You Are Sooo Correct About The Autism Swag - Tumblr Posts

OPTIMUS BINGO. NEOW.

I FUCKING LOVE YOU /PLATONIC

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I'm gonna talk abt TFP because you know that's what my brain is unfortunately filled with and also Optimus has no right to be as interesting as she is given the show's overall quality.

There's. so much about her that I love. The weight in her movements and the consideration she puts into them. How fucking old and tired and worn down she feels. The autistic swag. Her speech patterns and expressions. Her role in the War and her duties as a Prime and how heavily it weighs on her.

Firstly, something I actually like about TFP is how the mecha have a lot of weight. The ground shakes when they move, their movements tend to be sort of slow and fluid, and, especially in the first few episodes, there are several really great shots that put into perspective how fucking MASSIVE the mecha are.

In Optimus' case, all of that remains true, but there's also the way she interacts with others. Her movements are very calculated, especially when it comes to her hands. It gives you the sense that she's aware of her size and strength and moves accordingly.

This is further underlined by seeing how she moves during battle: she's a heavy hitter, as- unlike Arcee or Bumblebee, who tend to use speed to their advantage- Optimus often uses her own frame as a weapon, and every punch has a great sense of weight and force behind it.

This contrast is incredibly cool and works so well to tell us more about Optimus. It shows us that she can absolutely be dangerous and there's a reason she's alive even after so long, while also making it clear that she's well aware of her strength and cares about others. She knows how to use her power incredibly well.

It reminds us that she's been through a lot. She's been fighting and commanding and making decisions for so long now, she's gotten perfectly used to it, but it just weighs on her and tires her out all the more.

She doesn't allow herself to participate in celebrations, or laugh, or display any sign of emotional vulnerability as long as she can help it, all so she can focus on her role. And, in the moments where she does slip up, she's quick to recover and shut herself back in.

I wish there were more works discussing/portraying the sort of… apotheosis that Optimus has (to an extent) willingly put himself through.

I think that the question of what a person is, what makes you one and how much you can strip away from someone until you're suddenly looking at something- a subject, a concept, rather than a person- is fascinating.

Optimus feels like he's something more than just a person, like he's this immortal being, and that's something he did purposefully, in my opinion. He shut himself off and stripped himself down to this- at first glance- simple idol, an idea rather than a person. It gives others hope and a sense of direction, even in desperate times, and she's willing to give them that at the cost of who she is.

She recognized the mythical status that came with his primehood, coupled with how much people looked up to her as their leader during such difficult times, and decided to fit herself into the shape of her idealized, perfect self.

She's a tragic and sad character because this is a role she didn't want, made all the more difficult by the War, and she still gave it more than what anyone could have asked for her.

Something I want to note is how others react when she puts away the act. In the scene where Starscream escapes with the keys, and Optimus does the dramatic yelling at the sky thing, it's clear that Bulkhead and Ratchet are surprised and unnerved by this. I wouldn't say they're afraid exactly, but there's certainly an amount of uncertainty and weariness there.

And, to a certain extent, it's an understandable reaction. It's made pretty clear that Optimus keeps themself very closed off and controlled, so to see them slip up like this is likely something entirely new to Bulkhead and a very rare sight to Ratchet.

But, on the other hand, it shows us how unrealistic the expectations the Autobots, albeit unintentionally, put on Optimus are. Optimus' outburst isn't him endangering his teammates, he doesn't make a reckless decision or punch a hole through a wall or anything of the sort. He yells it out. This would have been a pretty expected reaction from a lot of the other characters, but it's sudden and scary coming from Optimus.

I also really love her expressions in general. Especially how she speaks. She does her best to avoid misunderstanding, making herself as clear as possible and using 'big words' because they're more accurate (the autism is strong).

However, I do think a lot of how she presents herself simply is her. Some of it is a facade, but I do not think she's actually the joking type as she's often made out to be. Were she not in such a position, I think she would be similar to how she is now. We saw that with Orion Pax, who was much more trusting and expressive, but still more reserved than a lot of the others.

Ultimately, Optimus is a very sophisticated character, and sadly, a lot of the things that make them interesting get often either ignored, or mischaracterized to hell.

They tend to often be portrayed as naive, almost childish, especially in romantic scenarios, which is very off-putting for several reasons.

Often, people point to her attempts at talking it out with Megatron and establishing peace as a sign of naivete, and I don't think that's accurate.

She's hopeful. She's flawed, yes, but at her core, Optimus is a good, genuine and kind person with a lot of empathy. She tries to extend that towards people that many would deem either irredeemable, or just not worth it.

I think that's far from naivete. Optimus understands that they do have to kill to survive. They understand that not every situation is fit for peace talks, that they can't let themself or their team be put in danger just so they can try to talk someone down.

They know when they can try to negotiate, and when it's out of the question, and, in this situation, that's where the line between being naive and simply hopeful is.

Something else that makes me quite uncomfortable is the frequent attempts to "fix" her by making her more emotional and expressive.

Her stoicism and "lack of emotion" are not inherently negative, in that they are an aspect of her personality, and removing them changes who she is. And while the role she has forced herself into does hurt her, I believe the way she acts stems heavily from her natural personality, rather than an act.

I often see her being portrayed as far more prone to emotional outbursts, laughing relatively often, having sarcastic remarks or being very flirty, and while this is often just the mís-characterization that comes from being a new writer, it's telling how this is something that occurs specifically in the heavily autistic-coded character of the show.

The third option is villainizing her. I most often see this in relation to his treatment of Arcee, specifically her need for revenge and trauma.

As I've already stated, Optimus is a hopeful person. He hopes, above all, that there's always a right path, a way to do things that's morally and logically the best. He has a sense of this greater good he's always working towards, always trying to follow, and I feel that while this does impair his judgment at times, it's by far not enough to make him an evil person.

His disagreement with Arcee stems from this idea of the greater good- that forgiveness is the key, that revenge is always bad and placing yourself on your enemy's level is to be avoided at all costs. If you're kind to your enemies, if you show them mercy, surely they'll treat you the same, right?

Whether it be against Starscream or Airachnid, defenseless or in battle, Arcee should not exact her revenge as it would accomplish nothing.

Optimus directly contradicts this sentiment later on by almost killing a defenseless Megatron. However, I don't think Optimus was lying or trying to manipulate Arcee by his earlier statement. Rather, I think, Optimus is forced to rethink his stance on the killing of a defenseless enemy if it means preventing future harm. At this moment, Megatron is at his mercy, and given all he's done and will likely do in the future if left alive, Optimus chooses to end it right there, even if his attempt is unsuccessful.

In the end, I think Optimus is far from naive, hypocritical or evil- he's simply flawed. He wants to do the right thing, and though he makes mistakes, they are honest mistakes, coming from a place of care and hope, rather than malice.

One last thing I want to talk about is Optimus' relationship to Megatron.

Megatron hates Optimus, that's pretty clear. He hates them for taking away his title, for their 'for the greater good' stance, for their forgiveness and wisdom and for the way they care about others and want to see the best in people.

Optimus' feelings, on the other hand, feel much more complex.

On one hand, he's aware of the danger Megatron poses. He's aware of the destruction the War has already caused and of the threat it poses for as long as Megatron is alive and able to enact his will.

Optimus understands that Megatron must be stopped, but this is where things get complicated.

He does want, and tries, to stop Megatron, but is in constant conflict with himself over how to achieve this. He's hesitant to kill Megatron at the start, even during battle, he mourns Megatron's 'death' in the first few episodes.

He wants to reason his way out of the conflict, because he still hopes that Megatron could see reason.

I've detailed their relationship more here, as it's a very interesting dynamic and I think it should be talked about outside of the context of shipping.