#the trial of megatron

[nira-mirror]

King of cybertronian everyone :D

Look down here for zoommmmm(+ process)

[singingcicadas]

The beginning of the Decepticons according to Megatron:

The beginning of the Decepticons What Actually Happened:

That it could ever be called a revolution of the oppressed is a joke. Megatron's philosophy is purely pugno ergo sum. I fight, therefore I am. His first recruitment speech was a promise for power, made to the most bloodthirsty audience he could dig up from the dregs of society. Those people were there because they thrived off the bloodsport. They wanted audition to join Megatron in the pits. Megatron offered them something even better: turn the entire planet into our gladiatorial arena, and we take.

Ever since the beginning Megatron viewed the Decepticons as nothing but a tool, to be used and thrown away. He wanted them to be as ruthless as possible in order to wipe out all opposition, but once his end goal's achieved, well, there's no place for ruthlessness in a perfect society under his absolute control. Therefore, remodelling and recreating. It doesn't sound like he wants to rule over actual people with individual personalities, he wants a bunch of mindless drones programmed for obeisance and peace and hardcoded to Do What Megatron Says.

Ravage and Tarn. It's interesting how they both use the word "emancipated" when lauding Megatron's accomplishments, when it's clear that Megatron did so for the practical purpose of bulking up his army. He overthrew those in power because he wanted to be the one in power. The only one. The people he "emancipated" were just exchanging one set of shackles for another, as they had no choice other than to join the Decepticon army. Not fighting was not an option. Cowardice was punishable by traitor's wheel. Going neutral was also not an option. Soundwave had specific anti-neutral pogroms for those.

I wonder if they knew what "the Megatron they loved" had in mind for the Decepticons after they won the war. The remodeling and recreating. Or maybe they thought that's just for the lowly genericons. That they would be exempt from such treatment because they were confident of their privileged places at Megatron's side. After all, if you're rooting for someone whose motto is peace through tyranny, you'd do so with the expectation that it's only Other People who are going to get tyrannized.

It's true that he did rise against an oppressive government, despite it being the goal to replace it with himself as the tyrant.

But he also thought the single admirable quality about Zeta was his ruthlessness. As in trying to kill an entire city of his own people to fuel his vamparc ribbon. And he said that in front of Hot Rod, who was forced to bomb his own city to stop Zeta from winning. Even disregarding the twisted values here, this is still fifteen levels up the insensitivity lane. No wonder Hot Rod didn't want to join up.

Torture's for fun and domination. It takes a special kind of sadistic streak. And this is before the war even officially started.

Thundercracker's view on the Decepticon cause, when he defected to save humans from the nuke:

"Everything we have done here" - Just here? He'd either been living under a rock for the entirety of the war or has some serious misunderstandings about what the Decepticon name is.

Or just been willfully blind for four million years and the deaths of a hundred billion lifeforms until the day he decided to grow a conscience. Same with Soundwave.

Tarn's a really good case study because he's the poster boy of Megatron's Decepticon propaganda. Megatron probably spoonfeeds him the stuff by the gigabytes and he regurgitates them with twice the zeal and tenfold the pretentiousness. He's also the embodiment of the vices and tragedy of the Decepticons as a whole, as created by Megatron. A sadistic hypocrite, a glorified thug, a delusional fanatic, a customized tool for use and dispose. Crippled by the blinkering desire to be superior, to be part of a greater cause.

Megatron cares nothing for Tarn, just like how he cares nothing for the Decepticons. During the war they were a means to an end. After Megatron's defection, their "toxic loyalty" became a personal burden, a blemish from his past that he would like to cast aside and move on from but annoyingly refuse to leave him alone.

The road-sweepers and the haulers. The miners. What were they to Megatron during the war? Disposable cannon fodder. A pretty banner to hide behind. For a movement that likes to justify itself as a revolution of the oppressed, the emancipation of the disenfranchised, there's certainly a distinct lack of those classes among the upper Decepticon ranks. Megatron said in his recruitment speech that he wanted strength and power. Then where did that leave the weak and sick, the empties on the streets?

Nowhere but the smelting pool, to be recycled into something useful for the great Decepticon cause. They should be honoured, really.

Freedom fighters? No, freedom won't be missed. Probably has something to do with the remodelling and recreating part.

Starscream's only partially right. It was absolutely Megatron's intent to tap into that well of rage and resentment, and he meant for the riot to happen. Of course it got away from him in the end - that's what happens when you cobble an army out of bloodthirsty power-hungry degenerates, half of which were on board for the violence, half for their own scheming agendas, and the rest stitched together by charisma and fear - but he'd shaped the events enough to come a hairsbreadth away from winning multiple times. People like Shockwave and Scorponok were treacherous, but they weren't the reason that Megatron lost the war.

It was his own blind arrogance that led to his downfall.

No he didn't lose his way. He's exactly where he set himself out to be, from the moment he gave that speech in the arena. Perhaps even earlier, to that gradual slide when killing his opponent in a match no longer felt like a guilty burden but instead brought him the sweet rush of satisfaction. There was no revolution. There was no righteous cause. There was no for the people and never has been, because he did not care about other people. Four million years and countless deaths, and it was only really about one insanely self-centered person and his deluded ambition of peace through tyranny.

Hence his breakdown, because he'd just been hit in the face with the realization that he was Wrong. And has been wrong for the past four million years. He wasted everyone's lives. He wasted his own life, wasted it on anger and destruction and hatred, with nothing but regrets to show for it.

I believe that Megatron believed he's telling the truth here. I believe that he meant every word he said, except for that one "we" on the second last line.

Because that "we" should really be "me".

The Megatron who wrote about pacifist rhetoric, who was compassionate enough to share his fuel with the injured, who cared about others and had genuine friendships, that Megatron died a long time ago in the pits. Ever since then, every murder, every atrocity he'd committed in the name of "the people" was just facist rationalization.

I'm sure that he likes the sound of "emancipation of the people" or "freedom of choice" as a concept. But when it comes down to individual people? With actual, real choices that conflicts with his desire for absolute rule? Nope. He's the only one who should get to make choices. The only one who should have choices. Because he knows best.

Form dictates your function ❌; Megatron dictates your function ✅

Function dictates your fate ❌; Megatron dictates your fate ✅

Great minds must think alike, because Megatron and the Functionalist council in the Functionalist universe did a lot of the same stuff. Massacring the Senate. Recycling people who are deemed useless burdens. Remodelling and recreating. Imperalism and genociding organics. Killing all dissenters. The Functionalists even got pretty close to Megatron's ideal of peace through tyranny with 99% of the planet fitted with brain bombs and kissing the ground at their feet. They even managed to do it while maintaining a habitable planet and full population. And Megatron took one look and was disgusted.

Megatron wasn't a misunderstood revolutionist who had his heart in the right place when he started his war. The Decepticons didn't start out well-meaning and turned bad somewhere along the way. At no point in their movement were they ever true freedom fighters. They were always Facists, through and through. They were worse than the Functionalists they hated and the Senate they overthrew. And it's important to acknowledge this because (other than it's weird to see such an obvious Facist analogy being associated with freedom fighters) otherwise you don't get the whole depth of Megatron's redemption arc, especially in the Functionalist universe.

Like the impact of this scene wouldn't be fully apparant unless you take into account that when Megatron first formed the Decepticons, all he cared about was their fighting strength. He did not care about his troops, he did not care about individual people. He considered himself above everyone and everything. He would have sneered at such a weak, ineffective form of protest. Now he's actually being supportive and seeing people as people, instead of pawns to be used.

Here he's genuinely happy to see the Decepticons, even those in the very bottom of the pecking order, taking enough care to greet them each by name. And also Fulcrum, who he sentenced to death twice.

For once in his life he's actually trying to do the Right Thing instead of focusing on himself, either on his ambitions or his remorse. The people in the Functionalist universe have nothing to do with him, yet he wants to help anyway. And he's finally appreciating the value of self-determination for what it is, instead of trying to twist it to serve his own purposes or turn it into Megatron-determination.

"No one can decide how you live your life except for you." Back before, he was going to remodel his entire army to achieve his peace through tyranny. Autonomy and free will were considered things that won't be missed.

Megatron learned to care about other people! Peace through empathy is such a groundbreaking step for his character because he used to have no empathy! He stayed true to his ideals for eight centuries despite the hardships, despite his personal losses, despite the AVL being driven to near extinction and not knowing if he would ever return to his own universe. During all those years he could have had ten million chances and excuses to break his vow of pacifism or leave on the Last Light, taking the easy way out, and there would have been no one to stop him.

But he didn’t.

[steelthroat]

Guys guys guys- "trial and error" OH MY GOD live reaction because omg

Edit: I know it's fanmade. But shhhhhjhh I'm still not okay

I've said this before and I'll say that again, Megatron has never been told by some grandma "close your legs sweetie, it's not ladylike"

I swear to God comic-artists love drawing him like that. And please don't stop.

Sir, Ma'am, Lord, I need to marry you. Please Megan marry me. I want you, you, and your shit-eating grin. Please.

Oh if only I could be in the Allspark's place rn... I swear animated Megatron is too fine and we'll never see him again I can't. PLEASE HASBRO.

Yoooooo so that's why many tfa fanfictions start with this trope. No way guys I get it now. Also... HI JAZZZ HAAAAAAAYYYY (/^w^)/ 💕💖✨️

First of all HIIIIII RODDY! Glad you didn't die sweetie<3 hiiii Jettwins, you're gonna die(or get hurt) brutally here :(

Megatron, honey, what's the name of your lip gloss? And what about your eyeliner? V jealous pls let me know. Also woweeee there's some tension here. Whooooooh.

BWAAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHA

Poor oppy, his job as a lawyer is not easy with these clients ahshdhhfhg. Best panel ever omg

Also hi decepticon high command<3

"And that's the moment he knew he fucked up"

Obsessed with this moment, God my inner essayist is itching- aaaaaaargh

Also seriously Megatron, the lip gloss. Stop it, you're seducing everyone, it's not fair.

I love the way Sari is drawn in this comic omg. Also I'm gonna fucking cry, I miss Prowl so much 🥺💕

Also I know I'm just thirsting in this post but I swear I'm actually reading ahdhfhhgjgj. But my need to shitpost is stronger.

I. AM. NOT. OKAY. OKAY??????

Holy fkn shit look at this. Look at this??????

Bang. Bang. Bang. Beep-beep and then aver with the drop: Kaboom. How musical~

Ah shit I reached my image limit I'll make another post

[wiihtigo]

megastar playlist with annotations

[marinatedsaltea]

A coloured scribble I forgot to post

There was a scene in Trial of Megatron (part 1) where Beachcomber would get assaulted by Blackout, but I thought “What if it was Sharpwing instead”. Appeared in the story for the first time ever and already chose violence

And yes he often climbs walls like that it’s normal

[dorkicon]

hey what if impactor made it to the lost light....lol

[zombified-queer]

Cybertronians will say "Is anyone gonna violate this mech's most basic rights of autonomy, committing several war crimes in the process?" and they will NOT wait for an answer.

[lord-squiggletits]

Every now and then I see Hot Takes about Megatron's ending in IDW1 that drive me nuts like dlskfdjlskf some people really get caught up so much in JRO's sad old man Megatron that they deadass think that Megatron getting sent off to trial to face either execution or lifelong imprisonment wasn't just a bad ending, but was specifically some sort of "fuck you" or punishment to say that villains aren't allowed to have nice things or whatever. Girl do you know what the fucking genre/tone is of the comic you just read? IDW1 is a heavily political, morally gray universe leaning heavily towards realism in terms of its handling of plot themes and you're seriously out there saying that Megatron, a war criminal with crimes/deaths stretching to the billions, is being unfairly punished by the writers by getting sent off to trial? You know, like what makes sense for the realistic kind of universe IDW1 is?

I mean fuck man JRO literally plotholed/handwaved major lore about the Matrix and Cybertronian-organic relations with that "oh lots of religious organics recognize the sacredness of the Matrix" and completely undercut the emotional weight of Megatron's (and everyone else's) ending by having his quantum copy get to fly off and have adventures in the universe forever and ever.

What in the FUCK else do you want from an author (JRO) who's already a flaming Megatron apologist that whitewashed Megatron's personality, gave him so many sympathetic backstory points, and then invented an entire alternate universe as an excuse to have Megatron save billions of lives to contrast with the ones he killed. Like god I love Megatron too but some of you ppl are fucking blind

[transingthoseformers]

I had a horrible idea

So in IDW, Megatron's trial right?

What if they gave him the shadowplay x Empurata combo like they did Shockwave, and I mean really far on the significant end.

Megatron doesn't know he used to be Megatron, and I'm torn on whether whoever is watching him knows or not.

[lazyhomestay]

missing a piece

[favesgrave]

it's funny enough that he's just a head and then he pulls that smile

[twinsincorrectquotes]

Very hard to get a good image of traditional art on this app lmao- but,

Here’s my entry for the au that I absolutely love! #pastelplanesDTIYS

thank you @pastelpaperplanes for making this DTIYS, I enjoyed drawing for it :D

I’ve never drawn Animated Optimus or Megatron before so this was a welcomed challenge <3

[rodismancave]

.

Love how desperate he was to get off Cybertron. Like for all he knew Megatron's surrender could be a fluke and he's going o try to kill them all and he really just does Nawt want to deal with that. can you even blame him

also going 2 capitalize off this forever. Fact rodimus asked atomizer's help with redecorating and their talk here implies they were buddies. Crazy what pussy does to a guy.

[starxscream]

The fact that Starscream of all bots was the one who gave Megatron his signature arm cannon is astounding to me, Starscream rly did, for a time, have a lot of faith in Megatron and believed in him and WANTED them to succeed. It's insane comparing Starscream from then to now where he's actively trying to betray Megatron bc he's finally realizing hm maybe you aren't exactly the best guy for the job

Starscream. Rotates in my mind

[memoryoflooping]

The funniest part abt being a transformers fan is that prime gets a movie but the conclusion of megatron ruins it for me but animated gets a shitty png slideshow via tfcon and I'm like WOOOOOOOO MY FRIENDS!!!!!!!!

[katzske]

Shockwave seems to have conveniently forgotten all the Autobot training he recieved as Longarm and is making Sentinel's life hell.

I'm working on a fanfic that's set after the events of Trial of Megatron. The main characters are Shockwave and Blurr, with Cliffjumper being a very prominent side character. They all have to work out some sort of trauma: Shock has to deal with isolation, betrayal and his own death. Blurr struggles to process his near death experience and the whole situation where his boss and friend turned out to be a traitor. Cliff also has to deal with the latter.

Shockwave ends up working bad at the intelligence department to help the Autobots stop Megatron...to Blurr and Cliff's dismay.

I originally wanted it to be an easy ShockBlurr fic but ofc my project is taking on way too big dimensions. Again.

(yes I know you're waiting for the ConBlurr update, I promise it'll be finished this year lol)