I am trying to reignite my Dragon Age fanfic streak, currently I have 2 stories cooking ton that front, my 'main' story and an AU/canon divergence from my main. So I was just writting the old fashion way, with purple pen and all and welll, I am a danger cuz after sampling for two pages I decided to dra a family tree...
Tbh it needs some expansions and a clean up but here it is 😅
I have been blessed by @lemonerzest putting the idea of religious interfacing between Smokescreen and Optimus in my head and I can’t get it out.
I want it to be ritualistic. Smokescreen already practically worships OP. I mean he was chosen by Primus. The power he has is god given and sacred.
So when the opportunity to interface with him arises, it’s almost like a form of worship to please your Prime. He holds the matrix of leadership, this legacy of life and knowledge, and being that close to him means you’re close to that power and life and knowledge.
It’s like gazing at a holy artifact and being able to run your hands lovingly across the reliquary that holds it. The reward for a sacred pilgrimage few ever get to go on.
What if that was part of becoming a Prime? Interfacing with them to unite their frames and pass on the matrix. What if in Optimus’ fragile state, he asks Smokescreen to become the next Prime?
Smokescreen is hesitant. He regards himself as unworthy. Maybe he is, but who is he to say no to a request from the mech appointed by Primus himself? So he agrees and the interfacing is all tentative and reverent and slow.
Smokescreen touches OP like he’s the most valuable thing in existence and OP touches Smokie like the most adoring lover and as a proud leader, fully embracing him and happy to pass on this gift.
I imagine the process to be a lot like spark merging too. They’re so close, foreheads pressed together and Smoke’s optics are screwed shut as he feels everything OP is feeling and the matrix works itself into his chassis.
OP is holding him steady, soothing him, and watching with a bit of wonder as it happens. By the end they’re both crying because it feels so good and the connection through the matrix is literally otherworldly and they just have so much want for the future and each other.
Smokescreen becomes the next Prime. Optimus gets to fucking finally retire, and they get to have that sensual, sentimental experience they’ve shared.
Camber is my OC who has a canine alt-mode. Playing around with him in rp and writing him, he gets teased about it. People assume he’s obedient, and he can be. But this idea popped into my head. So here’s a drabble with Camber explaining why he’s submissive.
“But I thought you were a sub?”
Camber paused and furrowed his brow. He was silent for a long moment, making the other bot a little uncomfortable in the eerily quiet room.
“Darling, have you forgotten what I do?” Camber raised a brow, “That a massive part of my daily life involves giving people orders? That I am an expert at managing, delegating, dictating.”
Camber stepped closer, slowly running his servos up their chassis and giving a little smirk.
“I am submissive in the berth because I find it enjoyable,” his servos trailed further up before he brought one to lightly wrap around the bot’s neck. “But do not mistake my preference for a reflection of my nature.”
The light touch of his servo splayed around their neck felt sensual, as though he was trying to tempt them to bite back. He gazed up at them with half lidded optics, but his playful smirk was gone.
“I assure you it has nothing to do with nature. My submission is entrusted, not demanded. It is a gift,” he purred, “A reward, a reflection of admiration.”
His servo squeezed around the bot’s throat, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make their optics go wide.
“And unfortunately for you,” he glanced up and down, sizing them up before locking optics again, “I don’t believe you deserve it…”
Camber let go of the bot’s neck, trailing his servo down their chassis as he stepped away. He waltzed across the room to sit down in a comfortable armchair, leaving the bot standing all alone.
“But if you’d like to try and earn it…” he suggested with a smile. One more soft and genuine this time.
The bot slowly nodded before stepping towards him and Camber hummed in delight.
“Then let’s start with something easy, shall we?”
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs and casually resting his head in his servo as he looked up at the bot in front of him.
Jealous and “completely in denial he’s crushing on a human” Optimus please? Bonus points if it’s completely obvious to everyone else that he’s got it bad. Any iteration is okay, I’m easy!
Deep In Denial
We’re going with TFP since I have a soft spot for him.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 600+
Pt.2
Optimus resigned himself to watching you from a distance. This was nearly a daily occurrence. You getting swept up in conversation with other members of team Autobot, and Optimus wishing he could bring himself to join you.
Optimus was content to observe you trying to fit in and find your place on the team, and he was happy to see it was going well. You spent a lot of time with Miko and Bulkhead, and while he didn’t understand why they were the ones you dedicated so much time to, he knew these connections would only serve to make the team stronger.
Things went smoothly for a while, falling into a pleasant routine that Optimus wished could last longer for everyone's sake. Unfortunately, a new mech appearing destroyed that daydream. He didn’t like how quickly you took to Smokescreen, considering how reckless he could be at times. It might put you in danger, and he hated the thought.
One evening, Smokescreen offered to drive you home from the base, and you happily accepted. You said goodbye to Ratchet and waved to Arcee as she returned from bringing Jack home. You’d just closed Smokescreen’s door when Optimus entered the room.
“Oh,” you exclaimed as you caught sight of the Prime and hopped back out to meet him. You always loved seeing his smile when you’d greet him, so you couldn’t pass up the opportunity, even if it was to say goodbye.
“Leaving?” he asked, obviously sad to see you go.
“Yeah, I’ve got an early morning tomorrow, so I better head out. But I’ve got some time tomorrow night, so I’ll be back,” you replied with a smile. “Goodnight Optimus! See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, goodnight,” Optimus gave a small nod and returned your smile. “See you tomorrow then.” When your back was turned, his smile faltered as he watched you leave with Smokescreen.
“I hate to say it,” Arcee chimed up, “but I’m getting tired of these pity parties of yours,” she said to Optimus.
“Pity?” he raised his brow in surprise, taken aback by her claim.
“Optimus,” Ratched sighed, “I would have to agree. These nightly ‘upsets’ can’t be good for you.”
Optimus frowned at his friend’s words, “I’m just tired.” He tried to deflect, but neither of them were having it.
“I’m sure your little human would appreciate a confession at least,” Ratchet suggested. “It’s obvious your feelings are reciprocated.”
“Who, the human?” Optimus asked. Surely Ratched couldn't be implying that Optimus had feelings for you. He was a Prime and the fact that you followed his leadership meant such a thing would be inappropriate. Not to mention how you’re a human and he most certainly is not.
“Optimus, the only time you sulk like this is right after they’re gone,” Arcee said, pointing to the exit tunnel. “They refuse to leave the base without saying goodbye to you.”
“The two of you do have a routine, yes,” Ratchet added. “I’ve known you long enough to spot when you’re smitten.”
Optimus could feel his face warming out of embarrassment. He didn’t know what to say. He considered denying Ratchet’s claims, but Ratchet did know him well and was hardly ever wrong with his assessments of the Prime.
“Bee thought maybe if he or Smokescreen started bringing them home, you’d get jealous enough to cave and confess,” Arcee said to add more fuel to the fire.
If the three other bots could see it, then what did Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus think? Did they really all notice?
“If you don’t do something about it soon, I’m pretty sure one of those two will,” Arcee urged, referring to Bee and Smokescreen.
That thought brought a brief sense of panic to Optimus. Maybe he did feel more for you than he’d like to admit, and if that’s the case, he’d just have to find a way to tell you before someone else did first.
how do you think the autobots would react to a human coming onto them/confessing love to them?
Optimus: With how he's still adjusting to humans and putting trust in them, I don't think he'd be very accepting. Although I'm not sure he'd be rude about it either. He just wouldn't really know how to respond. I think with enough time, and the right person, his attitude could change and he'd become accepting and appreciative.
Bumblebee: Considering his fascination and affection for humans and Earth in general, I think he'd be excited. Like wow, a human? Liking him? Incredible. I wouldn't be surprised if he reciprocated the human's feelings and maybe even pursued a relationship with them.
Arcee: She might be a little awkward and hesitant to return their affections, but she'd be intrigued and take it as a compliment at the very least. I think she'd be less likely to pursue a romantic relationship with a human, but if she did find someone she connected with, I think she might be the one confessing first.
Mirage: Considering how he is with Noah and humans more generally, I think he'd react similarly to Bee. He'd be excited, it might boost his ego a little bit, and he'd probably be flirty with them. I don't think he'd be opposed to being with a human. He'd justify it by saying it's good for intergalactic diplomacy or something.
Wheeljack: He'd be very shy, flustered, and probably pretty surprised. I think he might not pick up on subtle hints, so a straightforward confession would be what it takes to let him know. It might take him a while to sort his feelings out, but he would be happy about receiving the confession.
So I really wanna get into TF, but I’m a little intimidated by the sheer amount of course material and how… conflicting a lot of it seems to be 😅 Do you have any recommendations where to start? I also feel like a big baby cause I wanna interact with the fandom so much but I feel like I don’t “know enough” to interact with anything
Ok, first piece of advice to anyone new is toss out the idea of "knowing enough" because there is just way too much content out there for you to have that kind of thinking. You'll never feel like you can jump into the fandom if you worry about knowing "enough"; everyone has to start somewhere and I find most people are happy to tell you about things you might not know about the fandom or a piece of media.
We like to talk about robots, so if you ask robot questions, prepare for very long, excited answers. I'm going to put the rest of my response under the cut, because oh boy, you have opened a can of worms and I have a lot to say.
Continuities and Canon
You're entirely right seeing the conflict present in canon. That's just because there's so much of it. They can often be broken down into "continuities" that are essentially their own little universes. These universes meeting each other happens sometimes, but don't worry about that.
While all the content and continuities may feel overwhelming, I find a lot of freedom in it, because it's so fun to pick and choose your favorite parts of canon and create your own personal headcanon continuity as you go along, if that makes sense. Everyone has their favorite pieces of canon, and that canon will eventually contradict someone else's favorite piece of canon. That's the beauty of it. There's not a lot of "debate" on what's "really canon" because the thing is, it's all canon, just in different stories.
There's a whole set of fanon as well. An example would be the concept of sexual reproduction and Sparklings, which are basically just baby robots. Neither of those things exist in canon. While there are humorous references to sex in Transformers media that suggests they may have a form of sex that isn't for reproducing, Transformers are generally considered asexual. So most, if not all, talks of sexuality within the fandom is fanon content, not cannon.
The Transformers fandom on Tumblr isn't that big, and I have never really seen any drama in it. The closest I've seen to drama is people debating characterizations and similar things. But it's all been in good fun, so I'd certainly encourage you to interact with other fans and not be too afraid you'll do something wrong or won't be received well for not knowing things.
The best advice I can give is just to jump in. The way I got into Transformers wasn't even through consuming any Transformers media. One day I was thinking about how there are too many boring alien species in media, I wanted something weird and fleshed out, and I remembered that Transformers are aliens. So I started reading on the Transformers Wiki, and I was hooked. I spent hours reading through wiki pages for a few weeks before I started sharing my knowledge with my brother and he told me to watch Transformers Prime. And that was my introduction to Transformers media.
The Transformers Wiki is vast and well maintained for a fan wiki. Nearly any question you have about Transformers can be answered by something in that wiki. I'd encourage anyone getting into the fandom to take some time to explore it.
Recommendations
Honestly, Transformers Prime is not a bad place to start. It's still very popular as a fan favorite and is a solid piece of the Aligned continuity. It's got very likable characters with good action and storytelling in my opinion.
If you want something shorter, then Cyberverse is a good option. It's on Youtube and the episodes are short. You could binge the whole thing in a weekend. It's lighthearted for the most part, and while some of the plot lines feel unhinged, that's why I love it. There are no human characters and there are major stretches of story where neither Optimus nor Megatron are involved and I adore that. It gives us opportunity to know other characters better.
More Than Meets the Eye/Lost Light is a beloved story arc in the IDW comics. It's got like 54 issues and you can find it online in a few places. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm really enjoying it. The comics in general are more 'adult' and queer relationships are the norm and featured in the stories as important character relationships, which I love.
If you want to get in on something currently airing, Earthspark is what you want to watch. I believe it's considered to be part of a new continuity, and you can tell, since it feels different to previous Transformers shows. It's still aimed at kids, but they tackle some heavier issues and the human characters are very likable. There's an explicitly non-binary character, which as a non-binary person I'm happy about haha. It's aired about half the episodes planned for the first season, so you can catch up easily.
Another thing to look out for if you want to get involved with something just starting is Skybound's Transformers comics. They're the ones who got the comic license after IDW lost it and they just released their first issue with Transformers in Void Rivals #1. More comics with Transformers at the forefront are set to be released later this year, with a cross over with G.I. Joe. It looks like it's going to be very different from the IDW comics, but I'm interested to see what they end up doing.
And of course, there's always the Bayverse films. While they're a hot mess, they're my dearly loved hot mess and are a gorgeous display of giant alien robots in live action. Bumblebee is the first chronologically, and is my favorite. It isn't directed by Bay, so it has a completely different tone and pace to any of his movies. It's referred to as the Knightverse because of Travis Knight being the director. If you liked ROTB, you'll like Bumblebee as they take place in the same universe, which looks like it's gearing up to be entirely separate from the Bayverse.
In Conclusion
Jump in and have fun! Consume, discuss, create, and don't be afraid to ask more questions. I'm always happy when someone wants to talk about Transformers, and there are so many other people out there who feel the same.
I super appreciate people asking me to tag them when my next fic is done (it should be out today). It’s really flattering and encouraging! But if your profile doesn’t share if you’re an adult or not, I don’t feel comfortable personally tagging you in NSFW content. I know some people like to keep their age private, and I totally get that (it’s why I just say “adult” in my bio), but this is just a personal boundary I have.
