literature

Underpromotion (Dark of the Moon)

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The following story contains ending spoilers for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. It also spoils the twist. 

It may, if you look at it the right way, contain human/bot shipping. Or it may not. Up to you. Either way, you've been warned.


 

He leaned away from the table, and she leaned into the sunlight he left behind.

“I cannot thank you enough for keeping me occupied while I wait for replacement parts for my arm,” he noted as she moved a pawn.

“It’s the least I can do after you saved all our asses, Optimus,” she offered with a smirk, folding her hands in her tiny lap. “After we kicked you out, no less.”

“Your hands were tied.” He grabbed the white queen and tapped her pawn with it, delicately switching the minuscule pieces between his fingers and taking the black pawn off the board. “There was nothing you could have done. Such is a peril of democracy, of bureaucracy.”

She leaned back in, brushing a wisp of blonde hair out of her face. Then she hopped a black knight over toward his queen, horse-headed piece dwarfing her hand even as his queen towered over it.“I don’t know. Maybe people will listen to me this time. You’d damn well better.”

“We are both bound by the law, and yet our laws differ,” he dithered, sliding his queen out of the way.

“It’s easier for you to play by our rules than for us to play by yours,” She snapped, pointing at him with a hand that couldn’t wrap around his finger. “And you don’t want to do that. It’s checkmate if you do.”

He looked down at his king, finally noticing the black bishop a board away from it. “What do you mean?”

“If you get fed up with me, you could pick me up and fling me away like a piece of lint. You can take over whole cities with a few bots.” She slid a rook across the board. “If I get fed up with you, all I can do is yell, maybe send an army. I’m not a threat.” She looked away, strange little eyes focused on something behind him. “He shot Ironhide. He talked to me.”

“We all have our limits. You are limited by your biology, your firepower… as Sam was by his prestige.”

“Not the same.” She put both hands on the table, leaning in. “You earn prestige. Prestige is defined by your group. Even picking Megatron apart for years, we still can’t match your technology.”

He suppressed a shudder at her words and moved his rook. “Check.”

She slammed her own queen into it, sending it clattering to the floor. “Check yourself. We’ll never be able to compete one-to-one.  As long as you people are here, you have an obligation to keep things fair. And you’re the only one I’m willing to trust to do that. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you about Chernobyl. And mate.” 

She looked up at him with those blue eyes, and he frowned. “I’m sorry for the lack of faith you have in humanity. After all, it was Sam who saved both our people. Thank you for the game, Director Mearing.”

“Charlotte. We’re off the clock.”

Oh my goodness, there's so much to talk about here.

First off, this is my entry for #LiteraryFanFiction's 4F. This week's prompt is "game."

I had originally written a fluffy little Criminal Minds short, but a few hours later this came to me. This controversial monstrosity. OH my god. Never have I gotten such diverse reactions from my friends within a fandom, from different PARTS of a fandom. I love it, I hate it. This is also the first fanfic I've ever written where asking my mom to beta resulted in a family fight. HEY GUYS, I'M LIVING UP TO MY USERNAME!

I wasn't sure I was on with Mearing's and Optimus' voices, but my friends assure me I was on track. It's difficult because here I'm showing them at the kind of moment you wouldn't see in the movie, and I am apparently the only Transformers fan who doesn't think Mearing wants to see you next Tuesday. 

I'm especially interested in how well I got readers thinking. Did I add anything to the portrayals of Optimus or Mearing? Did I make the world of the movieverse a little bigger? 

Many thanks to my wonderful betas! 

:iconcneilson::iconthefelinianwithwings::iconsingingflames::iconinfernojaiku: and, of course, my lovely mother. 

Now with a picture:
© 2013 - 2024 DecepticonFlamewar
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SingingFlames's avatar

I think the final touches worked great in this. :) It reads very smooth and natural. And, oh my, a family fight? :O That's ... not good. If it helps, the story really did come out well. I liked seeing Mearing "off the clock."

 

Thanks for the shout out! :)