Ok but I love the idea of Megatron and Optimus with Megatron (originally, in Optimusâ mind, this terrifying, ancient, but ultimately brilliant and responsible as hell, I mean he runs an army warlord) basically being a terrible influence and talking Optimus into doing all the dumb shit he was too uptight to do in the Academy (and then, too miserable to do).Â
And Optimus is just having the time of his life.
And meanwhile, Megs is in a similar position, because heâs never taken the time to do all that dumb shit, either â never had the opportunity, never had anyone with whom he could unwind like that â and heâs likewise having a blast âŚ
And Strika just shakes her head and cleans up after them, because finally the big dope is happy.
SOMEONE WRITE THIS
Megatron was playing with his audial fins again. In public.Â
Optimus was torn. It wasâwell, it was something closer to a public display of affection than heâd ever really become accustomed to. Still a few steps down from the graceless (and frankly, weirdly performative) makeouts heâd seen Sentinel initiate (gleefully, in as public a space as possibly), but still, he shouldnât encourage this. Even if they werenât on duty. People might see.
What the frag right do they have to care? demanded part of his processor. It sounded suspiciously like Megatron.Â
And Megatron was right there, his warm frame leaned slightly against Optimusâ own, and Optimus shivered under the intense regard radiating from him. Fond. Perhaps even a little predatory. It was thrilling, to have the other mechâs full attention like this. You know. When they werenât trying to slag each other.Â
Maybe even a little when theyâd been trying to slag each other. There was a reason Megatron never remembering his name bugged Optimus more than heâd cared to admit. And well. The reason heâd been so willing to volunteer to fight Megatron on Earth hadnât all been heroics.
And currently? He was the subject of Megatronâs focus, and the pressure on the audial fin was really, really nice. Maybe a little too nice for public.Â
Part of Optimus kind of wanted to be seen. Part of him didnât care. Together, they outweighed the part of his processor fretting about propriety. He was considering leaning up and initiating one of those graceless makeouts when Megatron leaned down and murmured, âYou know, my dear, the supply closet is vacant,â and Optimus almost choked on his oil.Â
He wasnât sure if it had been Megatronâs suggestion that had done it, or the fact that he was very very into that idea, yes please.Â
~~~
Strika had been one of Lord Megatronâs lieutenants for several million years.
Strika had been under the impression sheâd seen all of the possible slag Lord Megatron could pull, and then some.
As she looked at the ruins of the supply closet, she reminded herself that becoming complacent was a serious tactical mistake.
It seemed that Megatron hadâwhat was the term the mecha whoâd been on Earth used? Ah. Yes.âMegatron had rediscovered what it was like to be a âhorny teenagerâ.Â
Ugh.Â
She was not cleaning this up. As happy as she was to see Lord Megatron cheer up, that was better left to one of the synchophants. Like Tarn. It was even odds whether it would send him into raptures or outraged insult and either way she didnât care.
She chuckled a little to herself as she walked away. It really was about time Megatron found something that made him happy.Â
That that something was an Autobot? Really a minor detail. The young Prime had proven himself worthy by defeating Megatron, however temporarily. There were few enough mecha who could keep up with Megatron in the first place. That this one was also interested in him? Excellent.
Of course, if he broke Megatronâs spark, sheâd have to kill him, but given that was the third supply closet theyâd done in this week, she wasnât terribly worried.
~~~
Ratchet wasnât going to claim he was a pinnacle of responsibility, but when the two local love- (or lust-) struck idiots decided to frag on the outside of the (moving) spaceship, he had to take matters into his own servos.Â
He was pretty sure neither of them listened to him, but to be fair, his preprepared lecture hadnât survived the revelation it had been Optimusâ idea.
âWell,â he said to Strika, âat least weâre not like humans.â
âOh?â said Strika.
âSexually reproducing. Weâd be neck-deep in protoforms by now.â
âWhat is âsexually reproducingâ?â
Ratchet explained, and considered the horrorstruck expression of one of the most feared Decepticon Generals as a good consolation prize.Â
~~~
âNow, see here, Optimus, I hear youâve been fragging Megatron.âÂ
A few months ago, Optimus would have internally panicked and frozen at Sentinelâs accusatory tone. Now, he just gave the other Prime a bored look. âSo?â
âAll over the place.â
Optimus didnât dignify that with a response. He took another sip of oil.
âThe leader of the Decepticons.â For a moment, Optimus wondered if that was accusation or jealousy he was hearing.Â
âWe are at peace,â he stated. Megatron had emerged from the meeting room, finally finished after a day of treaty negotiations with Ultra Magnus. For a big mech, he could move surprisingly silently. Sentinel didnât have a clue.
 âWhat were you thinking? I mean, itâs not like you think a lot but thatâs abnormally stupid, even for you, Optimus. Like⌠like how does that even work?â
âSpectacularly,â said Megatron from just behind Sentinel. Sentinel froze.Â
Megatron stepped around him and to Optimus, scooped Optimus up bodily, and kissed him. For a moment, Optimus considered a human gesture involving an extended middle digit, but decided against it. As tired as he was with Sentinelâs insults, and as suspicious as he was that Sentinel was, in fact envious (his ugliest moodâhe couldnât stand anyone, particularly Optimus, having the spotlight), and as much of a bad influence as Megatron was, he wasnât quite that petty.
Ok but I love the idea of Megatron and Optimus with Megatron (originally, in Optimusâ mind, this terrifying, ancient, but ultimately brilliant and responsible as hell, I mean he runs an army warlord) basically being a terrible influence and talking Optimus into doing all the dumb shit he was too uptight to do in the Academy (and then, too miserable to do).Â
Say youâre a bot on the Lost Light and you wanna tell your friend something. Lucky you, youâve got a lot of options!
Hook up a brain-to-brain cable and share info directly from your brain to theirs
this is a cerebrostream of supercompressed visual data
Meet up in person and talk – in Neo-Cybex, Old
Cybertronian (if your friend is Rewind, Cyclonus or otherwise super
ancient) or Hand (if your friend is Drift, Getaway or otherwise speaks
Hand)
Engrave your message onto your body and stand in front of them (character limit fairly low)
Send info from your brain directly to theirs over the internet (what could possibly go wrong?)
This is called a remote upload, but youâre gonna need to get your friendâs neuro-coordinates first.
Put your information on a datastick. Give it to your friend and have them plug it into their head. Problem solved!
Alternatively, they can take the data stick home and look at your message on the console in their habsuite.
Write them a memo. Send it. (This is basically email)
May seem kinda stodgy unless youâre sending official shipâs business. Rodimus never reads these.
Write them a message and send it. (This is basically texting)
Comm them. (This is basically calling, I think)
now with extra bonus communication method: acquiring paper and writing that shit longhand!
Program a message into one of your datapads and have someone deliver it. (Great option if youâre shy!)
Inter-Autobot Radio
Only gonna work if you and your friends are autobots, though. I think that all autobots within range who are monitoring the frequency will be able to overhear. What is the range? who knows
Subspace Messages – a great option if your friend is on Cybertron whilst youâre in space.
Upside: you get to wear awesome headphones that make you look like youâre a podcaster/professional radio host. Downside: subspace communicator frequently broken, you need their personal hailing frequency.
Just get some paint and write them a friendly note on their door! Note – you may be cited for vandalism.
yeah, a nice, friendly, fun message between pals. Just like the example below.
Assemble a video for your friend, give it to Rewind and ask him to project it for your friend. (you may have to buy Rewind a drink, heâs a busy guy. But if youâre talking history or old cultural shit heâll probably do it for free)
did I miss a thing? I probably missed a thing.
things I havenât seen evidence for in mtmte but come up in fics: actual telepathy (thatâs only soundwave, right?), empathic field reading, transmitting messages via visual glyphs telepathically
weirder options:
You and your buddy join The Big Conversation, AKA Decepticon Reddit and pretend to be Cons. Talk there while doing your best Decepticon impression.
Become a mnemosurgeon. Inject into your palâs mind and have a conversation inside their mindscape, just like pals do.
Is your friend Drift? Tell him a story by modulating your optic colors.
Is your friend Rung? Make a new edition of his favorite book with the words of your message selectively removed.
Is your friend Red Alert? Whisper to yourself what you wanted to tell him. Heâll hear you.
Have you considered coded messages on digital clocks?
Time phone.
Become DJ at the next dance party and use the playlist to send a message to your pal.
Sabotage your life-support equipment such that the medical readouts display your message.
Bang a gong.
New banner up in Swerveâs
Submit your message to the Lost Light Insider. However, first you must discover who writes the Lost Light Insider.
Tell Swerve whatever you need to tell your friend, but inform him that itâs a secret.
My optimism is cautiously engaged for The Shape of Water 2: Robot Boogaloo. (And holy shit, Screamer got a frame upgrade! Heâs no longer a bug dorito! Please let all vestiges of Michael Bay fall away, never to be seen again)