Because Caia and Katarik asked.

[raisedbymoogles]

My Galvatron/Rodimus ship manifesto, rambled out for your wtfing pleasure! :D This is a little incoherent 'cause I'm tired, but on the other hand I've been playing with this pairing for several years. It's kind of my pet ship. ^_^;;;;

So here's my take on the Galvatron/Rodimus thing.

So, here's Rodimus: he of the World's Fastest Field Promotion. From low-ranking soldier to leader of an entire race and general in an interstellar war, all in an instant. It's no secret he's terribly overwhelmed, and his predecessor is such a legend that (in his own mind, at least) he could never measure up. He's desperate for someone to look up to, someone to lead him and teach him how to be a leader worth following. And because he's afraid of losing their faith in him, he cannot confide in any Autobot about these feelings.

Enter Galvatron. Blindingly strong, forceful, charismatic, wild and free: everything Rodimus thinks he isn't. He recognizes how dangerous Galvatron is, of course, but can't help feeling a certain amount of respect and even awe for him. And because he is young, and feels so very deeply, respect and awe become a raging, inescapable crush.

On Galvatron's side... well, it's never explicitly stated how much Megatron is still in Galvatron, but remember that Galvatron himself began his existence as a slave. Unicron hurt him to make him do things. He tried to free himself using the Matrix, but in the end his savior was the aforementioned soldier-turned-leader - which is enough reason to spark a love/hate complex towards him all on its own. Then plasma damage happened, and any self-restraint Galvatron may have had was destroyed.

I see Galvatron as essentially a control freak: his greatest fear is that someone will be able to control him again, so he lashes out at the universe and tries to conquer everything in sight, etc. etc. to make damn sure that won't ever happen. (Well, that's part of the reason, anyway. He are Decepticon, doin what Decepticon do.) And Rodimus, at least in my mind, is a bit of a submissive. So if Rodimus Prime, one of the few beings in the universe who has the strength to match him and the mech who freed him from bondage, actually cares for him and is able to submit selflessly to him, this will go a long way toward beguiling and reassuring him. Thus their desires mesh: Rodimus's need to feel worthy and Galvatron's need to conquer and possess; Rodimus's strong and selfless spark and Galvatron's mad torment seeking stability.

The essential dynamic doesn't really change when Rodimus becomes Hot Rod again at the end of S3: Hot Rod can't take quite as much damage, obviously, but he's still the same spark and I'd like to think that Galvatron can see that.

I like to play with this pairing as 'fluff with Lots Of Kink:' there's pain and bondage and power exchange and a bit of brokenness on both sides, but Galvatron never does anything Rodimus doesn't want. However, I am well aware of all the ways this pairing can go horribly, horribly wrong. ...I kind of like those ways too.

....Of course, add in Cyclonus and Scourge, and things get complicated. XD

Comments

[caiusmajor]

YAY ESSAY!

I am going to have to have Thoughts at you about this tomorrow. Tonight I'm just all "Galvatron! Rodimus!" at you.

And I might just have to bookmark this to point people at. :D

THOUGHTS!

[caiusmajor]

I see Galvatron as essentially a control freak: his greatest fear is that someone will be able to control him again, so he lashes out at the universe and tries to conquer everything in sight, etc. etc. to make damn sure that won't ever happen.

That is...on the one hand Galvatron doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the traditional definition of 'control freak'--he's too unpredictable himself for that--and on the other hand it also explains a lot of the differences in how he treats the other 'Cons: he doesn't have the security in his power Megatron had, to keep Starscream or Octane or Blitzwing around.

So, yeah. Thanks for mentioning that. It is Useful for my Purposes. ;)

Galvatron as a role model makes me laugh a bit--I mean, *Galvatron!* But on the other hand, who else does Roddy have at that point? Optimus led the Autobots for nine million years, a number of the folks in his inner circle died in TFTM as well, and Ultra Magnus is as much out of his depth as Rodimus himself. The only one else Rodimus has to look at for Cybertronian leadership is Galvatron.

(...other than by short-circuiting himself and going into the Matrix, which has a lot of downsides even if it's not *quite* as dangerous as taking up with the 'Con leader.)

Blindingly strong, forceful, charismatic, wild and free: everything Rodimus thinks he isn't.

At least the last bits of that--wild and free--would also be things that Hot Rod was, but Rodimus isn't and, because of the nature of Autobot vs Decepticon leadership, can't be. And of course the reasons that Galvatron can be like that aren't good ones at all but I really wouldn't blame Rodimus for envying him them.

I do definitely tend to view Galvatron as having an, ah, affinity for--as katarik says, I dunno if it's a technical term or not--service-oriented subs. Which Roddy isn't to the extent of, say, Cyclonus where Galvatron is concerned--serving is something he does, as a Prime, but submitting is, I think, something he does in part to get the hell away from having to be a Prime.

Which is an aspect of it that Galvatron does and doesn't do for him--yes, he's not having to be leading and making the decisions here, but on the other hand, he is the Prime when he's with Galvatron--but not in a bad way, necessarily, even if he's 'failed' in the sense of, ah, being tied up in his enemies bed, because Galvatron is one of the few people in the galaxy who's highly unlikely to be "I would prefer to have Optimus!" at him--and, as you point out, Roddy's Chosen One-ness was quite directly useful to him in freeing him from slavery to Unicron.

(...at least until the end of Season 3. I look at some of the ways Optimus and Galvatron are acting there, and I'm not sure Hot Rod may be keeping his Galvatron.

Not that he gets much of a chance, what with the Hate Plague and all.)

Also, the fact that even as Rodimus, Roddy is reckless as all get-out doesn't hurt in terms of getting him to do something as dangerous as hook up with the Leader of the Decepticons. :)

[stainless]

Okay, being totally honest I have to confess I still don't get it... but this is interesting nonetheless.

*mull mull mull* *think think think*