brandxspandex:

kokoko-sir:

jeannettegray:

kokoko-sir:

brandxspandex:

One of the things I really want elaboration on at some point is how Megatron and Starscream’s relationship reached these upper plateaus of FUCKED UP.

for real!

Honestly, I think the info we have so far is enough to get at least a rough draft of what happened. Here (WARNING: LONG POST. This is the type of post Tumblr Saviour is for):

MEGATRON POV:

As much as Megs tries to act indifferent and imperturbable, we know that he is actually very vain and loves the be in the spotlight (the “he made me wait 20 seconds for a dramatic entrance” scene in Dark Cybertron is a perfect example of that, but there are minor instances throughout the series). In their very first meeting, Starscream virtually throws himself at Megatron, with such genuine and enthusiastic admiration all he was missing were sparkly anime eyes, and you can tell Megs is very pleased (he actually goes “ehe” and then goes out of his way to reassure Screamer when he gets sad).

Megs also appreciates competence and determination, and Starscream is both very competent and possibly the single most determined person in the Universe (seriously, the “hang in there!” kitten has got nothing on Starscream).

So we have got this guy who did a fantastic first impression and then keeps being more and more impressive by successfully completing the difficult and important tasks Megs gives him. Megs quickly grows to trust and respect him so much he entrusts him with the single most important and delicate mission in the War: assassinate the Senate, lure out the Prime so Megatron can duel to the death with him, conquer one of the mayor cities in the world so they can properly declare War. The level of trust is extremely high: the plan requires Megatron to be put in chains at the mercy of his enemies, so if Starscream so much as falters or has second thoughts Megs is utterly fucked. But Starscream does everything perfectly and even manages to steal the infamous fusion cannon and gift it to Megatron, a success on top of a success. It’s no wonder Megatron soon makes Starscream his Second in Command.

At this point everything is going pretty well (by ruthless war lord standards), but there is a catch. Prowl said it best.

“When Megatron turned on Optimus, when he turned on us, he showed what he really was. He wasn’t after equality - he just wanted to do to everybody else what they’d done to him.”

Megs just wanted to live in peace and write poetry, but despite his best attempts to avoid violence he has been oppressed, tortured, mind raped, and generally subjected to enough shit to fill the Grand Canyon. And as a result, he has gone batshit. He has become the sort of person who would sink the ship he is in to drown the captain. And it’s not enough to defeat the Autobots, oh no, he wants to play with them like a cat with mice before killing them all horribly, pissing off the neutrals and wasting precious resources.

This is why Megs was a terrible leader, despite his incredible competence: he didn’t really care for making his side win, he cared for making the other side lose.

And the fucked up thing is, in his own way, he tried to share that with Starscream. It appears that he truly thought Starscream would be happy to participate in his insanity. He ordered Starscream to torture the prisoners because he assumed Screamer would take pleasure in that, the same way he would.

So Megatron is extremely impressed with Starscream, trusts him so much he gave him the most important and delicate missions and even entrusted his own life to him, made him his Second in Command, always keeps him by his side and tries to share the things that make him happy with him.

And then Starscream backstabs him. Helps Scorponok banish him to the Hell Planet and a horrible death.

When Megatron gets back, he is the most furious he has ever been portrayed in IDW canon. He tortures Scorponok horribly and condemns him to a fate worse than death, then he declares that Starscream is next.

Except he is not.

We don’t see what happens next, but the next time we see Starscream he is alive and healthy, and still the SIC.

It’s always like this. Scorponok betrays Megatron? He gets tortured for eternity. Ramjet betrays Megatron? Megs kills him by tearing him apart, dumping his severed limbs across the planet and playing with his severed head as a ball. Overlord betrays Megatron? He gets put on the DJD list, so that he can be tortured to death. Etc etc etc. Megatron has no mercy for traitors.

Unless they are named Starscream. Starscream betrays Megatron? Megs shoots him, then immediately orders his minions to treat his wound, heal him completely and leave him asleep in a safe chamber. Megs uses a human attack, which he knew was coming, to give Starscream an out during a failed coup. Megs beats and threatens him, but makes sure to leave him alive and mentally notes that the threat to kill him is a lie. Megs has him captured, but tells his underlings not to harm him. Etc etc etc.

Megatron tries to justify that by saying that he keeps Starscream around as a reminder to watch his back, but really, if a reminder is all he wants Megs could just as well keep a picture of Scorponok’s severed head in his wallet.

Furthermore, in All Hail Megatron, Megatron gets angry while praising Starscream. He lists all of Starscream’s merits while practically growling, spits that Starscream he merely a step away from perfection, and finishes with “you are the one who can’t see that, not me!” Frankly, it looks like he is practically a couple of drinks away from grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him while yelling “WHY CAN’T YOU JUST TAKE THAT FUCKING FINAL STEP???”

*IF* we assume that Megatron has formed a sort of messed up emotional attachment for Starscream, that explains why he is such a sadistic asshole to him.

Megatron HATES having no control over his mind and emotions. He permanently disabled the chip that regulates fuel intake so he could never get drunk. He can’t even look at needles without feeling nauseous because they trigger memories of the mind rape. The first thing he told Optimus when he was captured was “I totally left all emotions behind, I’m cold and unfeeling, nothing can affect me anymore!”

Again, *IF* we assume that Megatron got emotionally attached to Starscream during those hundreds of thousands of years they worked very well together before Starscream’s first betrayal, then it must REALLY burn for Megatron to feel so unwilling to kill somebody who, according to his war lord logic, absolutely deserves to be executed. *IF* we assume that, then Starscream’s very survival is proof that Megatron is emotionally compromised and definitely not in control of himself. That he is vulnerable, like so long ago in Trepan’s clutches.

And that could explain* the hatred and resentment and sadism.

*EXPLAIN. I said “explain,” not “excuse.”

STARSCREAM POV: 

As a CC bot, there is no doubt that Starscream had to deal with discrimination. In Megatron Origin, he has nothing but hatred and contempt for the ruling elite, sarcastically telling them “I was eager to see how the other half lived.” He appeared to sincerely believe that the Revolution was ultimately righteous because the people in charge were so utterly and completely terrible (and to be fair, Cybertron does become a nightmareish Dystopia in the alt timeline where the Decepticons never rise, and CC bots in particular are sent to camps and mass murdered).

So, at first, Starscream appears to be genuinely loyal to Megatron, to trust him and admire him greatly. When they first meet face to face, Starscream gets so emotional he falls to his knees. Another scene in MO shows that he has watched and memorized all of Megatron’s arena fights with such devotion even the most obsessed Star Trek fanboy would be impressed.

The higher the pedestal, the harder the fall.

Eventually, Starscream realizes the same thing Prowl did. And sure, Starscream may not particularly care about equality (he’d rather everybody be equal under him), but he does care about getting shit done. And slamming face first into the reality that the leader he so idolized would happily lead them all to a neverending war just for the mindless glee of killing Autobots must have been one hell of a wake up call.

Starscream doesn’t want to torture and kill people. Not because he is morally opposed to it, but because it’s stupid. It’s a waste of time, effort and resources. Starscream is ruthless, but unlike Megatron he isn’t really a sadist, as long as he gets what he wants he is perfectly content with live and let live. When Megatron orders him to torture prisoners, he is frustrated and angry, because don’t we have anything better to do???

So he realizes that Megatron’s way will fuck them over (and again, he is right. Pre-Heel-Face-Turn Megatron would happily sabotage legit victories because he wouldn’t recognize a victory as such unless it let him kill Autobots). And that’s when he starts plotting. That’s when the backstabbing begins.

And it goes downhill from there. Because now Megatron actively resents Starscream and goes out of his way to abuse him, to the point that Starscream (who is used to fight to the death on the battlefield) becomes terrified of him. And then it only becomes logical to try and remove the threat to his safety, doesn’t it? And so the cycle of backstabbing and punishments continue.

And then, one day, Starscream becomes free. Megatron goes away on a weirdass quest that will likely end with his death, and Starscream is the ruler of Cybertron. For the first time in 4 million years, Starscream is separated from Megatron.

So what does Starscream do? Furiously rants that Megatron hates him in a fit of desperation, and takes on a treacherous second of his own to recreate the relationship he had with Megatron.

CONCLUSION:

They have a deepy dysfunctional, extremely fucked up, downright dangerous and self-harming, borderline codependent relationship which shaped their character development.

And that’s why I find it so interesting. It’s a gold mine for fiction!

let me hug you and cry on your shoulder pls

HOLY-HOT-FRICKING-DAMN THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. Oh man, this, this is what fandom is all about if you ask me, this glorious, sweet meta. I only hope that if they do finally get around to explaining Megs and Screamer’s relationship in canon there’s going to be at least a shadow of the depth of thought and adherence to canon that this analysis shows, damn.

I was thinking, considering Megatron claimed that his ultimate goal upon winning the war was to become an absolute tyrant who would create what he believed to be a paradise for all, he would have to have one hell of an ego to think that he’d be able to basically be this godlike figure who makes decisions for everyone in everyone’s best interest all the time. So when a completely entranced and enamoured follower like Starscream throws themselves at his feet and promises their eternal devotion it would only serve to bolster that ego. But when said follower withdraws their support it would be a blow to that ego, and if Megatron can’t believe himself to be the perfect tyrant then the entire Decepticon cause becomes deeply undermined. So perhaps part of the reason Megatron keeps Starscream around is because he feels the need to win back that support, because if he can make someone as viciously rebellious as Starscream believe that he is the ideal ruler then he can convince anyone, and thus he must truly be the perfect ruler and his cause is completely justified. This might also partially explain Megatron’s weird relationship/obsession with Optimus Prime, because Optimus initially supported him as well.

Also I kinda got a sick laugh at the bit about Megatron trying to share his sadistic glee with Starscream and Scream just not feeling it because it made me think of how cats leave little dead animals on their owner’s pillows as gifts and now I’m imagining Megatron leaving bits of dead Autobot on Starscream’s recharge slab as a sign of affection and Starscream just being all, “WHAT THE FRAG AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS MEGATRON???”