You got any hurt/comfort Headcanons for the bots or cons? I'm kinda down in the dumps right now.
I am so sorry it took me so long to get to this! I will try to make it up to you with my writing! I hope this makes you feel somewhat better! (also sorry that this is all about Optimus, he was just on my mind when I thought about angst and comfort... also semi sentient Matrix has been living in my head rent free for a while soooo)
Shifts and Changes
The Matrix is a mysterious relic, one which very little is known about save what the previous Primes have revealed. It was always strange to Orion that each and every one of the Primes to take up the mantle seemed to fall into madness after a time. Orion also never understood this or why the Primes kept knowledge of the Matrix and its secrets to themselves. But after coming to bear the Matrix himself, Optimus understood. Sometimes he wished he didn't.
The Matrix is more than a container for ancient knowledge, it is an artifact infused with part of the sparks and wills of all who have wielded it. Because of this, it is in a sense... alive. It has a will, an animalistic desire to see Cybertron and its people protected, by any means necessary. As such it has no issues changing its chosen champion to better suit its needs. It doesn't just remake their frame, it latches onto their spark and slowly but surely begins to connect to it, gaining a greater influence over the Prime with time. It molds their mind, giving it's Prime the same drive and desire, and it whispers to them, changing their very code, making the Prime become something... other.
Optimus is no exception to this.
In the beginning, the effects were minimal, in fact, he felt better than ever. His frame was powerful, his spark was enlightened, and he had all the knowledge and wisdom of his ancestors to guide him. However as time passed and the Matrix's bond with him grew stronger, he started to change. At first, it was small things, like feeling disconnected from the world around him in a way he couldn't explain and feeling the urge to nurture and protect the few remaining sparklings. It was off-putting but not detrimental, so Optimus chalked it up to the stress of the war and overactive parental protocols.
After a few vorns, he found himself seeing the world differently, from a more apathetic point of view. Things that seemed so important, so urgent, felt less relevant, instead, his thoughts started to drift away from his personal connections and toward the health of Cybertron and its people as a whole. He began to pull away from others, cutting himself off in a way that was not noticeable to his friends and companions. He still comforted, listened, and connected to others, at least on the surface. But he found himself looking at it as a duty, a function, and an instinctual part of his being, not his own desire.
His acquisition of Bumblebee both improved his mental state and simultaneously increased the Matrix's hold over him. For a time he stopped drifting away from others and his slowly growing apathy screeched to a halt. He devoted himself entirely to teaching and nurturing Bumblebee, almost to an obsessive degree. However once Bumblebee grew to be somewhat independent, the agreement between Optimus and the Matrix ended, the latter of which quickly renewed its efforts to change Optimus to better suit its purposes.
By the time Optimus arrived on earth he was practically a dead mech walking. His only desire, his only purpose is to fight and die for his people, nothing else matters. Any cost is acceptable if it means possibly defeating the enemy and protecting his people. In his mind he is only one part of a greater whole, a singular piece in a grand eternal plan. He is one part of the Matrix, an incarnation of Primus's will and one voice in the grand chorus. His own belief is that he as an individual does not matter, he is but a vessel and the Matrix's latest attempt to make things right. He could care less about his own wellbeing, only his people matter.
The team can see this, and while they don't understand his self sacrificial tendencies or why he refers to himself as 'we' on occasion and talks as though he were present in some ancient era, they still try to help him.
Ratchet tries his best to draw out bits of Orion, mainly by discussing old times in an attempt to pull Optimus out of his own head. It works sometimes and for a little while Optimus is just Optimus, not the Prime and not the newest attempt to fix Cybertron by the Matrix. Ratchet knows it is the Matrix screwing with his oldest friend and he hates the fragging thing even if he knows it has goodish intentions. He does everything in his power to give Optimus what little reprieve he can get from his primely duties. He tries, he really does, but he can't do it all alone.
Bulkhead, Arcee, and Wheeljack are not anywhere near as close to Optimus as Ratchet, but boy do they try and help their Prime anyway. Random acts of affection, pulling him into games with them, or simply doing their best to engage in conversation are their best attempts. Movie nights are also a good way for them to get Optimus out of his own head as the Prime tends to get distracted by a good story.
Ultra Magnus also does what he can by emulating Optimus's own methods for dealing with others. He will sit with his commander and talk, not about anything serious, but trivial things. It forces Optimus to think outside of his duties, at least partially, and engage with others. This in turn leads him to be more expressive, to separate himself from the conjoined mind that is the Matrix in order to respond appropriately.
Smokescreen doesn't even know he is doing it, but by being his fanboy self he forces Optimus to act like more of a living being. He reminds Optimus of Bumblebee when he was young and brings up emotions that are usually well hidden. The Prime becomes concerned for and affectionate towards the rambunctious elite guardsman rather quickly after his arrival. Optimus got attached and now he is physically incapable of being stoic and mystical when Smokescreen is trying to do something stupid.
Bumblebee does what Bumblebee does and gives his caretaker love. This in turn wakes Optimus from his state of resigned duty and gives him a chance to be himself. Sometimes Bumblebee will act younger than he is on purpose when he can sense Optimus has fallen deep into his trance. On those days Optimus can't help but want to be expressive and interested. He wants to watch his sparkling grow and change, and the Matrix is equally interested in the events. And so for a brief time every now and then Optimus is completely unburdened and allowed to simply be himself when Bumblebee gets involved.
The human children also help Optimus return to awareness and often don't even realize it. They are just so unpredictable and alien to both Optimus and the Matrix that both can't help but focus on the children. Optimus wants to express himself and the Matrix wants new information to feed to its future wielders, and so the Prime is capable of being emotional, compassionate, and inquisitive around the kids. The Matrix even purposefully pushes forward more of Orion's traits when around the children so that it can gain more data.
And lastly, weather Megatron knows it or not, he keeps Optimus from fully succumbing to the Matrix. His taunts, his behavior, and his constant callback's to his and Optimus's shared past make the Prime feel. He forces Optimus to feel. Not even the Matrix can stop Optimus from feeling rage, sorrow, and regret in overwhelming quantities when battling Megatron. It is the most awakening activity for the Prime and usually leaves him expressive and open for weeks afterwards before falling back into the Matrix's grip yet again.
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(So not really hurt comfort but this is what I have right now... sorry if you don't like it)
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okay its going under a readmore bc its messy and a lot, i'll try to keep it succinct though. CW for some discussion of the ongoing g.enocide and things around that topic
so one of the friends is someone I've really respected and admired because they're a very intelligent well-spoken and kind-hearted individual. i've really been impressed with how they think about things and with their ability to write really fantastic essays (that they often share with this friend group because they're in school and enjoy sharing their work with us because a lot of us are interested in the things they write about). about a year ago, this person went through the process of converting to j.udaism and we were all very excited (and continue to be happy) for them. they've been really happy with the process and the community they've found and it's been really good for them.
however! this person has since stated they are a z.ionist! and they've said that it just means that j.ewish people should live in i.srael, it doesn't mean they support the i.df or what is happening in p.alestine currently. but I'm just... baffled at how they can think that non-p.alestinians occupying the country could EVER be done peacefully. it has ALWAYS been colonization. it was never going to be done in a peaceful manner.
do j.ewish people deserve a safe place to exist? absolutely! but I do not think, ESPECIALLY now, that that safe place can ever be located in p.alestine. I'm not the most educated or well-read individual, I've done a bit of reading over the past few months but my memory is shoddy and I consistently forget almost everything I've read, but as far as I can tell, this has been a non-peaceful occupation (...can occupation ever really be done peacefully in reality? i doubt it.) from the very beginning. p.alestinians were being kicked out of their houses from the start.
and to add onto the messiness of this all, I am the only i.ndigenous person in the entire group. I am the only one coming at this from an i.ndigenous perspective. and because of my perspective, I am ALWAYS going to be on the side of the population that first lived and existed in a place. i am always on the side of l.and back, i am always on the side of the first peoples. anything less would be essentially agreeing with colonization.
so it is just incredibly uncomfortable to be the only i.ndigenous person in this group while the rest of the group has discussed and expressed sympathy with this person for holding self-professed z.ionist beliefs (I do not believe this person has done the right reading to fully understand what they are saying, which is so strange because they are usually so good about educating themself). and I feel like if I try to say anything to argue or simply question this person, I'm going to rock the boat too much and make Everyone uncomfortable and the entire thing will blow up and fall apart around me. so my options seem to be either: a) say something, b) say nothing and stay in the group, or c) say nothing and quietly leave the group. none of which feel like good options!
and it sucks so much because there are people I genuinely do like in this group, and I've liked this one person and respected them since I met them, but they're really .... showing themself to be an unsafe person at the end of the day. I keep feeling like maybe I'm not seeing something or maybe I'm missing something, but I've looked at this from multiple angles and while I do absolutely see where they're coming from and even sympathise with some of it, I disagree with them on a fundamental level.
(also it seems really fucked up for them to be newly converted to j.udaism and endorsing what is essentially colonization and lowkey ignoring the fact that PEOPLE ARE BEING GENOCIDED RIGHT NOW so maybe we should not be discussing "but where are all the j.ewish ppl going to live :(" until the bullets and bombs stop at the very least(????????), while I've been indigenous and dealing with the consequences of attempted (and still ongoing!) genocide and colonization my entire life)
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i find it equal parts sad as well as kind of funny in a bad way that barton will literally make friends with quote unquote ' ordinary people ' who even show even an iota of interest in him and this is mostly because he is just so lonely all the time. but whenever they do, these poor people have no freaking idea what they're getting into whenever you become friends with barton because his kind of friendship is DEFINITELY not the typical kind... like, especially if he views you as one of his super close friends. because suddenly you will be barraged with calls at three am where barton will either be downright ugly crying into the phone over a absolutely horrific nightmare he had or he'll be like: ' hey, i need you to come over RIGHT NOW and not ask any questions ' and thinking that it's probably an emergency, his friend will probably go to his house in a panic, only to discover that no. barton is, in fact, NOT in an emergency and he actually seems surprised that they came. and he then proceeds to tell them that he asked them to come over because he just wanted to see them so bad that he felt like he was ' dying ' 💀
like are you being for real right now?? this man really doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to these things, after all, and he's just highkey such a pest in general istg. and i haven't even talked about the fact that barton purposefully embarrasses people he likes but not in a particularly malicious way. it's just in a VERY mortifying way like reaching his hand out to take theirs, then swinging it back and fourth whenever they are in like... a damn grocery store in public together and proclaiming to someone that passes by them ' hey, so this is my friend. aren't they like the coolest? i bet you're so jealous right now that they're my friend and not yours OOHHH, ' like... he is just setting them up to be stared at by people. it's so devious.
there is also the fact that barton will literally NOT allow them to fight their own battles sometimes because he will cut in if he sees someone is bothering them / threatening them and be like, ' hey friend, who's this prick? do you need me to deck them in the face? ' and he does it in such a way that you cannot even tell whether he's joking or not. like, he's certainly got some issues that he needs to work out, but he's also kind of hilarious sometimes? JSJSJ and he is strangely up to defending his friends from people which i suppose is... sort of funky fresh of him... despite him committing countless atrocities on the daily?? 🫠 idk, but the point i'm trying to make is, barton is highkey a menace even around these ' normal friends ' that he has a tendency of making and he shows his love for them in a very... unusual way, to say the least LOL. sooo yeah be prepared to feel like you're on a rollercoaster with him
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