Uh Hey.uhI Been Daydreaming As Usual Lately And I Been Having Hilarious Thoughts On Optimus Being Related

Uh hey….uh…I been daydreaming as usual lately and I been having hilarious thoughts on Optimus being related to unicron instead and they have a chaotically good relationship despite their appearance and all that…what do you think on such an AU?

You always have the best au ideas. Seriously, I love them so much. And because I suddenly had a grand idea for this one, I thought I would once again disregard my request order and do a little writing for this lovely au. Hope you don't mind me expanding on this a bit. Although fair warning, this one is a little long since I got carried away writing it and ended up rambling bit.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Primus's creation of his Primes did not go unnoticed by his chaotic counterpart. Unicron was well aware of what his twin was doing and could have disrupted the creation of the Primes if he so desired. However he saw an opportunity to cause greater damage long term for his counterpart and so allowed Primus to continue crafting his champions. And so while his brother was busy forging the fledgling sparks of his firstborn children, Unicron began his work creating a little life of his own.

Carefully and over the course of what could have been an eternity, Unicron crafted one small spark, perfectly designed for his purposes. He filled the small spark with strength, indominable will, a desire to succeed by any means necessary, and an impossibly possessive nature. And then to ensure that nothing could stop his plan from coming to fruition, he gave his first and only child a gift.

His sparkling would not rend reality or have the strength to shatter worlds. No, that was Unicron's design. Instead he gave his child a subtler means of fulfilling his will. He gave his child an immortal spark. So long as Unicron lived, his sparkling would never truly perish, it would persist, and if all went according to plan, be a pain in Primus's side until the universe unraveled.

Unicron did not create to bring forth order, no, he created for the sole purpose of causing discord. Primus was born to fill the universe with some semblance of stability, whereas Unicron was born to disrupt it and force all life within it to change, for better or for worse. These traits he pushed upon his creation, urging it to strive for change, to push for growth even at the cost of pain. It was his hope that by giving his child immortality, the sparkling would learn and be able to keep Primus in check even when Unicron himself could not.

And so with his only child impressed with all the desires of its creator, Unicron shifted his gaze to the twelve tiny sparks circling his brother's core, growing while bathed in the light of their maker and preparing to be given frames. His smile was wicked as he grasped at the spark circling his own and scrubbed it of his presence. The little spark in his hold cried out, searching for him even as he moved to push the little one in amongst Primus's children. Unicron nearly stopped, almost unable to let go of his sparkling. However after steeling himself, he set the spark adrift, letting it settle in amongst the twelve other sparks so similar yet to different to itself.

Like a Cuckoo bird leaving its egg in another's nest, Unicron fled after leaving his creation among Primus's own, hoping that the creator god would feed and sustain it. Lovingly and unknowingly growing the very creature that would haunt him for eternity. At least, that was the plan...

Unbeknownst to Unicron, Primus had not been idle while his twin's creation was hidden amongst his own. He watched as the small purple spark was pushed into orbit around his core, and if he desired it, he could have smothered the little life, sending it back to its maker without a second thought. But Primus, despite sensing the danger, instead brought the small spark closer to himself, bathing it even more so than his own children in the light of his being. He saw how much his brother adored the little spark that now circled his core, and he couldn't in good conscience, snuff out the only life his brother loved so dearly. And so seeing what his brother had impressed upon the spark, Primus began to process of pushing his own, far subtler adjustments onto it in order to give the sparkling the best life possible.

Strength was balanced with humility. Indominable will was met with empathy. The desire to succeed was quieted by morality and a strong sense of duty. The spark's possessive nature was calmed by love and protectiveness. The urge to bring about change could not be removed, and so Primus etched in the spark deep longing for a better future alongside it.

Everything was made equal, balanced, as all things should be.

And so with his adjustments made, Primus accepted his brother's creation in amongst his own and treated it no differently from his children. He nurtured it lovingly and cultivated its growing personality even as Unicron's only sparkling tried to devour the other little sparks around it instinctually. Of course Primus intervened, instead sustaining the eternally starving spark with his own power and keeping it constantly bathed in his light in order to calm it. Then, when all of the sparks were fully developed, Primus gave each and every one of the little sparks circling him frames. Even Unicron's child was not exempt.

His thirteen Primes took to their frames without much issue. Some were more outlandish in design whereas others were rather simple in comparison. The first to fully adjust to their frames were those more closely attuned to their creator, whereas those who took longer were more inclined toward their creator's counterpart. However no matter their differences in appearance and personality, they all shared one defining trait, their sparks were stable, unchanging, and secure... that was all save one.

The Thirteenth Prime, the most tempered and diplomatic of his kin was... different. His frame was odd when compared to his siblings, his swirling nebula of a spark being the only thing holding it together. He lacked a power and a relic like the other Primes and always had an aura of a predator, always watching his siblings, always quiet as he walked, and always so startling in his observations. His spark never settled, always growing and shifting, changing with every passing moment to better match his adopted siblings. It was cause for concern at first, but the Thirteenth quickly appeared to settle, his spark shrinking down and remaining within the confines of his frame. And so after a time, his siblings paid his odd nature little heed and instead enjoyed his company.

They did not know what he was. They did not know that their brother was merely mirroring them, doing his best to blend in as he grew in power and the instincts his creator bestowed on him became active. They did not know that the Thirteenth was waiting, watching, and preparing for an chance to strike at his siblings as his creator intended.

When the time came for the Primes to battle Unicron, it was incredibly difficult for the Thirteenth. His entire being screamed at him to stop even as he lay blow after blow upon the entity he had been taught to believe was the enemy but knew was his creator. However he had bonded to his siblings and to his adopted father, the possessive nature his true creator had given him made it impossible for him to abandon them. They were his family, he would not allow them to perish by any servo save his own.

And so he and his siblings cut down the chaos god, casting him into a deep sleep, hopefully to never wake. But when this was done, the Thirteenth quickly began to deteriorate, his spark weakening and all the strength his creator had given him dissipating. And just like that, as the power of his maker fled him, the changes Primus had impressed upon him began to surface. The Thirteenth changed, instead of being a creature meant only to wreak havoc, he became and entity of balance, designed to keep all things equal, both good and evil.

And so as Primus fell deep into sleep, exhausted from his battle with Unicron, the Thirteenth's priorities and instincts shifted as he was bathed in his adopted maker's light one last time. He would ensure that his creators, his true and adopted one, never exterminated the other. He would keep them in balance, always keeping the scales even and supporting whatever side needed aid to ensure that both parties came out of the conflict alive.

As such when the Primes bickered and began to fight, the Thirteenth watched, he waited, and weighed the options before him critically. His nature did not allow him to support Prima and the others who wished for things to stay static. However he also could not bring himself to support the others who stood against Prima's faction and fought for their right to create, they were far too passionate. And so he bode his time and allowed his kin to fight one another as they wished, although he did make valiant attempts to create some form of compromise between his kin.

The Thirteenth expected that eventually his adopted siblings would calm themselves and reach a compromise. But every single one of his expectations and carefully crafted plans to calm his kin were thrown out the window when Megatronous killed Solus, throwing the Primes into civil war. Having no other choice, the Thirteenth joined the fight, trying to save as many of his siblings from each other as possible. In the end, after Liege Maximo had been killed, the Thirteenth used all of his influence and what little power he retained to convince the remaining Primes to let Megatronous go.

Things played out quickly from there, and the Primes broke apart. Some fleeing to the stars, some deciding to remain on the surface and watch over the beings that would come from the well, and others yet offering themselves to what remained of Solus. In the end, the Thirteenth saw that all was equally balanced for the time being and knowing that he would be needed later, joined Onyx and the others in the well, planning on waking once more when the scales tipped yet again.

The Calling

The Thirteenth had not exactly intended to be reborn through the Allspark. He was a creation of Unicron and had honestly thought that Primus's afterlife for his children was not accessible to him. But his adoptive father apparently viewed him as one of his children despite his less than stellar origins, and so the Allspark welcomed him when he entered the well.

His plan to keep his cover and also remain out of the picture until he was needed via awaiting rebirth by the servo of his true creator went flying out the window when Primus took in his spark as it had with his siblings, and allowed him to rest for a time. He could not remain for long, his immortal spark could never be content in eternal rest, and so he was quickly given a new frame and sent back to the surface again.

This change of plans was acceptable to the Thirteenth as he thanked his adoptive father and accepted his new frame. However what he was not made aware of was that his memory and true nature would be locked away when he took up the frame that Primus offered him. If he had been conscious enough at the time he would have been rather upset. He should have known that even half asleep, Primus would still try and influence him and give him a better life. But by the time he had crawled his way out of the well and wandered off into the wilds before anyone could stop him, all his memory had up and dissipated, leaving the dark prince to survive purely off instinct.

After a time he was picked up by Alpha Trion who could sense the familiar spark of the Thirteenth. And after cleaning him up a bit, Alpha Trion gave him the name Orion Pax, swiftly beginning the long arduous work of turning the feral youngling into a civilized mech.

Orion Pax lived without much fanfare. All he learned from the wilds helped him develop to be independent, his training under Alpha Trion gave him all the knowledge he could ever want, and for many millennia, all was as it should be, balanced. However peace did not last forever and soon enough Orion Pax got involved with Megatronous, rapidly helping his new friend gain a following. Together they fought for change, and just as quickly as their friendship developed, it shattered.

War enveloped Cybertron, and Orion Pax felt the call within his spark. And so he went to Primus's core, following instinct more than anything else. There Primus felt his familiar presence and granted him the Matrix of leadership, unlocking his memory and suppressed nature as well as granting him a frame better suited to his purposes.

On that day, Optimus, the last of the Primes, was forged.

Spawn of Unicron

The changes both of his creators had instilled in him made Optimus one of the greatest leaders the Autobots could ever wish for. He seemed a little too perfect to be real. Everything about him appeared to be without fault, from his skill in battle, his charisma, his caring nature, to his strategic genius.

In truth Optimus was constantly torn. His base nature as a creation of Unicron made him delight in battle, trial, tribulation, and victory in any sort of combat, verbal or physical. But the changes Primus made in him and the memories of his life as Orion Pax made him abhor the suffering such things wrought. Unicron's instruction made him view others as potential tools, things to manipulate and use to his own ends before anything else. And yet Primus's touch made him want to hold his loved ones close, keep them safe from the horrors of reality, even if it required sacrifice on his part. His entire identity was a mess of contradictions, and it certainly didn't help that some parts of his nature became more prominent depending on the strength of one of his creators.

On days where Unicron stirred, Optimus was a beast on the battlefield, causing even Megatron to look at him in fear. He was cold to those around him, often tending to look upon the loss of life apathetically, even disdainfully if the death did not benefit him. His maliciousness and tolerance for lackluster results took a nosedive, nearly leading him to harm his own soldiers on days where Unicron's influence was worst. He always apologized afterward, pinning the blame on the stress of war and the Matrix's prodding. His Autobots always forgave him in turn, but each harbored and still harbors a slight fear for and of their Prime.

On days where Primus was more active, Optimus had a way with words that boosted the morale of his own troops more so than any other time. He was saintly in his actions, often able to understand others and offer them the comfort they didn't know they needed. He was capable of making enemy soldiers turn away, often contemplative and sometimes even coming back to him with a desire to join him. He never raised his blade unless he had to and he took every care to ensure that his people were happy, even amidst a war. On those days he was dearly loved by his Autobots and greatly loathed by his enemies.

Thankfully for everyone, Optimus generally kept himself controlled, his grip on his emotions and moods being tight at all times. However when Optimus and his team arrived to earth, his carefully constructed stability started to crack. Even before him and his team entered the atmosphere he could feel the thrum of his creator's spark beneath the surface. He could hear his maker's whispers, his desires, the pulses that came from his spark, urging those who could feel him to do his bidding.

With the Matrix's aid and the constant distractions that came from his team and earth in the form of the human children and his team having to handle them. But as time passed and Megatron began messing with dark energon, Optimus found it harder and harder to not slip back into his original design. After Uniron started to awaken there was no stopping it. No matter what Optimus did to suppress or hide his nature, nothing could stop him from reacting as power unlike anything he had felt in millennia fueled him in response to his creator's waking.

In front of his entire team, his frame shifted, his spark growing beyond its confines as it was strengthened. His form became deadlier, sharper, and yet still so eerily graceful, the remnants of his creator's intent to have him hide among Primus's perfect children. His personality warped, falling right back into who he was before Unicron fell into stasis, only partially under the influence of the changes Primus impressed on him.

One would think that this would have led Optimus to go running to his creator, doing everything in his power to help him wake. But Optimus was a possessive creature, and he could not allow his maker to destroy earth for multiple reasons.

Earth is home to the humans, and since they spawned on Unicron's slumbering form, they are sort of like family. No family of his is allowed to die unless it is by his own servos.

HIS humans love earth. And Optimus would do anything to see those that are HIS are kept happy and healthy.

HIS team like earth and require the relics on it to restore Cybertron. As such, despite being a mudball, earth is something he finds himself required to keep somewhat secure.

Unicron may be his maker, but Optimus cannot exactly allow him to wake and go about destroying everything. To kill Primus would be to doom HIS loved ones to an existence without an afterlife waiting for them.

Also the balance matters... if only so that HIS loved ones don't need to deal with the fallout of two mighty gods duking it out.

Hence when Unicron started activating his avatars, Optimus went out and attempted to convince his maker to slumber a while longer... with varied results.

Unicron: "My glorious creation! Come! Let us conquer this universe and end Primus once and for all!"

Optimus: "I can't let you do that"

Unicron: "What? Why?"

Optimus: *gestures to his team and his humans* "Those are mine, and you waking up right now would hurt them"

Unicron: *aghast* "I am your creator!"

Optimus: "You left me to be raised by your twin and expected me to kill all of his creations despite the possessiveness that YOU gave me acting up because they actually showed me some affection like a real family. Not to mention Primus fixed up a scrap ton of instabilities in my spark making it so that I can actually live somewhat normally outside of combat"

Unicron: *feeling more than a little guilty* "Well... I didn't exactly intend for you to have any other purpose besides fighting by my side"

Optimus: *with his servos on his hips* "Wow. What a great father you are"

Unicron: *flustered as all get out* "Wait a moment! What if I let you keep your little playthings and made sure not to hurt them? Would you come with me then?"

Optimus: "Some of my possessions require the use of this planet. And the others rather like their homeworld. Either way I can't let you wake up entirely"

Unicron: "I really don't want to have to fight you my wayward spark. Don't make me"

Optimus: "And I would rather not have to betray my own creator, but then again its either that or complete annihilation of the universe which houses MY special people"

Unicron: "We don't have to do this"

Optimus: "We kind of do"

Unicron: ....

Optimus: .....

Unicron: "For the record, I'm sorry"

Optimus: *Already getting ready to take a nice swing at the avatar using his newfound strength* "A bit late for that I'm afraid"

For those of you confused, Megatron(tfp) isn't chaotic, he's a madlad. He understands societal convention just fine and chooses to subvert it. This does occasionally cause chaos but isn't actually truely chaotic energy. He will absolutely commit to the bit when challenged.

(Note this is not about dnd chaotic, that's different.)

The type of guy who would write his report on plagiarism about how his proffessor failed to give credit to coworkers/assistants and took their ideas.

Also the type of guy who would lie about not peeling oranges before eating them, all because someone made fun of him peeling one with his teeth, get sick from doing so, not see that person for three years, remember the interaction when he saw the person, and do the exact same thing.

Respect.

Shattered glass Megatron would be too powerful for us. Would say, "math is like, soooooo hard for me." With 2 PhDs in it in the background. "I've only memorized the first nine digits of pi, isn't that awful?"

If an idiot pushes push bc they don't think meg knows it, will absolutely double down and go, "oh you know, 1, 2, 3, 4..."

No, location does not matter, would do this as a keynote speaker at space NASA.

Optimus is not chaotic. He's feral. Man doesn't know what the hell applause is. Claps once at the end because everyone else was clapping (Canon rescue bots). He may be partially domesticated but doesn't fully understand basic societal rules.

The type of guy who you'd give an orange to and he'd just say thank you and put it on his shelf because he doesn't know what to do with it. Once you told him it was a fruit he'd be like oh, and bite into it like an apple.

If not immediately corrected just thinks that's the way to eat them. Will politely inform you "Yes. I am enjoying it," because he understands that is polite. Will one day comment about "oranges are really bitter for a fruit. Are they like tomatoes?" And absolutely horrify someone who tries to give him an extra sweet orange. There's a 50/50 chance he instead finds this out by trying to substitute oranges with tomatoes when making pizza sauce and scarring people for life.

Optimus would be asked to go fishing and having only seen bears fishing on tv would try to do that. He would also somehow manage to catch one. Someone: "How did you do that, I haven't even gotten out the poles yet." OP about to give this person a stroke: "poles?"

The occasional brush with being feral is Op's best trait. If you disagree you are wrong.

Now both of these are on the chaotic spectrum, however, what both lack is majorly the "whim" factor. They may have had it once but lack it now. You will not see Optimus go completely unhinged and run after cars on all fours. Megatron will not spontaneously decide to fuck with someone and wear so much glitter he looks like a disco ball only when say, Steve, has the night shift.

This form of chaotic is best displayed by someone walking towards the elevator and noticing the open air balcony right beside it and jumping off that to get down. Your mileage may vary on who is the best example (Rodimus or Smokescreen perhaps?) but whoever it is will still be on one side of the unintentional vs intentional and madlad vs feral chaotic energy.

Optimus is unintentional feral, Megatron is intentional madlad.

Starscream (if you're wondering) is an unintentional madlad. He is the type of person who will sit beside someone start telling them all about his buck wild day, turn to them in the middle of it, "wait, who are you?" Then decide he doesn't care. "Oh, nevermind. So as I was..."

I'm not sure who I would label as intentionally feral, but it would have to be someone who decides the best response to someone saying something they didn't like is to bark at them. Soundwave might I suppose, but he would bounce too close to madlad behaviour. Tentatively I suppose Shockwave would think laying down and staring at the ceiling because he heard surprising news is a reasonable thing to do. But he also explains exactly every horrifying thing he plans on doing to someone because he thinks it will scare them less, which makes him run too close to unintentional feral behaviour.

Now the final sphere is unhinged behaviour.

This is the type of person who when told they have big eyebrows will film themselves shaving them off. The type of person who when you post something they don't like will come to your house and use your pc to delete it. Someone who pays in coins but tips in bills; not a large tip or anything. Just standard. They only have cups in their house, no bowls or plates, they like cups better.

I mean... sure but why? How are these things related?

The most chaos thing to be aligned with but to be truly chaotic is to bounce between all of them.

Anyway I haven't read/watched anything with Vortex in it but that's him. Goodnight everybody!

URGE TO READ ALIGNED CONTINUTITY BOOK SERIES INTENSIFIES

Post Darkening Disciple Luo Binghe AU where he already met Meng Mo and hate Shen Qingqiu.

For some reason teen Binghe get stuck with babysitting his de aged Shizun and try to get back at him for every thing he did to him. But the small kid take everything thrown at him without a complaint, without shedding a single tear. Just glaring and baring his teeth angrily as he endure everything thrown at him, daring him to do his worse, with the fire of revenge burning in his eyes even brighter than Binghe’s own.

SVSSS AU - Real Villainy

Svsss au where Shen Jiu says fuck it and just becomes a real legit villain. He’s tried to do the right thing and it always goes wrong - maybe if he tries to be evil he’ll do good? Unlikely, but what other choice does he have at this point?.

He comes to Cang Qiong while Yue Qingyuan is still locked in the cave and finds out that, rather than give the man medical attention they shoved him in a cave to let the chips fall where they may.  

Shen Jiu is like “wow, actually, fuck these guys” but he hangs around to learn from them, ends up head disciple of Qing Jing, then Yue Qingyuan is released from his cave and he’s like “right. I’m busting us out of here”

 But the peak lord of Qiong ding isn’t going to let her successor go so easily and beats the tar out of Shen Jiu when he comes to sneak Yue Qingyuan out. Shen Jiu is slippery though and he escapes.

He is still head disiple of Qing Jing though. His Shizun is very fond of him and refuses to instate a new disiple, even though SJ has technically defected and fought the sect leader.

Teams up with some demon whose cultivator wife betrayed him because he’s going to get his Qi-ge back if it kills him - well. Kills someone else. No point getting his Qi-ge if hes not alive to enjoy it.

 Then he finds out the disciple was the head disciple of Huan Hua and he’s like “oh, the girl with the pervert master?” And suddenly Tianlang Jun is like ’,,, maybe we should find her first. Before we do the murder.’

They plant a body of Su Xiyan and raise baby binghe while they wait for it to grow.

Free uncle for Luo Binghe

Literally the day SXY crawls her way out of the ground (only took a year, but it was a year too long for SJ) the three of them - and binghe, in a baby sling - storm Qiong Ding and reclaim YQY. 

The two of them enjoy their life as ‘cultivation consultants’ to the demonic emperor - aka, they baby sit Binghe and back Su Xiyan up when she tells Tianlang-jun that he’s being a moron. 

Optimus and his Ragtag Family

The dad instincts are strong in Optimus, he really can't help it. Going to earth has not made it any better.

Bumblebee

Bumblebee was the first to be spontaneously adopted by Optimus. He was and always will be Optimus precious little ray of sunshine. However Bee isn't a little sparkling any more, a fact that became far more apparent to the Prime after their arrival to earth. It's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact Optimus is very proud of his firstborn. Seeing Bee come into his own as an adult and a leader brings Optimus great joy. But that doesn't change the fact that his little one isn't all that little anymore, giving his parental coding the chance to make a reappearance.

Of course he still gets opportunities to love his precious sparkling. He often gives Bee small tender touches and hugs when there aren't too many optics watching. And he always is there to comfort and advise Bee, taking care to ensure his firstborn always feels loved. And while the opportunities are few and far between he will do his best to spend time with his youngling when possible.

Despite all that Optimus has begun to feel the inklings of emptiness in his spark, almost as though something he had no idea was vital is missing. He wants to protect, to teach, to provide, and Bee is simply too old for Optimus to do many of those things for him in the capacity he did before.

Bumblebee, while still relying on Optimus on occasion, has begun to fend for himself, stepping into the realm of adulthood and leaving his childish connections behind. As such Optimus has turned to his team and the younglings with them to satisfy his desire to dote on someone.

Ratchet

While their relationship is more of a bond between friends than anything else, Optimus still dotes on Ratchet in typical older sibling fashion. He can be a bit overbearing at times but generally Optimus is just a very concerned friend and brother figure. And despite being the worst at caring for himself, Optimus is incredibly devoted when it comes to taking care of everyone else, especially Ratchet.

Optimus will check on Ratchet regularly, usually he just hangs around in the doorway for a moment until he confirms weather or not Ratchet has moved since his last check in. If Ratchet has not moved or looks a little unsteady, Optimus will drop in and silently slide over some energon or depending on the situation, maneuver Ratchet away from his project and to his berth for some well earned recharge.

On days where Ratchet refuses his more subtle efforts, Optimus will go full on big bro mode and pull out some tricks from his time as Orion. Generally in such instances Optimus will make himself enough of a nuisance for Ratchet to throw in the towel and take care of himself. He does this in numerous ways, ranging from purposefully moving Ratchet's tools to strange locations to consistently poking at him and being a smart alec until Ratchet gets tired of him.

Optimus always feels a little bad after such days and does his best to make it up to Ratchet later by leaving a treat or apology note at his station.

Arcee

Arcee can be prickly at times, as such it is a bit difficult for Optimus to figure out just where he stands outside of the role of Commanding Officer. He tends to act like a mix between a father figure and a concerned elderly neighbor around her as he is not sure what she would find acceptable. Thankfully she has yet to comment on his behavior, so Optimus has taken to assuming she is alright with his choice of persona.

As his relationship with her is rather unclear, he tends to dote on her in indirect ways. Things like leaving her little gifts, notes, and treats are common ways for him to take care of her. He will also simply sit beside her and offer his silent companionship when she is having a bad day. She has yet to reject him whenever he plops down next to her with an embroidery kit or a ball of yarn with knitting needles. Some days she will join him in his activity, other times she won't, either way, it doesn't bother Optimus.

Other times when Optimus is feeling a little more bold or Arcee is having a particularly bad bout of PTSD, he will give her hugs. On such occasions she always melts into his hold, sometimes crying against him and other times simply enjoying the feeling of being held. There are even times when she falls into recharge while he cradles her like he would a sparkling. His spark never ceases to flutter in fatherly joy when it happens. The fact that Arcee trusts him enough to fall into recharge in his embrace is something he cherishes.

Bulkhead & Wheeljack

Bulkhead and Wheeljack might as well be overgrown sparklings considering the way they act. With this in mind, Optimus often ends up taking a fatherly role when they require some comfort or discipline. It's not even intentional half the time, Optimus just has a lot of experience handling sparklings and seeing the behavior of Bulkhead and Wheeljack prompts his long since automated parental responses.

Wheeljack gets sent out to his ship or to his berthroom when he gets too rowdy or narrowly avoids a tool tossed by Ratchet. Bulkhead receives similar treatment when he acts up, often being assigned some dull desk work or being sent to his berthroom as well. Optimus does what he can to not make his treatment scream "punishing a misbehaving sparkling" but sometimes it can't really be hidden. His disappointed dad voice and his no-nonsense servos on the hips give him away when his persona of a stern commander slips.

However its not all punishment from him. When Wheeljack is struggling with some scientific endeavor Optimus will step up and offer his knowledge from his time as Orion Pax. Optimus always tells himself that he does this to keep Wheeljack from going too far. However this tends to backfire as Optimus has always been a sucker for science and always gets super into whatever Wheeljack is working on. Their combined intellect and interest often ends with an explosion of sorts, much to Ratchet's irritation.

As for Bulkhead, Optimus likes to assist when he can, and in most cases that means having to help the ex-wrecker figure out the meaning behind human slang and customs. As he was once an Archivist and student of Alpha Trion, obtaining the data is easy, however figuring it out is far more troubling. Bulkhead and Optimus can spend hours deciphering things on the internet if left uninterrupted. And usually when they walk away both are left a little out of it for a while. All in all, it is some quality not quite father-son bonding time.

Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus holds the unofficial title of Optimus's bonded brother. There are multiple reasons for this, partially it is due to the fact that Optimus trained him personally, but also because both are practically attached at the hip when they are together. Optimus leads and Ultra Magnus gets everyone lined up behind him. Optimus stands as a shining beacon representing the pinnacle of Cybertronian kind, a paragon of justice and wisdom. And in order to preserve this image, Ultra Magnus deals with the less savory things involved in both political and literal warfare.

They fit together perfectly, supporting each other and making up for the other's weaknesses. Their bond is both old and strong, forged through the flames of war and tempered by long years of strife. Due to this, Optimus has developed a unique method of caring for his brother in all but CNA.

They need no words most of the time. When Ultra Magnus is angry, Optimus takes him out for a spar in order to cool down. When he is unsettled or emotionally shaken, Optimus will sit beside him and converse about trivial things, holding his brother's servo to comfort him. And when he is injured, Optimus will stay at his side, offering his companionship and support, wiping away stray tears, and giving Ultra Magnus comforting touches.

Their bond is quiet, one that goes nearly completely unnoticed, however they are still brothers, even if no one else sees it.

Smokescreen

It really was unintentional on Optimus's part, but a youngling left unattended was simply too much for his parental drives and he gave in nearly immediately. Before anyone on the team could even finish getting used to Smokescreen's presence, he was already on the receiving end of Optimus's doting.

Smokescreen has 0 issues with his new unofficial father-son arrangement. Outside of his fanboy reasons for being excited about the arrangement, he also doesn't have many memories of his previous caretakers, the war took them early and he was drafted into the army soon after. Having someone who genuinely cares for and loves him is something he didn't know he needed and now can't live without. He is by far one of the most receptive to Optimus's affections.

Smokescreen leaps at every opportunity to be close to Optimus. He will take every offered hug and touch with exuberance and adores receiving head pats. He positively beams whenever the Prime tells him stories and gives him lessons in history. And whenever he feels down he always goes to Optimus with his arms open, eager for comfort.

Optimus, in light of Bumblebee's increasing maturity and independence, adores Smokescreen's openly childlike behavior when off duty. It brings back memories of when Bee was little and would look to him for guidance at every moment. Teaching and caring for Smokescreen brings Optimus joy he thought would fade with Bumblebee's rise into adulthood.

Both he and Smokescreen relish in the affection they receive from each other.

The Human Kiddos

Never in Optimus's functioning did he ever think he would ever get attached to an organic, much less develop an unnatural bond with three of them. It is an odd thing to say the least, having his parental coding insist that the human children are obviously his sparklings and that he should be treating them as such can be rather off-putting. However Optimus has experienced a great deal of strange things over the course of his long life, and quickly took the development in stride.

It can be a little difficult for Optimus to adjust his behavior to match his newest charges needs though. His coding tells him that the human children are sickly or disabled sparklings. This often drives him to constantly worry about them and want nothing more than for Primus to wrap them up in living metal so as to keep them safe. This particular mindset becomes especially evident with Rafael.

Rafael is the smallest of the human children, and thus quickly took up a place in Optimus's mind as the runt of the litter due to both his size and his apparent disablement because of his need for glasses. As such Optimus feels the need to take extra care of Rafael, carefully intervening in any situation that is marginally dangerous for the child and taking the time to learn his preferences and interests. Not only that, but he regularly finds himself humming at a frequency too high for human ears but very clearly meant to comfort a young sparkling to any bots in the area.

Outside of Optimus overprotectiveness, he and Raf bond over their love of language and regularly have discussions on the subject. And when Optimus has time he often tries his hardest to help Raf learn Cybertronian speech. It hurts his spark to see Raf struggle with the sounds as he does not have the correct vocal ability, Optimus's coding always telling him that his sparkling is damaged and in need of medical attention. He tries to push those feelings aside and instead tries to focus on feeling proud of Raf for managing the few words he can vocalize.

Optimus has since given Raf a Cybertronian name, referring to him as 'Bright-Sparked-Child-of-Terra' in Cybertronian when it is just him and the human children.

As for Miko, Optimus's coding insists that she was meant for the skies, a born flier despite her organic form. This influences his actions as he often puts her on his shoulder and and lets her observe the world around her as he would with a flight gifted sparkling. He also finds himself constantly ushering her away from tall ledges and places. Her organic armor being too soft to survive any attempts at flight and her small body having no wings so to speak of.

It is another thing that makes his spark clench. He knows she is human, but deep down he believes that if she were born of Primus she would soar with the skies as her kingdom. He does his best to sooth his own aching spark and Miko's own desire to experience the thrill of the air by taking her out for drives at his top speed. They bond over the excitement and the chance to let loose, Miko always returns to base cheerful afterwards.

She too was given a name. Optimus calls her 'Mistress-of-the-Terran-Skies', a name that comes out like a song when he speaks it.

Lastly there is Jack, the child who reminds Optimus of himself from his days as Orion. He can tell Jack is hurting, still suffering from old wounds and the combined stress of keeping his friends out of trouble and their repeated encounters with Decepticons. To Optimus he seems to be like one of the many sparklings left orphaned and traumatized during the height of the war. This too causes Optimus's spark to ache, no child should look like that.

As such Jack receives special care from Optimus, who approaches him as one would a stray cybercat. Slowly, and over a great length of time he allowed Jack to warm up to him, starting with comforting words and eventually leading the human child to sleep against Optimus's pede or shoulder. He is fond of telling Jack stories fit for sparklings when the boy is particularly tired, often tucking him in afterwards as best he can with servos as large as his.

His coding tells him that if Jack were created Cybertronian he would certainly be a great mech, his spirit and drive while subdued, tell him this. As such Optimus has given Jack the name 'Little-Light-of-Terra'.