Shitposting Rave OOC

Most of what we have canonical confirmation on refers to anti-functionalism, fair allocation of ressources, a strong emphasis on abolishing frame type-related stereotypes and oppression.
Ironically from what we know the beginnings of the Peace Through Tyranny philosophy is not from Megatron. It's from his closest advisor Terminus who insisted rather strongly on Megatron becoming A Strong Unquestioned Leader Who Fights For His Cause With Violence. Back then Megatron would have vastly preferred compromise, elections, and peaceful revolution. Until Terminus died/vanished, and megatron had a bit of a regrettable run in with senatorial enforcement in the shape of Whirl, and the Decepticons got branded terrorists and threats to cybertronian peace and order even before he took up arms. And That is How Megatron Was Radicalized, A Tragedy In Painfully Many Scattered Parts.

 

The single canonical passage of (pre-Terminus) Towards Peace we have focuses solely on anti-Functionism, with a heavy dose of "question everything" on top. Admittedly, it's also only a few paragraphs long.
For the curious

Spoiler: now with transcript, because comics are... image files

In a society built around a Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy that is obsessively revised and reinterpreted, the one thing that never changes- the one thing that must never change- is the system itself. Every revision, every reinterpretation takes place within a rigid framework of social stratification. Nothing must threaten the Functionists' core philosophy: utility as an organizing principle.

If you could step outside the system you would recognize it for what it is: a prison. Worse than that, it is a prison full of willing prisoners. And not only are you a prisoner within the system, you are a prisoner within your own body. Whether you were born or made, forged or constructed cold, you are trapped inside your alt mode. The Functionists built the lock and the Senate holds the key; but most of us are unaware that we're locked in.

Make no mistake: your life is mapped out in front of you, as clear as the grooves in your transformation cog. You can no more choose to change jobs than Cybertron can choose to stop orbiting the sun. You can no more acquire a skill unrelated to your vocation than the sky can acquire a conscience.

In denying you the ability to reject your alt mode- in preventing you from pursuing a path of your own choosing- both the Senate and the Council say they are acting in your best interests. They have a responsibility, they say, to ensure that you make best use of your god-given form. If you turn into a drill, it is because Primus knows that Cybertron needs drills. To deviate form your function is to risk invoking the wrath of god and bringing the world to its knees.

In truth, it is about control. A multi-skilled population is an empowered population. And if you reject your alt mode, what next? Would you reject your class? Would you reject your government?

The Functionists don't rely solely on theology when rebutting arguments for change. Working outside of your alt mode would be confusing, they say. Imagine being treated by a medic with tank treads; you would question their competence. And they extend the same question to the miners. "Would you feel comfortable working alongside a microscope?" And to the military: "Would you put your life in the hands of a soldier who turns into a data slug?"

And it is true. People would be unnerved-- at first. But the Functionsts- enabled by the Senate- have created the conditions that have given rise to this culture of suspicion; and they have done so deliberately, because it reinforces the status quo. Moreover, it fosters division, and division is another means by which they can control the population. The more walls you can put up between people, the easier it is to contain them, and the stronger the structural integrity of the system.

And that is why when you see a stranger you don't think, "what are they like?" you think, "what are they for?" You don't think, "what are their hopes, dreams, aspirations?" you think, "what do they do?" And then you think, "where are they positioned in relation to me? Do they sit above, alongside, or below? Are they better than me, or I them?"

Even if you believe in the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy, ask yourself this: who decides on that order? And then: why should there be an order? And that is the question that the Senate and the Functionists fear the most, because they know that their world would collapse if people arrived at the answer. Why should there be an order? I'll tell you: there shouldn't be.

Be happy in their work, they say, for it enriches you. Be grateful for your alt mode, for it defines you. Be thankful for the system- it protects you. Be mindful of your betters- they think for you. I say enough. Reject your work. Reject your alt mode. Resist the system. And your "betters"? You have none. We are all equal. And we have a right to decide how to live our lives.

 

Yeah nah I was just explan the thign Glow said for those who aren't robot history nerds.

 

I'm way too lazy to fix it but on Marcus my chrome wasn't checking Chicago so I was spelling it as Chicaco probably b/c quick typing + headache :x

 

Starscrema read Harry Potter sorry I don´t make the rules.

 

OK but yeah Valiska would be a total Megatron fangirl based on this, and...Tainell.

Seriously, Tainell has NO PATIENCE for people telling other people who they have to be based on the body shape they started out with. Because his was all wrong for him, and while catte gendered expectations are different from the usual human culture ones, he doesn't fit EITHER set of those. (I am sure someone has asked Tainell why, if he wanted to run things, he transitioned. I am also sure Tainell belted that person.)

 

Yeha Megs started out alright, then he rather turned into the mosnter he was fighting.

 

Also Ouch bad timing. Megatron and Starscream had a terribly abusive relationship. (Canon doesnßt tell us if romantic or just professional, but hella abusive either way)

 

Yeah, that much I know...but she doesn't, sorry?

 

Not a sorry thing, just mentioned to to explain why he´s reacting as he is, since it´s not your fandom. Snarky birb is snarky and not traumatized, nope. (He´d consider showing distress to be showing weakness, thus his cattyness.)

 

Of course! Most of what I know about that pair comes from the Ray threads, hilariously.

 

ironically I know little to nothing of Rays view cause i visit those threads so rarely.
also if you don´t think Starscream kept up with the seeker gosspi at all times I don´t know what to tell you.

 

Haha basically Ray and his ex were Megatron and Starscream respectively and Spock used to tell everyone how shitty they were at everything except the abuse part.

In other news Lissa is horrified by the notion of mpreg buttbabies.

She goes into season every year and enjoys it like a sexy vacation. wth has that got to do with intestinal pregnancy and isn't that like a medical emergency or something?

 

The joke here being that Starscream copies have shown up in at least two continuities, and in both they did not get along very well.

 

I find it amusing that the one thing Ford and Ford can agree on is RICK.

Also didn't R-Ford hit on Starscream once when he was stoned?

 

i don't think anyone actually thinks this, but anxiety is a terrible demon, so:

karkat's literary opinions are soooo not my own, his tastes are pretty fucking trashy but he still likes to lecture people about the right kind of trash to read

 

Karkat rambling about The Best Porn Cliches is hilarious, you're fine o/

(Meanwhile, Afterglow talks about politics like he had any bigger motivation for going con than "the Autobots are bad at logo design awful and I hate them")

 

Ford doesn't really understand why it's a porn cliche. If he had been with anyone but Valiska (he didn't know Sev then, and it was long enough ago that their age difference would have made it very unappealing, never mind the illegal part) or if anyone else had been with them, it would have been AWFUL.

 

Wrench probably has a distressing tendency to find the worst possible fanfic in a given fandom and the. read it aloud to everyone else in the Hackerspace, because the only thing better than bad porn is bad porn shared with friends.

Needless to say, his actual tastes are both widely varied and probably not at all relevant to what he'd be subjecting people to.

 

He might´ve? I don´t remember. But you overestimate Starscreams ability to keep humans he doesn´t know very well straight.