#exodus megop

[avastazyana]

insp

[brookriver-mudlark]

(excerpt from Transformers: Exodus)

me too, orion

[the-faded-1]

I'm gonna faint--

[princesstarfire1234]

TLDR: I fucking despise ship art and fanfics that infantilize Orion Pax / Optimus Prime

Okay so I just wanna put my thoughts out here right now because I've not seen many people talk about it and it honestly bothers me a lot...

So, it's no secret that I ship MegOp and stuff right? I like and have reblogged a bunch of art of them before and I will keep doing so, but something about how this place (or more certain parts of the fandom) portray the ship gives me major icks and I fucking hate it so much

Detailed thoughts under cut ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Case in point, a massive part of the TFP fanbase likes to ship Orion and Megatronus and I get that, I get why people like shipping those two but it's the WAY they do it. A lot, not all, but most of the fanart surrounding Orion Pax and Megatronus is him being like the smaller and more submissive one of the relationship which fine, whatever, but most people just end up drawing him REALLY small like ik he's shorter than Megs who was a gladiator and all that and he was an archivist but jesus christ... Aside the size which is weird and all but it's really all about the rampant infantilization of the guy. When they remove all agency from the character and act like Orion is gonna fucking combust the moment someone confronts him or tries to fight him like no... I've not read Exodus but I don't think Orion being a nerdy book guy is gonna make him THAT soft, this is still the same mech who became PRIME like cmon

I don't know the exact words for it other than "infantilization" but like y'know what I mean right?? I'm not gonna name blogs but there's this one AU on here where Orion is blind and it has this cutesy artstyle which is fine but I vividly remember reading a comic on that AU where some thugs confront Orion and he's all like sobbing and shit and has to be saved by someone and it's... so you made him disabled and also a crybaby and absolutely incapable of anything??? Does that NOT give you an ick of sorts or seem weird??? God I don't even know anymore because I've seen many people seem to like that so I'm just scared I'm the weird one and wrong for this lmfao... Maybe there's smthn im not getting, you tell me

Anyways this post is getting real long, but this kind of "infantilization" also applies to certain fanarts of TFA MegOp, I always thought the ship was bordering on kind of strange (since TFA Optimus is like the equivalent of some 20-something college dropout and Megatron is implied to have been doing the war stuff way way way back like Ratchet's time) but I won't get into that, I just don't ship that certain brand of the characters myself, but it's fine, do what you want with it. Just know that I have seen art of those two where they treat TFA Optimus as this sort of incapable cutesy uwu boy (aaaghh)

So yeah.... hahahaha stop infantilizing characters and taking a ship where they're both grown ass big men and like straight up turning the other one into some weird ass incapable version of the character that lacks any and all agency and honestly bordering on being really icky as fuck, thank you, idc if you make Optimus the bottom or whatever, that's not what I mean, cya ✌️

[tobi-rx]

Okay I can’t be the only one who sees this: that a Transformers/Arcane au could work.

Like, imagine a humanformers au where the transformers are inhabitants of Piltover/Zaun, or a transformers au where the Arcane characters are Cybertronians. I just think it could work and translate pretty well, especially given the similar overarching storyline of class struggle and war?

I think I’ll call it the Arcane humanformers au and the Arcane Cybertronians au respectively.

Not sure how I can justify the Arcane characters and the Transformers characters existing together without either making the transformers characters whatever species’ occupies the world of arcane, or making the arcane characters into cybertronians.

Idk yet how character interactions would work if I just stuck humanformers into the arcane world or if I just stuck cybertronian arcane characters into the transformers world, like it’ll take more thinking on my part that I’ll do later.

For clarification purposes I’m thinking about multiple continuities of Transformers, not just the movie which frankly launched me into the rabbit hole.

Keep in mind I am not familiar with all the transformers lore, nor am I familiar with League of Legends lore, and I’m not entirely caught up with Arcane yet.

With my preamble out of the way, hear me out:

Piltover/Zaun = Cybertron before the civil war that destroyed the planet.

Piltover and Pre-War cybertron both have a corrupt council of sorts. There’s a clear class divide, and while the Pilties/Upper caste of Cybertron live in prosperity it comes at the cost of the suffering of the Zaunites/the lower caste of Cybertron, who are the Decepticons-to-be.

Vander and Silco would probably have a similar role to Megatron as rebellion leaders, and in arcane cybertronians au, one of the early decepticon uprisings ended in disaster. Arrests, police brutality, death, etc.

Vi and Powder’s parents were among the decepticon rebels, and they were adopted by Vander, a la Optimus adopting a war orphan Bumblebee in some continuities?

I know Piltover and Zaun are still standing in League of Legends but imagine if in Arcane humanformers au, the use of hextech weapons results in the destruction of both cities, resulting in the arcane humanformers equivalent of the exodus from Cybertron in transformers.

Perhaps Piltover = Iacon and Zaun = Kaon??

The Iacon Hall of Records = Piltover Academy

And given that maybe Alpha Trion and Heimerdinger get similar roles?? Like they’re both the head of their respective academic institutions in the upper class city and also members of their councils.

If we’re going with the archivist origin for Optimus Prime/Orion Pax, he’d be the Dean’s assistant or apprentice, the Dean being Alpha Trion. If we’re going with the police origin for Pax, he’d probably play out a character arc similar to season 1 Caitlyn after meeting Megatron.

Wait, ayo? Caitlyn releases Vi from jail as their first official meeting, and in the IDW comics, police Orion Pax releases Megatron from jail as their first meeting, after Vi and Megatron were wrongfully imprisoned -

Tangent: I declare MegOP or OpMeg lesbians, it’s canon now because I make the rules /hj

The Arcane = Primus? The Allspark?

Shimmer = Dark Energon/the blood of Unicron, but also they’re both purple (referencing TFP).

arcane Cybertronians au: where Singed is studying how to use Dark Energon to bring the dead back to life, like bringing his daughter back to life, without turning her into a zombie or something, like Dark Energon does in TFP.

Cybertronian Silco giving Jinx Dark Energon in a last ditch effort to save her, and while it brings her back, she goes a little insane like Megatron in TFP. Perhaps Silco is still a drug lord? Chem baron? But instead of shimmer it’s dark energon.

Hextech = New upgrades/mods/technologies powered by harnessing the power of Primus or the allspark? Like perhaps hextech crystals are like allspark fragments in TF: Animated 2007.

Maybe in arcane Cybertronians au, the allspark was fractured long ago, but allspark fragements can be found around the planet. Or maybe allspark crystals are rare but can just be found in deposits?? I’m not sure how hex crystals work exactly in the arcane universe. But maybe the Cybertronians start using allspark fragements in their machinery and weapons and it turbocharged stuff, plus has magical properties.

Like, maybe Cybertronian Vi gets upgrades in the form of the atlas gauntlets. Perhaps Cybertronian Caitlyn gets retrofitted with a allspark powered shotgun.

Maybe Jinx’s Shark Gun, Fishbones, is like Megatron’s fusion cannon.

Maybe in Arcane Cybertronian au, Primus (the arcane) went into stasis (sleep) but with the increased use of allspark crystals (perhaps tied to the power of Primus?? I’m not sure what the relationship between the allspark and Primus is supposed to be), and a war ramping up, Primus is waking up like the Arcane does in season 2???

For Cybertronian Jayce and Viktor, I’m considering Viktor’s arc to be kind of like IDW Senator Shockwave. Like perhaps Jayce and Viktor are cybertornian senators, and also scientists of course, and Viktor is Kaon’s senator perhaps?

If we follow league canon, perhaps Cybertronian Viktor gets subjugated to Empurata and Shadowplay and becomes the Machine Herald (Decepticon Shockwave) after trying to help the lower class which he comes from? Opposing the rest of the Council of cybertron? Maybe as a senator, Cyber-Viktor was upgrading mechs, and suspected of building an army, he was punished as a result.

Perhaps Jayce would take a role akin to Ultra Magnus? I mean, Jayce has his Atlas Hammer (I think that’s what it’s called), and Ultra Magnus has his Magnus Hammer (TFA) or has the hammer of Solus Prime for a bit (TFP).

Oh wait what if some hextech weapons in arcane are artifacts of the Primes?

What if in Arcane Humanformers au, the Primes wielded powerful magic artifacts whose power is closely tied with Wild Magic/the Arcane, and that is part of what is triggering the Arcane to wake up?

Anyways, that’s all I got for now.

If anyone else wants to add anything please use the tags and tag me cause I’d love to see what other people might come up with if interested! :D

[aggressivedaikons]

tbh I think the main reason I really dislike (specifically TFP) MegOp is the fact that people seem to REALLY infantilize optimus in those dynamics, and it’s worse with Orion x Megatronus. Like. He’s a full grown man. OP is depressed and has a lot to deal with. Orion is a a lot snarkier and confident character, just pretty introverted. You see how he behaves in Transformers: Exodus and Orion is just a massive book nerd who has a small group of close friends he hangs out with and goes to the bar with.

All the shipart I see for Optimus is primarily MegOp, and not all, but a lot of it makes optimus all 🥺🥺😳😳🫢🫢 uwu deredere sub ahh (ESPECIALLY ORION PAX). And like. I’m okay with that, it just is a little annoying when that’s half the content the TFP fan base seems to put out and that’s not what I want. (You go like that, just let me complain chill if you don’t like this opinion block me?? Duh) . That’s why I really prefer OptiRatch for my m/m tfp ships. They are both treated like grown men, and optimus (usually) is just a little softer than he is around others with Ratchet and I think that’s honestly PERFECT. Especially from an aro/ace perspective where I headcanon everyone as such why can’t they just be platonically in love and go to eachother for affection??? Aligned cybertronians are canonically asexual to begin with.

Anyways what I’m getting at is the reason I like OpLita and JuneOp is because:

OpLita - Let’s optimus be the one lesser in charge because he has someone who is fiercely protective of him in the form of his wife. Bonus points for being mostly canon and like bro I love them together they compliment each other’s personalities perfectly.

JuneOp - Ok one of my two tf rare pairs I have feel so dissapointed that there isn’t enough content for. Hear me out, they’re platonic partners in more of a QPR than anything else in an alterous relationship because they are both overworked and stressed parents who end up coparenting team prime. Optimus just needs someone who can relate to the struggle of other’s life being in the his hands and someone he can basically complain to. June’s husban left and she just needs someone to at least fill the emotional void it left, and it’s already confirmed that she had a bit of a thing for him lmao.

anywyas thanks for coming to my Ted talk about optimus getting bitches tyvm

[brandwhorestarscream]

Masterpost of AUs

As promised, here's the (wip) masterpost of all my AUs. In alphabetical order with a short synopsis, and the tags are all on this post so you can easily search them up :) if there's any I missed, please send them to me so I can get them added! If the last tags aren't alphabetized that means I need to get on my laptop and move them around lmao

Bittersweet Reunion AU

TFA AU wherein the jet twins are Starscream's offspring specifically produced by the autobot government, and their finding out kicks off an entire domino effect storyline

Blitzbee Baby AU

Exactly what it sounds like. TFA Bumblebee gets Blitzwing sparked up and neither of them realize until he enters emergence

Cross Dimensional Shenanigans

- Umbrella tag for anything that involves more than one iteration of transformers interacting with each other

Cross Dimensional Starblitz

- How the CDS started. Focuses solely on TFP Starscream and TFA Blitzwing’s weird friendship

Cryptid Seekers AU

- Everything is the same except seekers are terrifying cryptids. Nuff said

Cybermorphs AU

- An AU in which a group of warframes working off planet accidentally stumble into an ancient, buried xenomorph nests, and come back to Cybertron bearing what becomes the first generation of cybertronian-xenomorph hybrids, aka the Cybermorphs. Features a lot of world building, Cybermorph Queen Megatron, a lot of fun alien biology, and some angsty MegOP among other ships

Cybertronians Are An Invasive Species

- No war AU wherein cybertronians are an invasive pest species that have moved onto earth and cause the most havoc

Cybertronians Are An Invasive Species: The Soap Opera

- Takes place in the invasive species AU, but specifically is about a goofy soap opera created by humans with the bots as the inspiration

De-Extinction AU

TFA, the autobots have finally run out of stored Allspark energy and, seeing as the artificially created population is completely sterile, are now an officially endangered species. Their only chance at salvation lies with the decepticons and their ability to produce "sparklings"... whatever those are 🤭

Hindsight AU

- Aligned continuity. Arcee goes back in time in an attempt to stop the war with the help of Vector Prime, accidentally creates a much worse world. Goes through several crazy timelines, currently on the Self Imposed Exodus.

OS×BB AU

A TFA storyline wherein Omega Supreme wakes much much earlier than canon, becoming truly self-aware and sentient. He and Bumblebee form a connection and Things Happen

Shadows House AU

- Exactly what it sounds like. All of our favorite bots and cons are parasitic fae members of the Shadows Family. Megatronus is plotting to bring it down from the inside. Lots of secrets and spooky stuff

Subnautica AU

- Starscream and Skyfire (and sometimes the other seekers) stranded on the terrifying hell planet, 4546B

Terran Task Force

- An angsty AU that involves GHOST getting their slimy hands on the Emberstone and making legions of their own little terran warriors

The Repopulation Project

- A dystopian future AU wherein the autobots won the war, and in an effort to save their species from extinction, implemented the repopulation project. It warped and twisted over time til the war frames are kept as nothing but livestock to be bought, traded, and harvested. In an attempt to change the horrific conditions of their present society, Optimus gambles by having decepticon high command reborn in the hopes that they'll be able to overturn the huge mess he made

Unicron Reborn AU

- Technically an AU/what-if of the 5th timeline of Hindsight. Unicron is killed and later reborn as a sparkling on Cybertron; Megatron adopts him. Later gives rise to The Spawn

[findroleplay]

Hiiii!! 25+ literate roleplayer looking for others who’re 21+ ONLY (ideally 25+) to roleplay some Transformers threads on discord!!

Ngl Transformers One reawakened my long asleep tf fixation, especially in regards to MegOp because….oh boy. So yeah! I’m looking to write and explore some Megatron/Optimus Prime threads/plots (with perhaps a healthy sprinkle of NSFW/valveplug happenings potentially)! I’m not too set on any one specific strain of canon for them, and enjoy mixing things up! I’m mostly familiar with the canons of IDW comics, Transformers Prime, the WoC/FoC games, the Exodus novel, etcetc.

Canon storylines I’d prefer to avoid, however, are Armada, Bayverse, and Animated.

I mostly just do para/multi-para+ thread rps, and also love to become friends with my rp partners and ramble off about our fucked up blorbs, play games, exchange art/memes, etc.

I’d prefer to write as Optimus/Orion out of the two as I only have experience with writing for him, though I could potentially try my hand at Megatron as well!

Anywho!! If anyone’s interested give this post a like or add me on discord: patchedsilly !!

-

[darkstarofchaos]

So when I first started reading TF fics, I had a weird relationship with MegaStar. I sort of liked it, but also didn’t want to like it because of the abuse, and even went so far as to claim that I could never ship it because of said abuse. It took years (like, seven or eight of them) to get to the point where I can say I sort of ship it, and even that is circumstantial; ironically, I don’t enjoy portrayals where they’re super lovey-dovey and never antagonize each other.

With MegOp, I never had that reservation. There are probably a few reasons for that, but the biggest one is that I was mostly working with G1, where they had no relationship prior to becoming enemies. To me, the ship was straight enemies-to-lovers, and any hurtful behavior was coming from an inherently different place than abuse.

Another part of it (for me) is that I’ve never been sold on Megatron and Optimus being friends before the war, never mind romantic partners. We’re told that they were great friends, of course, but when it actually appears onscreen, such as in the Exodus novel, they feel more like business partners than people who would enjoy each other’s company. So even when their conflict is deeply personal, like in TFP or IDW, it falls flat. It doesn’t feel like abuse so much as two incompatible people developing an intense hatred of each other.

(Well. I’m not sure how often Optimus actually hates Megatron, so much as he hates what he does. But Megatron definitely goes to unwise lengths to make Optimus suffer, which I’ll come back to in a minute).

There’s also the fact that Optimus has an unwavering support system in the form of the Autobots, whereas Starscream rarely even gets sympathy in canon, never mind friendship. Not to mention, Optimus and Megatron’s relationship is defined by their being mortal enemies, while Megatron and Starscream are supposed to be on the same side. And then there are countless scenes of Starscream being afraid of Megatron or craving his approval, which you simply can’t have with Optimus because he’s Optimus. He’s the Hero who can never show fear unless it’s for someone else, and he certainly doesn’t want Megatron’s approval when he knows their values are so dissimilar.

Everything about their circumstances is just so different, it’s easy to look at the two ships as having entirely different dynamics. And, I would argue, they do have entirely different dynamics, which is probably part of why the toxicity of MegOp gets dismissed. It doesn’t look like how abuse “should” look, so it can’t be abusive.

All of that being said. I have a weird relationship with MegOp. On one hand, I suppose I ship it. At very least, Optimus has the honor of being one of only two characters I can handle pairing with Megatron. On the other hand, I find the ship infuriating in any context other than G1, because most of the time, Megatron doesn’t deserve a second chance. Not from a relationship standpoint, anyway. I can’t look at someone like IDW or TFP Megatron, and the way he specifically wanted Optimus to suffer, and enjoy any sort of reconciliation between them. Maybe I’m just a cynic who believes love doesn’t conquer all, but there are some things you don’t forgive and some people you don’t go back to. And in most canon, Megatron crosses that line. Repeatedly and deliberately.

(To be clear, I feel the same way about MegaStar. If the line is crossed, the line is crossed).

At the end of the day, I can see how easily it could feel like MegaStar is abusive but MegOp isn’t. But I can also see an argument for both pairings being messed up beyond repair. Either way, it feels reductive to say MegaStar is “just” abuse, or to ignore the toxicity of MegOp. Both pairings are more complicated than that, and the characters are all more complicated than that. And in both cases, I’d rather read one really good story that explores that complexity than a hundred stories where everything is perfect.

complex megop opinions below!

Not necessarily positive or negative, just a very objective view of it and how fandom sees it vs. other ships with a similar dynamic. 

This isn’t ship hate, because it’s my OTP. It’s just a realistic look at MegOp spurred on by the fact that I tend to see people overlook the obvious issues for moral points. Meaning, I’ve run upon some sort of hate towards megastar shippers from megop shippers, usually with people accusing the former of being unhealthy and abusive, and i’m like, the latter isn’t? 

And not just the ship, but people too. 

I credit most of the great development and realistic approach towards a positive MegOp portrayal to fans, given that in most media we have of them, their relationship starts out great and disintegrates into one of the most tragic relationships of all time. Not only because they fall out, but because they hurt each other, drastically. Megatron, arguably more. Not only does he hurt Optimus, he targets him by harming those close to him. Whether it’s children or his closest friends, he personally hurts those around Optimus.  

In Prime, it’s arguably worse. Because it’s not just physical, but it’s psychological too. Especially during the Orion Pax saga. 

And the same could be said about Optimus to Megatron as well. Initially. Just in a different light. Optimus, a privilege mech, using his position and power to speak over Megatron, to dismiss his want to use violence and overthrow a government who abused him, etc., is a great example of an abuse of power. 

And I always stand by the fact that Megatron was 100% within his rights to want to use violence to hurt those who hurt him. 

In IDW both have an entire conversation about how badly they’ve hurt each other, Megatron flat out admits to wanting to hurt Optimus by hurting people around him. He knows what emotionally fucks with his closest friend, and proceeds to do it on a galactic level. Repeatedly. 

But people aren’t supposed to interact with megop shippers because they ship megastar? On the basis of abuse and/or an unhealthy relationship? 

What makes them different? A lot, i’m sure. There’s an arguably closer work relationship with Megatron and Starscream, the abuse is physical and psychological. There’s a larger power imbalance, and it’s over the span of a longer time. Starscream has less of a chance to fight back as opposed to Optimus, and the relationship between Megatron and Starscream is not always as equal as Megatron and Optimus’s. 

So it’s much easier to say “This is an unhealthy relationship”. 

But that’s canon. Shippers and artist work very diligently to change it, fix it, and write happy endings to it that end pretty well. They’ve worked to create complex endings to an abusive ship, very similar to how canon and fanon writers have done the exact same thing to Megatron and Optimus. 

But the bottom line is that both ships are very unhealthy. At least a a point. They don’t start that way, and they might not end that way, but a significant chunk of time, they are very, very unhealthy. And the even bottomer line is that fans work very hard to give it a healthier ending–both ships. 

And that said, I don’t understand the vitriol that comes from MegOp shippers to Megastar shippers, especially when both ships have similar dynamics. 

I guess the argument is that “well, one ship is more abusive/unhealthy than the other”, but you get in a weird space when you start to say one version of abuse is more valid than the other. 

And don’t get me wrong, there are stark differences between both ships. I do think Starscream is in a place where he experiences abuse more, but that doesn’t make Megop unhealthy or a morally superior ship. It doesn’t it any less hypocritical to add  “megastars dni/megastars get hit by trucks/i hate megastar shippers” on your profile on the basis of abuse or unhealthy relationships if you ship MegOP. 

I think it’s just dismissive of what both megatron and optimus go through during their time together, because their unhealthiness is acceptable. And that leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. 

So yeah, those are just my thoughts. I welcome another perspective, just be kind about it. 

And I love MegOp. Megatron and Optimus are my favorite characters. but I also know the ship is the most complex ship, imo, to date in transformers. and it’s not without it’s fair share of pain and agony. But why is their dynamic okay. why does it give is the right to be crappy towards other shippers who ship a similar dynamic to ours? 

[ice4yougurt]

I've made another ugly draw

[all-sparkles]

Jazz in Transformers: Exodus

[quetzalpapalotl]

Howd you rank your liking of Megop thru the continuities?

Before I get to that, let me just sat that the idea of megop in itself does a lot or me, so I'm probably gonna be into any megop as long as it vagely follows the standard TF pattern. The inherent intimacy of being archnemesis, being each other's equal match, only being able to stand on equal footing with the enemy leader, the respect among fellow warriors, blurring the lines of what romance even means, the grandiosity of it all.

So, the actual ranking after tfp and idw is not something set in stone or anything, my answer may have been different on another day. Only includes things I've watched/read, which aren't that many:

1.- IDW1 and TFP: You cannot make me choose between these two. IDW1 is, of course, my favorite continuity, and even tho the megop is not as strong in some parts, it still has all the elements I like. The fact that they know and understand each other so well despite never being friends. Megatron lives to fight, he needs a dance partner. Optimus has spent his entire life chasing after Megatron one way or another, Megatron made him who he is. Their paths mirror each other even when they're in separate series altogeher. Megatron doesn't hate Optimus. Look at Chaos Theory! That thing is one step from being a megop bdsm fic! Lots of things to say here, but we need to move on.

Now on the other hand we have TFP, that's the classic, the blueprint, my-nemesis-comic.jpg. If I had to guess, I'd say there was a before and after TFP in fandom regarding megop, but I have no idea actually, so don't quote me on that. Still, that show is insane, Megatron basically flirts with Optimus every time they're on screen, having Megatron back is the one thing Optimus wants for himself and he gives up even that. It has all the breakup drama! Except for Megatron, they might as well not have broken up, but the nature of their relationship changed. Battling Optimus is his favorite thing in the world. The show really does give the impression that these two are on a world of their own. And while I usually like to disregard most of the Aligned side materials on my reading of tfp, those megop bits of Exodus really are something, huh.

2.- IDW2 they were friends, now they're destined to fight each other for the next million years. They're not as intense as tfp but damn, Megatron might as well be telling Optimus he wants him chained in his bed.

3.- Cyberverse: Same thing but goofier. Megatron literally didn't win the war because he was too gay to kill Optimus and then died in his arms. Amazing. (He's not dead he's in the hospital).

4.- Sunbow Cartoon/General G1 concept: It's simple and straightforward, you can project onto it the things I like about megop and because it's G1 it's very malleable. You can take it in all kinds of directions! Always love to see what fandom does with it.

4.5.- Shattered Glass: same thing but in reverse and evil Optimus is hot. That's it.

5.- Prime Wars: It's G1, but they're old, tired and retired. They should meet and beat each other up like old times. And the whole sequence of Optimus firing Megatron? 10/10

6.- Netflix' War for Cybertron: this couls have been so good, except the show was pretty bad at properly explaining its backstory. Still, a girl takes what she can get and those scenes in season 2 are juicy. But I tempted to put this higher in the list because WFC gave me on of the best takes on megop NEMESIS/GALVATRON. Evil angst boyfriends!! They are in this situation because they were both idiots, Megatron finally got to kill Optimus and ended his last moments as himself regreting not working with him. Now they are together again. It took being enslaved by Unicron for them to get along again, but they have each other now, they have nothing but each other, not even who they used to be. It's depressing, it's great. I'm gonna have to be the change I want to see and write something about them because I'm obsessed.

7.- TFA: I used to enjoy it more, but I've fallen out of love for it. Lacks a lot of the elements I like about most megop, but there's appeal in Optimus catching the eye of this almost-mythological terror because he managed to beat him. Most of the content for it is not really to my taste, tho, but House Divided is my favorite take on it.

8.- Beast Wars: It's okay. It's not a bad ship or anything, but it doesn't really awaken anything in me. They hate each other, sure, but not in a gay way, more in the way you hate a mosquito. And then, as far as hatemances go, Rampage and Depth Charge show up to completely.

Mmm that should be it, unless I'm forgetting something. I have still read fic for other megops and I must say the whole Protector/Prime concept really appeals to me, but afaik it doesn't show up in the movies and I'm not interested in watching them regardless.

I'm eagerly awaiting Earthspark, not to have hope, but I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind.

[the-faded-1]

*clutches my pearls*

[saltysaltdog]

I feel like it's almost impossible not to have Optimus and Megatron in a queer relationship as an end game in the aligned universe.

Exodus: Megatron fantasizing about having Orion as his close personal advisor for whom the crowds cheer his name as well as his own. The story realises it's making itself pretty gay and starts skipping through the relationship so there's less time to linger on it.

Exiles: tries using the word brother to make what you're reading slightly less gay. Still somehow has Megatron holding Optimus so closely they share a vision from the Matrix.

Retribution: Gives up entirely. Has Optimus saving Megatron numerous times, Megatron saying they'd make a great team, pressing his fingers to Optimus's lips (after taking in a corrupted copy of the matrix) to stop him from talking, and telling Optimus to save himself and give up on saving him.

Tfp: Orion pax. Enough said.

The covenant of Primus: has exerts from Optimus's diary where he says the matrix keeps repeating "Journeys end in lovers meeting." which is from a song called Carpe diem/O mistress mine; where are you roaming, in one of Shakespeare's plays (twelfth night). It means 'seize the day' but can also be along the lines of 'live life to the fullest' etc. Anyway, in context the song is about how two lovers only have here and now and is entreating his young lover to 'meet' him where all lovers end up.

The matrix is literally telling Optimus to get laid.

And not just once mind you, Optimus repeatedly uses this phrase. I am suffering please, Optimus, please. You do not know what that phrase means and putting it right in the middle of an account about how Megatron prevented Unicron from killing you via strength of will is super awkward.

The matrix ships megop. Canon.

[earthstellar]

oh god here we go: I’m spending my lunch hour analysing meg-ratch-ops

Original post here for context! 

@trashytransformerstrash​  #Megop this Megaratch that#can’t y’all see they’re just a failed polycule even tho op and ratch are still together#Megs is bitter about it

Honestly, now that I’m thinking about this a little more seriously (and it’s not like 5 AM lol), you’re 100% right

Their dynamic could easily be read, if one is so inclined lmao, as Megs remaining hurt by Orion’s perceived betrayal of their originally shared ideals and sense of camaraderie as well as the perceived rejection of Megatron himself as a product of his upbringing and forced lifestyle during his formative years

a love so strong the Cybertronian government was bent on destroying it: how to emotionally engage with your not-boyfriend so hard that you accidentally unionise your entire city-state, and your union goes so hard that you accidentally do a whole revolution

part one: at the podium

The big deviation in their relationship was essentially depicted in Exodus, when Megatron plans to address the Council directly, his first and possibly only ever chance in his lifetime to do so, an unbelievable opportunity for both him personally as well as his entire conceptual social movement--

--and Orion steps up and takes over, out of an explicitly stated sense that the Council won’t listen to Megatron owing to his self-presentation and the way he speaks and his reputation

(instead of letting Megatron have the chance to prove the Council wrong, Orion with all the best intentions intervenes before anything can proceed further, as the gallery of Council spectators starts to turn a little hostile and god I can absolutely see how this would piss off Megatron so fucking bad)

because to Megatron, Orion is essentially a middle class, fairly secure mech from a metropolitan city, essentially the capital polity of their world, and yes while Orion has the looks and the eloquence and the insider knowledge of how to talk to Council tier upper class people, that’s not the point of any of this

and to Orion, he’s simply trying to help Megatron’s point get across to the people who need to hear it, who will have the political and cultural power to make the necessary changes-- because Orion doesn’t fully grasp that the Council has no interest in hearing any of this from anyone, regardless of class or background or how smoothly and “correctly” it is objectively stated

the Council has a few key members who are just barely receptive enough to Orion closing out what was really Megatron’s speech to dole out a specific punishment task as opposed to just executing Orion or whatever else

but like, holy shit, it reminds me so much of every time I’ve gotten a chance to speak about trans healthcare concerns at medical schools and inevitably some fucking middle-upper class doofus jumps in and feels the need to re-package everything in a way that is sanitised for the ears of people who actually do fucking need to hear the actual severity and seriousness of these issues and how it impacts people and giving them a sanitised upper class veneer version of the content does nothing to impart the seriousness of any of it so none of them fucking learn or internalise anything RAAAAGH

part two: critical to consider, Megs originally just wanted to get a decent hourly wage 

Megatron did not originally want to escalate, nor was that his plan at any point until AFTER people started rioting of their own volition and AFTER Orion botched his podium opportunity with the Council-- at which point he embraced the vibes

it was Orion who essentially suggested a more formalised/legal approach by encouraging Megatron to try engaging through more official pathways to reach an audience with planetary authority, as he saw that there was at least potential to improve things now that Megatron had rallied a sizable number of the total working class population collectively

Megatron, up until discussing things with Orion and inviting him to come over to Kaon to experience the lived daily conditions of his people, did not ever plan to do any of this bullshit

his confidence in approaching the Council was based heavily on the support of his inner circle, which was primarily Soundwave and Orion at the time

Orion, while well intentioned and wanting the same end results from all of this, had zero real experience or understanding of two critical things:

1) the severity of how worn down and enraged the working class bots were

2) the severity of how little the Council actually cared about any of it

From Orion’s point of view, Megatron’s semi-celebrity status was an intentional thing, a popularity play, building a platform with revolutionary goals-- But Megatron’s popularity was not intentional, and was in fact generated by both his own need to speak up out of desperation combined with the unexpected mass response of others in the same or similar social positions.

His actual public platform, the gladiatorial rings, was shit he didn’t want anything to do with in the first place. He was forced into it, and chose out of exhaustion and desperation and rage to make that platform into something he could use himself, instead of constantly being a show animal for rich people to bet on every round 

Megatron, on the other hand, had all the lived experience necessary to speak to these societal and cultural issues, but his comfort was largely within the limits of that lived experience;

I used to live in a tent in a trailer park when I was in high school for a couple years, for an idea of my background lmao, and I’ve also had to have dinner in the actual UK Parliament in Westminster with actual government people and actually have to talk to them about serious shit

I promise you, I FULLY UNDERSTAND how fucking stressed out Megatron had to be standing in that fucking Council hall once he finally got there 

and from his point of view, Orion encouraged this; his trustworthy, good, sweet Orion who represented a previously unknown hope that perhaps there were other middle and upper class bots like Orion that could be reasonable if only they had the chance to see someone like him speak the truth, inform them of the conditions so many others had been suffering for so long 

and then Orion steps up to the podium 

and it all melts away into another middle class bot speaking to things they don’t understand, putting a pretty middle class face on a working class struggle for the optics of it all, another political ploy between the middle and upper class, devoid of the voice and physicality of those harmed the most by ongoing oppression 

and then Orion becomes Optimus, and isn’t that some fucking shit, from Megatron’s point of view? 

Optimus then surrounds himself with these well-off, middle and upper class bots, makes their filthy rich capital city-state his base to defend as things continue to spiral out of hand, 

and at that point, why not? fuck it, there’s no hope for these people 

nothing left to break but their chains. 

then Optimus has the nerve to get mad and seemingly attempt to de-rail everything, destroying the hope for change, after having proven in Megatron’s mind that none of these fuckers could ever be trusted-- Not even Orion? 

Optimus, falling back on his most familiar social caste relations, surrounds himself with career soldiers--military people who worked for the same fucking oppressive government they had both stood against-- and high caste people like Towers bots and a fucking world class surgeon? 

from Megatron’s point of view here, it is 100% time to start Googling every single one of these Autobot fuckers and determine who, exactly, his not-boyfriend is probably closest with. 

because that person is surely fascinating, and enraging-- he likely feels as though he’s been replaced. 

here we gooo: Ratchet time 

but like, no wonder Ratchet in particular would become a particular interest of Megatron’s, out of the cohort Optimus has gathered around himself

because who is more upper class than a Chief Medical Officer? who was more important in Cybertronian society than those privileged enough to ever reach high office in any role, especially in any scientific fields (which are mentioned at least once in canon materials as providing a particularly notably high class/caste ranking)

and I have no doubt that Megs looked into Ratchet’s personal history, because anyone that close to Optimus is likely of great interest

and oh! 

look!

it turns out the good doctor was originally from the middle of fucking nowhere 

no civilisation, no privilege, Ratchet pre-dates most of the infrastructure of Iacon altogether 

it is fascinating, how someone who literally had to traverse the planet and ask to be educated and ask to be given work, is seemingly fine with participating in a broken and class stratified society 

(yes, Ratchet is a medic, and to not participate in that society would mean not being able to help people--- we know Ratchet treated less well-off bots as well as anyone else, but in public, he was decorated. venerated. very well off, himself.) 

it is enraging, as proof that those who are “grandfathered” in have no worries, their positions are secured because they helped to create their positions in the first place 

it is spark-wrenching, to imagine that someone with such a background could, in Megatron’s eyes, be processor-washed into spouting the same hateful rhetoric (even if it was just for show) in order to keep their position, even considering the unique aspects of medical work and ethics under such a system-- well, it hardly matters if it was for show, because if that is all anyone ever sees, it may as well have been genuine, as far as Megatron is likely concerned. 

but he sees similar rage in Ratchet. 

Ratchet is the one bot out of Optimus’ remaining team members which reminds him the most of himself. 

there’s a real fire there, a real drive to do what needs to be done to make things right, to make things good, to make things better, to care about the wellbeing of those less off, of those who are hurting 

and that appeals to Megatron as much as it does to Optimus 

the medic fills that personality type for Optimus, fills the gap Megatron left behind in ways that are more palatable, more appropriate, better expressed-- according to Optimus, from Megatron’s view of things 

-----

I gotta to back to work now, a lot of this is just me talking bullshit and I have no time to read over or edit any of this but I’m 100% on board with this fuckery lmaooooo

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

For context, this is Rise. It’s a very slow-burn megop romance/pre-war political dystopia that’s basically my answer to the Covenant of Primus and Exodus, which I’ve been plotting since 2013 and writing since 2015. It’s kind of my baby, but it’s also immensely frustrating because like a year into writing it I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, and ever since I’ve had so much trouble writing in general, let alone this multi-plot-thread pain in the ass. XD 

Currently I’m doing some editing - in the middle of Ch.7 at the moment - and working on the next update, but it’s been super slow going because of uni. I’m hoping to make at least some progress this summer lmao.