#whirlop

[windshieldtiddies]

Fanart of Come here, baby, tell me that I'm wrong by the inimitable @quetzalpapalotl! 💕

[quetzalpapalotl]

Impactor (and others) canonically beat Whirl in jail after he got arrested for the Megatron thing

god i bet whirl and impactor hated each other

[quetzalpapalotl]

I have crosspoted all my Transformers fic (5) to Dreamwidth! So I thought, might as well promote them again. Take a look if you want, it would mean a lot! Warning on the links.

Your carefully laid plans

One way or another, Proteus always gets what he wants.

A sort of character study for Senator Proteus

In Name only

Nominus Prime wakes up for the last time.

A Nominus fic to go with the Proteus one.

Come here, baby, tell me that I'm wrong

“Years later Orion –Optimus– invited me to join his merry band of Autobots. Wanted to lay claim on me before the Decepticons could. Forgiveness as a weapon of war, you see, very Optimus Prime.”

A ship manifesto for whirlop in fic form, it's not a happy ship.

Let me fall under your skin

High on victory, Megatron shows Orion how much he appreciates him.

A fanfic for Squiggle's 2022 big bang fic, We Are The Music Makers. The megop dynamic in it was too up my alley, so I wrote porn before she even finished the fic.

Your own body overflowing goodness

Optimus only desires to be good.

Being Prime is being Primus' sub.

[quetzalpapalotl]

💚💛💕

@gaysontodd 👀

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Oh boy. Well, I'm the only person who understands IDW1 Optimus (I'm joking... but also) but I think the most commonly and easily disproven thing that fandom gets wrong about him is the idea that the narrative supports his choices and portrays him as unequivocally good.

And to be fair, James Roberts does portray him like that and I have a lot to say about it. But Barber does not, and I think the text alone is enough to understand that, but Barber himself says in an interview that he just writes what happens and is up to the reader to judge character's actions. But I feel that for a lot of people who read Mtmte first they retain that idea of how JRo writes Optimus and carry it to exRID/OP—which is much more explicit about Optimus being a jerk and a hypocrite—and think that we're supposed to still think of him as an ideal hero.

And also people blame the issues with his character on everyone but JRo, and look I basically only like how Barber writes him so I can't say the phase 1 writers did a great job but the most glaring issue, namely, the cop stuff, was all JRo. People attribute that to Metzen and Dille, but Autocracy is actually phase 2 and came out after Chaos Theory and this is not a good comic but it is far more honest about what being a cop entails. Orion does police brutality in both, but while Chaos Theory insists on portraying him as The One Good Cop, Autocracy openly depicts him lashing out and using unnecessary violence. And of course, the comic that bears his name opens his narration in issue 1 with "Before I was Optimus Prime, I was part of the problem" and dedicates half of an arc to put Orion's job as a cop under scrutiny.

I think people just don't know what to make of Optimus' character because Barber portrays him as someone whose primary motivation really, genuinely is "to do good" BUT this does not mean that he actually does good, and he's also influenced by his own temper, his biases, and that after all this time he doesn't trust anyone else to do the job. It seems that when people see his condradictions instead of figuring what makes him tick, they disregard his internality and reduce him to just a holier-than-thou jerk... and he's not not that, but there's a logic to it.

For example, in fandom, I often see his anger issue flare up when he's disrespected. But Optimus is disrespected many times in canon and he's not happy, but he often shrugs it or responds a bit rudely. Disrespetc alone is not enought to make him lash out and often results in violence is having his core ideals challenged. When he puts faith in the good in the world and the world dissapoints him, especially if it reminds him of his own shortcomings. Because he wants to believe in good more than he actually does and often doesn't even know what shape this good would take and he's angry at himself for it and the mistakes he has made because of it and he can easily externalize this anger.

I could go one but I should probably stop now, hehe, sorry, you know how it is that I get with my boy.

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

Jazzprowl. It's just... not based on anything?? Or more like, it's usually based on their fanon personalities and not in any particular canon so I feel there's nowhere for me to grab. And because it's so ubiquitous there's not an attempt to sell it despite the lack of basis, so every time it shows up it's like there's something I'm not seeing, I don't get it. It's also kinda annoying that's everywhere, but I have it filtered so it's fine.

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like?

Read my whirlop fic people. One of this days I will also have to write a rodibee fic-manifesto-

[quetzalpapalotl]

My most lisneted song all year was The Bomb by Florence + The Machine and this is entirely because of whirlop lmao

[quetzalpapalotl]

For the Valentine's meme: 6, 13, 21

Already answered 6!

13.- Name a ship that deserved more content.

Zeta/Orion! Since the only content is like 3 fanarts and that one fic you made for me. Like, come on, people, this messed relationship changed the course of Cybertronian history and haunts Optimus to this day.

Also IDW1 rodibee, there is one (1) fanart and some fics in Chinese. But dear lord, they are such good foils for each other, and that phase 1 rivalry is so juicy. They have what each other want and hate each other for it ans it's great. I've gone at lenght about this.

21.- Favourite thing you’ve ever created for a ship?

Oh, definitively my whirlop fic Come here baby, tell me that I'm wrong. Granted, I have not created much, but I think I did a good job here given my experience. I think it does a good job of seelling the point and the dynamic, particulary in that I needed to keep balance on both character's bastardness and that they're coming to this from very different points. I got people roped into the ship with this, so success!!

[quetzalpapalotl]

For the WIP ask game -

Sometimes you get the girl, sometimes you get a song

A whirlop fic set after my personal favorite of mine, Come here baby, tell me that I'm wrong. Named after the same song as the first fic.

I wasn't sold on writing a sequel for that fic and I liked the idea of leaving that whole mess with no closure. But I did knew how I would give it closure, and also there was one (1) joke I wanted to write. But I figured that Tell me that I'm wrong is canon compliant, while Sometimes you get the girl wouldn't be as it requires Optimus to have survived Unicron. So it's simultaneusly a sequel and not a sequel because in canon Optimus is fucking dead.

The first fic is from Whirl's POV and it's about Optimus attemps to give him a place to belong which are insufficient because he is Optimus and this is Whirl, so they just hurt each other. In contrast, this fic is from Optimus POV and while Whirl is doing fine now that he has Cyclonus and Tailgate, Optimus-now-Orion-again is the one that doesn't belong anywhere.

Have a snippet:

“When I jumped into the center of Unicron, I thought that was it. I thought I was paying for all my mistakes. That I could take all of our sins with me so everyone else could move on. But I’m still here, and there’s no need for me anymore.” You shouldn't begrudge it. A world that doesn’t need you is, by all means, a better world than the alternative. But that old world was all that you had; it had shaped you in its image and you had become the one that needed it.

[quetzalpapalotl]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Transformers (IDW Generation One) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Optimus Prime/Whirl Characters: Whirl (Transformers), Optimus Prime, Other(s) Additional Tags: POV Second Person, Unhealthy Relationships, Minor Violence, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Sticky Sexual Interfacing (Transformers), Unreliable Narrator, two bastards unable to fulfill each other's emotional needs, sometimes you just have to make your favorite characters hurt each other Summary:

“Years later Orion –Optimus– invited me to join his merry band of Autobots. Wanted to lay claim on me before the Decepticons could. Forgiveness as a weapon of war, you see, very Optimus Prime.”

[quetzalpapalotl]

BARBIE TELL ME ABOUT WHIRLOP please

OH WELL IF YOU INSIST

My boys, my faves, my train wrecks. I have talked about Whirlop before so I'm probably just gonna repeat myself but since you missed it

We don't actually get to see Optimus and Whirl's dynamic in present day but man, it must be so complicated. This got a bit long so

Whirl was under Orion's responsability as captain, OP must feel so guilty for letting that beat up that resulted in war happen. Still he personally invites Whirl to the Autobots, "compassion as a weapon of war" Whirl calls it, which is such a microcosm of Optimus character. He meants good by that, he's trying to go for forgiveness, and yet it ignores Whirl's circumstances.

OP admist he knew Whirl had to have history with the Senate given his empurata, yet he buys the story that Whirl's reason to beat Megatron and then getting away was that he had friends in power and drags Whirl to the Senate whithout much thought. While the Senate callout is one of his highlights as a character, he made a show of Whirl, which led to him being even more hated and beaten up in prison, which only added to his mountain of trauma. When he joins the Autbots, what other choice does he have?

Who knows if OP ever learned Whirl's full story, probably not. Whirl doesn't want to be known. He learned about the beating, the senate's role and Whirl tipped him about the bomb. Whirl claims is only for Revenge's Sake, but Orion seems to want to believe there's some good in him, which probably leads to the offer to join the Autobots.

OP probably hoped to make an example of Whirl, but Whirl doesn't exactly get better. He ends up joining the Wreckers which is far from an ideal place for rehabilitation. Whirl probably reminds Optimus of his failings. And you know how it goes for Optimus, his hatred of teh world gets mixed with his hatred of himself which he doesn't know how to deal with.

As for what Whirl feels for OP, well, he probably hates him, he's good at keeping grudges. Must think that Optimus compassion is empty. But Whirl is also secretly soft for those who are nice to him, and despite everything OP treated him nicer tham most. As a captain he was a good boss despite the Empurata and despite probably knowing Whirl was a plant set by the senate because they didn't like the way Orion was doing things (I'm stealing this headcanon from @polyhexian). He tried to give him a place when Whirl didn't have anywere to go. He hates Whirl, but well, everyone does and at least Optimus tries to hide it, and kept acting like it could be better. A part of him probably still wishes for Optimus approval.

So as far as a romantic relationship goes they would be a disaster. They are both desperately seeking one form of validation, Optimus to be right about thee goodness of people and how they can change. Whirl to prove that he's worth something, to not dissapoint someone who always had faith in him superficial as it is. They are both emotionally stunneda and very alone, don't talk about their needs, just keep pushing trying to drag something out of the other person that they don't even name.

And Whirl is someone who actively tries to make himself unpleasant to sabotage his own relationships, which Optimus would try to bear with a patience he lacks until he snaps, which feeds into his guilt. But he can't give up. So they're stuck ina cycle until this thing explodes.

But you know, there could be a lot of growth for both of them if they actually talked to each other, in a way they are what each other needs to smooth their fatal flaws, which is what keeps them there. So either they get their shit together or this train crashes and everyone else suffers from it.

On another note, Whirl is so supremely dislikes Rodimus was the one Megatron in a sea on Whirls in "dress up as someone you hate" night as Swerver's. Can you imagine the bragging rights if he hooked up with Optimus? Whom all the Autobots admire and want to fuck or want as their dad. Whirl would absolutely rub it in their faces lmao. Megatron may also go insane.

Also, Nate has a Whirl & OP fic, not shippy, but with an amazing Optimus voice, if you're interested

[quetzalpapalotl]

WhirlOp

Now we're talking!!! Oh God, my bastards <3 I'm obsessed with his ship I'm pretty sure I came up with.

Just two people sticking together more to prove something than anthing else. Sure, OP doesn't like Whirl but no one does and at least OP has always tried to pretend and to treat Whirl nice and Whirl is secretly very weak to that, Whirl wants his approval. And Optimus feels responsible for Whirl's situation and can't just put him aside because her, if Whirl can get better everyone can, it means everything he has tried to stand for is real and he owes it to him. But Whirl's self-sabotage's tendencies come in and Optimus' snaps in patience manifest and they hurt each other and feel Bad, but Optimus keeps trying and Whirl allows it and they can't let go. They're stuck.

They just feed into each other's issues and there is a possibility that they could help, but yeah, they most likely make each other worse.

[quetzalpapalotl]

Originally this was supposed to be set in a vague IDW timeline, don't ask questions kind of deal. Not meant to be canon compliant. But it is, it is canon compliant. Of course it is.

[quetzalpapalotl]

whirlop delayed because illness has reduced beta's brain capability to that of a fish

A betta, if you will.

[quetzalpapalotl]

So I was going through Rotostorm's backstory with @polyhexian to figure if I should have people call Whirl Jetstream in the whirlop fic and they mentioned they think Whirl got a reframe for a jet alt during that time, and I said I think he tried to change his identity to avoid the consequences of everyone knowing he's the guy who beat the shit out of Megatron and this is all his fault.

Which brings of question of is Jetstream had a face, because we know that despite having different claws that the ones he had at first, Whirl refuses to get an actual face or hands to keep himself angry, so maybe Jetstream still looked like an empurata victim but

Jetstream is said to have both fist and a face expressive enough Rotostorm can tell what he's thinking. And this could be due to Bullets coming out before mtmte and refitting Whirl into Jetstorm being a late decision (or it could not, but who knows what JRo is thinking).

But it is fascinating to think that Whirl actually got a face and hands when he was able to, changed his name and tried to start a new leaf, only to realize that he cannot. That is not about his frame or his reputation because the things that's rotten is himself. When they burned his shop and left him in the streets of the dead end and the senate made him their dog and took away his hands... he lost who he was and what he is now is despicable and he deserves his suffering, so he gets a reframe and empurate himself again. He is bad and he's gonna own it and everyone must be able to look at him and know.

[quetzalpapalotl]

Actually the real fun of whirlop is remembering that Tailgate is a Optimus fanboy and picturing Optimus meeting Whirl in the future and being like: "I'm sorry I couldn't be what you needed. But I am glad you're happy now." And Whirl going: "Could you do me a solid and fuck my husband? The tiny one, not the purple one."

[quetzalpapalotl]

if you guys thought that my whirlop dynamic was bad, you should see what my mind is coming up with after reading the latest SG issue

[quetzalpapalotl]

whirlop reviews are iiiiiiin!