NOW THAT IT'S DONE, i can post this tattoo design I made a whiiiile back for @constantzeigarnik >:D i've been so excited to see it and it ended up gorgeous, thanks for working with me
If only I'd listened, that damn limb stealing machine took both my legs.
TBH it IS the hottest tattoo ever, look at the linework, the colors... the moment I saw your art I knew I wanted you to be the one to design my tattoo, and I have 0 regrets on that choice.
Help me plan this Soundwave/Ratchet fanfiction, please for the love of Primus...
So this is a bit of a weird post, because I have part of an outline for a long ass oneshot I want to do under the read more, but I don’t know where I want to actually TAKE the story, so I need ideas, suggestions, just whatever you guys want to throw at me for what to do with this.
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Rumble injured on battlefield, drags self off to secluded location to ping Soundwave and get rescued. Damage is sever, and he’s having trouble functioning enough to communicate to the others where he is, but eventually manages to get his coordinates out.
Ratchet finds Rumble in his injured state while doing SOMETHING and hardly even considers that Rumble is a Decepticon before he gets down to try and help him, despite Rumble weakly trying to fight him off and calling him some colorful language.
Rumble sends out a frantic comm to try and warn Soundwave and the others not to come and get him, that he’s been found, he’s going to be captured or offlined outright by this medic, and he can’t really do anything to stop it. Soundwave is already on his way, and Ravage will get there even sooner than him. They ignore Rumbles warnings that they should stay away.
Ratchet is well aware of the fact that encrypted comms are being sent, and he can only assume that Soundwave is WELL aware of what is happening here, but he puts that out of his mind and sets to work on trying to stabilize Rumble there on the battlefield because Rumble is just going to bleed out there before anyone else could hope to get to him if he doesn’t do anything about it. After a few harsh words from both Ratchet and Rumble, Rumble finally stops struggling and Ratchet sets to work.
Ravage arrives and slinks in the shadows once he sees that Ratchet seems to be working on Rumble, and he knows damn well that no matter what Ratchet is actually doing, attacking while he’s got his hands deep in Rumble’s chassis is only going to lead to Rumble’s death, so he hangs back to assess the situation and update Soundwave, who is only a short ways away, on what’s happening. The bond between them all is a frantic mess of panic and worry from cassette and carrier alike.
Since Rumble is awake, Ratchet tries to talk rumble through what he’s doing to try and save his life as he works, but Rumble can’t really do much to respond with the condition he’s in, so he is mostly just talking to himself. Rumble doesn’t understand why the medic won’t shut up, but some small part of him is grateful that he at least knows what’s being done to him, and he figures that’s why Ratchet keeps talking even with no response from the cassette.
Ratchet goes quiet when he hears a gun cock and he looks up to see that Soundwave has arrived. There is a brief moment between the two where they stare each other down like they’re just waiting for the other to make the first move, but Ratchet cuts the silence by demanding that Soundwave put the gun down and get his aft over there to help him. Rumble’s got more leaking fuel lines than Ratchet has hands.
Soundwave hesitates for only a fraction of a second before he quickly lowers his weapon and makes his way over to help in any way he can. Ratchet gives instructions, and Soundwave answers any questions about the cassette’s frame type and modifications that they might have truthfully as Ratchet works to save Rumble’s life. All the while Ravage and the birds watch from cover, questioning what’s happening, trying to calm a frantic Frenzy down as much as they can, but that is proving to be quite difficult. The only thing that even begins to kind of calm him is just that Soundwave is there at Rumble’s side now, but he is NOT happy about the fact that there is an Autobot working on him right then.
Ratchet is contacted by Optimus/Prowl/Jazz about just where the hell he wandered off to, and Ratchet informs them that he’s kinda busy trying to put someone back together. When questioned about who he’s working on, he dodges the question in some way, and perhaps ends the call early depending on who he’s talking to. Maybe Soundwave listens in on that comm?? Maybe he’s too busy focusing on Rumble??
By the time they finally have Rumble in a more stabilized state, the sounds of battle have died down and it’s gotten almost uncomfortably silent, and Ratchet is getting ping after ping of mechs questioning where he is, concerned. No word of any medical emergencies that might take priority over treating Rumble, and maybe that makes Ratchet realize exactly what he’s doing. Working on the enemy.
Soundwave has only been contacted by Megatron asking where the fuck he is and why he dipped in the middle of battle. Soundwave answers truthfully, at least up to the fact that Rumble is injured. He leaves Ratchet out of the conversation. Megatron isn’t happy, but he just tells Soundwave to get back to them as soon as he can.
Ratchet isn’t too happy to let Rumble go in the condition that he’s in, but Rumble is finally at least stable enough for Soundwave to take him and transport him back to the Decepticon base, and it’s clear that they both need to get back to their respective factions before someone stumbles across what they’re doing. Ratchet is pretty sure he could defend himself from the scrutinization of the Autobot higher ups if they had any qualms about him helping a defenseless and dangerously injured mech, but the lower ranked mechs would certainly TALK and who knew what problems that would bring up. He gives Soundwave some rather strict instructions on how to handle Rumble (much to Soundwave’s annoyance) but hands the cassette off to him and tells him to take his runts and scram before either of them get caught.
Soundwave takes Rumble (who was in and out of conciousness) and starts to leave, but stops and looks at the gun in his other hand. He turns back towards Ratchet, who’s back is to him as he quickly gatheres up his tools, and he raises the gun to aim at it. Ratchet stills when he hears the gun begin to power up.
All at once the cassettes begin to yell at Soundwave through the bond, demanding how he could even THINK about taking Ratchet out after he just saved Rumbles life.
Soundwave lowers his gun and leaves, Rumble tucked against his dock.
* * *
When they meet next, it’s face to face in the heat of battle, and Soundwave has the upper hand. Ratchet’s already been in one rough scrap and taken some damage himself, and Soundwave stumbles upon him while he’s trying to make some quick field repairs so he can get back out there and help more bots. Soundwave is in about as good a condition as he can be, and he has his weapon in hand at the ready, so when Ratchet looks up and sees him, he figures he’s finally run out of luck.
Soundwave contemplates Ratchet for a brief moment, not immediately raising his gun towards the medic like he had last time, because he can see that Ratchet is hurt, and SOMETHING makes him stop and consider his course of action. This time there’s no cassettes yelling at him not to do it, to spare the medic, but he can FEEL all of his cassettes are alive and well, Rumble included, and that’s only thanks to Ratchet.
They have a stare-down for a few tense moments, before the sound of the battle (some sort of explosion or order from Megatron in the distance) makes Soundwave look up from Ratchet. Ratchet tries to reach for his weapon again while Soundwave is distracted, but Soundwave looks back down to him before he can.
Much to Ratchet’s surprise though, Soundwave turns from him and walks away. Nothing is said or spoken between the two of them through this whole encounter, but as Soundwave is walking away, Ratchet realizes that because of what he did for Rumble, Soundwave would look the other way just this ONCE.
* * *
The scene begins with Megatron and Soundwave overlooking a live survailence together of 4 captured autobots currently being restrained by Thundercracker and Hook, one of which is Ratchet.
Soundwave is unfazed when Megatron entrusts the task of interrogating and extracting information from the Autobots to him, and really Soundwave sees no problem in what he’s going to have to do. It’s work he’s done before, it’s work he’ll do again.
He starts with Ratchet, because he happens to be the highest ranking Autobot that they were able to capture, so he would be the most likely to have sensitive information stored on his processor compared to the others. Soundwave does happen to know that Ratchet is FAR from an easy target to work with.
The cassettes seem ready to go in with Soundwave and help with the interrogation as they have plenty of times before, but this time Soundwave instructs them to wait, that he will handle Ratchet alone. They’re all a bit confused by this and immediately start trying to question Soundwave on why they can’t help, but he doesn’t give them an answer. He goes in alone, and Ratchet honestly doesn’t look too terribly surprised to see him.
Ratchet is handcuffed to the wall, and he has been trying to see if he can break out of them in any way while he was alone, but he stops struggling as soon as Soundwave comes in. There is a short silence before Ratchet begins questioning Soundwave, asking what he intends to do and how fast he thinks he’s actually going to be able to pull off whatever hack he clearly intends to do. He knows Prime and the other Autobots are going to come and get them out of this situation, that’s not a question, but it’s just a matter of whether or not they will make it in time to protect sensitive information from the Decepticons.
Soundwave of course doesn’t answer him, so Ratchet tries a different approach, asking where the cassettes are, and Soundwave just assures him that they’re keeping watch.
“Lemmie guess, it’s nothing personal, right?”
Soundwave sets to work, just a LITTLE surprised that Ratchet isn’t struggling against his restraints, or against his touch when he sets to find small ports on his helm so that he can make the proper connections he needs to begin an assault on Ratchet’s firewalls. That’s where the real fight would be and they both know it.
Ratchet knows he won’t be able to get any information about what Soundwave (and perhaps Megatron) plans to do with him and the other captured Autobots, so he lets his attention wander elsewhere. If he can’t get Soundwave to divulge anything, then perhaps he could at least throw him off his game by questioning some of his previous actions.
He asks Soundwave why he didn’t kill him when he had the chance.
Soundwave, to his own slight horror, realizes he doesn’t know which time Ratchet is talking about.
There are a few short moments that Soundwave doesn’t do anything, doesn’t even move as he seems to freeze mid search, and through the bond he can feel his cassettes questioning what’s happening, what Ratchet could have possibly said or done to stall Soundwave like that.
Megatron ALSO questions what Ratchet said, as he is still watching through the surveillance feed. Soundwave is pulled from his stupor when his leader begins to question what the Autobot said, as an inkling of doubt for his most trusted officer’s loyalty. Soundwave is quick to assure Megatron that what Ratchet is saying is well out of context. Megatron at the very least seems to accept this answer.
Soundwave, with his telepathic abilities, can sense Ratchet’s nerves, that he IS worried about what’s about to happen and is likely buffing up his firewalls and preparing for whatever attack on his system is coming. He can also feel the total, utter DEFIANCE all but radiating from Ratchet. Ratchet isn’t afraid of being hacked or anything else Soundwave night do to him, but he is afraid of letting of letting Optimus, his friends, and the Autobots as a whole down if Soundwave broke through his defenses before the others could come to help.
* * *
A scene in which (on earth) Soundwave and Ratchet end up trapped in a cave as a collapse seals them in. It happens mid battle, and neither bot are sure that anyone is aware that they’re in there. Soundwave tries to make contact with the other Decepticons, and Ratchet tries for the Autobots, but neither can get through.
Ratchet realizes he doesn’t know where his weapon has gone, and Soundwave lets his cassettes out of his dock. He’s outnumbered, and not for the first time he figures that if they want to kill him, he’s at a clear disadvantage and he might not make it out this time. Not that he would go down without a fight, but 1 against 5 is hardly a fair fight, even if four of them are casseticons.
Much to his surprise though, Soundwave doesn’t order them to attack like he expected. Soundwave instead instructs them to begin pulling rubble and rocks aside from the entrance so they can hopefully dig their way out. All of the cassettes take a look at Ratchet, but they seem… oddly relaxed with him there, and don’t seem to regard him as much of a threat. Ratchet finds it odd, but he’s not going to push his luck and ask WHY they don’t want him dead right then, not wanting to change whatever decision they had seemingly already made about him.
Besides, more hands helping just means that they have a better chance of getting out of there faster. After a moment of steeling himself, Ratchet doesn’t need to be told to get up and get to work alongside the Decepticons.
They all work in relative silence for a short while, though Ratchet can FEEL the encrypted comms going back and forth between Soundwave and his cassettes but he tries not to think about what they could possibly be talking about too much, instead just focusing on trying to clear enough rubble away that they could all escape.
Frenzy goes to pull a rather large (for him) rock away from the pile and things begin to shift. Rumble and the other cassettes are able to quickly duck out of the way, but Frenzy is caught so off guard that he doesn’t have the time to as a huge chunk of rubble comes right at him. Soundwave tries to snatch him up and pull him to saftey, but before he can, Ratchet has his arms around Frenzy and is shielding him with his much larger frame. The rubble hits him hard, and Ratchet can feel his shoulder get half torn off in the process, but he is able to keep Frenzy from getting hurt.
Frenzy isn’t too happy about being held by an autobot, but after he quickly squirms away from Ratchet and is calmed, he seems as stunned as the others do at what just happened. Soundwave recovers first as Ratchet pulls away and goes to sit down once more and have a look at his shoulder as best as he can, see what he can do to make an on the fly repair if possible. He orders his Cassettes to continue on and be EXTRA careful this time, before he makes his way over to Ratchet.
Ratchet is of course surprised to see Soundwave approach him as he’s trying to adjust his shoulder to an angle he can work on, and he pauses, almost telling him to leave him be and that he will help as soon as he’s able to. He doesn’t though as Soundwave kneels down beside him, and asks what tools Ratchet has on hand. Ratchet seems skeptical, not sure why Soundwave would want to assist him, and not being quite sure just how much medical knowledge Soundwave actually had. Soundwave was a communication’s officer, a spy, and an engineer, that much he knew.
Soundwave surprises him though by stating that he had worked on injuries like this before, that he was almost always the one to do his cassette’s repairs when necessary, and that Frenzy had sustained one very similar to this before in the heat of battle. Multiple times.
Soundwave doesn’t touch Ratchet right away though, simply looks the wound over as Ratchet goes back and forth internally on whether or not he really wants to risk letting a Decepticon, especially one as crafty as Soundwave, have a go and messing with any of his internals even if it was just his shoulder.
Rumble grunts as he hefts a large chunk of rubble off to the side after breaking it off with his pile-driver, and even if Soundwave went to go assist them it wad clear it would take way too long to clear out with just them. If Soundwave could help him get his arm back to at least a functional level though, then perhaps they could really make some decent progress.
After a moment’s hesitation, Ratchet agrees, and Soundwave sets to work on removing some of the exterior plating on Ratchet’s shoulder so he can have a look at just how bad it is before attempting to do a makeshift field repair on the medic. Ratchet does his best to guide Soundwave and assist in anyway he can, and thankfully Soundwave doesn’t seem to get irritated by the back seat doctoring, but he clearly hadn’t been lying when he said he had dealt with injuries like this before because Ratchet didn’t actually have to direct him terribly much.
A small silence comes over the cave, and Ratchet watches the cassettes continue to work on removing what rubble they can as Soundwave makes the repairs. He gets a bit lost in thought about how much of a bizzare situation this actually is, because Soundwave was his enemy. A notorious, dangerous one at that, and though it was clear Soundwave was only helping him because it would only increase the chance that he and his cassettes would make it out of here online. That was the only reason, right?
Ratchet’s curiosity gets the better of him, and he speaks up, asking why Soundwave continues to ignore the massive target that Ratchet knows he has on his back as the Autobot’s CMO, and how much of a massive blow it would be to the Autobot cause if he was lost. Ratchet didn’t exactly have an ego about it, but they were painfully short staffed on mechs who could do the life saving repairs that a lot of them often required after battle. If he was taken out, it’d likely only be a matter of time before mechs started dropping like nano-gnats, even with Ratchet’s efforts to train others in his field.
Soundwave doesn’t respond at first, instead keeping his focus on the repairs he was doing until he pulled back and hands whatever tools Ratchet had lent him back, and instructs him to move his arm and make sure it’s going to hold until they can get out of there. Ratchet doesn’t expect an answer to his question after that, but he does as he’s instructed and it’s certainly an improvement. He can’t exactly think of anything more he would have done if their positions were switched, and he can’t help but wonder if Soundwave has some proper medical training, or if he’s simply been forced to learn from experience. Either possibility seems equally likely to Ratchet.
Ratchet is starting to push himself to his feet when Soundwave speaks up, surprising not only Ratchet, but the cassettes as well. He tells Ratchet that there aren’t many mechs who would look past the insignia to help a member of the other side when they need it most. He is a Decepticon through and through, but it is nice to occasionally be reminded that in the end they are all just cybertronians. It’d be a shame to get rid of such a bright reminder.
Ratchet doesn’t really know how he feels about that at all, and it doesn’t seem like Soundwave cares how Ratchet feels about it because he is already going back to helping his cassettes with the rubble. The cassettes are giving Soundwave a bit of an odd look, but they don’t say anything and after a few moments they get back to work trying to dig them out of the cave. They’re gonna be able to make a lot more progress with the bigger mechs back in it too, but Ratchet is left in a bit of a surprised stupor at first. He can’t help but think that three times is a pattern…
That said, he’s not willing to risk prying deeper into that, because like Soundwave said, he was a Decepticon and Ratchet wasn’t really willing to find out how much patience he had (though he suspected quite a bit considering he put up with the Decepticon High Command). Instead, Ratchet rolled his shoulder once more before getting up and assisting once more with clearing the rubble. Thankfully, it isn’t long after that when they begin to hear muffled chatter and orders being given from the other side, and they double their efforts to escape before finally light breaks through, and Ratchet sees the familiar, comforting face of Optimus greeting him.
No sign of Megatron or the other Decepticons anywhere though.
When Ratchet glances back at Soundwave, the cassettes have already returned to his dock, and as soon as the other Autobots notice Soundwave, guns go up and stay locked on the Decepticon TIC. Soundwave freezes, and for a brief second nobody seems to know what to do because they have a high commander cornered and outnumbered by a long shot. Soundwave looks between the bots, and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking, but just from his stance it doesn’t look like he’s even going to try fighting against the situation.
Ratchet hauls himself out of the hole first though and shakes his helm, telling Optimus that the battle is over, and he knows that Optimus isn’t about to order the death of an unarmed mech. Soundwave is hardly a mech that could ever really qualify as unarmed for a number of reasons, but Rachet knows damn well that doesn’t matter to Optimus. Mentioning that needs to check the rough patch job Soundwave did on his shoulder ASAP also does wonders to soften Optimus’ spark.
Unfortunately, the other Autobots are louder than Ratchet, more steadfast in the fact that they have the chance to take Soundwave into their custody, to sway the tide of war in their favor, and that they need to do so. Optimus knows this as well, and though he wants to simply look the other way, he knows he can’t. He orders Ratchet to report to First Aid, and for Jazz and Red Alert to take Soundwave into custody. Everyone there can see how upset Ratchet is by this descision, even if he schools his expression quickly and follows the orders he’s given, and nobody knows for sure why.
Soundwave watches Ratchet as he is placed into stasis cuffs, firmly locking his dock as he does so (much to the annoyance of his cassettes) and sending a quick, encrypted comm. to Megatron to let him know what’s happening. He does not get a response.
* * *
Soundwave is sat in a cell, his processor aching horribly for a number of reasons. The foremost reason being the long winded complaining and raging from both Rumble and Frenzy from within his dock for pretty much the entire duration of their transport into the Autobot holding cells, though they had long since gone quiet since Ravage had scolded them, and they had realized just what kind of an effect they had been having on their host.
Hours later though and they still haven’t been let out of the dock though, and Soundwave can feel the fact that all of his cassettes are starting to get antsy. They wanted out, even to just wander around the cell and stretch their limbs, but Soundwave knew that was just asking for trouble, for them to be hurt…. He couldn’t allow that. He had full confidence that if he let them out, they would easily be able to work out a quick and effective route for escape, even from inside the cell there, but knowing how to get out didn’t amount to much when nearly every mech on base had their optics firmly locked on them. Without the element of surprise there wasn’t much they could do but wait.
As far as he was aware though, Megatron hadn’t even made an attempt to contact him yet.
While they wait, the Autobot Higher Ups are deep in a rather heated discussion about what they should do with Soundwave now that they had him. The uncomfortable conversation of whether or not they should, or even could, hack into his processor for what would undoubtedly be crucial data and information that could be used against the Decepticons, and it ends up being a bit of a headbutting war between the mechs there at the meeting. Ratchet isn’t thrilled by the idea to begin with, because hacking into a non-consenting mech’s processor is not only a terribly violating experience, one that strips a mech of pretty much all of their agency, but with a mech like Soundwave it would be a risky endeavor for Ratchet as well, and he would be the one doing the hacking in this situation. All in all, hacking into a mech was something that was to be left as an absolute last resort in Ratchet’s opinion. Thankfully Optimus agreed with him, under usual circumstances, but having Soundwave in their custody was a unique situation, so the option wasn’t taken straight off the table, much to Ratchet’s displeasure.
Other options are discussed as well. Everything from using Soundwave as some sort of bartering chip against Megatron (It was no secret to anyone that Soundwave was Megatron’s favorite), to the possibility of just talking to Soundwave and seeing what information they could get out of him naturally (that one got a laugh out of Jazz), to the discussion of what would happen if they took the very drastic measure of offlining Soundwave, taking him out of the equation entirely. The utter devastation it would have on The Decepticons… would it be worth it?
It leaves a couple mechs with their tanks churning, shifting uncomfortably in their seats, but Ratchet just stands up and makes his way towards the door, not even wanting to humor the conversation anymore. Optimus calls after him, as well as a few other mechs in the room, but he ignores them, and Optimus stands to follow after him, telling the others that he would be back shortly.
When Optimus catches up to Ratchet, he reaches out to grab his arm and stop him, but Ratchet yanks his arm away and just turns on heel to glare up at Optimus. It’s been a while since Ratchet’s famous temper has been turned on Prime, but it’s still an intimidating sight all the same, and Optimus of course knows exactly why he’s upset, and very much so believes he has the right to be so.
Ratchet quickly goes into a tirade about how not only would it be wrong of them to take Soundwave offline because they’re not fragging Decepticons, and even if killing Soundwave would be benificial to them in the end, it wouldn’t be right, but it also just wouldn’t be something that Ratchet could sit by and let happen on a base level. His damn coding wouldn’t let him, and he knew that First Aid and anyone with half a processor would agree with him. Optimus gives a tired sigh and tells Ratchet that he’s right, and that he agrees with him, but Ratchet just snaps at him and tells him that Optimus should have shut that conversation down the moment it began. They could handle this situation without considering murder.
After that it’s Optimus’ turn to (much more calmly) call out the flaws in Ratchet’s thinking and remind him that they ARE at war, and that things like this do at time have to be considered. He then lets Ratchet know that this isn’t even the first tine that taking Soundwave out has been brought up between himself and a few of the other higher ups, this is just the first time that Ratchet has heard about it, almost entirely because Optimus knew that it would get this sort of reaction out of him. Soundwave is, and always has been, a high priority target for many of the Autobot soldiers, and the only difference here is that Soundwave is unarmed, to an extent.
Ratchet is, of course, pissed off by this and waves Optimus off, stating that no matter how high of a target Soundwave is, he knows Prime isn’t about to kill an unarmed POW no matter what the others say. He informs Prime that he’s going to go and check on their prisoners, because they’ve been left in that cell for hours with no fuel, no medical attention, and no information since they had arrived, and turns to leave. Optimus watches him go, before heaving a sigh and contacting Red Alert, telling him to meet Ratchet at Soundwave’s cell so that he’s not going in by himself.
Ratchet is a little annoyed to find Red Alert waiting for him outside Soundwave’s cell, but he doesn’t comment on it, instead just telling him that he’s just bringing Soundwave a bit of energon and checkin him for necessary repair jobs that need to be done. Red Alert makes a bit of a face at the fact that Ratchet is wasting energon on a Decepticon, but the look that Ratchet gives him lets him know that he better not say a damn thing because he is so not in the mood to put up with that right now. He also stops Red Alert from going inside the room, telling him to wait outside and watch through the cams, but keep them muted. There had to be at least some semblance of patient confidentiality here or Ratchet was going to blow a gasket. Red Alert looked like he wanted to put up a fight about it, but he could tell Ratchet was dangerously close to losing his patience, and he didn’t really want to be on the receiving end of whatever that would bring about, so he begrudgingly agrees, and Ratchet steps in alone after Red Alert has got the cams up.
Soundwave is surprised to see Ratchet come through the door to his cell, and really that just shows him how much his processor is giving him trouble if he can’t even pick up the mechs standing right outside the door. He watches as Ratchet approaches, eyeing the cube of energon in his hand, but he doesn’t move to take it straight away when it’s offered out to him. Ratchet holds it out to him for a minute before telling Soundwave that he doesn’t have to drink it. He can give it to his runts instead if he wants, or if he really doesn’t want to take it, Ratchet will just have it himself. It’s well past his refueling time anyway, and the energon’s certainly not going to go to waste.
Soundwave stays still for a moment more before reaching out and taking the cube. He looks it over, before finally his mask retracts back with a click, and he tests the energon with a sip. Ratchet’s more surprised about the fact that there’s nothing particularly remarkable about Soundwave’s face that he can see (lower half, anyway, his visor is still in place and who’s to say what’s going on under there) than he is surprised about the fact that Soundwave actually retracted his mask in the first place. He doesn’t stare though, and Soundwave’s mask clicks back into place in short order after that, the cube hardly touched.
Seconds later, Soundwave finally unlocks his dock and calls his Cassettes out, ejecting each of them until they’re all stood between himself and Ratchet, who takes a half step back when the minicons come out, but they look more tired and a bit confused than eager for a fight, all of them looking up to Soundwave rather than giving Ratchet more than a glance. Ratchet watches as Soundwave wordlessly hands the cube off to Frenzy, and he can tell that they’re communicating through either some sort of encrypted comm. link or possibly through a bond, but a few moments later the cassettes move to the side and all but huddle together as they begin refueling, passing the cube between each other and letting the cassettes with beast forms take their turns drinking as well.
There’s something about the gesture that strikes a cord in Ratchet when he sees it, because he has his suspicions that Soundwave would have gladly taken that cube for himself if his cassettes weren’t present or in need of fuel themselves. He watches the cassettes for a brief moment before clearing his vocals and turning his attention fully to Soundwave for the moment.
He asked questions that he hadn’t bothered trying back in the cave, keeping it professional and really only wanting to know if there were any injuries that had been sustained in the battle that he hadn’t known about before. They had all seemed to be in fair condition considerin they had been able to haul rocks and boulders away from the cave in, but Ratchet had long since learned just how far a mech could push themselves when they needed to, well past the point of injury and breakage.
Soundwave kept his answers short, denying that any of them needed any medical attention, and Ratchet can all but feel the telepath prodding at the most outer barriers of his processor. He’s not sure what Soundwave is looking for, but he quickly bolsters his defenses and continues on as if he hadn’t noticed the attempt. It was a strane feeling, the sensation of someone else’s conciousness prickling at the back of your mind, and Ratchet decided he didn’t much care for it. As soon as his defenses went up, Soundwave’s posture changed, from leaning forward in an almost curious manner to stiff, restrained and pulled in, almost like he was trying to make himself look a bit smaller. It was likely an instinctive movement, useful when dealing with aggressive Decepticons out for the blood of anyone unlucky enough to catch their attention. It wasn’t so useful in an empty room with a single other mech and a camera.
After that Ratchet catches Soundwave up to speed on what’s happening, the fact that they are in discussions now about just what to do with him, and what Soundwave’s options are. Soundwave continues to regard Ratchet in silence as he takes in everything that is being said to him, and a few of the things that Ratchet says does get some nasty looks from the cassettes as well, but when Ratchet finally finishes with what he has to say, there are a few tense moments of nothing between them all. Ratchet figures that maybe he just isn’t going to get anything else out of Soundwave, and to be fair that’s really all he had expected coming in here in the first place, and he felt he had done his job checking up on them since it didn’t seem like anyone else was going to anytime soon.
Ratchet just puts his datapad away and mutters something about needing to go back and see what arguments had bubbled up in the meeting while he had excused himself (assuming they let him back in there in the first place) before he turns to leave Soundwave and the cassettes to the cube. Before he can take more than a step or two, there’s a hand on his arm, grip strong and keeping him from leaving. Soundwave has leaned forward once again, seemingly on impulse, and grabbed him much to Ratchet’s surprise. He can already hear Redalert going off through the comm. he still has open with him, starting to call for help and likely going for his gun just on the other side of the door, but Ratchet tells him to cool it before Redalert can get it open, and he calmly turns back to Soundwave, who very quickly realizes what he just did and lets Ratchet’s arm go.
“Query: Termination possible?”
It’s a weird question to Ratchet, mostly because of Soundwave’s voice modulator which doesn’t allow for any real inflection of his voice. He can’t hear any fear or concern behind his words, but just like that all optics are locked on Ratchet. Soundwave’s face is still hidden behind it’s visor and mask, but Ratchet can feel just how closely Soundwave is watching him. The cassettes are all looking to him as well, expressions caught somewhere between aggression and concern, ready to fight for their lives if they had to just like they all were, but they held back.
Ratchet could have told them about what was actually being discussed in the meeting in detail, how termination had been brought up as a possibility, but not only would that likely have counted as a breach in confidentiality from a faction standpoint, he just didn’t even want to entertain the idea anymore than he already had.
Ratchet denies it, quickly, firmly. He doesn’t know what exactly is going to happen with Soundwave and his cassettes, but he knows that as long as he’s still online, they’ll remain that way as well, assuming they don’t give them a reason to need to take them offline anyway… He doesn’t expect thanks, he doesn’t even really expect a response after he assures Soundwave that he’s not going to be offlined as a POW. What he really doesn’t expect though, is what Soundwave says next.
Soundwave asks Ratchet why he is ignoring the massive target on his back.
There’s something about the way it’s asked that gets to Ratchet, using his own words on him, makes him want to scoff and blow the question off and just leave.
“I don’t think you need to ask me that, Soundwave.”
Working on a Battlebots AU ask blog and everyone is looking forward so far, aside from Minotaur, who is looking at Hypershock like ‘what the fuck is this fruit doing?’
POV: Volo character analysis but you’re only 6 hours into PLA
making good progress in pokemon legends!!! just defeated kleavor (what the HELL is kleavor btw, i’ve never seen that thing before in my life) and i’m having SO much more fun with it than before! rly glad about that cuz it was just sitting & collecting metaphorical dust lmao. i still have my qualms, but i definitely see the appeal now!
i’d like to talk a little about Volo. well, as much as i can from my current point in the game.
full disclaimer, i haven’t even gotten close to beating PLA and i won’t for probably another 40 hours, but i do know what ultimately happens with Volo. my thoughts here could honestly be totally incomprehensible or may change as i continue playing. but i just think he’s neat :)
so i don’t think Volo is like…... evil? don’t get me wrong, he absolutely fucked up and there are no excuses for what he does. but i see a lot of people in the fandom make him out to be this irredeemable horrible awful murderous twisted cycle path and i just. don’t agree with that.
i think people prioritize vilifying him solely to further angst with a certain pair of twins rather than focusing on the nuance that’s embedded into his character. i don’t want to skrunkli-fy him either, but i think it’s important to recognize that he’s kinda just Some Guy. he’s not a cult-leader, he’s not a mob boss, he doesn’t have people who follow or look up to him much (as far as i know); he’s just some dude who works in retail, and he has realistic, human flaws that result in self-destructive behavior that ultimately harms everyone around him. he strikes me as someone with a boatload of (likely religious) trauma and a desperate, insatiable desire to comprehend some kind of higher being. i hope to expand on this particular train of thought later
this brings me to one of my favorite narratives in pokemon. he has Three!!! pokemon that evolve through high friendship. compared to ghetsis, with a hydreigon that was forced to evolve before level 64, holds a life orb, and absolutely obliterates with frustration with the highest amount of damage possible—it absolutely hates ghetsis. but togekiss, lucario, and roserade can only be obtained when they adore their trainers, this cannot be forced.
and, interestingly, this is lucario’s pokedex entry in shield
Volo also has a genuine interest in archeology and history and he wants to share it with people! this guy can infodump like a champ, i really respect that !
so my opinion can certainly change, but these are a few reasons why i don’t think he’s irredeemable. i don’t like how complex characters are always reduced to all or nothing values in fandom spaces. there’s so much more to these characters than 100% evil or 100% good.
this is not helped by the fact that PLA just. doesn’t seem finished? which is completely understandable considering the amount of crunch these artists and writers had to deal with. but it’s still unfinished. most characters don’t have closure or even any development at all. i’m hoping on dlc at some point but. augh
soooo yea das it lol. i hope to write some actual characters studies and analyses for this guy the more i play!! this was just to get my thoughts down, i’ll probably revisit and add to it down the line!
I've seen some post about what if Ingo accidentally brought someone with him when he returned home how do you think that would go in a crazytrainshipping scenario?
I'd imagine Ingo would feel guilty and a bit awkward since they spent 2 whole hours saying their goodbyes only to see each other minutes later.
Volo finds it a bit ironic, he's not as worried as he probably should be given that he usually traveled and didn't exactly have people he was attached to back home though he would kinda miss his coworkers, he knows it'd be too risky to figure out how to go home he'd hate to accidentally pull someone in with him or cause another rift in time and space, he's mostly glad he didn't lose any of his memories or Pokemon and didn't end up somewhere completely random without Ingo. besides he's always been a fast learner in unfamiliar areas surely he'll be fine! (better said than done)
Emmet would probably be a bit annoyed that Volo kinda has to stay at their apartment until he figures something out but he went through so much trouble to go to Hisui and retrieve his brother he finds it hard to complain that he accidentally brought Ingo's boyfriend along with them.
Oh it’s a whole ordeal.
It's confusing at first because when Volo comes through the wormhole with them back to modern day Nimbasa, all three of them immediately start worrying that something fucked up, that they're not home. They landed in a heap of tangled limbs and confusion in some back alley, and the first thing that Emmet and Ingo realizes is that there's an extra person there with them.
Volo groans in discomfort, his head spinning and he has no idea what the fuck just happened or where he is, but as the ringing in his ears subsides, he can hear Ingo and Emmet’s voices, and he feels someone grab him and sit him up. The world stops spinning, and he can see Ingo sat up on one side, and Emmet on his other, both of them looking concerned as hell, and as Volo slowly starts to look around, he realizes why, and just what the hell had happened. He’s definitly not in Hisui anymore, and realization hits him very hard and fast that he probably won’t ever go back to Hisui again if what Emmet had said about how difficult it was to get there on purpose in the first place held any weight.
He’s stunned, and he can hear Ingo and Emmet quickly trying to discus what they should do, what their options were, but all Volo can think about right then is that Ingo is there at his side, and that fate has once again brought them together, or, well, more accurately just didn’t separate them when they had been so prepared for their goodbyes to be the last time that they ever saw each other. Volo didn’t exactly know where they were right then, but it didn’t matter because he would have gone to hell and back if it meant that he could stay at Ingo’s side. Ingo is talking about where they need to go, mid sentence, when Volo rather suddenly lurches forward from his stunned stupor to pull Ingo into his arms.
Emmet just watches for a moment as Volo clings to his brother like his life depends on it, and Ingo hugs Volo back just as tightly before reaching out and pulling Emmet into the hug as well. It’s been a long, stressful journey to get Ingo back home safe and sound. Volo being there as well, it didn’t matter to him right then, for the moment they could just be happy.
...
Having Volo in Nimbasa does pose some interesting challenges eventually, but the first thing they do is just get him back to their shared apartment. Volo is in a bit of a shellshock as he just takes in the sight of a modern day city like Nimbasa, the lights, the buildings, the people and their fashions... well, Ingo and Volo stick out like a sore thumb as they walk home, but there are weirder people who live in Unova so they don’t get too many looks. They get home, show a very baffled Volo around the apartment, and then Emmet promptly tosses him in the shower after telling him what’s what.
After that Ingo and Emmet sit down and talk about what to do next. Sending Volo back isn’t really an option (and Ingo honestly doesn’t want to face the possibility of losing Volo again anyway), but there are issues with having Volo stay considering that, legally, he doesn’t exist. There’s no record of him in any system, and getting him registered for anything was going to be a nightmare. And of course there was the question of how Volo even felt about this whole situation, he’d been rather quiet since they started for home, so there was no real way to gauge how he was doing.
They call Elesa, who about loses her mind when she sees that Ingo is back, and they have to promise her that they will come and see her first thing in the morning just to keep her from getting out of bed and coming over right then and there, they just needed her to know that they’re back and safe, but they will need some help from her in the morning with a few things. They don’t tell her about Volo right then, because it’s just too much for so late in the evening.
Volo eventually makes his way out of the shower, drenched with a towel wrapped around his waist, looking a little lost but far more relaxed than anyone else would be in his situation. He’s safe, he’s with Ingo and his brother, and most of all he’s absolutely exhausted, far too tired to really worried about what had happened today. He’s given some pajama pants and one of Ingo’s old T-shirts to wear for comfort, before Ingo takes his turn in the shower, and Emmet and Volo are left alone in a very strange situation.
“I am Emmet. Ingo and I have talked. We’ll set you up on the couch tonight.” Emmet says simply, going and grabbing some spare blankets and pillows for Volo to use. “It’s been a verrry long day, so rest up. We’ll figure things out tomorrow.”
Volo stays quiet for a moment, staring down the hall towards the bathroom where he can hear the shower running. He doesn’t look at Emmet when he speaks.
“I know you’re still not happy with me for everything that happened. Understandable, of course, but... well, I guess thanks for not trying to leave me on my own.” Volo says quietly, and Emmet gives a curt little laugh.
“What happened was unfortunate. You being here is... unexpected. Ingo is finally home though, happy, safe, and relieved that you’re here as well.” Emmet says, dropping the bedding on the couch before looking Volo up and down. “Whatever goodbyes you two shared, it wasn’t enough. Never would have been.”
They talk pretty much the whole time that Ingo is in the shower, and there is still quite a bit of tension between the two, with Volo getting the feeling that even if Emmet is being polite and welcoming him into their home, he’s still really not fond of Volo, and probably only happy that Ingo is happy. Volo isn’t going to push his luck right then though, so he returns the politeness and happily takes a spot on the couch. He’s a guest there, and he’s determined to be the perfect one because Arceus knows he doesn’t know how long he’s going to need to crash on their couch.
He’s got his pokemon, his memories, and when Ingo comes out of the shower clean and in pajamas of his own like it’s the most normal thing in the world, like Hisui is already a distant memory, he can feel the love in Ingo’s eyes when he spots Volo curled up on the couch.
It’s going to be ok.
Emmet thankfully gives them just a bit of privacy while he goes to make Ingo’s bed as well and fetch his pokeballs, so Ingo sits down beside Volo and checks to make sure that he’s alright. Volo quickly leans against Ingos’ side and assures him that he will be alright. He feels out of place, and oddly like he’s still causing trouble for the brothers, but there isn’t anywhere else in space or time he would rather be than there in Ingo’s arms.
When Emmet comes back out, Volo and Ingo have already dozed off there on the couch, asleep in a rather uncomfortable looking half sitting position, but he just sighs and covers them both in one of the blankets, because as much as he doesn’t like that Volo is there, he’s just so happy that Ingo is back that nothing could bring him down. He lets them sleep out on the couch, curled in each other’s arms
...
The next couple of weeks are bizzare and a bit of a whirlwind as both Ingo and Volo do their best to settle into life in Nimbasa. It’s easier for Ingo of course, but still takes some time. Volo is finding it easier to adjust than he expected, but it’s not entirely painless. He misses some of his companions from back in Hisui, mainly Ginter and some of the other Ginko members, but every time the homesickness starts to set in, it seems as though Ingo is there to sweep him away off to some new sight in Nimbasa to help Volo not feel so alone.
Volo meets Elesa, who is arguably far more intimidating that Emmet could ever hope to be. She’s the one who eventually helps get the ball rolling on helping Volo get documents and papers together, and after she’s done briefly threatening Volo on what might happen if he ever hurts Ingo in any way, shape, or form, she cheerfully offers him a bit of under the table work with her for the time being until he can get a proper job. She could really use an assistant to help manage her busy, hectic life anyway, and honestly Volo was gorgeous enough that he could have gotten work in the modeling industry if he wanted after documents got sorted. Volo accepts the assistant role for the time being, but he’s not interested in modeling in the slightest.
Volo falls in love with the library, and when he’s not working for Elesa, or loitering around the twins’ apartment while they’re running the trains, he’s there reading anything and everything he can get his hands on. He’s saving up to get his own apartment (there are about 9 billion different hurdles to get THAT done) but in the mean time, things are oddly domestic at home with Ingo. Emmet is a bit sick and tired of walking into the kitchen and finding Volo hugged onto Ingo while the two share a kiss, feeling like the ultimate 3rd wheel in his own damn home, but Ingo is happy, so he puts up with it and he manages not to butt heads with Volo too much.
“Would you please not lock me out of my own bedroom to make out with Ingo?”
“Sure, if you tell your girlfriend to wear more than just one of your shirts when she spends the night here.”
“I am Emmet. I will end you.”
While his relationship with Ingo is better than ever, Volo does slowly build up a very different kind of relationship with Emmet, an incredibly strong rivalry where the two of them push one another to their limits, battling in their spare time. Volo is rather fond of riling Emmet up with teasing words and taunts, and more often than not it ends up leading to a pokeball being hurled at his head at mach speed before a battle breaks out. It worries Ingo a little at first because their rivarly seems a little bit.... intense, really, but they’re both happy and not having actual arguments or fights, so it’s all good in the end.
Eventually Volo does get an apartment of his own and a steady job at the local library, so things settle down and seem just... normal. Hisui never leaves Ingo and Volo’s memories, but they have each other and they couldn’t be happier.
Ingo and Volo most definitely fucked at least once in the hot springs, likely Volos idea.
Oh it was absolutely Volo's idea, but it didn't exactly take a lot to convince Ingo it was a good idea.
NSFW 🔞 below.
They hadn't actually been traveling through the Icelands together. Volo had been traveling out to the Pearl settlement to do his job and sell some wares for once, but decided to stop and take a break at the nearby hot springs because he was sick and tired of being cold and exhausted after treking across the land. He's able to rather easily shoo the pokemon that had been loitering around there off, and he stripped down and settled into the shockingly hot water to relax for a bit.
Ingo had just been setting off from the Pearl settlement after reporting to Irida and restocking on some supplies he needed, and he took the time to check in on how some of the sneasles in the area were doing before he intended to head off for the Highlands once more. He wasn't expecting to stumble upon Volo at the Hot Springs on his path, but it sure was a pleasant surprise. Their respective jobs and duties make it so that, even though they're in a relationship with one another, there are stretches of time where they don't see or hear from one another, and may not know when they will see each other next. It's not really a problem for either of them, and it certainly makes surprise passings like this all the more special.
So of course when Ingo spots Volo from a ways away lounging in the spring to keep the cold at bay, he makes a prompt detour on his path to go and say hello to the man he loves. Nudity is more casual back then, not something to get bashful over, so as Ingo stands at the edge of the Hot Springs catching up with Volo, neither of them think twice about it, both just delighted to see the other. Volo tells Ingo about the ruins he has visited lately, sales he had made, and the fact that he was heading to the Pearl Settlement later that evening to work.
Ingo tells Volo about how Lady Sneasler is doing, and that he had only stopped at the Pearl Settlement for an evening to restock, but he was headed back to the Highlands after the two of them went their separate ways. There's just a smidgen of disappointment in Ingo's voice at the fact that this meeting between the two of them is going to be so brief, but he knows that they'll be able to spend a bit more of a substantial amount of time together if Volo travels through the Highlands on his way back, maybe even spend a night or two together out under the stars.
They're both looking forward to that, but Volo finds the idea of being patient absolutely torturous right then. He reaches up from the water, hand still dripping wet, and he tugs at Ingo's tattered coat.
"You're not needed back at the Highlands right this very moment, are you, Love? Take a little time before you leave, warm yourself up a bit The Icelands are particularly frigid today..." Volo suggests, the lopsided grin and mischievous lilt in his voice all too familar to Ingo.
"Not immediately, but should I really let myself get wrapped up in the heat of the springs here?" Ingo asks, but even as he speaks he finds his grip on his bag loosening, and Volo's grip on his coat doesn't give in the slightest. Not that Ingo's even really thinking of pulling away, not with the look in Volo's eyes. "My departure might end up drastically delayed if I do, I would hate to leave it after I settle in..."
"You've already spent this long just talking to me, Ingo, what's a little while more spent in my arms? Forget the water, stay with me for a bit and I'll make sure you're sent off with enough warmth to carry you through this icy land." Volo urges, watching with delight as Ingo finally shrugs off his pack, dropping it off to the side out of the water's reach before he starts to strip down.
"Gorgeous!" Volo praised with utter delight in his voice. Ingo couldn't hide the small, bashful smile from Volo, even as quick as it was. "What a sight for sore eyes you are..." He says, already reaching out towards Ingo before he's had a chance to settle into the water to pull him closer.
Volo has height on Ingo for sure, but Ingo's time in Hisui has treated him well and left him decently well built after all his hard work helping the Pearl Clan and being a warden, with strong arms and a thick, solid torso, and Volo is absolutely shameless as he looks Ingo up and down. He makes it no secret that he thinks Ingo is handsome, and watching layers of clothes get shed away until Ingo is naked and taking a couple of careful steps into the steaming water with a deep sigh.
It's... an indulgent time to say the least. Thoughts of the Highlands are swept away as Ingo finds himself settled in Volo's lap, with hot water washing away any hint of cold he had been feeling before, and a slow kiss stealing his breath away. It hits them both hard how much they've missed one another during their time apart, and having each other so close so suddenly makes it easy to get lost in the moment.
It's not likely that anyone will stumble across them there, so Ingo doesn't stop Volo when his hands start to wander, roaming lazily across Ingo's chest, feeling every little scratch and scar down his sides, until they sneak down around under the water to give Ingo's ass a playful squeeze. Honestly, Volo expected Ingo to swat his arm, to break the kiss and tell him not to get carried away. He didn't expect Ingo to give a soft groan against his lips, to press closer and urge him on.
Neither of them were exactly prepared for this encounter, and they certainly don't have time to go all the way, but that's alright, they're both more than happy with whatever they can get. Kissing and touching devolves quickly into rutting, grinding against one another until Volo finally slips his hand down between them to stroke their cocks together.
"Come on, Ingo," Volo whispers against Ingo's kiss bruised lips, the sound of rippling water oddly indecent around them, though it's nothing compared to the low moans spilling from Ingo as his hips jerk against Volo's fist. "Nobody's around, I want to hear you let go, Love..."
i dont like trainwreckshipping for a myriad of reasons (theyve never met, its oly rlly used for submas angst & i LOATHE how fans of it’ll twist emmet/volo’s character & be weird about it) but i Do think crazytrainshipping is a little funny. but in the ‘volo has a little man crush monday on ingo & he thinks the train guy is kind of a dilf but also reeeally wants to know how he got here bc his thirst for an amnesiac muppet man is only matched by his thirst for knowledge of the unknown’ way. volo asks lucas if his uncle is single & lucas just goes “???? what the fuck?????? do you have a thing for uncle ingo???? you want to know him in the biblical sense you fucking madman??????” ingo thinks volos kinda silly quirky. volo’s enamoured by ingo’s awful train puns even though neither of them know what they mean.
I love this take so much, people being baffled that Volo's got the hots for Ingo, and Volo being completely, unabashedly, just into whatever the fuck the weird train man who fell from the sky has got going on.
Everybody thinks that it's all just going right over Ingo's head whenever Volo flirts with him, that he just doesn't get that Volo is into him, but no. Ingo is well aware, and just has a fantastic poker face of course.
Very silly, kinda wholesome in a strange way, and a lot of potential if people would look past the idea of 'haha Volo kidnapped Ingo' idea.
Valveplug Headcannons for Soundwave and Ratchet. One way for Ratchet to get Soundwave to relax is to frag him till he’s too exhausted to get up. It might leave Soundwave with a sore valve but he ain’t complaining.
Nsfw below
.
This idea honestly goes both ways, but it's much easier to coax Soundwave into the berth to get his valve pounded than it is Ratchet when their stressed. They're both workaholics and tend to push themselves until they're right at the precipice of breaking, but when they get together they both help the other out with managing the workload and stresses that come with their respective jobs (they're both huge hypocrites in that sense) and physical release is certainly a great way to start relaxing.
If fragging Soundwave into the berth is what he needs to get rid of some tension... well Ratchet's not gonna complain. He knows how nice it can be to give up control from time to time. Soundwave always seems louder when they're fragging to relieve stress anyway, and that's quite the delight to Ratchet who always encourages his partners to be as loud as they want in the berth.
The hardest part is honestly chasing Soundwave's cassettes out of the room so they can have some privacy for more than 5 damn minutes, but putting up with the laughing and teasing as the cassettes run off to busy themselves is worth it to Ratchet after he gets Soundwave spread out on the berth for him.
Ratchet's about as soft as they come in the berth when he's in charge though (unless otherwise asked anyway) so fragging Soundwave into the berth to relax him moreso involves pinning him down (easy, Ratchet's got a decent bit of size on Soundwave) with slow grinds of his hips until they've got a mess of paint transfers and transfluid smeared between them, and Soundwave's vocals are staticky and shorting out between each slow draw of Ratchet's spike.
