#interesting to think about tho. could be a metaphor or whatever. or could be something fucky wucky with chaos energy goin on

[fleetsonourgecentral]

Yoo thought of a headcanon scenario, where Scourge somehow dreams about his super form[s] one night. 

His interaction with if it was the good Super form the opportunity to at least make a compromise would be fumbled so hard due to their clashing mindsets. And they’re both stubborn as hell in changing their tune. Shit definitely goes out the window when Super looks at Scourge the same way Prime looked at him when he got tricked into powering down saying something along the lines of, “What fucking goals do you even have, Scourge? At least I want to help people be something bigger and better than just being mean.” You can imagine how well Scourge takes it hearing the all too familiar words. So tragically, nothing really gets solved between them, just strengthened feelings of resentment and the need to fight for control when they can. 

Evil Super would however, strike a deal. 

He finds Scourge and his friends very entertaining. Why ruin that? He’s also seen Super Sonic being contained/in his eyes, become a withered shell of his former self, so it might be partially for his own self-preservation as well. He is chaos but so are they. One frightful dream ass-beating later (wasn’t even pissed at Scourge, who despite tried throwing hands like the green bozo he is, he just did it because he can), he offers his hand the way Scourge did with Prime, promising not to kill them only if… honestly idfk something like this???

“The road goes both ways, y’know. You’re full of untapped potential. To keep things running around on this stupid little planet, how about you acknowledge me as my own person? Don’t you even think getting rid of me. Then everyone can continue to rock on this universe, doing as we please. What do you say?”

Just simple acknowledgement as their own person and leave him as he is i guess.

He takes the deal [?] but….Scourge, how are you going to explain to everyone else that you can’t get rid of this super form like Sonic has done? On top of that, better count your lucky stars that your super form never gets bored one day.

who knows maybe Scourge finds another way to stabilize things before that happens maybe- hey wait a second how about a deal for the fucking ankles—

Scourge and a good super form would throw hands. I mean Scourge is throwing hands either way but he would throw hands even faster, and then proceed to tell everyone about the dream bc that is Not Normal even for chaos energy. I think the idea of a super form gaining sentience without being split from Scourge first would freak Sonic out and he'd make it a priority to try and suppress that chaos energy or get it out of Scourge entirely. Here's to hoping they could get it out of Scourge without it coming to life like Super did, though, or it would probably view Scourge as a villain to be dealt with. And, by extension, would have to fight the rest of the freedom fighters, too

I could see an evil super form trying to make a deal, but I also don't know if Scourge would trust it?? His instinct is to distrust and assume people are lying to him or trying to manipulate him, so even if he did take a deal, I don't think he'd trust his super form to hold up his end of the deal. He probably wouldn't tell the freedom fighters or Sonic about it, and he'd brush off any attempts to get rid of his chaos energy so his super form doesn't have an excuse to try and backstab him, but I think he'd be prepared for betrayal anyway and put back-up plans of his own in place. Scourge doesn't always think things through, but he isn't stupid; he'd be well aware he'd be entirely reliant on his super form's mercy, and he'd hate that. So he'd come up with a plan, even if he didn't tell Sonic about it

Ahjdhjsdjh smh the super forms will never realise all they need to do to get in Scourge's good graces is fix his ankles

[notthestarwar]

God I'm legit screaming thinking about my reply to this comment again tho

Like. Such an interesting aspect of the clones is that they did have their childhoods taken from them. It isn't the same as a species that develops at double the speed of humans! Cause they ARE humans. Which absolutely does not mean that they are adult sized children. They are adults. They think like adults. They are developmentally, physically and psychologically adults: but they are not the people they would have been, people with a whole well adjusted childhood behind them.

Which I think is frankly a fascinating thing to explore. It's a great metaphor. When looking at things like: if anyone bothered to ask, could they have consented to their place in the army? Which. Yes. On an individual basis they absolutely could. They are adults, they deserve the autonomy to make that decision and have it accepted, even if the choice they make isn't necessarily the one that another sentient with a different childhood might have made in their position. They can consent. But is it informed consent? Well no. They've kinda been brainwashed. Ethically, you're on unsteady territory there in asking them to choose when you know what their answer is going to be. Does that mean you shouldn't ask? Hell no! Of course you should ask. Does that mean you shouldn't accept their decision? Of course not! They're adults and it's their life.

The only way to approach this ethically would be to give them all the information beforehand and hope that they're as informed as possible. But really. Whatever you do, it isn't really right. The ethical thing is for noone to be in this position in the first place. This isn't ethical unless the clones did have childhoods and were not programmed to WANT to die for the republic and you don't have to ask them under those circumstances, because you've conscripted your army in a normal way.

Anyway my comment (and the fic) kinda went about this in looking at things from a Jedi perspective. Mace is asking. What the fuck do you do in that circumstance? Army has been raised and created in a horrible way, you had no idea and couldn't stop it and now they're being delivered to you. How do you do right by them? You can't! Certainly not as Jedi. Theyre in a ethical trap. They can only try their best but whatever they do, they are promoting the fucked up system that put these men in that position in the first place. Even if they could walk away from the republic (highly debatable) You either leave them to fend for themselves knowing there will be a huge loss of life, or you go in to war alongside them, hoping that in doing so you can smooth the way for them. Hoping that you'll figure out how to free them soon. Hoping that you can save as many of their lives as possible.

Like wow. Terrible situation to be in for anyone. No way you're getting out of that one without betraying them in some way. But for the jedi? Who rely on a philosophy that promotes the importance of all sentient life, to stop them falling and pretty much losing themselves to a mystic power that's gonna do all it can to turn them in to a time bomb, destroying themselves and hurting as many ppl as possible on the way out. Like I can't think of a less conflicting ethical dilemma for them to find themselves in. The war destroys the Jedi. If Palpatine was patient he wouldn't have needed order 66. They were never getting out of that alive. The war broke them, it was in complete opposition to their philosophy and they were tearing themselves apart from the inside.

Anyway this is my comment:

"It is!!! I think this is such a key way that its really hard for anyone to do right by them and be fair. They are adults, it wouldn't be fair to force them in to the life of a child. Or to patronise them. But in the same hand, they shouldn't be adults, something was taken from them and it's not fair to just ignore the fact that their childhoods were stolen from them. They aren't the people they'd be if they got to live those childhoods, but they aren't children either. They think like adults, they feel like adults; but adults that grew in to adults without the learning potential that a proper childhood provides.

It's an extreme, but it's an extreme of an issue that's unfortunately common irl. As an adult whose childhood didn't give you what what you needed, you are innately aware that you lost something that you can never get back. You can make the most out of who you are now, but without a time machine, you'll never have the childhood you should have had. And that, I think is something that Jaster himself is very aware of. When Mace tells him this, he knows the weight of it and he immediately knows that for the clones, it's so much worse.

Like I don't think it should be understated that the whole situation with the clones and the Jedi being asked to lead them was like perfect Jedi torture. It's a complete moral quandary and every way betrays their philosophy. The clones were slaves. They were born to be soldiers, trained from birth, their entire lives built around this war they didn't choose. But it was all they knew. They were indoctrinated in to that life from birth. Had the Jedi found a way to free them, I honestly think the vast majority of the clones would have been offended. They had been raised to believe their life's meaning was to fight for the jedi. They wanted to. It may not have been an informed decision, but, they did want it.

And that's when you really come in to difficulty with, these are adults that should be children. Because it isn't fair to tell another adult that they are wrong to want what they want and that they only want that because they don't have the experience to realise its a bad option. You can't be like 'I know what's best for you'. They are just as much of an adult as you. They are just as capable of thinking things through as you are. But in the same hand, had the clones been born in to a different life, would they still want to be soldiers? Probably not! But they are already adults by this point, their brains are developed, they can't get that childhood back. So to say 'I know that's what you want but it's only because your lack of childhood made you incapable of seeing what's right for you' would be humongously fucked up. There really isn't a way for the Jedi on the council to approach them that doesn't betray at least a part of what the clones are and I think that's important to address."

I do think it's a really interesting thing to chew on and a lot of the debate I see around it in my eyes misses the point completely. There isn't a right answer. There was never going to be a right answer. This didn't happen accidentally. Palpatine set it up to cause as much damage as possible. The clones were born betrayed and the Jedi, were fated to play a part in that, whatever they did. There was no way out.

[mecachrome]

very selfishly would love more of ur thoughts on oscar accommodating and mirroring lando.... as an insane landoheadTM ive been watching lando slowly match oscar's energy in the past year and its been driving me insane and ur SO right that oscars done the same thing!! kind of crazy kind of losing my mind would love to get more thoughts out of u

!!!!!!!!! hi kira i would LOVE 2 talk about this. also this answer may or may not be 2k words long

god there are so many Angles and Frameworks and Contexts through which it is possible to examine 814's dynamic that i constantly feel unhinged about it. and probably sound unhinged as well…… pls note that all of this is pure insanity from my insaneperson brain ⚠️ ;__; ok where to begin.

to me the thing about 814 mirroring each other is that in reality it's actually a metaphor for many different things ❗️ on one hand you can interpret it Literally as in a strictly physical sense—the idea of mirroring someone as running parallel and positioning yourself firmly opposite each other, as constructing intricate rituals in order to NOT touch the skin of other men, being so specifically magnetically repulsed that any contact is accidental and fleeting and causes you to spring away as quickly as you'd met. but then there is also the other sense of mirroring that is….. more amorphous and conceptual, e.g. how oscar has in many ways indirectly orbited lando his entire career and how although they've only been teammates for a year now lando has technically been a primary reference point of his throughout a majority of his teens. AND what i think is so interesting about that too is that if you look back at oscar's Evolution As A Person, you could argue that he's been purely Himself As He Is Now for a very long time... yes there've been minute fluctuations in maturity and just general cringeness and muscle growth and cheek fat etc. etc. but at least outwardly in how he communicates with other people and displays his mentality / innate habits / mannerisms he's basically been his fully realized adult self since he was like 17??? which obviously cannot be said of lando norris who has grown massively in appearance and perspective and assuredness and so on from the ages of 17 to 21 to 24. yet this constantly evolving & changing your_choice_of_lorde_album Growing Pains lando has always been a sort of distant static fixed point in the future of oscar's mind… hmmm. that's just part of it tho

basically 814 as they are now are sooo fascinating to me because again They Do Not (Consciously) Touch but they've still very gradually managed to build off the foundations of oscar's subconscious teenage mirroring by turning it into something… well perhaps not quite fully intentional (and isn't that almost better in the end!!!) but certainly more self-aware and generally conscious. basically: the Negative Space of landoscar's demonstrated "affection" is where their reciprocity lies! if that makes sense.

and i guess what i'm trying to get at is that… on surface level, it's easy to say that 1) Oscar has always only ever been himself (generally true) and that 2) As the guy who came into f1 at 19 and was continuously expected to meet his more extroverted teammates' energies lando is the one who's habituated to experiencing marked change (also fairly true), but this still obfuscates equally important facets of their personalities: i.e. that oscar may be the more ~intellectually~ inclined of the two (which also who Cares. completely totally off-topic LOL but personal pet peeve of mine is people acting like there is a discernible difference between a-level maths and whatever private tutoring lando did after dropping out when their job title is lichrally F1 Driver…?! both are negligible fractions of fractions of whatever postgrad coursework the team's Actual engineers have done!!! but anyway), my personal argument is that really oscar is so consistently himself BY having zero concept of himself. whereas lando….. actually does possess a very strong inner character and intense, at times destabilizing self-awareness but also boasts a higher eq that enables a very high capability for social camouflage.

……????????? this is like a 10-paragraph intro. What am i getting at.

so basically. Yes. mutual accommodation……. i think my main point is that despite lando's strong baseline character and idiosyncrasies and particularities and fussiness and general weirdness, He Can, when necessitated, (as long as it doesn't completely contradict his moral impulse etc. etc.) soften that edge and adapt to another person's expectations—Even if just to maintain bearable social rapport & conversation. whereas on the other hand oscar can sometimes actually be a lot more malleable because he doesn't really hold strong conviction in much outside the few non-negotiables in his life ??? (read: racing...) like yes he's still competitive in challenges and is pedantic as shit but also he kind of just Doesn't care……. so basically he's the perfect fit for lando. because he DOESN'T expect anything from lando and lando DOESN'T need to camouflage himself for oscar and because oscar interprets things straight-forwardly and at face value and reads lando's intentions in good faith and honestly probably like 30% of lando's overthinking is a result of people constantly assuming the worst of him so i think on some level it's like 👉 👈 when you're both a little weird and also weird in these little different ways but in the end those minute shifts are what make you compatible and fit you back together again ?!?!?!? as i said it's the negative space of it all.

so really landoscar are not totally "opposites attract" but they're also not identical "mctwins" or whatever because Nuance and Secret Third Thing and what's truly critical about their mirroring is basically that 1) they don't EXPECT the other person to do it 2) they don't INTENTIONALLY do it and 3) it only happens because they're intensely aware of the other person's personality and mannerisms and appearances... bref IT'S ABOUT THE CATALOGUING!! like lando saw oscar in 2023 for the first time and immediately went oh you've gotten taller? oh you have big arms now? and they can't help pointing out each other's hair and ALSO >portrait painting (gets ko'd) "do you like purple?" "...uhhhh i can do now" like WHO SAYS THAT? ANDDDDD this was after oscar had picked purple to begin with but lando was like Nooo you can't do that :/ so oscar changed even though he'd argued that he'd "already committed to it" literal moments prior. Many such cases (i'm not finding a chair anyone?). they make me feel insane.

right let me just finish up with a few more moments (if you're still reading i'm sorry) but Vocabgifset is kind of a rough overview of how, at the very beginning, i think oscar did come in with a very undefined approach to How To Be A Teammate ? and was ready to treat lando as he'd treated rob and logan and fred and whomever and maybe even reflecting the atmosphere as reserve at alpine a little bit idk—essentially more visibly abrasive and pedantic and generally annoying. Also (ahem) perhaps how he'd seen lando act around carlos and daniel before... Guy who has carlando tweets in his twitter likes. 😔

but of course lando REALLYYY doesn't like being unnecessarily corrected over ultimately inconsequential things and again his demeanor is far from bombastic when it hasn't been demanded of him, so i think oscar quickly recognized that in his character and learned to just play along with what lando liked and wanted—not because he was preoccupied with lando getting annoyed at him or thought that lando was sensitive or whatever and not because he himself is a pushover because of course there is a healthy & endearing amount of push/pull to their dynamic but just because he sincerely respects lando and with that respect understood that he didn't need to "force" their dynamic when it would prosper by just being himself and more importantly letting lando be himself……….. Or something.

which imo is basically the basis of their current communication style: a lot of wordless meaningful looks & expressions (because they're both entirely honest people in different ways) (SEE: VIRGIN RADIO UK) (the thing Is that lando has no verbal filter but oscar is the one with 0 control of his expressions and deeply revealing permablush), oscar always folding to whatever lando says in an interview, jumping into frame and following along lando's message in the british f4 anniversary video, listening to lando's music through the walls of their driver rooms, and of course any instance of their Soft Talking Voices such as → "yeahhh you're up there" "aww (genuinely a little pleased and flustered)" and CAT 5 behind the scenes smoothie convo and oscar patiently waiting for lando to finish speaking and not wanting to enforce his presence but always being there and ready to help him….. like the worst part 2 me of the "well-represented" video is that andrea turns to lando first and tries to help him but lando is Still processing and Not listening so THEN he looks at oscar to be like um i don't know the word and that's when andrea looks back at oscar expectantly 🥲😭😩!!!!!!!! what if i dyed. honestly. the category is truly just oscar being susceptible to Lando Norris…………… i could go on.

also >RANDOM MOMENT TOTALLY NOT IMPORTANT but the yes/no challenge is so devastating on every conceivable level and yet One thing that i do not think is discussed enough! is the way oscar physically leans into lando's space on the table every time it's his turn to answer the questions and Specifically how in round 1 the media people were trying to get his attention to tell him to put the mic pack into his pocket but he was soooooooooo focused and fixated on lando's face right up until lando turned to speak to the camera that he didn't notice for like 3 minutes. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. argh. the problem with oscar is that he's SINCERE. truly. "are you ready oscar piastri?" [zero hesitation whatsoever] "i am ready lando norris 🥰"

of course it's not like oscar doesn't introspect whatsoever because obviously he is very capable of self-assessing when something is important by an objective measure of success (aka recognizing deficits over a lap), but relative to lando's specific brand of overthinking & online lurking habits then oscar very much does.... basically underthink??? yes he overcomplicates simple ideas by being too literal but really as a person & conscious being he's great at living in the Present and filtering out excess noise. er... i won't delve too much into the ojp Learned Behaviors of it all and why he's so charming to older people specifically but basically Wwyd if an F1 driver microdosed autisticswag? joking. mostly. but i def agree re: your tags that oscar is never actually consciously trying to be a WELL AKSHUALLY guy because it's just fundamental expressive compulsion alkdsfhaldfh.

also specifically one of my favorite tiny little 814 things OAT is when lando says something unexpected or ridiculous and oscar parrots it back all high-pitched and breathily and disbelievingly like? Girl. this is super jank but perhaps you understand....... 😔

in the end it's getting asked >what have you picked up from lando and oscar saying Well everyone hmmms but not in the Special Multifaceted Uniquely Expressive way that Lando does ! whom I not only know well enough to intimately recognize this mannerism from but have also elected to mention multiple times in this interview. and at the end of the day...? maybe that's romanze

is this anything… idk. also i offer you the jankiest gif ever because i had to remove zbrown to fit them together (Which perhaps is also a metaphor for reaching each other Across The Distance NO PHYSICALITY REQUIRED!! ok i can't just keep saying see: [another random ass example] so i'll stop now but also see: eyebrow raise knowing smile at the end of the sim city video.) anyway why's this such another crasyinsane little moment of how they communicate with each other?! is it just me ?????????

alskfhsfd ok i'm so sorry. thank u for letting me ramble incessantly 🧡

[necrotic-nephilim]

back on my bullshit. jaycasstalia (all combinations), cassrose × cheshire, deaddove jaydonna, jaytemis × rose, cass × artemis (that one wfa panel), koricass, jaykori dead dove, jay × jessica cruz

hello welcome back i adore the bullshit. i have to admit that i dislike JayKori and tbh i don't like or know Kori well enough to enjoy any ship with her she just. exists outside of my periphery and isn't the sort of character i'd enjoy. so those i fear i am unable to give thoughts there BUT THE OTHERS-

JayCassTalia is !!! so good? i really like Talia and i've been getting more and more into the al Ghuls so i find that fascinating. i think the respect Talia would have for Cass could almost border on a motherly jealousy, wishing *she* had honed her child into such a perfect weapon. i think CassTalia could be such a fun sort of mother/daughter incest ship of Talia promising to take better care of Cass. and then Jason in the mix is so fun bc Talia rlly shaped Jason for who he is today and i do think she loved him. maybe she loved what she saw of Bruce in him or maybe she loved how he existed outside of Bruce. both work so well. Talia being into both of them and them both falling for the attention of an older woman? yes i love it (also i will one up you with this- JayCassTaliaNyssa. fuck with Talia and Nyssa's complex over each other)

CassRoseChesire is so good from the thought of traumatized daddy issues and all of them being raised to be weapons, not ppl. the solidarity in that combined with feeling like being the only ppl who understand what that's like? it's so good. and it also has such fun conflicts in where they all fall on moral issues. very much a "you don't have to be human around me so stop pretending" sort of throuple and man, the potential in that complex in general. i feel like they'd get cannibalism as a metaphor for love shit.

dead dove JayDonna is VERY interesting, oh my god i never would've considered dead doving Donna. i haven't read a *ton* of comics with Donna but something about Jason expecting her to be a safe person on the Titans he can go to during his very brief period on the Titans and it turns out she's not and she takes complete advantage of him is *so* fun. i like if she's maybe projecting a want for Dick onto Jason too, but she sees Jason as a Robin that she can mold into a better partner than Dick is so this is the even better choice. she gets a blank slate she can make whatever she wants and it's so easy to make him obsessed with her if you lean into the "Jason is a Wonder Woman fan" sort of thing, with her telling all sorts of stories about Diana and promising she'll introduce them someday just to keep Jason coming back around to her.

Jaytemis and Rose truly is a ship that is just "Jason Todd deserves to be torn to shreds by strong woman" and ykw, i support that agenda. i do not think he'd be able to walk half the time but i think he'd enjoy it. i personally enjoy 90s Artemis the most and i think that version of Artemis before DC softened her for Jason could be SO fun oh my god. she would not put up with his shit and would drag him around like a leashed dog. and Rose is a great third for them bc she's also absolutely unhinged and fucked up enough to want Jason on a leash. tbh i see this almost very dark in a controlling with, but that's the fun of it for me. <3

i've not read enough of WFA to know what you're referencing BUT i think CassArtemis could be fun. (tho i hate that one Outlaws comic where Artemis oneshots Cass and calls her a child bc wdym Artemis can oneshot Cass but anyway-) typically i like Artemis and Helena as far as shipping her with a Batfam woman, but there's fun in letting a strong woman look down at Cass and just decide to chuck Cass over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. i think she'd enjoy just how strong of a fighter Cass is. freak4freak but it's sapphic and they're arguing most of the time.

Jason/Jessica is SUPER interesting. i don't know if Jason and Jessica have a ton of interactions in canon? i've not read much of Rebirth BUT i will always love sticking Jason with a Lantern. JayKyle is my personal fave but i'd love to see Jason helping Jessica out of her shell and getting her to be more confident after her trauma. they cope with trauma in very different ways so i find the idea of putting them together sort of fun to see where they'd clash and align. would he scare her? yes but that's the fun of it. fear kink core.

also, i offer you some of my Jason and Cass rarepairs bc i think you would Get It anon:

JasonOnyx (i just wish we got more out of their interaction in UTRH and Onyx should hunt Jason down for revenge and they fuck nasty about it idk)

JasonBette (Bette's whole obsession over Dick when he was Robin, but she's obsessed with Jaybin instead and it carries over when he becomes Red Hood and Jason cannot get rid of her)

CassBarda (all i got out of the current BoP run is "mmm. sapphic size kink.")

[kimbureh]

TBB & crumbling group cohesion

in my quest to inch myself through season 2 of TBB, episode 5 'Entombed' (treasure hunt with Phee, then a mecha) was quite illuminating, as filler episodes tend to be in TBB.

I mean, I wrote the piece on Hunter's failed leadership before I had seen this episode, but man is he flailing. Watching Hunter helplessly react to whatever others decide for the group made me think two things:

What would Crosshair think if he saw them? The Batch is stumbling from mission to mission, their 100% success rate plummeted to 0%, they barely make a living as scavengers and lack the talent for grave robbing. As Crosshair put it in S1E15, "You all are meant for more than drifting through the galaxy." I think Crosshair would be ashamed of them.

How much longer until the rest of the Batch starts complaining? Echo is still holding onto the illusion of a command chain, how much longer until he sees the need to step up? Whoever breaks first, Tech or Echo, and challenges Hunter in one way or the other, it'll be devastating for Wrecker. (it will have to be Tech who they lose first, one way or the other; Echo is too damn idealistic). Maybe the story manages to pull a full reverse and make Hunter the antagonist in season 3, that would be thrilling (seems unlikely tho, given that there won't be a fourth season)

'Entombed' was an interesting episode because it visualized the rift going through the squad. The group gets separated (Tech, Wrecker, Echo in one group; Hunter, Omega and Phee in the other) and later reunites with zero narrative value. UNLESS you read this as a metaphor for Hunter abandoning the Batch for the (real or imagined) sake of Omega. Tech, Wrecker, Echo, they all endangered themselves in a mission none of them really wanted to go on but failed to question their leader. Something's cooking up.

In the light of the episode 'Faster', I wonder whether Tech realized he could have a life as a professional driver. Perhaps he doesn't think about a life as a civi yet, but how many more failed decisions by Hunter is he away from considering it?

(pls no season 2 spoilers, I haven't watched it further than episode five yet)

[moonlight-tmd]

Prowlbee dancing based off this scene?

Hmm that's very interesting.

I suppose they would do something like a competitive tango or something similar where they'll both try to be the better dancer. I had just the right idea a while back where I found a very cool tune on youtube- a soundtrack named "Angelica" from "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides".

The before dating shenanigans with these 2 are just too good to resist so this is yet again the setting for this- i guess Sari, Bee and Bulkhead were having yet another fun time either dancing to Just Dance game or just casually dancing to the music they played and Prowl started complaining about the sound.

Bee took charge in arguing with him per usual and at some point he accused Prowl of being a horrible dancer in such a way that made Prowl want to prove otherwise. Bee challaged Prowl to dance with him and the fool accepted. He expected bee to throw on some pop music to sync dance to like always but he didn't expect a latino tango music to start playing

"With all the flips and twirls you do in combat surely you'll know how to dance to this, don't you?" Bee was far too cocky and Prowl bit the bait without thinking. They started dancing.

At first it was calm, some occasional twirls and transitions between poses but then the rythm quickened. And let me tell ya, they were going at it. One moment Prowl was leading the next he was trying to catch up to Bee and vice versa. Some of the moves didn't even look like tango but well synced combat. Unltimately tho, Bee took the lead for good and brought Prowl on a fast paced adventure- they were close then far then close again, Prowl's pedes has trouble keeping up with Bee's, the way he pulled him aroudn almsot made him look like he glided. As the song neared its climax Bee spun him around so fast and did a astonishing dip pose just as the final note played from the speaker.

Everyone clapped, even Optimus and Ratched who came out to see what the commotion was about. Prowl was... wow. He honestly did not expect Bee to be such a good dancer. The passion and the way Bee held him- looked at him during the dance clouded his mind. He was snapped from the dazed state when he heard Bee say something to him.

" I- uhh-" Prowl tried to come up with something to reply to whatever Bee said but Bee seemed to take that as an answer. "I take it you're impressed by me, heheheh.~" He teased in such a tone Prowl could barely get his thoughts together.

Theeeeen he went straight into continuing their little dance party with some obnoxious pop and electronica music and just like that, the charm poofed into thin air. Prowl, annoyed yet again, decided to just go back into his room and try to block the sound out with his earmuffs that Sari got him.

Bulkhead knew what Bee was onto and so did everyone else,... except Bee himself it seemed. Prowl was also very clueless despite obvious signs. They watched them dance around each other metaphorically for so long and now they were doing it literally and still didn't get the memo! At this point someone would just have to tell them...

Well, they were pretty much right about everything. One thing is that Bee actually knew what he was doing and somehow persuaded/paid Blitzwing to teach him how to dance good. The 'con might be a bad guy but he sure knows how to move the frame to impress someone. He might not be aware of being in love with Prowl but he sure as hell wants him to like him and be impressed. And Prowl did think about their dance whenever he heard similar music so I suppose it worked just fine!

[chromotps]

Another CoraLaw and AceLu HC ask. And also, shenanigans and fluff.

- Law uses Takt on Cora whenever he's about to trip, knock something over, in the enemy's line of attack and more. But also, he uses them whenever people get too physically close and "friendly" to Cora. Switching Cora with a paper that says "fuck off" infront of the person lmao. Cora teleporting into Law's side/lap and shouting apologies about what Law did even tho he has no plan to get up and go back to the person (Yes I know Cora is too big to fit in Law's lap. No I don't care about that xD). He also uses Takt to keep Cora from escaping him. Especially in arguments.

Law: Either we fix this right now or you'll stay afloat for the next 8 hours.

Cora: You seriously can't wait that long. I was a marine, I can wait!

Law: I'm a doctor AND a surgeon. You wanna test my patience? Do it now.

After 20 minutes Cora relents bc Law stares at him pointedly the whole time.

- Luffy brings Ace with him when he's on the hunt for food. He'll look for a new kind of species and have Ace cook it (AKA set it on fire until it looks cooked). Then, when they're full, they'll sit under a tree and talk about anything. They also take a short nap there under the tree. It reminds them of their adventures when they were kids (Sabo is with them in spirit /j). I think this is more of an AU where Ace joins the Strawhats, and he's joined by the hip with Luffy.

- Everytime one or two (or all) of the Heart crew members does something that will piss Law off, they hide behind Cora (metaphorically). Cora will attempt to distract Law (he doesn't even have to try, the moment Cora is on Law's line of sight almost all of his attention is on him) and calm him down. It works, kinda. Cause his idea of "distracting" Law is cuddles and kisses, but instead of Law, HE'S the one who gets distracted LMAO. So after a bit of cuddling and putting Cora to sleep, Law goes back to the crew cause he knows how the crew acts when they've done something and kept it a secret from him xD. At least Cora brought them some time to clean up whatever they could from the mess they made before Law comes back.

- Ace and Luffy will switch hats, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unconsciously. Intentionally is when one of them is feeling down or under the weather. Unconsciously is when they wake up and don't bother to see if they wore the right hat or not.

- Whenever the other crew members of the Heart Pirates wants to do something for their entertainment, they ask Cora first. If he's interested enough and also wants to do it, then they have an additional 40% chance that Law will let them do what they want. They now have a 42% chance of doing whatever shenanigan they have in mind. If there's no danger to what they have in mind, then it's an automatic win! Bonus is when Law joins in (he does it for Cora).

I don't know how to end asks lmao. I hope you enjoyed!

-S

hooo so many cute hcs!! That last idea of the Heart crew trying to get Cora on their side in bargaining deals with their captain makes so much sense. 😂 Very strategic of them... They're masters of navigating Law's pride/strong instincts of preventing fun.

And I love acelu switching hats... i think i talked on twitter once about how it would mean a lot for luffy to trust Ace with his hat, and for Ace to trust Luffy with his necklace (since it was possibly a tribute to Dadan ;w;)... hhhh sharing accessories!!!

[scarah-screeeaaammss]

okay now that its been a week, I have some Thoughts on monster high 2 so spoilers up ahead.

First off, I loved Torelai. She was fantastic, no notes. Same with Frankie but I think that goes without saying.

I also really loved Heath??? He was awesome. And Deuce was also very good. He felt more fleshed out and whole and I enjoyed his story bits. I thought his friendship was Frankie in that one scene in the van was incredibly sweet and I wish we had gotten more of that, not just from them but everyone.

That one song with Clawdeen and Drac before Frankie comes in? That was a breakup song tbh, and poor Frankie all caught in the middle.

Aside from actual characters and characterization, I thought the metaphors were pretty heavy, not in a bad way tho. What really fucking confused me tho was that... Torelai was proved right???? The witches were evil and trying to kill Draculaura and the other vampires??? Like wtf. That absolutely threw me. I was expecting it to just be like one or two of the higher up witches to be evil but no. It was all of them. I feel like that seriously muddled whatever the moral was supposed to be. Bc the whole time Drac and co are saying witchcraft is fine, and it is, but then oh btw its only Drac who's not evil about it. Like okay weird. Don't like that.

Also they had a really interesting story for Frankie set up, discussing not feeling monster enough and changing themself to better fit in but still feeling useless and wanting to be the best they can be and then it just... ends. Like that did not feel like a good arc, Frankie felt so forgotten to me by the end. Which ticks me off, I love them so much and it just felt bad. Like their fear coming true. Idk just the whole "the purpose of life is to be useful not happy" like I felt like they could have done something where frankie realized they can be happy and useful and both are good but happiness is definitely super important, that life is about more than one thing.

Wish we could have seen more of Drac and her leveling up to a full vampire, that felt a little left over too. Idk it just felt like there was so much set up and nothing completed. Except...

Hey so why did they have to have that kiss. I did not want to see that. They work really well as friends, I liked their interactions but umm. Torelai and Clawdeen had WAY more chemistry. Anyway. I feel like you could theoretically put them together, but they didn't do it right and they never will.

Anyway. I know I had a lot more to say but these were the highlights.

[grim-faux]

Do you think Otto was 100% bad? He fits very well with the theme of Adults exploiting children for their own benefit.

But he also has moments where he seems to genuinely worry and maybe even care about her, but he had an inability of seeing her perspective, mistreated her and was using her as a tool to find his sister and the Ferryman.

But again, he seemed genuinely heartbroken when she was taken.

He's not 100% bad, maybe a good and healthy 84.7% - it's not him seeking Cece(Cici) for the goodness of her benefit, or a selfless act, not entirely. Trying to find Cece remains a fraction of Otto's internalized guilt and trauma - he is a mess of a human. And a lot of Otto's progress does depend on Noone cooperation and connection to him, both emotionally and in the physical world they inhabit. But Otto still retains some of his humanity, tho by the end of SoN, he may have lost that entirely and been thrown off that metaphorical edge when Noone abandoned him for the Ferryman/Candlebro. It's Cece all over again - Otto did that, he fuked up. As an adult, he should know better about what he did done which was wrong, but he's angry and spiteful, and maybe a smidge depreciating of his failures. It is him after all that was the problem, but he also does not care.

Then he takes an immediate interest in Ethan, who has no prior reported history of nightmares or Nowhere. Ethan is sleep walking. Oh my world, call the psyche ward, the child is doing something unforeseeable - we can't handle this child.

Otto didn't start at 100% nefarious, but he does delve into like 91.6% bad, and he is conniving and manipulative, and willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy his own ends, by the end of SoNs. The story is his descent into his villain ark, his repressed trauma being unleashed, all the bad and problematic things getting ripped open from old scars that never healed right. He does not have much control over his emotions or who he is, because he's lost himself to the sister that walked away - it took a part of his good with him. Because if Cece stayed, he wouldn't be the lost child growing up with that luggage. And Noone did exacerbate his condition - which isn't her fault, but she was foretold and knew the conditions of running off to Nowhere would entail. Rather stay with the problematic bad-for-her adult who was searching for his lost (probably dead) sister, she goes with the sus predator who inhabits the same land the monsters thrive.

And for context, there are often times situations where an adult or parent tells a child "don't do X cause danger" but the child does X anyway because they are a child. They disregard danger or hazard for their own interests, they throw aside caution because children - are absolutely selfish self-serving jerks. Gong to the doctors for treatment, for instance, getting demolished teeth torn out for their health, getting jabbed and prodded, promises that this medicine will help, but the benefits promised fail - all traumatic stuff. When it was convenient or manageable for Noone, she did help others - like the mushroom fairy, or Rusty. Of course when the monsters charge, she turns around and flees - she's got to. That's all the children can do in that world. Noone is a selfish character, and she left behind a selfish man, so Otto could inflict that same pain onto other kids.

In a way, Otto is easier to sympathize with than Noone. Cause he was constantly abandoned by those around him, he - like Noone - lacked power and autonomy of his own decisions. Even as an adult, he was limited and lacked all power. At his most vulnerable, he was always abandoned. That's his story. He's always left behind and he can't take back what was stolen, or retrieve the people that were important to him, or those he relied on. And it is fuked up for Noon to be in that situation, but Noone still ran away from home after she had a fight with an adult/ a caretaker. That is how kids go missing. Otto's goal wasn't to maim or physically hurt Noone, though she was betrayed emotionally - all of that is recoverable. But going into Nowhere with the Ferryman/Candleman - there is no recovery. There is nothing but death and exploitation.

IN SHORT Otto is no more evil than Noone. For their own ends and needs, they did what they decided to do for selfish ends.

[kordeliiius]

for your Crewmates au; what's the endgame for it? Mono living on the Maw with the rest of the crew? Just a bit curious.

Getting Mono out of the tower and physically on board with everyone else was a major goal point for sure!! But at the same time I can't see it ending there either (like how there's a lot of different goals that are met between the beginning and now, life just kinda goes on for everyone). I've thought here and there about how Mono could contribute to the crew's efforts with his unique abilities, and I can never pick just one. But when on a small team, one wears many hats! (lol) Is he more efficient at dispelling vermin? Perhaps he improves the radio's capabilities? Is it possible for him to control the ship even? There's so much possibility.

Tho I just hatch this other idea regarding Dark Six and their role in the story. Throughout LN1, we can see them following Six around; prodding her towards solutions, watching her every move, whatever. But until recently I never thought about how Six's disconnect from her "inner child" could affect life with her new family. I think it'd be interesting if, for the longest time, Six was the only one who could see her own glitching remains. They're a deeply personal issue that she couldn't articulate to anyone and she just kinda has to live with. Now that there's a transmitter on the crew, is it possible for them to re-merge? Does Six even want that? And what would the result be?

I definitely want to take the metaphorical factors of glitches into account when approaching this question too; it's my belief that they're a narrative device representing a character's mental state, while still having a tangible effect on them. Of course, if Six does decide to re-merge with their "inner child," I don't want it to "fix" all their emotional issues or suggest that she could never function without it (because that's not true). Instead I want it to really mean something. The arc I'm trying to set up at this point in her life is letting go of her past regrets or atoning for how she's treated people, particularly Mono. Once she's found fulfillment in that aspect, THEN Six might be ready to ask for him help again.

[teruel-a-witch]

Saw you wanted some asks and I love your thoughts so here you go! I picked #22 and #8 you can do both or your favorite or whatever😊 Picked them mainly because I thought they could be interesting but also because a lot of the questions were obvious for Steve or Danny. One of the best parts of having a 10 season show is that we learned so much about the characters and their mannerisms/ habits that it's easy to know how they would react in hypothetical situations. In mcdanno's case its usually because we've seen them together in similar situations before 😅

aw, i'm flattered you find my ramblings interesting, and I totally agree, it does seem like a lot of the answers would be obvious because we have so much data (although there are always ways to twist a typical trope)

22. takes pranks too far.

okay so this one is tricky because my first instinct is to say steve because he is a tall child who enjoys being a little shit and annoying danny because rattled danny is extra adorable. plus, he was in the navy and the pranks military boys play on each other can be brutal. i'm sure steve and his seal buddies got to some pretty crazy stuff together (which could also be how they got their nicknames). one of the funniest stories my dad told me from his compulsory military service was when he and 3 of his buddies got back at their roommate for the crime of snoring by lifting his bed with him in it and carrying it to the communal toilets, where he was discovered in the morning by the squadron commander still sleeping. and i'm sure it's tame in comparison to what steve could have gotten up to.

but the thing is danny isn't just one of the guys, steve actually wants danny to like him, and pulling on his metaphorical pigtails is one thing, but doing something that would make danny so pissed he stops talking to him is another entirely. except maybe in the beginning where he doesn't know what the limits are he could go too far, but as he learns the boundaries of their relationship i think there will be lines he won't cross.

danny is more of a sarcasm/making fun guy than a practical joke guy (salting the cake that one time was OOC enough for him that steve didn't expect it), but even he obviously feels kinda bad when steve thinks he's genuine, so i don't think either of them will deliberately hurt each other. there's just so much love between them, the gentle kind, that i don't see them pulling deliberately cruel pranks on each other.

it would be fun if they got into an all out prank war, tho. although, potentially with disastrous consequences because they are so competitive, so i guess the only way it could get too far if they are both pushing each other's limits.

8. makes the other late for work.

before they are a couple it honestly can be a number of mundane things but that's not what we are here for 😏 after they get together, well, i'm gonna answer with a graphic

it's gotta be steve, who can't resist danny and danny can't resist him

people get murdered in oahu almost every day, but they still got years to make up for, the dead can wait :p

which one of your OTP ask game

[having-conniptions]

KinnPorsche ep 5 Rewatch Rambles:

"What happened to me?" "You were drugged. But they didn't do anything to you." YEAH BUT YOU DID KINN

"Why are they targeting me?" To hurt Kinn, next question

Detective Kim at work lol

Kinn: "As a boss I had to take care of him" Korn: "As a boss you didn't have to fuck him" (I know that's not what he said but it's what he meant)

That Tankhun and Kim interaction tho lmao

"Are you fucking dumb, bro?" xD I don't like Ken but I love Perth

Porsche is having flashbacks of Kinn's boobies. Same, girl.

And the not-very-subtle "playing with fire" metaphor? Nnnnnice.

I also didn't notice before that he was crying while he's having those flashbacks. Investing in full hd sure payed off

At least Pete is just as clueless as Porsche usually is

But back to those flashbacks, you can't tell me Porsche didn't feel violated. As much as I love the series and the ship I still can't accept what happened and that it's just brushed off after Kinn apologizes for "crossing a line" by which he just means losing professionalism by sleeping with one of his subordinates (which is already very questionable in and of itself)

GUYS!! COMMUNICATE! Kinn is sad bc Porsche has been acting distant so he gives him the cold shoulder and calls up one of his boys and then Porsche isn't too happy about that ugh what a mess

Hahahah Porsche's like "I can do that too" and tries to get with a girl

But how poetic is it that they both can't stop thinking about each other and end up not going through with it

Ayyyy Vegas is back 🖤🔥 tbh I was kinda rooting for him the first time around

Ok the VegasPorsche motorbike ride with Why Don't You Stay in the background is actually so cute

Even though Vegas' intentions were questionable at best, he did manage to take Porsche's mind off things and make him feel better. I feel like they could have been such great friends without the whole manipulation and boyfriend-snatching

Gahhh Vegas is so cute in this, really close to Bible just being himself

THE HUG Vegas is smiling even when Porsche can't see his face VEGAS JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED

"What took you so long?" Kinn calm down he's not your husband (yet)

"Are you saying that I've hurt you?" "And have you not?" TELL HIM PORSCHE

"I can do whatever I want" KINN WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SAY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY

*almost kisses Porsche* "Starting tomorrow, Ken will be my head bodyguard" KINN NO USE YOUR WORDS. THE CORRECT ONES.

KimChay being cute I can't I can't do this again I can't take this heartbreak again I just can't

Detective Kim analyzing whether Chay is lying about Porsche he is really in his own separate detective movie huh

Omg the pics in Porchay's phone are so wholesome, just Chay with his loved ones, food, and cats. In mine Kim would find the same mirror selfie from 10 slightly different angles or with slightly different poses and then the same thing but from the day before and maybe the occasional random pic of something interesting I saw

Chay winning Kim over with his cuteness and talent AWWWWW

Pete is so hilarious

And such a good friend aaaaaa I love him

Porsche having dinner with his friends is just so wholesome awwww (why did Kinn have to show up and make it awkward)

I know I'm sounding more and more anti Kinn but I swear I'm not

"It's kinda cool to have a henchman. But he seems dull" ahahahah I fucking can't

"I'm taking you home" I REFUSE TO INTERPRET THAT AS ANYTHING OTHER THAN DOMESTIC AS FUCK

This is kinda where Kinn finally starts showing a bit more of his dorky side that we love so much

"If I don't care about you, why am I sitting here then?" <3<3<3<3<3

Aaaaand the handcuffed arc begins 👀

Daaaamn Chan really got that guy with one clean shot

Handcuffed in the forest arc here we gooooo

[undeadhorse]

one of the really hard things about making art is that you can spend like a buttload of time staring at a thing and building on it and crafting it and etc etc, and finally reach a point where you're satisfied. and then you share it. and i reach that point and i share it and then i go 'is this good? i cant tell, i think i really like it? but i cant tell if its like, worth something? what if ive just been staring at it so long it looks normal to me, but its actually weird and mediocre and i just cant see anymore'. i think being mediocre would be worse than being bad also. ugly can be sort of a positive like. if its on purpose. if you're deliberately trying to evoke a repulsion sort of reaction from the audience, ugly can be a good thing in art and you can utilise it. and its still like, interesting and sincere at the worst. boring tho. what is there to even say.

i dont think my art is boring. i just wish i could get like feedback? and not in a social media notes kind of way. pearls before swine. i hate the feeling of like, putting time and care into something and getting no response, or like, minimal response? its frustrating. like the whole point is to be seen and to elicit some kind of feeling in whoever sees it. if no one is seeing it, or worse they see it but they dont respond or acknowledge it, it almost feels like a waste of time.

i know art is better as a personal thing and i shouldnt be looking for approval from others. im trying not to. theres a nuance angle here where i am and i am not at the same time. bc yes im subconsciously looking for approval. but i think im also motivated in a similar way to a stage performer. audience response is like, really key. you live or die based on whether the portion of your life put into a piece reacts with someone or not. you put yourself out there and do something sincere. theres some metaphor in my head about plants and blood and pounds of flesh right? i put a bit of myself on a scale and im waiting for a measurement.

social media interacts with this in such a weird toxic way. i want to be seen, but i dont want to be chasing notes. that shit is addictive in a really dangerous way. ghhgh. making art of other ppls characters or fanart of like, 'oh look its saul goodman as a pony' thats like, way more likely to get seen and appreciated than something thats more original. but its like, derivative. as fun as that is thats not what i always want to do. i want to build my own things. even if i am like, building on mlp g4.

for whatever reason, mlpfim had and continues to have a profound effect on me, and it motivates me to better myself and grow. and thats something i need to hold onto and take as far as i can. bc motivation like that is rare. and doing shit is hard! the diminutive pastel equines give life more texture and saturation. i think thats okay for me to rely on.

one takeaway from all this is that if you like something react to it and give a little back. cuz its nice. reblog things. likes are actually like a negative bc it inflates the note count without spreading the art. either do both or do neither.

[maifrenthebesto]

Oh yeah!

I went on a date with a Russian girl right around when the pandemic started to really creep in, but enough where we still felt like it would just be for a few weeks max.

I liked her, I simply didn't like her enough to ignore the writing on the wall.

It felt like an emulation.

She recommended a movie! She got upset at me for saying that watching content in the original language (with subtitles if needed of course) I think I made her upset, maybe not, but she needed an excuse to end relations since she was going back home to Russia. I'm sure that it was out of her control, but we had good relations for the most part.

However I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a scenario brought upon by reality to recreate what it wanted with someone else. It wasn't her fault, she was just on a date. The fact we lived in the same apartment complex just made it convenient, but that was just a funny coincidence that happened to accentuate the void I was experiencing at the time. And truth be told, I did consider ignoring all my precongnitions as they developed from my own patterns flaring up internally, I found myself at a mental fork, and so I flipped a metaphorical coin.

Maybe I was being unfair to everyone just because everything reminded me of what came before, I didn't want to think about where I would be after, but I knew where I would want to end up in the end, so I had to be smart, fair, and considered of the feelings on my table. In hindsight, maybe it was just unnecessary from her view towards her concept of me. But we were playing this interesting game of back and forth, I guess as you would on a date, and so I answered a question with what I considered to be a simple riddle to solve, it wasn't really anything super complicated, kinda like a "if it isn't A, and it isn't B, then what could X be?" And I expected her to understand that X = C in the situation, but for some reason she got stumped and encouraged something else to talk about, and I'm no stranger to feigning naiveté to appear more docile or whatever the goal would be in pretending not to know, but it sort of bothered me that she didn't get it.

Maybe I didn't get that she got it, but I also already kinda didn't like where things were going, and we weren't on the same page about the goals of the relationship considering she was going to have to leave soon. It was just a chill time with a chill girl.

Oh she also kept insisting I was staring at her ass, and well the thing is... I really wasn't lol.

I think that was also a problem if this is a date scenario right? Not to objectify anyone of course, however attraction needs to be able to be states with confidence, and it just wasn't there on this particular instance.

But your shoes were there tho.

[hextechmaturgy]

Hey @meradormire you asked for clarification, I'm sorry this turned into a huge rant love u

I will preface this by saying that I played pathologic classic HD first and much prefer that game to pathologic 2, so my interpretations of this story and characters start with classic, and usually end there too, but sometimes the second game supports them.

Disclaimer for difficult topics such as suicide. Spoilers for both games too.

And a lighter disclaimer to say I’m more confident in Andrey’s characterization that I am Peter’s.

So, what the fuck is Memorial do Convento. It’s a book written by Nobel Prize winner José Saramago that analyzes and critiques the social, moral and economic conditions of the court of King João V and the people living under his rule at the time. Saramago makes fun of pretty much everyone at one point or another, criticizing characters of privileged social status (their omnipotence, the exploitation of the commoners, etc), Portuguese (in)justice with the Inquisition going strong and whatnot, and even the commoners themselves for the blind trust they put in the Church and their morbid interest in autos-de-fé (rituals of public penance and executions).

TL;DR it’s a pretty based book

How this relates to the Stamatwins is probably something that only makes sense in my brain, but I’ll try to explain it. Fair warning if none of it makes sense tho <3

SO... Though I think it’s safe to say the twins are quite privileged now (their celebrity status makes it so they don’t even have to work anymore, they’re not about to starve anytime soon that’s for sure) I think it’s valid enough to say they would probably be dead if it weren’t for their rich sponsors.

Genius alone will not sustain you; such is the fate of many artists. Andrey and Peter were persecuted for their work and their ideas, they rejected the laws and conventions of their society and were hunted for that. Andrey speaks of himself as Peter’s protector, and we know he’s been sentenced to death in four countries. One day, they would’ve run out of bullets, knives, or merely countries. But before that could happen, the Kains brought them into their ranks and provided them with all the tools they needed to safely express themselves.

But the Kains had an agenda, and I’m very passionate about the fact that the twins were manipulated into working for them without knowing about it.

In the book, King João V is trying to get his wife pregnant and failing miserably. One day, a priest tells the King that, should he build a Convent in Mafra after that priest’s religion, he would have descendants, and the King buys into it. The hilarious part is that the priest came to him with this request fully knowing the Queen was pregnant already, and just said some bullshit about seeing the future or whatever.

The twins are tasked by the Kains with building the Polyhedron, but I don’t believe they’re told of their true intentions. The King buys into the priest’s request because, yeah sure, I do want that son. The twins buy into the Kain’s request because, yeah sure, utopia is something I can get behind. When the Queen reveals her pregnancy and the Polyhedron stands despite gravity itself, everyone feels like miracles are real. And, I get it, the Polyhedron is a miracle, that thing cannot exist IRL, so you do need to squint to see the metaphor, but to me it is there. Both the Church and the Kains manipulate someone desperate so they can get something they want, and they succeed. Daniil is manipulated too, as we know.

I’m confident Andrey and Peter didn’t fully know what they were doing when they made the Polyhedron. Peter falls into despair after its creation, sensing there is something about it he can’t understand no matter how hard he tries, that some part of it will always be beyond its own creator and parent, as Miss Polly is often referred to as a beautiful daughter.

Peter Stamatin: The discovery is not mine. I've nothing to be proud of, really... I've stumbled across it by accident. Moreover, I don't really understand how it works. I've studied my own calculations inside out-and I still don't get it. Something's off, but what? That is the question...

(^ This is said to Daniil as Peter contemplates suicide.)

Andrey is revolted when he learns of Maria’s/Daniil’s solution to stop the plague.

Andrey and Peter were probably aiming for the Tower of Babbel, a structure built without God, not to mount to Heaven from Earth, but to set up Heaven on Earth. That particular myth goes that God disrupted the people’s work by confusing the language of the workers so they could no longer understand each other. I’d like to believe the confusion and disagreement from that myth is present here too.

Andrey says the Polyhedron was built for people, that it has no meaning without people. It was also built by people. Even if the twins built it completely on their own without any hired workers, which I think is unlikely, the fact of the matter is that Andrey and Peter are still just people, perfectly human, mortal if brilliant men.

When construction begins in Mafra, many people, with no other means to earn a living, dedicated themselves to the Convent, sacrificing their livelihood and even dying due to the risky working conditions they had to face, as the Convent was a huge undertaking. Their names were forgotten by time, so Saramago makes it his mission to remember their efforts, and that left an impression on me at the time I read the book. This was during high school, after all :P

So I think about the twins, who were asked to choose between persecution and possibly death, or a miracle. The King’s first born ended up being a daughter – WINK. The Stamatwins are both the commoner and the King.

Again, I really can’t deny their privilege, but I see a love for humanity in the twins that I don’t see in some of the other utopians. Andrey runs a pub to entertain the town, giving into carnal pleasures with just about anyone. There is a different discussion to be had here about Andrey as a questionable boss, but the point I’m trying to make is that everyone is welcome in his house. He even tells Artemy, the 'big scary Ripper’, that if someone comes for him inside his walls, he’ll beat the shit out of them. He’s arrogant, but I don’t really sense a rich man’s entitlement in him. I even think it’s cute that classic Andrey can trade stuff with you just like the children do.

Peter doesn’t give me entitlement either, or even much arrogance. He’s not a perfect man, but he's hounded by a million problems with no solutions, one of which is his own brother, so he’s aloof and introspective, but not anti-social. He’s living in his own world, not gatekeeping it from others.

To me, Andrey and Peter live somewhere between the leaders and the people. They are a secret third thing, if you will. They believe in a dream, in miracles, in the ascension of the human soul, as all utopians ought to do, but they get their hands dirty in their quest to achieve all of that, they toil away and mingle with the average Joe because their utopia was planned for them as well.

Memorial do Convento is a romance too, and that part I don’t think is quite as relevant for this rant – although, I do recommend reading it, the main lady is clairvoyant? I think? She can magically see people’s true nature and it hurts her…? It’s been a while, okay. I only mention the romance to say that the book ends in tragedy.

The ending is tragic, as was the life of those anonymous people at a time when the stake was the punishment by divine decree, but fundamentally, by the will of greedy, pretentious and powerful men.

The fate of the twins is probably tragic too. Walking off into the Steppe in the Nocturnal ending to die, left behind by the Kains to wallow and mourn in the Diurnal ending. I have hopes for both of them, we can headcanon and write fic to fix just about anything. Or perhaps the appeal of the game is that nothing happens afterwards, that it’s a game so the lives and dreams and plans of these characters end when you finish it. Personally, I think that’s a little sad too.

my interpretation of andrey and peter's creative process, what it represents and the role they each occupy within the utopian faction is a direct a result of me reading memorial do convento in school thanks professora sandra

[sheepwasfound]

dream is not jealous guys. he just needs attention.

wanting someone's attention to be on you instead of on someone/something else (a fake gf, sapnap) is a pretty clear form of jealousy