#tfp apotheosis

[sunset-synthetica]

Couple designs for a TFP au, specifically a season 3+4 rewrite.

Had a lot of fun with these designs, especially putting together a new look for Optimus 2.0. The official design has always bothered me a bit, so I aimed to make this one more of an expansion/evolution of the s1-2 look.

As for Elita-1, Jazz and Kup, I might change a few minor details but I'm happy with the overall looks.

[witchofthesouls]

(Okay, a snippet of the fic idea from the ask meme Burn your sins and wash away your virtues submitted by @skyite: )

< I am my brother’s equal, child of clay and stardust. My power may have waned after the long eons of my exile, but I am still tethered to Cybertron and its children for Solus is mine and I am hers. Prima is not the only one to ordain new champions for Primus, nor are you merely one of my lineage, little far-song echo of my own brand. If I am the Breaker, then you shall be the Reaper. >

And like a lifetime before, a lifetime where June was the only survivor and a god gave her a chance to go back, even if he never told her where, nor when, nor as what, Megatronus then levied himself down and breathed fire into her face and she had no choice to inhale it all. Damn the consequences because she already made her choice. Even with a body of metal rather than flesh, June melted and warped, painted bubbling, fuel flashed to steam, and robes were eaten by flames, her optics shattered and her chest imploded as she was wreathed in the very essence of his own power.

She transcended beyond pain and agony, beyond physical sensation, and would have flown away, freed from being fettered to a body if it wasn’t for the cage of Megatronus’ hands and he plucked her away and opened his own chassis. In her newfound awareness, she saw Megatronus what he truly was as he set her upon a new pyre made of his own churning spark.

< Arise, new Prime of my own frame, and Judge wisely for you shall reshape this world as I have done. >

___________

When Soundwave looked deep into the twisting flames of Solus’ legendary Forge, all he saw was a funerary pyre and Cybertron remade in the aftermath of its ashes and fury.

___________

Soundwave woke up, gasping for air. His entire frame boiling, despite the frigid temperatures several stories beneath the surface and in the sanctum where followers give tidings and thanks to the closest approximation to Megatronus’ Shadows. He shook with uncontrollable spasms and vents wheezed as cooling systems struggled immensely with Soundwave’s entire frame overheating to extreme levels. Even his own systems were prioritizing life-support and disabling others: his vision, weapons, transformative sequences, and all communications were among the considered lower priorities.

A pair of slim servos, blessedly cold and steady, held him down and dripped fresh coolant over his frame and cold fuel into his lips until the dire warning signs downgraded enough to allow him back his own sight and voluntary movement.

When he saw Juno’s face, blackened by soot and smeared in ashes, it was Megatronus Prime's own optics -twin suns of fuchsia blazing in the dark above him.

The dream was disjointed: the massive height of Solus, Liege Maximo’s gleaming horns, Megatronus’ melting glyphs, and the living flames of the Forge’s vision, but grounded in reality was the phantom cool touch of a scythe and the sword-shuttle-needle in both his hands as well as the heavy coating of residue upon his frame and smoke in his intakes.

Face bare and in his own voice, he rasped out the very name given from the blaze-turned-firestorm:

“Hail, Nemesis Prime.”

[equivocaleternity]

WIP ask game

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descript or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

scars

lugnodelocity

baby vash stampede

batb au

baby vash 98

ADOPT THE TINY ONE

healing is a good thing (isn’t it?)

title??? (swerve magnus drinks fic)

swhirl gladiators

swerve tailgate swap

star trek crossover :)

mtmte/regen one crossover

starscream bumblebee something

possession (do back flips)

swerve beats executive dysfunction and completes a task after three thousand years

starscream on the lost light

rewind is a PROFESSIONAL and he cannot let this stand

chillllllllllllchack

minimhirl

tfp

i want to connect 6

velocity swerve

something

m. swerve cyclonus

handfasting

physical therapy (very physical)

titan au?

cognition bomb

time tripping

uh oh shadow weaver

trial

three’s company

just shove him behind the door it’ll be fine

Voted Ship’s Favorite Medic One Year Running

idw starscream in tfp…two!! (now with more cliffjumper, i guess)

nightmare scenario

trio time

tiiiiime travel (life is just one big game and now i’ve got the cheat codes, suckers)

“Starscream apotheosis” is a stupid name

a funny thing happened on the way from hedonia

what it means to know someone

tattletale

bad day (or two, or three, or)

fascination

aftermath

fungus

Cycles

MTO MTO MYO

magsy

stiff-necked

june

idiots <3

hm

brainstorm also lives (oh, what a thing is revenge)

regen one

A little blackmail between soon-to-be coworkers

mto

screamfire in pacific rim what havok will they cause

mecha starscream

amica

the life and times of orion pax

rescue mission 3

mto

pharmaaaa

fades away 2

their melodies reborn in a thousand permutations

pharma

spark

immortalityyyyy

disabled king

ghosty

dominus is dead (very sad)

starscream’s offputting

starrrrrscream (and bumblebee)

regrettable decisions

arranged marriage

starscream on the lost light…2! (now with more bumblebee)

telepath minimus

transformation sequence

curse

amnesia

sprinklor

rodimags meetcute

drinking buddies

Untitled Document

smokescreen

what’s a little partial dismemberment between friends

g1

autobot starscream

Untitled Document

Broadcast Dreaming

more tfa mins

spark damage

nemesis/soulmate

more pharma

Untitled Document

nautica forgotica

brainstorm

try one, try two

lord brainstorm

pharma did it! yay…

time travel gone wrong again

are ghosts visible in mirrors?

awkward

ultra magnuuuuus

quark time

sit back, relax (listen to the music)

double ghost combo

titan starscream

robozeni chapter 2

cat martin

neurodiversity in etheria

martin blackwood, accidental almost-murderer

spider martin part 2.0

[decepti-thots]

Do you know any good Rung-as-primus fics pls? /OvO\

As it happens, I do!! By which I mean I know @sauntervaguelydown so excuse me while first and foremost I go open up her AO3 page, HI BABE

The one that first came to mind is Patronus, which is actually a TFP fic that re-imagines Rung-as-Primus as part of that verrrry different lore and worldbuilding scenario. It's lingered in my head for years now, hah, it's excellent, and very contemplative. (Hi Dez.)

One I wanna rec is part of a larger AU series called Banners from the Turrets, which is very long but there's a 'just read these ones for the main beats' reading list at the top of the series page. The fic in question is Apotheosis, it's one of my favourite fics. It has bonus 'Tarantulas wants to dissect God' content too, which, I mean, what better recommendation. (Hi Dez. And Nev.) The whole series is great, but Apotheosis deals explicitly with an alternative approach to the whole Primus reveal thing.

A third one, though mind the warnings on this one (contains reference to off-page assault etc), is Dress Your Idol In Gold And Ashes. (HI, DEZ, YOU WROTE LIKE HALF THIS LIST.) This one is also great because it has excellent Rodimus.

I promise I have Rung fic recs that are not by Dez. Uhhh. Anyway.

All Is Not Golden, set pre-canon, is a Guiding Hand fic. It is excellent. I don't want to spoil the premise, so I'll just say it is wonderful and very underappreciated.

This one is probably not really what you're looking for, but I'll throw it in anyway. If you want a particularly nasty look at 'Rung as God', my mate Rosey wrote an excellent horror fic with this in Bodies (break). It's very Primus-y but not... in a nice way... uhhh definite warnings for heavy body horror on that one.

[artificial-absinthe]

I can explain this.

Behold the visual culmination of my fall from grace.

But I said I'd explain, and explain I should, specially because of this post.

What's... unpleasant about making them human, is to vulgarize them. Why to have more normal humans, with trivial realities, trivial lack of aesthetic? Instead, if some of the extraordinary context is preserved, if the cybernetic, technological and somber war plot is translated, they wouldn't fall into banality. And what could be more fitting to host said features than Cyberpunk?

As the second sin, we all know the master/servant relationship lends itself to a variety of interpretations or implications, here would be acquiring the attraction quality, spiced with a sensual tug to it.

So, as I was saying... here it is my erring creation: Cyberpunk human Au where Soundwave is a cyborg and Megatron is human, but already intervened with mechanical body parts of the limbs lost in battles/murder attempts, and as a voluntary way to improve himself. He would believe in mechanical superiority. Something of an atavism from Beast Machines Megatron, and resemblance to the usual apotheosis of his own mechanical race in most continuities, including Tfp.

I'll be doing drawings for this au, perhaps fanfiction... perhaps.

(I tried to make Megatron look older, though the success is questionable)

[karkashan]

So a quick update to my last post about my Classic Chrobin Let’s Play.

Chapters 21 through 25 have been recorded, edited, rendered, and uploaded as of this post (about to make thumbnails and put them up for scheduling).

I’ve done the Aversa, Priam, and Emmeryn Paralogues and recruited those characters, and those bonus videos are also recorded, edited, rendered, and uploaded. (I’m not doing Walhart or Gangrel’s Paralogues full stop. I might do Yen’fay’s but I’m not sure at this point)

I was able to come home early tonight from work and play through The Future Past DLC (all 3 parts). All of this has been recorded, edited, and rendered, and will be uploaded when I go to bed. TBH, TFP wasn’t super difficult to get through with fully leveled parent characters that all have Limit Breaker.

However you may notice a certain elephant in the room that hasn’t been mentioned: Apotheosis. As much as I would love to say that my strategic skills would allow me to just YOLO it in one shot, my brief five minute test has reaffirmed to me that I’m going to need to do some additional prep work. My current twofold plan right now is to forge ALL OF THE BRAVE WEAPONS while at the same time crafting together a couple of Rally Bots (these are a pair of Einherjar that have all 10 Rally skills between them).

After all of that is settled I’ll do just a bit more prep work before giving Apotheosis another shot with just the parents (if that doesn’t quite work, I will need to take additional time to grind up the non Chrobin children for this: This thankfully won’t take as long as the parents as inherited stats means that all children can survive Lost Bloodlines 3 grinding)

[sunset-synthetica]

OPTIMUS BINGO. NEOW.

I FUCKING LOVE YOU /PLATONIC

hashtag girl

I'm gonna talk abt TFP because you know that's what my brain is unfortunately filled with and also Optimus has no right to be as interesting as she is given the show's overall quality.

There's. so much about her that I love. The weight in her movements and the consideration she puts into them. How fucking old and tired and worn down she feels. The autistic swag. Her speech patterns and expressions. Her role in the War and her duties as a Prime and how heavily it weighs on her.

Firstly, something I actually like about TFP is how the mecha have a lot of weight. The ground shakes when they move, their movements tend to be sort of slow and fluid, and, especially in the first few episodes, there are several really great shots that put into perspective how fucking MASSIVE the mecha are.

In Optimus' case, all of that remains true, but there's also the way she interacts with others. Her movements are very calculated, especially when it comes to her hands. It gives you the sense that she's aware of her size and strength and moves accordingly.

This is further underlined by seeing how she moves during battle: she's a heavy hitter, as- unlike Arcee or Bumblebee, who tend to use speed to their advantage- Optimus often uses her own frame as a weapon, and every punch has a great sense of weight and force behind it.

This contrast is incredibly cool and works so well to tell us more about Optimus. It shows us that she can absolutely be dangerous and there's a reason she's alive even after so long, while also making it clear that she's well aware of her strength and cares about others. She knows how to use her power incredibly well.

It reminds us that she's been through a lot. She's been fighting and commanding and making decisions for so long now, she's gotten perfectly used to it, but it just weighs on her and tires her out all the more.

She doesn't allow herself to participate in celebrations, or laugh, or display any sign of emotional vulnerability as long as she can help it, all so she can focus on her role. And, in the moments where she does slip up, she's quick to recover and shut herself back in.

I wish there were more works discussing/portraying the sort of… apotheosis that Optimus has (to an extent) willingly put himself through.

I think that the question of what a person is, what makes you one and how much you can strip away from someone until you're suddenly looking at something- a subject, a concept, rather than a person- is fascinating.

Optimus feels like he's something more than just a person, like he's this immortal being, and that's something he did purposefully, in my opinion. He shut himself off and stripped himself down to this- at first glance- simple idol, an idea rather than a person. It gives others hope and a sense of direction, even in desperate times, and she's willing to give them that at the cost of who she is.

She recognized the mythical status that came with his primehood, coupled with how much people looked up to her as their leader during such difficult times, and decided to fit herself into the shape of her idealized, perfect self.

She's a tragic and sad character because this is a role she didn't want, made all the more difficult by the War, and she still gave it more than what anyone could have asked for her.

Something I want to note is how others react when she puts away the act. In the scene where Starscream escapes with the keys, and Optimus does the dramatic yelling at the sky thing, it's clear that Bulkhead and Ratchet are surprised and unnerved by this. I wouldn't say they're afraid exactly, but there's certainly an amount of uncertainty and weariness there.

And, to a certain extent, it's an understandable reaction. It's made pretty clear that Optimus keeps themself very closed off and controlled, so to see them slip up like this is likely something entirely new to Bulkhead and a very rare sight to Ratchet.

But, on the other hand, it shows us how unrealistic the expectations the Autobots, albeit unintentionally, put on Optimus are. Optimus' outburst isn't him endangering his teammates, he doesn't make a reckless decision or punch a hole through a wall or anything of the sort. He yells it out. This would have been a pretty expected reaction from a lot of the other characters, but it's sudden and scary coming from Optimus.

I also really love her expressions in general. Especially how she speaks. She does her best to avoid misunderstanding, making herself as clear as possible and using 'big words' because they're more accurate (the autism is strong).

However, I do think a lot of how she presents herself simply is her. Some of it is a facade, but I do not think she's actually the joking type as she's often made out to be. Were she not in such a position, I think she would be similar to how she is now. We saw that with Orion Pax, who was much more trusting and expressive, but still more reserved than a lot of the others.

Ultimately, Optimus is a very sophisticated character, and sadly, a lot of the things that make them interesting get often either ignored, or mischaracterized to hell.

They tend to often be portrayed as naive, almost childish, especially in romantic scenarios, which is very off-putting for several reasons.

Often, people point to her attempts at talking it out with Megatron and establishing peace as a sign of naivete, and I don't think that's accurate.

She's hopeful. She's flawed, yes, but at her core, Optimus is a good, genuine and kind person with a lot of empathy. She tries to extend that towards people that many would deem either irredeemable, or just not worth it.

I think that's far from naivete. Optimus understands that they do have to kill to survive. They understand that not every situation is fit for peace talks, that they can't let themself or their team be put in danger just so they can try to talk someone down.

They know when they can try to negotiate, and when it's out of the question, and, in this situation, that's where the line between being naive and simply hopeful is.

Something else that makes me quite uncomfortable is the frequent attempts to "fix" her by making her more emotional and expressive.

Her stoicism and "lack of emotion" are not inherently negative, in that they are an aspect of her personality, and removing them changes who she is. And while the role she has forced herself into does hurt her, I believe the way she acts stems heavily from her natural personality, rather than an act.

I often see her being portrayed as far more prone to emotional outbursts, laughing relatively often, having sarcastic remarks or being very flirty, and while this is often just the mís-characterization that comes from being a new writer, it's telling how this is something that occurs specifically in the heavily autistic-coded character of the show.

The third option is villainizing her. I most often see this in relation to his treatment of Arcee, specifically her need for revenge and trauma.

As I've already stated, Optimus is a hopeful person. He hopes, above all, that there's always a right path, a way to do things that's morally and logically the best. He has a sense of this greater good he's always working towards, always trying to follow, and I feel that while this does impair his judgment at times, it's by far not enough to make him an evil person.

His disagreement with Arcee stems from this idea of the greater good- that forgiveness is the key, that revenge is always bad and placing yourself on your enemy's level is to be avoided at all costs. If you're kind to your enemies, if you show them mercy, surely they'll treat you the same, right?

Whether it be against Starscream or Airachnid, defenseless or in battle, Arcee should not exact her revenge as it would accomplish nothing.

Optimus directly contradicts this sentiment later on by almost killing a defenseless Megatron. However, I don't think Optimus was lying or trying to manipulate Arcee by his earlier statement. Rather, I think, Optimus is forced to rethink his stance on the killing of a defenseless enemy if it means preventing future harm. At this moment, Megatron is at his mercy, and given all he's done and will likely do in the future if left alive, Optimus chooses to end it right there, even if his attempt is unsuccessful.

In the end, I think Optimus is far from naive, hypocritical or evil- he's simply flawed. He wants to do the right thing, and though he makes mistakes, they are honest mistakes, coming from a place of care and hope, rather than malice.

One last thing I want to talk about is Optimus' relationship to Megatron.

Megatron hates Optimus, that's pretty clear. He hates them for taking away his title, for their 'for the greater good' stance, for their forgiveness and wisdom and for the way they care about others and want to see the best in people.

Optimus' feelings, on the other hand, feel much more complex.

On one hand, he's aware of the danger Megatron poses. He's aware of the destruction the War has already caused and of the threat it poses for as long as Megatron is alive and able to enact his will.

Optimus understands that Megatron must be stopped, but this is where things get complicated.

He does want, and tries, to stop Megatron, but is in constant conflict with himself over how to achieve this. He's hesitant to kill Megatron at the start, even during battle, he mourns Megatron's 'death' in the first few episodes.

He wants to reason his way out of the conflict, because he still hopes that Megatron could see reason.

I've detailed their relationship more here, as it's a very interesting dynamic and I think it should be talked about outside of the context of shipping.

[sunset-synthetica]

Soo what stuff are ya gonna change plotwise in tf apotheosis aka the tfp s2-3 re-write. like whats elita gonna be like for this au alongside jazz n kup?

I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna actually publish a full rewrite as I'm busy as fuck and my past attempts at multi chapter fics have NOT gone well, but tldr I wanna go with the space pirates concept the writers had originally planned out. The overarching themes would be a focus on how team Prime has gotten used to humans and adapted some cultural norms that Cybertronians view as unusual, and how the death of Cybertron impacted everyone (not just the Autobots). They've lost their home, and everyone would adapt differently to that, from trying to replicate it, to adapting a different cultural identity to cope with the loss.

I'd also wanna explore some of the characters more in-depth and either expand on or change their arcs a bit, particularly making Optimus' stance on Megatron and the war change more drastically, expand on Ratchet's feelings towards his position as a medic and his relationship with Raf, and of course give Arcee the revenge she should have gotten.

As for the new characters I'd introduce: Elita-1 is the captain of the pirate ship, the Azimuth. Her and Optimus disagreed about the fate of Cybertron. She left with some other Autobots to try and set up a base on another planet, but overtime converted their ship into a sort of traveling haven, welcoming anyone who found themself in their situation- lost and with nowhere to go. She's effectively removed herself from the conflict, and does her best to welcome anyone, former fried or foe, on the ship. Although there had been some security issues at first, her and her chain of command didn't give up.

She does her best to rid herself of the hardened shell the war had forced her into, but still struggles with it. She may come off as a bit too radical or easy to anger to some, but both stem from a genuine fear for her people and a deep passion for what they've all managed to build.

Azimuth itself has the particular quirk of always being changed. Occasionally, someone comes up with the idea of creating a map, but it never gets anywhere, as the layout never stays the same. Whether repairing existing structures or adding new walls, modules or even external parts of the ship, making an accurate map is impossible.

Jazz is the ship's chief communications officer, always by the radio. When she's not talking to pilots of the ships they occasionally encounter, or trying to catch a broadcast from a nearby planet, she likes to station herself by a common area and play or sing music. Although she's very liberal with the tools at her disposal, often blocking one of the side channels so she can play music or act as a self-appointed DJ (not that people don't feed into it) she is incredibly aware of her responsibilities, and knows when to sober up.

Kup doesn't really have a specific role on the ship. He occasionally helps maintain the weapons on-board, but spends most od his time relaxing or talking to others about his life in both wars (the civil, most recent and the war with Quintessons). He tends to get more than a bit heated at times, but is generally regarded as an expert on the topic, and a kind soul under a rough exterior.