you already know im gonna be cringe and ask for hcs about Potential Interactions between ravage and riptide 🫡

Ravage and Riptide Headcanons (2005 IDW, He/She pronouns for Ravage!)

(🫡, I actually have a lot of thoughts about these two, considering Riptide is one of the most notable characters Ravage interacts with in MTMTE. These two talk three times in MTMTE, which considering most of the rest of Rav's interactions are with Megatron, is actually pretty notable!)

The Lost Light was not the first place Ravage and Riptide met. Or rather, it was not the first time where Ravage saw Riptide personally. While the two have never properly fought each other, Ravage was present during the battle for which Riptide was made; the Simanzi Massacre. Ravage was on the field where Riptide made his first appearance and could tell Riptide was freshly made by his scent. Riptide was struggling against the overwhelming current of the Forced Flood when Ravage found him. While equipped with an aquatic alt-mode, his T-Cog was malfunctioning, leading to him not being able to transform. Hit with a rare twinge of sympathy (or perhaps pity, or something even crueler), Ravage leaves Riptide be. He could have killed Riptide there and rid the Autobots of one more soldier, but whatever his reasons, he chose not to.

Ravage does not see Riptide again until after the war ends and he is assigned to spy on Megatron by Soundwave. Before he is revealed to be a stowaway, Ravage does not spend much time watching or even considering Riptide. There were far bigger characters in play; such as Rodimus, Magnus, Ratchet, and Megatron himself. That does not mean he did not "check-in" on Riptide every once in a while, however. To sate his own curiosity and as a needed reprieve from the stuffy, tense atmosphere made by his assignment, Ravage occasionally sought Riptide out in secret. Watching him from the vents or in the shadows of other mechs, Riptide became Ravage's personal source of entertainment... not that Riptide knew about that. Riptide reminded him of Rumble and Frenzy in a way, and after spending so much time away from the twins, Riptide's similarities to them became a comfort.

Their "first" impressions of each other were not as pleasant, however. They do not meet properly until Ravage is revealed to be spying on the Lost Light crew and, once discovered, Ravage becomes aggressive out of self-defense. After he is shot and the crew board the split Lost Light, Riptide insults Ravage; criticizing his tracking skills when Ravage sniffed out Minimus Ambus after claiming to smell Ultra Magnus. When Ravage is proven to be correct in the end, as Minimus is Magnus, he does not let go of Riptide's quick dismissal of him easily. He insults Riptide later on ("I hate to spell out the obvious- though I am sure it happens to you a lot..."), and this bickering continues between them long after they have returned to their Lost Light.

Surprising them both, Ravage and Riptide's bickering turns into a tentative bond. Neither of them are entirely sure how or when it happens, but their bickering towards each other slowly morphs into a genuine bond. They start spending more time snarking at other people together, rather than at each other, and Ravage finds himself both confused and intrigued by Riptide's interest in him. Riptide is the only person onboard the Lost Light, save for perhaps Nautica, to show any interest in talking with him. Not only that, but Riptide is the only one who approaches him casually, without fear. He'd be insulted if he weren't starved of connection with other people. After four million years of being in constant close contact with other people, being removed from them has its consequences. With his dynamic with Megatron being strained and every other mech on the Lost Light regarding him with open distrust, Ravage finds connection where he can. Riptide becomes a source of comfort for Ravage, and he often seeks the mech out when the silence begins to sink in too deep and his ache for physical contact becomes too great. Riptide is genuine in the way he interacts with others, and Ravage, who has spent the last several months spinning his own cat's cradle of contingency plans, finds comfort in that genuineness. When life onboard the Lost Light becomes too much for either of them, Riptide sometimes takes Ravage to the oil reservoir and does laps in his alt-mode with Ravage on top. Both menaces at spark, they often end up pushing each other in on purpose.

Riptide values Ravage's patience in return. Despite Ravage's initial picking, she is patient with Riptide- more patient than a considerable portion of the Autobots, at the very least. She does not rush him to get out a thought or roll her optics when he does not catch onto something as fast as someone else. Ravage has spent her entire life being patient; waiting and observing for things to fall into place. She's not going to get huffy because she has to wait a few extra minutes for Riptide to get his thoughts together. As they get closer, Ravage begins to start snapping at others when they attempt to rush Riptide. She cites her own annoyance with the 'bots in question for it, but anyone paying attention can see she's got a soft spot.

When Riptide expresses his distrust of Megatron, Ravage is supportive. Not only is it good for her if the crew does not trust Megatron, as they are more likely to push against him and potentially tempt Megatron to leave, but she likes that Riptide has doubts. Ravage believes more 'bots should doubt their superiors. Doubt leads to knowledge-seeking, which is a quick slope into rebellion. When Riptide makes a throw-away comment about betting shanix against Megatron being truthful about being "reformed", Ravage praises him for being doubtful and being prepared for betrayal. She tells him that he should always question things around him, no matter how trusted or well-known they are. Ravage knew Megatron for over four million years, after all, and she never expected him to take up the red badge. Anything can happen, and Riptide needs to be ready for that.

Bitter irony. Ravage praises Riptide for being cautious, unknowing that Riptide himself was aligned with Getaway. Riptide wars between duty and guilt for a long time after, caught between telling Ravage of Getaway's plans and remaining silent. In the end, it is his own curiosity that makes the decision for him.

This friendship was not meant to last. Friendship is what Riptide believed it to be, though Ravage's feelings on the matter are much more complex. Eventually, Riptide breaks their fragile bond by asking if Ravage trusts him. The conversation did not start with that; he danced around it at first, asking about Megatron and Soundwave and the rest of the Lost Light. Riptide brings up a time when Ravage told him never to trust anyone fully, and that even those closest to you can turn. He asks if Ravage trusts anyone on the Lost Light, if she trusts Megatron, if she trusts Soundwave. Eventually, he asks if she trusts him. His being truthful about Getaway was dependent on her answer, but what he wasn't expecting was for Ravage to ask him if he trusted her. A moment of silence passes between them. Neither could bring themselves to answer, which was enough of an answer in itself. Ravage is the one who ultimately ends the conversation; turning her back to Riptide and walking away with little more than, "… It is best if we leave it at that, then." This is the last time Riptide and Ravage see each other, and the last time they speak before the DotL.