#inanity addressed

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Is there any life Prowl would try to save? Any lifeform?

“I work to preserve lives every day. Some of those lives are more irreplaceable than others, but at this point every non-Decepticon Cybertronian life is precious.”

[turtle-in-the-mums]

You really don't like Starscream, do you?

“Why does your kind feel the need to ask questions to which the answers are patently obvious?”

[turtle-in-the-mums]

If you had to work with a Decepticon (former or current), who would you chose?

“One that was recently deceased and had some useful supplies and weapons nearby. Furthermore--proofread before you send me messages. Chose is the past tense of choose.”

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Why do you flip tables?

“I don’t. That proclivity was invented by certain chroniclers who take pleasure in caricaturing and mocking me. Such petty violence and displays of temper do very little to solve a problem--more often than not such tantrums hamper productive efforts. Publicly giving in to frustration and anger also undermines one’s reputation as a rational, civilized being. An officer who is forever disrupting operations with uncontrolled emotional outbursts may be obeyed out of fear, but he will never be respected--and nor should he be.”

[turtle-in-the-mums]

So you don't think it's possible that the Prime is attracted to you? Why?

1) In all the time we have worked together--which is longer than your species has been using fire--Optimus has never once indicated any interest in me other than as a professional colleague.

2) My duties include arguing--sometimes vehemently--with the Prime. Your species’ absurd “romance” tropes aside, frequent arguments do not encourage the participants to see each other as potential partners.

3) While our interests and temperaments are similar in some ways, there are certain differences that render us incompatible for a long-term intimate relationship.

4) On a purely physical level, I am at best “unusual”. My creators started with a design that was obsolete and thus inexpensive at the time, then modified it to accommodate my synthesis systems. I "up-armored” when I joined the Autobots, for obvious reasons, and despite the end of the war, I find myself uncomfortable wearing lighter plating. I chose my color scheme to reflect philosophical truths, and I do not alter it to follow fashion. In short, I do not fit even the most forgiving of the definitions of physical attractiveness, and I do not trouble myself to try.

5) Optimus is the Prime. He is a religious as well as a civil and military leader. He is no fool, and thus well aware that very few Autobots would refuse him intimate attention, regardless of their feelings toward him. He respects us too much to engage in such an unequal relationship.

[turtle-in-the-mums]

So evasive... The 'thing' is a weird crush, and the 'con is Nightfall.

“I see. This inquiry is not in earnest, then. Your kind only asks such questions to confirm conclusions you have already drawn. Therefore I need not participate. Enjoy whatever improbable fantasy you hoped to draw me into. I have business to attend to.”

[turtle-in-the-mums]

So what you told Starscream-- does that mean you're an emotionless drone?

“No.”

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Are there any conditions in which you'd choose to spare a Con? Soundwave comes with a set of other mecha, for example- and there's the gestalts too.

“Optimus would count those as extenuating circumstances to consider. Unfortunately, reality dictates that the guilty cannot be spared simply because they are bonded to someone less guilty.” “I would spare any Decepticon-branded Sparkling that had not yet reached the third stage of development. Mechlings not yet mature enough for weapon implants could perhaps be evaluated for potential future value to society. Other Decepticons are well beyond the point of no return. As prison colonies are rarely productive enough to even support themselves, much less benefit the larger society, the logical option would be to medically induce Spark cascades in those Decepticons Optimus insists on ‘giving another chance’, then monitoring the new personalities closely to see to it they were prevented from causing too many deaths when their inherent destructive proclivities reasserted themselves.”