble off the top corner - and suddenly, he's thrown back by an explosive blast of searing heat.

Starscream groans, but he abruptly hears something that stops his systems short.

"Sir!"

What the frag. Starscream stumbles to his pedes and viciously bats the clouds of dust away.

What the actual frag.

"Cadet? Is that really - how - ?"

"Sir, it's really me!" You say frantically. "Come on, let's go-"

"Backup?"

"No, no backup, it's just me, so we really, really have to go - oh. Hi, Ratchet."

As the dust clouds clear, the Autobot medic comes into view. Ratchet's staring at you both, an incredibly constipated expression on his faceplate. This had to be divine comedy. He groans.

As soon as he saw that it was you, he knew that it wasn't going to be a real fight, but...

"Kid, did you really have to blow the roof in?"

You cringe. "Sorry."

Starscream watches your exchange with equally mounting confusion and horror. "What is the meaning of this?" He shrieks. You wince. You'd forgotten the situation you were in.

"How in Primus' name do you know each other? And why... are those null rays? What have you done to yourself?!"

You groan. "Can you ream me out later, when we're not, I don't know, in the middle of the Autobot base?"

Unfortunately, the base's alarms chose that exact moment to go off. "Frag."

"Language!" Starscream snaps.

"Okay, okay. Um. I'm actually sorry about your roof, Ratchet."

Ratchet just groans.

You mentally promise to send him another gift basket as you blast an even bigger hole in the roof, grab Starscream's servo and jet the hell out of there, just in time.

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