LONG OPINION, APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE
I have a controversial opinion about Thundercracker's decision to abandon Starscream and Skywarp and leave the Decepticons, and I think it was both right and wrong at the same time…
It was the right decision because Thundercracker was truly trapped in the cycle of abuse and didn't know what affected him more: seeing Starscream destroy himself for Megatron, or how he picked up Megatron's bad habits and then treated Thundercracker the same way Megatron treated him. The worst part was that Thundercracker was the only one who saw all of this as wrong, that Starscream wouldn't listen to him about how harmful and toxic it all was and how much it hurt them, or Skywarp acting as if it were normal and always defending Megatron, making jokes at Starscream's expense, or even calling Thundercracker oversensitive…
Thundercracker had to leave for his own mental health, to heal, and to be able to decide for himself what he really wanted to do with his life, and that's not wrong or misguided in any way…
At the same time, I think it was a bad decision because if your friend/partner/family member is trapped in an abusive relationship with their abuser (the abusive relationship can be romantic, familial, or even a friendship, and not strictly sexual), literally the worst thing you can do is abandon or cut ties with that person, since that only isolates them more and gives the abuser more leverage to control and hurt the victim, making the victim truly feel like they have no one but their abuser…
Of course, Starscream's circumstances are very different, but there are many similar allegories, and the sad thing is that while Thundercracker's departure undoubtedly affected him, it didn't make him abandon Megatron; on the contrary, it redoubled his efforts to try to kill him…
Which is basically getting deeper into the self-destructive cycle of abuse…
And the worst part is that according to your timeline, which I've read, this happened right after the "Too Far Away" Megatron incident, when something inside Starscream broke and he truly began to fear him.
My theory is that when Thundercracker asked Starscream to run away with him one last time, Starscream felt that if he chose to go with Thundercracker, they would both end up being killed by Megatron, and that he couldn't be free of Megatron until he was truly killed.
Something that, sadly, victims of abuse often feel very strongly, which is why they don't leave their abusers.
Of course, if Starscream didn't go to Thundercracker when Megatron finally died, it's because of Starscream's own issues, pride, and ambitions. I honestly believe that at that point, Starscream became obsessed with "making all those years of abuse and harm worthwhile," and that he would show it by becoming the leader and winning the war.
For Skywarp, Thundercracker's departure helped him open his eyes to the damage that all of this, and he himself, was truly causing them. But unlike Thundercracker, he didn't leave, because Starscream needed him…
And that's my point: while Thundercracker needed to leave for his own mental health and healing, his departure actually worsened things for Starscream and Skywarp. Starscream was lucky that Megatron died shortly afterward, because things could have gotten really bad for him if he had been left without Thundercracker…
Although he still had Skywarp<3
Furthermore, I dare say it was thanks to Skywarp that Starscream was able to leave Megatron, because it was Skywarp who got him out of there when Megatron tried to hurt him again upon his return, it was Skywarp who convinced him to try to make peace with Thundercracker (although it went badly, it's important to note that he had started seeking help from others), and it was the Skywarp's injuries led him to seek help from the Autobots where he truly began to heal.
Of course, Thundercracker's departure also had an impact and was a real wake-up call for both of them, but I still think Thundercracker's decision was both right and wrong at the same time…
Something I want to make clear is that I'm not against Thundercracker leaving; I applaud him for it, because it takes a lot of courage to break free from a cycle of abuse and find ways to heal, especially when it's being caused by someone you care about deeply…
I just think that victims losing their support system will always negatively affect them and give more power to the abuser, and that we should appreciate Skywarp more for being there for Starscream, even if he started late<3
(I really don't want to imagine how he'll react when he finds out that Skywarp "abandoned" him in the present too XD)
Thank you so much for reading this far, and I'm sorry the comment got so long lol
What do you think about this?
Wow! Incredible essay. You pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one. I don’t even know if you need to call this a controversial take cuz it’s absolutely my intent when writing the characters. And it isn’t even as cut and dry as “him leaving for his own sake was good but it making Starscream’s situation worse was bad.” The thing with Thundercracker is he never really knew how to set boundaries with Starscream and now he’s swung too far in the opposite direction where he doesnt know how to give even just a little grace to Starscream without feeling like he’s gonna get taken advantage of again. Thundercracker’s freedom hasn’t all been rainbows and daisies, he’s depressed, desperately lonely and misses his trine, and the choice to leave was extremely painful. But he’s also kind if addicted to the freedom now. As bad as it feels, he does feel safer out on his own. It’s selfish, and Thundercracker hates that he had to give up on Starscream, and that he abandoned his brothers to deal with a bad situation without him. None of what he’s done since leaving was for Starscream’s good, it’s what Thundercracker had to do for Thundercracker, and he kind of knows this, and feels bad about it, so he copes by blaming Starscream for it. That’s why he’s resentful and determined to not care. Thundercracker didnt want to cut them off, but it was the only option, until it wasnt, and by then he had already left, and when you don’t know how to take space it becomes this shiny new thing and you don’t want to give it up even if it’s not even truely what’s best for you longterm.
And I dont think it’s inherently wrong for people to leave an abusive situation even if that means leaving people behind to deal with it alone. I don’t think any two adults ever really owe it to each other to like offer support unconditionally, if that makes sense. Cuz like, if someone isnt willing to change their situation/work on themself and isnt considering your wellbeing and is also actively harming you intentionally or not, at some point you just cant be responsible for them anymore, and youre allowed to leave even if leaving will very much make the other person’s situation worse. I think that’s technically something youre allowed to do?? It’s a difficult thing, cuz yeah, it’s not good for victims of abuse and mental illness to lose their support, but I do feel like the idea of you being the one to save someone is def a thing that keeps people stuck in abusive relationships as well, and Starscream would not be above using that to keep Thundercracker from leaving. “I need you! You’re the only one I can trust! If you leave I’ll get punished and it’ll be your fault! Your support is the only thing keeping me going.” Sometimes, you being there as a safety net makes them feel less inclined to do better, and you really cant save someone if you yourself have basically become an enabler like Thundercracker and Warp were. Thundercracker was not making things better by being there, just treading water till they all drown. So yeah, Thundercracker wasnt wrong to leave just on the basis of it harming Starscream and Skywarp, but like, it was still harmful. Unfortunately, sometimes what’s good for you can be harmful to someone else, and obviously we want to minimise harm, but Thundercracker really did not have the capacity to do that. None of them did.
Thundercracker and Starscream still cared about each other and the leaving drove a new wedge into their relationship, and it also isolated Thundercracker. Yes it was for his own good, but it also wasnt good for him at the same time. His own path to healing has been full of one step forward two steps back. The pendulum swung too far. It was a desperate act in a desperate situation and he doesn’t really know what he’s doing or how to deal with it. But it did shake up the status quo, it did get Thundercracker out of an unsafe environment, and it did plant the seed of doubt in Skywarp that eventually motivated him to take Starscream away from Megatron. Plus, it proves to Starscream that he cant just do whatever and always get away with it. Thundercracker leaving was very much not without consequence, most breakups rarely are, but he also wasnt wrong to do it. At the end of the day, Starscream is his own grown ass mech who makes his own ass decisions and gets himself into his own ass situations, and Thundercracker is not responsible for him.
Anyway, thank god for Warp fr fr. You are absolutely right that if Starscream had lost both his trinemates the situation would have been way worse, Skywarp not giving up on Starscream and sticking with him despite how hard it was really made a huge difference and i love that you appreciate him for it. Truely the gross ball of sticky mystery substance that holds this terrible messy trine together.
but yeah, it’s supposed to be complicated, both good and bad. if thundercracker’s decision to leave the trine was just straight up the right decision, this wouldnt be a story about putting the trine back together again
