#welcome to our gd ted talk

[lexicorp]

All very good points! The IDW Meg redemption aaaaaannnd it /definitely/ feels weird to me where I /really/ need to read it to try and understand. Because of this video that talks about the most brutal ass fucking scene of Megatron being just nonsensical and just purely wanting to hurt Starscream for personal catharsis when Star had already been pushed to the point of /wanting/ to die. The whole things rlly screwed up.

And yeah, the cons are all kinda not great to one another. And it's war. There's just so many factors.

Poor shockwave definitely gets his share of being thrown around for things that aren't rlly his fault. And honestly I wish star and him could be friends tbh- which a little bit happens in the Prime movie Predacons rising but like y'know as much as those two /can/

Also! The tag with ur OC with:

"I mean she just...loves him for no reason and he can't understand that"

Is SO real dude istg. I definitely like your direction with a dynamic where star is still how he is with struggling with vulnerability and not liking to be questioned and being a bit snippy. Writing a slow burn sort of thing where he can learn with someone who is patient enough, and he being more of the type of person to /appreciate that/ has the potential to be very wholesome imo. And I def think you'd enjoy Armada with Starscream and Alexis' relationship, regardless of how regrettably short it is--

It's always fascinating to me when writing Star calculating how he'll behave with different ppl in what situation. Because so many things can impact/trigger stuff.

I'd a hundred percent be down in reading it if you do end up getting on that redemption lore grindset X3!

I just had a huge realisation yesterday and I wanted to share this after going through some pretty horrible stuff over the weekend: Something I've always asked myself ever since getting into G1 Transformers was "why do you like Starscream so much even though he's a narcissistic bully? Why are you, someone who is a victim of narcissistic abuse, taking comfort in a narcissistic character?" Well, I think I finally figured it out. Because Starscream is also a victim of that very same abuse. I mean, he's beaten, called names, bullied, unappreciated, abused, and put through the wringer…and he internalised all that abuse because he knew no other way. He had no one to turn to, and the few bots who did support him, he treated like dirt. Once he had that freedom and power, he abused it and became the very thing that abused him. I have no doubt he was always self-centred, selfish, had a huge ego, etc. before all that but honestly? I think Megatron's abuse caused him to turn out the way he did. I could have turned out that way and it's a little scary, some of the parallels I'm drawing with him.

@ichbinmeltdown wrote a great analysis on Starscream that I want to share here:

"Megatron was abusive as hell to Starscream. He treated him horribly, and I legitimately almost cried a few times watching it. There's an episode called Starscream's Brigade that introduces the Combaticons, and I think that perfectly demonstrates the cycle of abuse. The entire world is against Starscream at pretty much every turn throughout the series, but none more so than Megatron. Every word out of his speech synthesizer to Starscream is to berate him, and he's constantly throwing him around, beating him, even ripping out his speech synthesizer in a scene from a previous episode (Hoist Goes Hollywood, IIRC). His own teammates don't like him, and even his brothers- Skywarp and Thundercracker, going off of the idea they're brothers- just... allow Megatron to abuse him. (Not to get into headcanons here, but I personally believe that Megatron's abuse fractured the Elite Trine's family dynamic. They are still brothers and love each other, but they're all too afraid of Megatron to really... stand up for each other as they did in the past.) And Starscream seemed to just snap in this episode. He treated the Combaticons poorly, and even when teaming up with Shockwave, he subjected him to a lot of the same ridicule and torment that Megatron put him through. He failed to realize Shockwave was the one of the only bots who would give him a chance- and unfortunately lashed out at him, which ruined his chances of Shockwave ever being a true friend and ally to him. Once Starscream had finally gotten a taste of power and not being under another bot's boot, he too became the very thing that he lived in fear of. And that really is how the cycle goes- when you're finally free from abuse, it can be tempting to overcompensate and take back all the power you were robbed of, at any cost whatsoever. Starscream, like D16 in Transformers One, snapped up this opportunity."

And the sad thing is, I've seen this in real life and I've internalised some of the abuse I've dealt with too. I'm not proud of it. Like the Seeker Trine, my own family dynamic has been fractured by similar abuse. I know there's traces of narcissism in my behaviour too, and I'm NOT proud of it. Maybe this is why I can forgive Starscream for being a narc, because I can see a little bit of my own personality/attitude/behaviour in him. Maybe it's because I know where it came from, I get why he acts that way and it's not just random and out of the blue. Maybe it's because--and I know this is a bold statement--I don't think he would do some of the stuff my own family did to me (blah blah blah he's a fictional character).

I didn't mean for this to turn into a long rant, so

TLDR: I finally figured out that part of the reason I love and relate to Starscream so much despite him internalising some of the abuse I went through, is because he was the victim of that same abuse.

[rabbiandrewrosenblatt]

Glass Ceilings and Glass Windows

In 2002 The Hill published an interview with Indiana congressman Mike Pence in which he revealed that he never dines alone or attends events where alcohol is served when accompanied only by women other than his wife. After he became Vice President of the US, his marital dining policy was again in the news. It has become a wedge issue. In March, President Trump praised Pence’s marriage – and by extension endorsed Pence to speak on behalf of the president – because of Pence’s personal dining policy. On the other hand, Olga Khazan of The Atlantic argued that such policies discriminate against women by leaving them out of late night meetings or important opportunities for networking and mentorship.

The New York Times reports that a surprisingly large number of people share Mike Pence’s cautionary disposition. A survey of over 5000 revealed that women are typically more uncomfortable than men are with being alone with men in scenarios such as having a drink, having dinner, or even driving in a car.

The meaning of the data is more complex than the binary – appropriate vs. inappropriate – questions put to the survey subjects might suggest. Men and women fear that they will be presumed to be guilty of doing something immoral. Gender differences were most pronounced in respondents’ comments about their personal experiences. Some men are afraid of being sued. Some want to avoid what for them is a fundamental temptation. Many women adopted personal policies after they experienced harassment.

The centrality of sexual desire has been well articulated from the Talmud to the works of Freud. However, in Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray and What it Means for Modern Relationships authors Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá advance a new theory that calls into question the very nature of human monogamy. Their thesis is that human evolution is based on the cooperation of egalitarian groups. They argue that human survival depends on sharing not only the hunting and gathering, but also on the pooling of sexual relations and childcare.

I disagree with almost all of their understanding of sexuality and their model of relationships and marriage. However, I saw Ryan in a TED talk say something that was too important to discount. He argues that almost all mammals have sex only when the female is ovulating. Humans are one of a very small number of mammals that have intercourse irrespective of cycle, menopause, or other reproductive factors. Human sexuality goes far beyond procreation. Sexuality is inherent to both the social and biological life of humans. This special pervasiveness of human sexuality cannot be ignored.

While Olga Khazan may be correct that a corporate glass ceiling can be built on top of a no-dinner-alone-with-women policy, she must also acknowledge that the power-dominated cultures of workplaces like Fox News and Uber arise out of the very central place of sexuality in human nature. It would be folly to act as if sexuality were entirely a social construct that could be counter-balanced through some kind of socially constructed change of attitude. Science tells us otherwise.

This week’s Torah reading offers one of the better insights into the balancing forces of human sexuality. Bilaam is hired by the king of Moab to curse the Jewish people. Moab itself is a tribe born out of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter. Lot acted according to the myopic moral selfishness of Sodom, and the belief that no other man existed in the world – or at least no other man who was worthy of reproducing. The scions of this twisted relationship seek to defeat the children of Israel, but are afraid to face them on the battlefield. They opt to wage a spiritual war, by cursing Israel. Bilaam accepts the mission to deliver the curse with the caveat that he can speak only the words that Gd places in his mouth.

Ultimately, Bilaam offers three blessings in three failed attempts to utter a curse. On the third occasion Bilaam says, מה טבו אהליך יעקב משכנתיך ישראל – how beautiful are your tents of Jacob, your dwelling places, oh Israel. Rashi teaches us that the beauty here is that Bilaam has observed Israel’s camp from three directions and he sees that their windows do not face each other. Israel’s private spaces are indeed private. People do not peer into their neighbour’s tent. The beauty of Jacob’s tents is not in the architecture, it is in the cultural features of the society. Here, the social aspect of the construction of homes works in harmony with the biological aspect of human nature.

Perhaps we can look one step further to the communal culture of the children of Israel. There is a private space that is reserved for intimacy, but all other relationships happen in public view. Thus it is the legal position in Jewish law that privacy is tantamount to intimacy. In other words, when a man and woman are together in seclusion, we should assume that anything can happen.

I believe that we need such cultural assumptions to counter-balance the powerful magnetic force of human sexuality. We need a culture that prevents harassment, sexual misconduct, false accusations, and glass ceilings. I am not sure that there is any better cultural solution than one based on the binary positions of transparency versus privacy.  We need transparency for all situations that need to remain businesslike, and we need privacy for our uniquely intimate human sexual relationships.

Jewish law has developed a highly structured set of rules for this called yichud, or privacy. It demands that we extend to the public sphere some safeguards that protect us from the real or perceived dangers of sexual exploitation that can occur in seclusion. At the same time, the culture must give women equal access to opportunities, meetings, mentors, networks, and communication. Perhaps the workplace must remain always transparent, regardless of who is in the room.

Particular politics aside, Mike Pence’s rules provide a moral clarity that should be welcomed by all. None can afford to pretend that power is not a factor – that includes President Clinton who is notorious for his indiscretions, and President Trump who is notorious for his boasts thereof. None can afford to ignore biology by pretending that attraction is not a factor. However, we should be ever mindful that we have the power to control our actions regardless of our attractions.  

[kitts-mechanix]

Thank you for taking the time to write that! I'm not familiar with any of the continuities outside of G1 and TFOne but I'll try to follow along.

So for TFP, I do know that Starscream went rogue because he hated the Autobots but also Megatron. And the fact that the first thing Megatron did after coming back from the dead was beat up Starscream....I say this about every continuity but it's obvious that Starscream is his favourite punching bag. I can see why Megs gets frustrated with him, but it does NOT excuse him abusing Starscream. Although, to be totally fair here, it's not just Starscream. Megatron abuses the hell out of everyone (at least from what I've seen in G1). I mean, he's yelled at Soundwave for being a fool because his plan got foiled, and Soundwave has NEVER talked back to Megatron and is his most loyal comrade who does things without question or comment.

I've always wondered if Starscream would have a hard time actually trying to be a leader/function by himself considering Megatron basically controls everything, hence why he gets upset over Megatron's demise later on. It's complicated and I'd need to actually sit and watch the series to get a better idea but abusive relationships 100% screw you up like that. And I think the reason Starscream resorts to violence is because it makes him feel powerful. Because he always feels powerless under Megatron and he hates that feeling.

"And if people can be happy for redemption arc Meg, there's no Primus damned reason why anyone should be against a Starscream redemption."

THIS! And honestly, I think Starscream actually has a much better chance at being redeemed than Megatron, because regardless of what anyone else might say, I still say Megatron was much more evil than Starscream. And I'm dying on that hill!

I know Megatron got a redemption arc in IDW when he became an Autobot, and while I'd need to find and read the comic for context, it just felt....weird? like they were trying to appease the Meg fans who wanted a redemption arc for him? Granted, I know that all boiled down to Megatron hating what he had become, but still....

I heard Armada Starscream was probably the most complex and fleshed out version of the character in any continuity. I haven't watched Armada, but I heard that he used to be Megatron's most loyal warrior, then got betrayed by him and left for dead, and only turned on Megatron because he caught him admitting it.

"There's a lot of star getting beat up for shit that isn't his fault but told it is, and people constantly manipulating and gaslighting him and he questions his whole ass life but then even after leaving after a particularly wack incident....he expresses how he came to realize that nothing he ever did was ever enough."

Oh my gosh....THIS is what I'm talking about. Armada Starscream was dished out narcissistic abuse because Megs saw him as a scapegoat. No wonder the poor baby has a fractured psyche. And while I totally acknowledge that Starscream had it much, MUCH worse than me, as someone who's been gaslit and blamed for everything under the sun, I just get this!

Earthspark I haven't seen and I've honestly heard really mixed things about it. Starscream saying to Megatron, "Nowhere is safe if it's with YOU" is one of the most brutally honest lines I've heard. I haven't watched it, but there is a video on YT that breaks down Earthspark Starscream and talks about the PTSD symptoms he displays in the series. I hate that they made Star a villain for no good reason and threw away his trauma lore ugh. Give my baby a redemption arc already or something! And not a "bam bam he's okay now" make him work for it!

See, I still think Megatron is the more evil one who's done worse things than Starscream. I may be biased as a Starscream fangirl, but from what I've seen, 99.9% of the time Megatron (or another Decepticon) started it, and at least 50% of that time it was done to push Starscream's buttons and make him angry. Oh my gosh, I was about to mention that...."oOh bUt StArScReAm TrIeD tO kILl MeGaTrOn!" And look, I don't condone murder obviously, but considering Megatron has tried to kill Starscream before.....I understand why he snapped, like in that G1 episode where he blasted Megatron and, thinking he was dead, declared himself the new leader. Which then lead to him being thrown out of the Decepticons and enter the Combaticons, whom he treated like dirt. I have always wondered why Starscream allowed himself to follow Megatron (I assumed it was for power) but him having some form of respect for Megs is interesting....oh boy I need to do some deep diving on this.

But yes! Megatron's abuse likely created the part in Star that makes him lash out. And like I said I imagine he was always hot tempered (like Starscream, I get angry/irritated easily and I lash out. I'm not proud of it) but what Megatron did to him drove him over the edge. This behaviour was modelled to him, not just by Megs but by the other Decepticons. Also, they are in a war. Kill or be killed. Sympathy is dangerous and makes you weak. This is what's drilled into their brainboxes. And I imagine Starscream probably doesn't know/doesn't get the chance to let out his anger in a non-violent way.

"Star has done questionable things, and can be a jerk, but that doesn't mean it's his fault he endured what he did. It's only his fault for his /own/ actions of hurting someone else as a result. And that doesn't exempt someone from being able to become better and deserve better."

This! 👏He deserves another chance, he deserves happiness and a redemption. And if I have to write that for him myself, I'll damn well do it!

But really as someone who's dealt with some abuse like that, I just want to hug him and let him know he's loved 💔

I just had a huge realisation yesterday and I wanted to share this after going through some pretty horrible stuff over the weekend: Something I've always asked myself ever since getting into G1 Transformers was "why do you like Starscream so much even though he's a narcissistic bully? Why are you, someone who is a victim of narcissistic abuse, taking comfort in a narcissistic character?" Well, I think I finally figured it out. Because Starscream is also a victim of that very same abuse. I mean, he's beaten, called names, bullied, unappreciated, abused, and put through the wringer…and he internalised all that abuse because he knew no other way. He had no one to turn to, and the few bots who did support him, he treated like dirt. Once he had that freedom and power, he abused it and became the very thing that abused him. I have no doubt he was always self-centred, selfish, had a huge ego, etc. before all that but honestly? I think Megatron's abuse caused him to turn out the way he did. I could have turned out that way and it's a little scary, some of the parallels I'm drawing with him.

@ichbinmeltdown wrote a great analysis on Starscream that I want to share here:

"Megatron was abusive as hell to Starscream. He treated him horribly, and I legitimately almost cried a few times watching it. There's an episode called Starscream's Brigade that introduces the Combaticons, and I think that perfectly demonstrates the cycle of abuse. The entire world is against Starscream at pretty much every turn throughout the series, but none more so than Megatron. Every word out of his speech synthesizer to Starscream is to berate him, and he's constantly throwing him around, beating him, even ripping out his speech synthesizer in a scene from a previous episode (Hoist Goes Hollywood, IIRC). His own teammates don't like him, and even his brothers- Skywarp and Thundercracker, going off of the idea they're brothers- just... allow Megatron to abuse him. (Not to get into headcanons here, but I personally believe that Megatron's abuse fractured the Elite Trine's family dynamic. They are still brothers and love each other, but they're all too afraid of Megatron to really... stand up for each other as they did in the past.) And Starscream seemed to just snap in this episode. He treated the Combaticons poorly, and even when teaming up with Shockwave, he subjected him to a lot of the same ridicule and torment that Megatron put him through. He failed to realize Shockwave was the one of the only bots who would give him a chance- and unfortunately lashed out at him, which ruined his chances of Shockwave ever being a true friend and ally to him. Once Starscream had finally gotten a taste of power and not being under another bot's boot, he too became the very thing that he lived in fear of. And that really is how the cycle goes- when you're finally free from abuse, it can be tempting to overcompensate and take back all the power you were robbed of, at any cost whatsoever. Starscream, like D16 in Transformers One, snapped up this opportunity."

And the sad thing is, I've seen this in real life and I've internalised some of the abuse I've dealt with too. I'm not proud of it. Like the Seeker Trine, my own family dynamic has been fractured by similar abuse. I know there's traces of narcissism in my behaviour too, and I'm NOT proud of it. Maybe this is why I can forgive Starscream for being a narc, because I can see a little bit of my own personality/attitude/behaviour in him. Maybe it's because I know where it came from, I get why he acts that way and it's not just random and out of the blue. Maybe it's because--and I know this is a bold statement--I don't think he would do some of the stuff my own family did to me (blah blah blah he's a fictional character).

I didn't mean for this to turn into a long rant, so

TLDR: I finally figured out that part of the reason I love and relate to Starscream so much despite him internalising some of the abuse I went through, is because he was the victim of that same abuse.

[lexicorp]

Okay so like--

Main examples imma have are gonna include TFP, Armada, and a bit of Earthspark [so warning for prob spoilers]

In both Armada and TFP, you can see thru the seasons of Star being relatively loyal, to salty from the shit and thus lashes out, to coming back to the corrupted reliance/attachment to Megatron despite it all

In Transformers Prime, Starscream ended up leaving the decepticons and was rogue for a large chunk of the show. The lead up was: Megatron being off tryna find some space rock while star lead the cons on earth, and did a smooth ass job, but as /soon/ as Meg got back he immediately began his downplaying and backhanding of Starscream's rank and accomplishments. So it's like, when Meg nukes himself, why would Star give a damn. Buuut of course Megatron ends up being alive cuz of dark energon, and eventually gets rezzed thru a stream of shenanigans, to then /immediately/ beat the shit outta Starscream for tryna keep him dead. In summary, it's just Starscream constantly being belittled and beat up as usual, until Megatron then nearly off lines him in a cave. Then replaces him with some sus ass spider, who immediately betrays star and leaves him to the bots.

But I digress, the whole bs that goes down that relates to our primary topic, is the fact of how screwy their relationship is. How Star ends up rogue and scrounging on his own for a long ass time, before eventually not being able to take starving in a broken down ship anymore, and comes back to Megatron with bargaining chips. Meg almost murders him again, but instead kills dreadwing in a false show of faith (even tho meg was already sus of dreadwing and prob woulda done it anyway) so then Star gets some life debt mentality and heavy fear of leaving the decepticons given the poor states he experienced before. /Thus/ the being stuck in the situation and trying rlly gd hard to please the bitch that uses him as a constant scapegoat. Enter unhealthy attachment to where Star actually later is absolutely distraught at Megatron's death instead. Which seems absurd but it just goes to show how much Megatron fucked up his psyche.

Then a good example of TFP star mirroring Megatron is most clear involving the Predacons. Star is terrified of them, but constantly uses violence to belittlement to try and get them to listen. To feel some semblance of power/control. Even if it doesn't always work. And of course, that behavior is unfair towards the Predacons and they didn't deserve it either. Then it perpetuated the cycle with said Predacons mirroring the behavior themselves.

Megatron's projection of the violence he learned as a gladiator, or D-16's breakdown over sentinel, lead him to do fucked up things. The situation he endured was screwed up, but that doesn't excuse his actions. It can only explain them. And if people can be happy for redemption arc Meg, there's no Primus damned reason why anyone should be against a Starscream redemption.

In Armada, Starscream was sparked into the war, and knew jack shit else. Megatron and him had this fucked up father son relationship in my eyes, and I'm sure you can see how that could go. Star desperately wants to impress Meg and prove himself capable, and sometimes went out of line with the air of a teenager. And often due to Megatron being a selfish lying bich. There's a lot of star getting beat up for shit that isn't his fault but told it is, and people constantly manipulating and gaslighting him and he questions his whole ass life but then even after leaving after a particularly wack incident. Then he again gets roped back next to Meg by some other guy. And in the end, as he's pulling his kamakazi stunt to /show/ Megatron's stubborn ass Unicron is real; he expresses how he came to realize that nothing he ever did was ever enough.

Then in Earthspark, you have that iconic S1 line when Megatron asks star "what if you could go somewhere safe?" After Star had just escaped a prison and Meg had shot/tossed him around intent on being him back minutes ago; star responds with: "nowhere is safe if it's with /you/." And that shit hits hella hard to me, especially with just how Meg reacts with having like, subtle surprise. Cuz Meg doesn't fully understand his own actions.

Megatron in Earthspark is constantly held accountable. Dunked on my bots and cons alike, and he takes it like a champ all things considered. And the pain around S2/3 Earthspark is that it was set up so much for them to allow Starscream to have some positive influences and work thru stuff as well, but they just didn't commit to that angle of it, and instead made Star the villain again for barely a good reason and not touching the trauma lore after that. Which was so dumb.

They could clearly do a good redemption lore bs with Megs, so they should have been able to equally with Star. They've both done shit things. To each other and others. Many people can debate on who did worse things (even if imo Star gets fucked up objectively more), but the fact in my mind is that the most important part is how a person/character can recognize their own behavior, and correct it and heal to be able to become a better person for themself and others. And be allowed to have moments of weakness and be met with understanding and soft correction from their peers.

Like, it's stupid to blame Starscream for Megatron beating the shit out of him. oOh bUt StArScReAm TrIeD tO kILl MeG oMG-- like bitch it's 99.9 percent of the time a behavior on Star's part born /from/ the abuse. Starscream wouldn't have even started following Megatron in the beginning if he didn't have some sort of respect for the guy! It's just all so insanely wack to me, and it's so /hard/ to clearly articulate my mental process about the whole thing.

Star lashes out as a defensive measure, as a learned means of "yeah this is totally how you are supposed to interact with people", and just out of straight warped perception based on the fact that he was so heavily shaped by his environment to the point that people being chill or nice or something feels uncomfortable.

Basically, I'm jus like-- Star has done questionable things, and can be a jerk, but that doesn't mean it's his fault he endured what he did. It's only his fault for his /own/ actions of hurting someone else as a result. And that doesn't exempt someone from being able to become better and deserve better.

I just had a huge realisation yesterday and I wanted to share this after going through some pretty horrible stuff over the weekend: Something I've always asked myself ever since getting into G1 Transformers was "why do you like Starscream so much even though he's a narcissistic bully? Why are you, someone who is a victim of narcissistic abuse, taking comfort in a narcissistic character?" Well, I think I finally figured it out. Because Starscream is also a victim of that very same abuse. I mean, he's beaten, called names, bullied, unappreciated, abused, and put through the wringer…and he internalised all that abuse because he knew no other way. He had no one to turn to, and the few bots who did support him, he treated like dirt. Once he had that freedom and power, he abused it and became the very thing that abused him. I have no doubt he was always self-centred, selfish, had a huge ego, etc. before all that but honestly? I think Megatron's abuse caused him to turn out the way he did. I could have turned out that way and it's a little scary, some of the parallels I'm drawing with him.

@ichbinmeltdown wrote a great analysis on Starscream that I want to share here:

"Megatron was abusive as hell to Starscream. He treated him horribly, and I legitimately almost cried a few times watching it. There's an episode called Starscream's Brigade that introduces the Combaticons, and I think that perfectly demonstrates the cycle of abuse. The entire world is against Starscream at pretty much every turn throughout the series, but none more so than Megatron. Every word out of his speech synthesizer to Starscream is to berate him, and he's constantly throwing him around, beating him, even ripping out his speech synthesizer in a scene from a previous episode (Hoist Goes Hollywood, IIRC). His own teammates don't like him, and even his brothers- Skywarp and Thundercracker, going off of the idea they're brothers- just... allow Megatron to abuse him. (Not to get into headcanons here, but I personally believe that Megatron's abuse fractured the Elite Trine's family dynamic. They are still brothers and love each other, but they're all too afraid of Megatron to really... stand up for each other as they did in the past.) And Starscream seemed to just snap in this episode. He treated the Combaticons poorly, and even when teaming up with Shockwave, he subjected him to a lot of the same ridicule and torment that Megatron put him through. He failed to realize Shockwave was the one of the only bots who would give him a chance- and unfortunately lashed out at him, which ruined his chances of Shockwave ever being a true friend and ally to him. Once Starscream had finally gotten a taste of power and not being under another bot's boot, he too became the very thing that he lived in fear of. And that really is how the cycle goes- when you're finally free from abuse, it can be tempting to overcompensate and take back all the power you were robbed of, at any cost whatsoever. Starscream, like D16 in Transformers One, snapped up this opportunity."

And the sad thing is, I've seen this in real life and I've internalised some of the abuse I've dealt with too. I'm not proud of it. Like the Seeker Trine, my own family dynamic has been fractured by similar abuse. I know there's traces of narcissism in my behaviour too, and I'm NOT proud of it. Maybe this is why I can forgive Starscream for being a narc, because I can see a little bit of my own personality/attitude/behaviour in him. Maybe it's because I know where it came from, I get why he acts that way and it's not just random and out of the blue. Maybe it's because--and I know this is a bold statement--I don't think he would do some of the stuff my own family did to me (blah blah blah he's a fictional character).

I didn't mean for this to turn into a long rant, so

TLDR: I finally figured out that part of the reason I love and relate to Starscream so much despite him internalising some of the abuse I went through, is because he was the victim of that same abuse.