My Oh My Mentality : Transformers Comfort Headcanons
Prompt: headcanons for how different Cybertronians would help someone with a different mental illness/in an emotional state
Characters: Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Evac (Transformers Ride), Brainstorm, Starscream, Soundwave (+Shockwave Cameo)
Selective Mutism : an anxiety disorder in which a person who is otherwise capable of speech becomes unable to speak when exposed to specific situations, specific places, or to specific people, one or multiple of which serve as triggers. This is caused by the freeze response
Having lost his voice before, let’s just say the Bee knows how it feels to want to talk but being unable to
He’s just glad that you can talk most of the time
Whenever you get stressed out, he picks you up and walks out with you on his shoulder
Usually you guys head out of the city, whether he’s driving you out of there or walking out
Music is his go-to to calm himself down, but he won’t blast it around you
His playlist has become yours with some edits
Once you guys are out of most bots’ reaches, he sets you down lets you be
You’ll talk when you’re ready
And when you do, he’ll make sure to enthusiastically listen and congratulate you
That takes some serious strength!
Of course, until then, you can do whatever you want
Want to adventure somewhere or simply move around? Cool!
Want to just have someone to hug or something to touch? He’s ready for you.
Bee just really wants to care for you and make sure that no matter what, you know he’ll be there to listen
In the few times where Decepticons have found you two, he immediately fights them off
With you far away somewhere safe, of course
If an Autobot finds you guys, he usually lets them be, but if they try to talk to you, he’ll beep them off
Out of all the bots, he really adores humans, and will do anything to care for you all
And if this is one of those ways to show his support?
Well, he’ll give all the love he can
Learning Disability : a disability that affects the acquisition of knowledge or skills, in particular any of various neurodevelopmental conditions affecting the learning and use of specific academic skills such as reading, writing, or mathematics
He’s heard that noise before
That frustrated, about to breakdown or destroy something sort-of-noise
But unlike Ratchet, there’s not much you can exactly destroy in a place built for giant, alien robots
But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a breakdown
Obviously he’ll ask what’s wrong, but when you tell him, he’s going to be awfully confused
What do you mean you don’t understand?
Out of all the humans he’s interacted with, they’ve all been able to understand in at least some way shape or form, even if it wasn’t easy or not something they enjoy
And curse this curious, bastardly robot, but he’ll drop any important thing he’s doing to learn more
Trying to save another bot’s life? Not as important as learning about humans
Whether you have Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia, he’s going to try to help you
After listening, of course
He’ll probably just end up doing whatever you’re trying to do for you, but that’s only so you can get to sleep
Staying up all night, he’s making gadgets for you to try in the morning
Very much proud father whenever you make some step towards progress (dad two reference???)
Albeit, he is a bit disappointed when nothing he makes helps, and while he knows he can’t do much to help, he still really tries to
When you start beating yourself up for being different and “stupid” or “illiterate,” he’ll shut you down
Wheeljack has lived long enough to see how that can affect a bot’s processing of themself and others
For humans, he doesn’t want to know how worse it might be
When you try to dismiss him, his anger immediately flares
He hides whatever you’re working on somewhere you won’t be able to reach it (probably somewhere high)
Then he tells the bots to take you somewhere
Bee will take you to the beach
Optimus will take you for a drive
Ratchet will let you continue working, but monitor you to stop those thoughts or help you relax when you start stressing out (don’t tell Wheeljack)
If no one is able to take you somewhere, he’ll take you out for a drive to wherever you feel like
And he’ll just let you rant
He figures you need it, and if you let him, he’ll give his input, too
While he doesn’t exactly get your struggles, he’s incredibly willing to learn
And hey, curiosity hasn’t killed this cat! (yet)
Social Anxiety : an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others
Being tasked with evacuating the All Spark isn’t an easy job
And while Evac has gotten used to feeling the constant judgment of everyone around him, it still bothers him
When he found out you experienced something similar, it was a joyous surprise
Even better when he finds out it has a name
You two are incredibly socially anxious, and while you have your suspisions on which bots also were, it’s clear that years of war have made it the least possible threatening thing to them
Evac, however, has not faced centuries of war
After every mission Evac goes on, he always comes to find you
The Autobots stress him out, so before they can find him to congratulate him, he comes to you to practice talking and manage his breathing
When you get stressed out, you find him
Like I said, you’re in it together
You two memorize what causes the other anxiety attacks so you can better help and comfort them when they’re going through it
You guys even prepare things to help!
Blankets, hugs, fidget toys, etc.[
You each have your favorite haptics
The dynamic you two share is best described as a symbiotic relationship
You help each other in the best ways you can, and honestly
I don’t imagine either of you would have it any other way
Nervous / Mental Breakdown : a state of severe emotional and mental distress that significantly impairs a person's daily functioning
As a constant overthinker, he gets it
Sometimes you just can’t stop thinking
And while the reaction for him is his systems overheating, your reaction is much more different
Truly, seeing a tiny creature usually full of energy, spunk, and many ideas suddenly get so overwhelmed is weird
You start shaking, maybe crying or holding your head
Throwaway comments are made about wishing to be back in the era where you would’ve been given a autopsy
Brainstorm doesn’t know what that is, but he really doesn’t like the sound of it
When you try to stand to go for somewhere to lay down or curl up and cry, he picks you up
He’ll carry you to the lab (or a desk if you’re already there)
You’ll get all set up with blankets, stuffed animals and ways to communicate with him that don’t force you into being verbal
If you need something else, he’ll get you it, but otherwise he’ll just let you talk or sit in silence while he works
Sometimes other bots walk in
Perceptor usually offers a sort of gentle pat to you
Starscream and his trine immediately leave
Sometimes they come back with random items – like cats coming back with dead crickets, mice or gophers, though that isn’t usually what they bring
Megatron rarely walks in, but on the rare occasion he does, Brainstorm throws something at him
Not really with bad intentions, but more so just to make you laugh
He figures a distraction will help, and bonus points if it’s funny
Though being hit by some random, possibly toxic or mutilated object has made Megatron steer clear
Overall, Brainstorm will always try to help a fellow overthinker
It’s the least he can do while you spend your time on a ship full of giant killer robots
PTSD : a mental health condition that's caused by an extremely stressful or terrifying event; post traumatic stress disorder
Let’s be honest here, he’s not fond of you
In fact, he may never be!
… but this may very well have pushed him closer to empathy towards you than he wanted or suspected
Starscream knows PTSD like the back of his hand
So when you start getting flashbacks, he starts shoving people out of the room
Doesn’t matter if it’s Megatron’s throne room, the lab, or the hallway, it won’t be anymore
Once everyone is out and away, and he’s sure none of them are listening in or spying on him, he’s right down next to you
He won’t be too confident at first, as he’s never done this before, but soon enough, he’ll get that fixed
Afterall, how can you believe a king someone when they aren’t confident in what they’re saying?
After reminding you that it’s all just a flashback, he moves to try to ground you
Well, he doesn’t move at all, but he does quietly guide you towards something you can hold, touch, or hug
Which, sometimes, ends up being him
He seems to hate it, but he gets over it eventually
Star will make sure to audibly vent in the hopes that you’ll follow with your own breathing, no matter how shaky
It isn’t all the time, but after so many times of it happening, he’ll warm up to you enough to crack jokes
They’re really bad, but if it gets a sob-mixed laugh from you, that’s something!
You two will be sitting for a while, and it’ll be pretty nice
Though, he does scold you when you’re feeling better
It’s mostly to retain his status as a fearsome Decepticon, though he also really means it
You scared him when you started going through that
Like I said, when he starts getting more comfortable around you, he’ll open up about his PTSD, too
This causes you guys to plan flights and other activities
Sometimes you convince him to invite the other members of the High Guard so you all can talk, but most of the time you guys go by yourselves
Really, it doesn’t matter what happens afterwards
What matters, is that you have managed to get the scheming, power-hungry Starscream to begin to open up and be kind again
Sensory Overload / Overstimulation : a state where the brain is overwhelmed by excessive sensory input from one or more of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell
You wouldn’t expect he’d be the best at this sort of thing, considering he processes lots of information on a constant basis
Downloading so much data can drain him far too much
Once he passed out while Starscream and his trine were reporting to Megatron
It was a whole deal he doesn’t want to recount
But the point is that he gets how you feel
Nobody on the ship is exactly observant, him and Shockwave especially
They aren’t oblivious though, and no matter who realizes first, they’ll take immediate action
Most of the time it’s Soundwave who leads you out of the room
Taking you to one of their berth rooms, he’ll lower the lights upon entering
He’ll usually launch Ravage and Laserbeak to stay with you as they can have some pretty funky textures
You’ll be left alone until him or Shockwave is done with work, but until then, they’ll send anyone who comes to bother them to you
Mostly just to check in on you and bring you something
Just because they are violent, doesn’t mean they aren’t understanding
In fact, the Decepticons are a large community of very understanding and empathetic individuals, it’s just that years of war has made that side darker and torn
Light hasn’t reached that flower in far too long
Eventually, whoever is done with work first will come sit in the same room with you, and the other will join later
If you need to cry or hug them, they’ll allow it
Sometimes they walk in to find Laserbeak and Ravage cuddled close to you and you fast asleep
No matter the cause or the outcome, you can put faith in them for giving you a place to get away from the world when it becomes too much
Your care will never be too much for them
