Selkie Ratchet was prepared to swallow his pride and beg Drift to take care of their sparkling even if he didn’t want Ratchet.
So yes, he’s so confused almost goes into reboot because here he’s got Drift sobbing and holding onto him so tightly like he never wants to let go.
“I was so afraid someone took you!”
Ratchet’s again confused because why would Drift be afraid of someone stealing Ratchet when Drift has had ample opportunity to do so but never did? Nevertheless he doesn’t ask because he’s got something far more important to tell Drift. He carefully pulls himself out of Drift’s embrace, self consciously removing the kelp shawl he’d taken to wearing to reveal his belly bump.
“I’m carrying. You’re the sire. It’s going to need you since it’s going to be a land mech.”
Ratchet’s not looking at Drift and so is unprepared when the land mech sweeps him off his feet to kiss him, aura bursting with the love and devotion of a happy expectant sire.
He was so prepared to do this alone, to just be civil with Drift and let his kid see his dad, and live with him so he can understand what it means to be a land mech.
Ratchet isn't a land mech, he belongs to the sea, as much as it pains him to do it.
But he ends up so confused when he's hugged and Drift and is told all of those things.
"So why didn't you steal my coat?" Ratchet pulls away still in a bit of shock, and hes angry that Drift wouldn't just take him away, pull at his spark.
"Why would I? I wanted to show this to you the day you left. But I can show it to you now."
He takes him outside and shows him the boat house, it needs a bit of love since it's been parked there for months, but It's still there and ready to be used.
"What is this?"
"A boat house. for the water, So You can still be a sea mech and we can still see eachother than you coming up on land."
"You... You were willing to leave the land just so I could stay in the sea?"
"Of course."
Ratchet couldn't help but pin Drift to the ground and ride him. He was just so happy, Drift was willing to leave the land for him, allow him to stay in the water.
Let's start off with how Optimus would be like in this universe alright
Cause I'm building this shit up instead of going for it tbh😭 so mb if you were expecting valveplug😔 imma probably do it in the next Feral OP post
So what I was thinking was that in this universe, the Primes were known as the broodmares right? Yea, let's tie that into them also being cryptids in order to protect their sparklings and sires
Yes, it's mainly the LHP's job to care and protect them BUT the matrix won't allow them to just be broodmares. They need to also be WEAPONS
SO what I was thinking that they would be larger than the sires by maybe a couple feet or so, they have larger teeth to defend themselves, they have thicker bodies to sustain any damage and to carry many sparklings/eggs, they have claws, etc.
Okay, now imagine this (imma combine all sorts of ideas, so stay with me now): imma say that OP, in this universe, used to be a dock worker, alright? Dock workers were BIG. They all had some sort of upgrades in order to fit the qualifications of their job. BUT they also had these upgrades because the docks were so fucking dangerous that you would need to have all sorts of weapons and training just to survive the day.
Energon rations were scarce here, yes, so they had to fight for that, too. They had to fight for everything, basically. OP, who desperately didn't want to fight anymore but couldn't because he can't go the pacifist route in this line of work, killed a lot of mechs. He felt guilty because they never chose to fight to survive. They couldn't help that the caste system doesn't benefit them; it only serves to beat them down until they're nothing, used till they're deactivated from either turf wars or some other cause.
Orion Pax figures that if he can't go for pacifist, then he should try to lessen the amount of casualties by striking deals with some of the other gangs. Does it work? Not always but at least the number has gone down. When a mech deactivates, he sends them off to the Allspark with sorrowful prayers. When a mech is injured, he tries his best to repair them before carrying them to Ratchet, with some ending up dying.
The deaths, fighting, protests against the caste system, secret meetings, mechs getting tortured and executed-- all of these were getting to him. He doesn't have any means to save them from starvation, from the frigid winters and scorching summers, from the enforcers, from each other, from themselves.
And the only happy things going in his life are his found family and his sparklings, Mirage and Bumblebee, whom he carried.
His pregnancies were brutal, to say the least, no matter how much his Amicas tried their hardest to give him what he needs. No matter how many energon rations they gave him. No matter how much they tried to keep him from stressing or in any danger. No matter how much shanix they tried to spare/save to buy items for the sparklings. No matter how much blackmail and bribes they had on others / made just to keep OP safe and keep the dock workers afloat.
And the birth. Oh, Primus below, the birth. He couldn't even describe the pain he felt other than excruciating. He was in labor for almost a full cycle. And afterwards, he was so exhausted that he was too weak to try to hold his sparkling. Too tired to even keep his optics online.
Mirage--his firstborn, whom he was forced to give him up after the overseers discovered him. He knew that Mirage wasn't made for this life as he was only so young. He knew (even though he didn't want to admit it) that he couldn't keep him, not for long. He knew that he couldn't raise him here, not in a constant state of war.
Then, he had his little Bumblebee. He doesn't believe that Bee should live in a war-like environment either. But he doesn't want to give him up. No, not entirely. So he sends Bee to live with Ratchet and his conjunx, Deadlock, this time round.
Does Bee know that OP is his carrier? Yes. Does he know why he couldn't live with his mama? No. And he'll never know why for the next couple of vorns. Does he know what they all did to make sure that he had a good life? No.
Does Mirage know about him, that he's his carrier? No. Does he know anything about his past and the family he could have gotten? No. And he wouldn't meet them until later on, when the war broke out.
(This going down the angsty route was not what I intended but whatever)
Skip forward to when Orion Pax meets Gladiator Megatronus via fighting in the Pits.
How did he get there, you may ask?
Well, he got caught fighting some enforcers who were physically assaulting one of his Amicas, and he just snapped. And, in the end, he killed 2 of them while severely injuring the rest. He was then charged without a trial and immediately sent to the Pits since they saw it as going against the system.
The Pits were a lot like the Docks, he found out. Yes, you may have to fight to the death but wasn't that what they were practically doing anyway? Yes, you have to fight to earn medical care, energon rations (those were more than what they ever got in the Dockyard), frame upgrades, more training, etc. (At least there were most benefits. He hasn't felt this good since he onlined). Yes, you have to fight with mechs who you were close to. Yes, you have even have to kill them just to survive another cycle.
Anyway, he goes against everyone in the Pits, makes a name for himself and earns quite a reputation. He then goes against Megatronus. Everymech is expecting that he would put up a fight but not win. Every single one of them placed their bets on Megatronus.
They were proved wrong when Orion Pax manages to incapacitate him
Megatronus, who has never lost a match in several vorns, was suddenly beat by a mech who He was astounded. Yes, the mech is several feet taller and larger than him, but he had won matches against larger opponents than him! He should have won!
Mind you, he wasn't angry when he woke up. No, he was just in shock because, logically, he should have won. But this got him interested.
Who was the mech? Where did he come from? How did he beat him? All of these questions ran through his mind and no answer. Because of this, he has Soundwave look into it.
What he finds is almost nothing. There's a name, when he onlined, record of his working at the Docks and being a supervisor there, but nothing else. That has him intrigued.
Mind you, the Decepticons were just starting out by the time OP got put into the Pits. Meaning, he saw and quietly listened to the mech behind the speeches; the lyrical poetry coming from the spark; the way the crowd quiets when he speaks, eager to hear from the one that will lead them to victory; to see Megatronus and the way he offers comfort to those who need it; the way everymech is comfortable around him.
Megatronus, surprisingly, offers him a place in the cause. A position that would grant him the ability to oversee the operations of the cause. One that he would have to share with Soundwave (not that he minded. In fact, he was thrilled but he never let it show either in his face nor his EM field.)
(And when Megatronus leaves him gifts and spoiling him rotten as best as he could? Megs would only that they are just friends.)
(And during this time, Bumblebee began to ask questions. Why couldn't he visit mama anymore? Did he do something wrong? Did he do anything to upset mama, to make mama not allow him to visit him?
"No, little honeybee, you didn't. In fact, he wants you there, but we can't visit him anymore, alright?"
"But why?"
"Oh, you'll understand when you're older. You'll understand why mama wants to protect you."
Bumblebee finally gets to visit his carrier for the first time in 2 vorns! Sure, he got to exchange datapads filled with writings and little charms with it; he got to taste candies he got sent straight from Kaon; he received numerous gifts over that time; he got voice recordings from him; he even got shanix from him to spend! ("Don't spend it all, little bitlet. You have to save some for later on." "I know, mama.")
And when he got there with Ratchet and Deadlock, he already has several mechs cooing over him.
"Oh, how adorable that bitlet is!"
"Such a precious thing, ain't he?"
"Would you like this rust stick, little one? Or an entire bag, perhaps?"
"Maybe he'll like this trinket?"
When they finally manage to get to the location, Bee's already squirming out of Deadlock's hold.
"Hold on, bitlet! We need to find your carrier first!"
"Please? I'll be right here! I can be good!"
Ratchet sighs out of amusement. "Fine. You can let him go."
As soon as he's let go, he immediately sprints from them with the both of them shouting after him. He needs to find him!!
After a while of running, he slows to a walk, admiring everything around him. He snaps out of it after a few kliks.
He's using his EM field to find him because Ratty told him that he could find his mama this way!
By this point, every mech walking by turns to look at him, sensing the little EM field that was saying 'Mama! Mama! Where are youuuuuu!'. Bee is oblivious to it all.
Then, suddenly, he's being picked up by a pair of strong arms. He's squirming uncontrollably and in a mini fit of rage. He wants to find his carrier! Who is this mech!
The mech turns him around and it's Ratchet with Deadlock trailing behind him.
"Oh!" Bumblebee looks at them sheepishly.
"Oh, is right, bitlet. Now, don't go running off, trying to find your carrier, ya?"
"Okay..." Bumblebee pouts.
After a few breems of searching, Bee manages to find his carrier among the crowd of mechs surrounding the vicinity. He loudly chirps at him, startling everyone.
Said mechs turn around and look directly at him, causing him to hide his face in Ratchet's neck.
Orion Pax, who was talking to Megatronus and Soundwave, snaps his head at Bee, optics widening. Bee is here? He thought that he wouldn't see him for another few joors!
"Oh, sweetspark!" Orion is already moving towards them, oblivious to the stares he's getting.
He takes Bumblebee from Ratchet's arms and spins the both of them around. Bumblebee giggles in delight at finally being able to see his carrier!
When they settle down, Orion Pax turns and tells them that he won't be with them for the next couple of cycles.
He turns to Ratchet and they both leave, leaving Megatronus and the rest in confusion.
(And maybe Megatronus does find Orion attractive because of this. I mean, who wouldn't? Especially once you find out that they're a carrier. And maybe he does think about getting him sparked up with his babies this time round.)
every time i think of a tfone time travel au, I always laugh at optimus and megatrons approach to being in the past.
Op: okay, this time, i can do these things on my own, Dee doesn’t have to be dragged along by my selfishness, I’ll save everyone and Iacon. The war doesn’t have to happen
D, an empath, sensing something wrong: So… u like jazz. (the music, not the guy plz orion)
~
Meg: Orion you will not be walking for an entire deca-cycle (week)
orion: wtf-
Optimus trying so hard not to let Dee get involved with his stuff causes Dee to want to get involved because this isn't Orion like at all.
As for Megatron ya best thing to do is possibly interface him and impregnate him to keep him from ever becoming a prime.
Oblivious Rodimus gets dragged onto Dratchet’s honeymoon because the couple insist that they could use an extra pair of servos on deck while traveling, and Rodimus is the perfect candidate because he’s one of their best friends and likes adventures.
Read: they want to seduce that twink and make a bad excuse.
Jokes on them Rodimus takes it literally. Unlike what everyone (including dratchet) thinks, prior to his point he really just mostly see them as friends.
Horny attempts at seduction ensue. Oh hi Rodimus could you deliver cleanser to our wash racks we realized we’re out of stock. Ah yes we’re sharing a bath but it’s ok come on in! (Rodimus politely drops off the bottle at their doorstep) Rodimus do you want to join us for a movie night? Yes it’s a very erotic movie but we’re just appreciating the theatrics. (Rodimus brings snacks and falls asleep during the intro) What do you think Rodimus is this outfit too much for my date with my conjunx? (Rodimus blushes but smiles and genuinely compliments the look)
They do eventually succeed, but it’s because Rodimus starts to develop feelings for them throughout the trip. The first time they kiss and confess and interface—not necessarily in that order—Rodimus lies in berth with them dazed and is like ah. Does this mean your honeymoon now becomes ours.
Dratchet would have thrown a fit if they weren’t so dazed themselves from the interface and cuddles. Yes Rodimus this is OUR honeymoon it was intended to be that FROM THE BEGINNING
I think my inbox ate this one somehow either way Yessss. Rodimus not knowing that the honeymoon was for all of them and was thinking he was just there because they felt bad for him.
Nope he's been their third the entire time. how have you not realized that?
Blurr sees "Longarm's" new look/reformat and is like "Sir, I will admit that I did see you as incredibly attractive before but...now? Err I might have to resign because I fear our relationship as superior and subordinate would become incredibly unethical."
Aka he is extremely attracted to Warbuild Longarm, not realizing that this is fucking Shockwave.
Shockwave just saying fuck it and allowing this relationship to blossom. "Who cares what Ultra Magnus thinks."
Blurrs about to have the best sex of his life and us none of the wiser that Longarm is Shockwave, because everyone knows Shockwave has been emperated.
