....DAMN IT I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL! FUCK SHIT BITCH MOTHER-!
Deep breath. Okayyyyyyy.
So this is not official. This is going to be a demo. I want to see how well this tracks on Tumblr. If it tracks well on Tumblr, I might be willing to continue writing it in full. If not, I'm just gonna write a summary of it with a few little snippets. The only reason I'm even thinking about doing this is because @justawannabearchaeologist and I have been brainstorming ideas and it's just been spiraling out of control!
So if you guys really want this to continue: please actually let me know what you think because it will gauge how this proceeds!
Okay?! Okay.
Also spoilers.
Summary: It is the end of Eren Jaeger's story. The boy who sought freedom had failed to complete the Rumbling. His friends opposed him, his family disowned him, and Optimus had killed him. He expected to be suffering in hell for all eternity, or just stop existing. But divine intervention has offered him a chance at reincarnation, if he can pass thirteen trials from the Primes that proceeded Optimus Prime. Succeed, he will be granted a new life. Fail, and he will disappear forever.
If Eren wishes to survive, to win, then he must fight.
Eren felt his eyes twitching when he realized that he was able to think again. He slowly opened his eyes to a rather strange sight. He could tell that it was nighttime, what with all the stars, however, he also saw clouds of colorful gas slowly floating along. Eren groaned, forcing himself to sit up and study his surroundings further. He found himself surrounded by a purple fog with no end in sight. The floor beneath him felt smooth and he looked down to see his reflection in the water. His hair was still the same length from when he was dragged back from Marley and when he was in the Paths. He wore those dark pants and hoodie along with his green shirt, but his eyes were still blue as the color of energon.
"Where am I?" Eren mumbled to himself. He felt something in the grip of his right hand and looked over to see...
Mikasa's scarf. He was holding Mikasa's scarf in his hand. He pulled it slightly, and the motion caused ripples to form in the reflective water. But the scarf didn't touch the water, nor did it get wet. What...what happened? Why did he have this? Why was he-?
Eren yelled and clutched his head as memories came flooding into his mind....He activated the Rumbling.
Eren! NO!
He attacked his comrades, along with Optimus' comrades.
Someone help me!
MURDERER!
Eren please stop!
MEGATRON!
He...he was killed by-! Eren covered his mouth and held his neck as he remembered the searing hot pain of the blade going through him, tearing him in half.
And...Armin and Mikasa....
You don’t get a say, Eren! Not anymore! You’re dead to me! I just can’t do this!
See you later, Eren.
Those words hurt more than the blade lodged into his body. Eren fell backwards onto the reflective floor, feeling the ripples form at his motions. That was it. He failed. He was officially dead, and everyone who knew of him, alive and dead, no doubt hated his guts. Eren raised his hand to see the red scarf dangling in front of him. He blinked, feeling tears starting to form in his eyes. All he had left now were memories, hateful memories, memories of bitterness, and this scarf. This scarf that once represented his connection to Mikasa was now severed. He would never be able to give it back to her. Not that she wanted it anymore. She would forget about him and move on with her life.
Eren's arm rested on the floor again. It was probably good for her anyway. He probably would have told her to forget about him at some point...but his last words to her were nothing more than that of a pathetic man. Armin made it clear her never wanted to see him again. He destroyed the connections he had with his very first friend. He destroyed the outside world they both wanted to see...did they both have the same vision of the outside world?
And then...there was Optimus...who told him that he considered him son and would always love him...he was certain Optimus hated him now. And now...this was his hell...
He didn't know how long he was waiting there, but the longer he did, the more nervous he felt....why....why the hell wasn't anything happening? He's heard different versions of hell when he was exposed to the outside world. Fire and brimstone, demons torturing you, darkness, anything? Why was he just forced to be here? Was this his own personal hell: to be idle for all eternity?! That can't be it! He needed to leave! He wanted out! There had to be way out before he lost his sanity and-!
"Eren Jaeger." Eren force at the sound of a voice, stopping his mind from spiraling further into madness. He bolted upright, and froze at the sight of...something standing before him. It...it was a metal being, a metal being that was the size of a human. The being was completely white with hints of blue that flowed through its armor. But those eyes, those eyes that mirrored his own, with that same shine of blue, it was energon. This being was a Cybertronian. But...That couldn't be right. Appearances alone, it should be a Cybertronian, and they were usually bigger. The size of titans. Why did this one look his size?
Even so, Eren couldn't help but feel unnerved at the way it looked at him. The expression was neutral, but its eyes showed contempt. "Who...who are you?"
"I am Prima: Primus' first creation, and the first Prime," he answered.
Eren's apprehension was replaced with contempt. Primus. Of course this had something to do with that god! The whole place looked like something that he would design! "You have to be fucking kidding me." Eren stood up. "Primus couldn't finish me off himself, so he decided to pawn me off to some dead Prime with a name that just screams ego?!"
"I'd advise that you watch your tone, boy," Prima warned.
"Or what?! Primus is too hypocritical to actually follow through on his-!" Eren felt something graze his skin and cut strands of his hair in an instant. Eren looked down towards his left cheek and gasped in horror at the sight of...it. The weapon that appeared in Prima's hand without Eren noticing...the weapon that Optimus used to end his life, the weapon that had just grazed his cheek and remained by his face, causing a sting of pain and drops of blood to appear: the Star Saber.
Eren's legs wobbled before he collapsed to the floor on his rear. The titan shifter breathed heavily, but froze in his panic when Prima raised the blade towards his chin.
"Primus might be a being of compassion," Prima began, "But we were forged to be weapons of war, with the sole purpose of slaying gods."
"That..." Eren gulped, "That's...Optimus-!"
"Optimus barely knows how to use this weapon," Prima declared, "Meanwhile, I have used this weapon for eons. I am much more efficient in using it than he is."
Prima lowered the blade, but Eren couldn't help but be nervous at the presence of it.
"To answer your question: Primus is busy," Prima explained, "He has no need to spend any more time on someone like you."
"He interfered with a place he didn't even belong in-!"
"Have you forgotten why Primus went there in the first place?" Prima shot back, "To save the Little One from an eternity of solitude and slavery? To end the power of the titans? He wanted to save your world. But you? You have enacted a genocidal plan, wiping out at least 50% of the population. You have killed one of the people you swore to protect, and worst of all: you have tried to kill Optimus Prime. All of that, was your choice."
Prima kneeled down to look Eren in the eye. "Know this, Eren Jaeger. We hate you. We despise you. And if it were up to the rest of us, we would shove your soul down to the pits of Unicron where you belong to be tortured for all eternity."
Prima straightened himself out. "But thanks to Primus' 'hypocrisy', he has granted you clemency, and you will be given a chance."
"A chance for what?" Eren asked.
"A chance at a new life," Prima answered, "However, we will be the ones to decide how you earn that chance."
"Who's we?" Eren asked.
Prima raised the Star Saber into the air before tapping it against the reflective floor. The floor rippled in response, and the fog started to move. It swirled around both Eren and Prima, forcing Eren to cover his eyes at the strong winds. Eren could feel the ground beginning to shake, but didn't dare open his eyes until the storm passed. When he felt the wind die down, Eren mustered up the courage to open his eyes and gawked at the sight that was behind Prima.
A jagged rock formation had risen up from the ground, almost looking like a mountain. On this mountain, stood nearly a dozen other metal beings he couldn't get the full details of. Their colors and shapes were different, but they all looked down at him from their vantage points with contempt. Two of them, looked furious at the sight of him, one of them looked like a beast, and the other had glowing red eyes similar to Megatron.
"The Thirteen Original Primes," Prima introduced them, "If you are to take up this task, you will be subjected to thirteen trials." Prima raised a finger. "One for each Prime in existence. If you succeed in your trial, you will be granted passage to the next one, all the way until you have completed all thirteen of them, granting you the ability to reincarnate into anything that you so desire. Fail in any trials we subject you to, and you will be forced to repeat the challenge over and over again until you pass."
Eren grimaced at the explanation. Thirteen trials? That felt like some twisted joke to mock the thirteen-year curse that all titan shifters faced. "And what if I say no?"
"Refuse to participate in the trials, or forfeit the trials before completion, and your soul will be barred from reincarnation and destroyed," Prima answered, "Do you accept the conditions laid before you?"
Eren couldn't help but think it over. He shouldn't have to think it over. Instead of suffering through hell for all of eternity, he was given the option to reincarnate into a better life, so long as he completed these trials. But...he knows for a fact that these Primes are not going to make it easy for him. They are no doubt going to put him through hell and make him suffer until he passed their tests.
Eren closed his eyes. If he wanted to live, if he wanted to survive and live another day, he had to win. And the only way to win was to fight.
Eren opened his eyes in determination and forced himself to stand before looking Prima in the optic. "I'll do it. I'll do the trials, and I will make sure to pass all of them."
Eren knew he was glaring at Prima with contempt, but Prima wasn't fazed at Eren's attempt at defiance towards him. Eren couldn't help but glance behind him to look at the reaction of the other Prime. Some of them glared at Eren for his blatant disrespect towards who was no doubt their leader. Some were apathetic to his attempt at looking strong. However, there were quite a few of them that...smirked...or grinned with delight. They were giddy at the fact that Eren accepted the trials.
"Very well." Prima turned away from him and walked towards his fellow Primes. "We will commence with the first trial: my trial. Let us see how fast you are able to complete it. Vector."
Eren saw a golden titan with a cape stand up and began to float, conjuring an abundance of energy in the palms of its hands. Eren then turned his attention to the rest of the Primes...and noticed something was off. Prima stated that there were thirteen trials for thirteen Primes, but...he only counted twelve. Where was the thirteenth Prime? Why-?
Eren snapped his head downward when he noticed a golden circle forming around him. Eren gasped when the reflective floor gave way to a dark abyss below. Eren felt his stomach drop and screamed as he fell through the portal into the darkness below. He tried to hold onto Mikasa's scarf as long as he could, but in his panic, he let the fabric go. Eren saw it fly away before the portal closed above him, leaving him in darkness.
(So this is the idea, and basically an expansion of this ask. But again, if this doesn't get a lot of traction, I'm not really going to waste my time writing out the rest of it in full. Because coming up with the mechanics of the trials will be a lot of work. So please let me know what you think because that will help me decide.
I decided to take inspiration from my day 5 Liege Maximo drawing and draw Prima in a similar manner, because the name of the mushroom really reminded me of her.
At this point in time I plan on continuing this series untill I have drawn all 13 primes in this manner.
Okay dialogue prompt another from the same song: If I lose it all slip and fall will you laugh at me?
Definitely had to think about this one, but then a devious idea came to me.
Eren didn't know how long he was running for. He kept running and running, trying to find him as fast as he could. Hopefully he was still here after all this time. The titan shifter gasped with relief in the nape of the neck when he spotted Megatron at the neutral ship, gathering a few things...to leave! No, no, he couldn't leave!
Eren yelped when he tripped over himself while running. His massive titan form slid across the ground and stopped at Megatron's pedes, but the former warlord paid him no mind. He merely spared a quick glance his way before returning packing his things.
Eren quickly pulled himself out of his titan form, feeling the hot steam permeating from his skin and the carcass. "Megatron! Megatron wait!"
"I'm not in the mood to talk to you," Megatron declared coldly.
"Please, Megatron! I need your help!" Eren begged, "Everything's gone to hell and-!"
Eren flinched when Megatron started laughing at him. The laughter sounded amused, unhinged even,...furious.
"You need my help?" Megatron mockingly asked, "Now you need my help!"
"Please, the government is killing anyone that so much as even criticizes them!" Eren yelled, "I was just trying to protect them, but now it's getting harder to breathe! They're all fighting with each other over food!" Tears fell down Eren's face. "They killed Armin and Mikasa for going up against me despite the fact that I was telling them not to! They didn't listen! And Optimus-!"
"Is dead!" Megatron spat out, "By your hand! This is all a design of your own making! You got what you wanted! You succeeded in activating the Rumbling and destroying all life on this planet! You killed anyone that got in your way! I was finally gaining acceptance from Armin and Mikasa and Hanji, but you took that away from me! I finally got him back! I finally got my brother back and you killed him! And you think for one second that I'm just going to help you?!"
Eren had nothing to say to that. How could he? He was the one that was responsible for killing Optimus after all. Eren trembled as Megatron raised his pede over Eren's human body.
"I should kill you. Right now! Rid the universe of your filth! I'm certain the corpses of those people would be crying out for justice for what you've done!" Megatron hollered at him.
Eren didn't think to bite down on his hand. He just raised his arms to protect himself in a panic. He expected to be crushed, turned to paste, but the impact never came. Eren opened his eyes and saw Megatron slowly pulling his pede back.
"But I'm not," Megatron declared, "Porco Galliard will be my last victim. I am not taking another life."
Megatron grabbed his supplies before turning back to Eren. "And killing you would be a mercy you don't deserve. You will live, Eren."
Eren was blindsided by the command. "Live?"
"Live," Megatron seethed, "You will live out your remaining years. You will live with the fact that you have killed Optimus Prime. You will live with the fact that you got your friends killed. Live and know that you became the monster you swore to destroy. Live with the fact that you are the one who drove humanity to extinction."
Eren felt numb as Megatron trudged past him.
"Enjoy your victory," Megatron drawled out, "I'm sure that all the other titan powers will come to the island, and you'll be stuck in a civil war. You pathetic humans will just wipe each other out."
"No, wait!" Eren snapped out of his shock as Megatron transformed and flew off. "Megatron, wait!" He reached his hand out as Megatron flew upwards towards the sky. "Please! PLEASE! I CAN'T DO THIS ON MY OWN! MEGATRON!"
Megatron didn't turn around. Megatron didn't fly back to the planet. He continued on into space, getting smaller and smaller until he was nothing more than a purple light that just faded from view. He was gone. The last person that Eren could even consider an ally...was gone.
Eren clutched his hair. No. No! It wasn't over! He could still fix this! He could! He could still make it work! The Rumbling had to be the better option! It had to be-! Eren felt himself getting yanked backwards at a high velocity. He saw the sky go from night to day, over and over again, in a matter of seconds. The titan shifter then gasped when found himself crawling out of the water and crawling onto the shores of the island. He was soaking wet and smelled of sea water again. Again...Again and again and again and AGAIN!
"MOTHERFUCKER!" Eren screamed as he slammed his fists into the sand over and over again. "FUCK YOU! FUCK! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
No one heard him. No one heard his screams and cries of anguish. He...he was just stuck, stuck in this hell hole that was meant to be a test of some fucked up design. Eren dug his fingers into the sand and stared at the island with determination. He wasn't going to stop. He still had fight left in him. He was going to make this work!
Prima watched as Eren stood up and bolted from the shores of the beach to the grass of the mainland. His face twisted into one of contempt before sighing in defeat. "So close...and yet...so far. You have a long way to go before you are even considered worthy of reincarnation."
(So due to the high demand, I have decided to scrap the Wild Life OVA, keep the In Between and Hundred Days OVA and do Eren's trials. Eren's trials is the one gaining more traction, and the Wild Life OVA mainly focused on Optimus coming back to the AOT world 2,000 years later and going on a journey with the kid and the dog at the end of the anime. Too much world building for the Wild Life OVA I don't think I would have had the energy for.)
Did a little traditional thing. Turned out much better than previous attempts to do anything in traditional 😅. Paper is so unforgiving (i still had to play with brightness in Photoshop cuz i wanted it to look a little better ;-;)
I drew it with some cheap paints i found in my grandma's drawer. Don't really know what these paints are. Something between gouache and aquarelle, but....grainy???
Anyway
Prima, the first prime.
I thought making them look lethargic is the best option for such a jerk.
You're being an ass, you're getting a fixed mouth that can't stretch and barely moves. Have fun looking like Minecraft creeper. All the time.
