TFs: DARE TO BE STUPID

So, okay. I saw someone who was angry about the 'here's starscream's forged frame' as a plot development. I disagree, but hey, you do you, whatever. But one of the big arguments they made was that 'starscream doesn't need a new body to feel better, bumblebee is already his therapist.'

Which. DISCOMFORT. And it stuck with me for a few days, but I couldn't figure out exactly why it was bothering me, because I love characters getting accidentally sucked into those roles. But I think I finally managed to untangle what was making me so uncomfortable, at this tumblr link, which I am going to lazily copy and paste beneath a spoiler cut.

Spoiler: long

Hmm. The other day I saw a post that I disagreed strongly with, and I don't remember who said it and have no interest in engaging OP anyways, but there was a minor point incidental to their main argument that's been really sticking with me. I've been having trouble putting my finger on exactly what it was about it that bothered me, but I think maybe I've got it. (and this doesn't account for recent op/unicron developments, I'm still behind and not terribly happy about the characterization choices I do hear about)

The point: Starscream doesn't need [thing] because ghost!Bumblebee is Starscream's therapist.

My gut reaction: yes sort of but also NO ABSOLUTELY NOT

Let me think. The most obvious thing that I can pick out is that making someone play therapist when they haven't signed up for that job or entered into it knowingly and willingly, that's... not ideal. Which I think in-universe (and in real life too) AND in terms of the expectations people consuming media lay on the characters, the creators, and other fans interacting with the original media).

(as a tangent, transformers is extra interesting to me in that regard since mtmte/ll straight-up had a licensed, experienced professional step back from practicing, because he didn't think he was doing his job the way he should)

But that can't be my entire reaction, because I am a HUGE sucker for characters being pulled into that sort of load-bearing support role without necessarily knowing what they're getting into or what they're doing. LOV that drama.

So let's look at this situation specifically. Bumblebee was dragged into a leadership role he didn't want to occupy, spent a few thankless years shouldering that load on earth/cybertron, operated under a lot of stress, trying his best (but it never being enough to make everyone happy), and eventually dying. He comes back as a ghost that only Starscream can see, but Starscream just thinks he's going crazy under his own back-breaking stressful load.

Do I want Starscream to get some kind of help and support? Yes, absolutely. Do I think Bumblebee is really good at providing that sort of support to people in need? Yes, I actually have a lot of loud, passionate thoughts about how Bumblebee got railroaded into a mass leadership position based on the strength of how he does in small groups, even though mass leadership makes him miserable. Bumblebee is an excellent supportive friend.

But.... therapist. Hmm. Well, first off, I think that's massively unfair to Bumblebee, even though again, I'm a sucker for that scenario. Starscream doesn't think he's actually there, so even as they get friendlier, Starscream is never going to treat him with the respect or consideration due to an actual, real person (even for starscream levels of respect). Right from the start, they're both at a severe disadvantage for ANY constructive progress, because Starscream has an immediate reason to disregard anything Bumblebee says, and Bumblebee trying to make his arguments versus Starscream's starting point of 'my own brain is turning on me'.

Bumblebee challenges Starscream's decisions and criticizes him directly on the regular, he definitely acts as a shoulder angel, and attacks directly on the emotional fronts Starscream absolutely does not want to discuss. He challenges Starscream's paranoia and self-sabotage. All very good things, I think. And he has the advantage of inside knowledge, since Starscream can't hide things from him and has confided to him about vulnerabilities and other painful things, since Bumblebee isn't real anyways.

But calling Bumblebee Starscream's therapist... It feels like it places expectations of results on him. Epectations of personal dedication and focus. Especially if the argument is presented as that "therapist" being a reason Starscream doesnt need a different positive improvement in his life. If I write, say, starjack where Wheeljack plays a similar support role with Starscream, Wheeljack is there because of personal investment of some kind, he's made a decision to move in this direction, and he has the option of leaving. Bumblebee didn't have any kind of choice, and until whatever happened in OP went down, he hasn't had anywhere to go.

I think that's my biggest problem. I'm a huge fan of characters being sucked into those emotion/baggage-heavy support roles, always love it. But calling a character a straught-up therapist when they didn't knowingly sign up for that kind of work makes me uneasy, and calling a character a literal therapist when they 1) didn't volunteer, and 2) can't leave is profoundly uncomfortable.

Informally calling someone a therapist, that's a useful shorthand, and I've definitely done it. But I don't think I've ever used it as a justification for brushing aside something else positive in a character's life. That's the point, I think, where I'm no longer on board. That's the point where I get uncomfortable with the expectations on the characters, yes, but also with what that person is going to demand from other people creating that character, or interacting with them through fandom. It feels so strange to me.

And I'm sure I'm overthinking the relationship between mental health and fandom, because I overthink everything all the time always. But this is a moral-policing-heavy fandom environment where that kind of analysis is understandable, I think. And even apart from whether or not I'm making any kind of wider point, this specific argument has been bothering me for a few days, and it's a relief to finally untangle what exactly was making me that uncomfortable.

 

When I wrote the ghost!starbee and ghost!starbladebee, I really wanted to make sure that a noticeable part of the situation was the stress of being a ghost with only one person who can see you, and who thinks you're a delusion. It's D: enough being told to your face over and over 'you don't actually exist', but the prospect of this being the nature of the only interpersonal relationship you can ever ever have again is a deliciously slow-burn flavor of stress/horror. It's such a unique flavor of interaction!! They're both a positive/supportive force in each other's lives, but also a MASSIVE source of stress for each other (which further torpedoes reasonable expectations of any sort of meaningful "therapy")

Honestly I want to come back to the starbladebee scenario at some point and the sequel coldstars wrote, because getting Bumblebee that additional person in his life and forcing Starscream to acknowledge that Bumblebee is real is a super important development to me for both of them :p