#does this make sense...

But I want to focus on Bumblebee and Optimus here.

I remember making a post saying that Optimus is can be very hypocritical and have inconsistent morals at times, and I was mostly thinking of TFP Optimus when I made it. He gives Megatron so many different chances, no matter how many horrible things Megatron does; he's constantly grieving the death of his best friend, and, every time Megatron does something slightly good, Optimus clings to it. It gives him hope that maybe, just maybe, Megatron will change if he gives him the chance to.

Now, in this episode, it starts out with Optimus and Ratchet talking to each other; Optimus seems to be grieving Megatron, or, at least, grieving the person he thought Megatron was. He says that he wished he had the chance to change his mind, to prove that there was still some good in him. This is really interesting to me because he never does this with any of the other Decepticons - obviously, him and Megatron were close (whether you view them as platonic or romantic doesn't rlly matter rn). He gives Starscream a chance to back down and he tries to convince Skyquake to stop fighting and both of them turn him down, but with Megatron, Optimus gives him more than just one chance - Now, I do understand that Optimus tried killing him in the s1 finale, but he fails to and never tries again; I’m pretty sure that’s because Megatron helped the Autobots kill Unicron, and that gave Optimus was once again given hope that he could change. 

And, at the end of the episode, Optimus says, “If Skyquake chose to stray from his master’s path, we might not be burying him today,” which is so interesting! Looking at this quote in the short term, Optimus thought he was dead, but looking at this in the long term? Megatron never really strays from his path. He does everything for his own selfish gain and never truly changes until Predacons Rising (and, even then, you could argue that he changes due to selfishness), yet Prime only tries to kill him once and then proceeds to give Megatron more leeway. 

This kinda becomes a dichotomy when you include Bumblebee in this. 

Now, Bumblebee was born into the war. He never learned who Megatron was before he was thrust into becoming a scout for the Autobots, so he doesn’t hold himself back when it comes to trying to kill Megatron (or any Decepticon), unlike Optimus. This is what leads Bumblebee to kill both Skyquake and Megatron, which adds a really interesting parallel to both of these situations. It also gives the episode name, Masters and Students, a really interesting meaning. Optimus, the master, wants to give Megatron, a genocidal dictator, unlimited chances to change because of his clouded and positive view of the world, while an argument can be made that Bumblebee, the student, has a much more negative outlook due to his upbringing in the war and he’s not really willing to give the Decepticon higher-ups second chances. 

There’s also more interesting stuff that foreshadows what happens at the end of the show! Near the beginning of this episode, Bumblebee and Raf are talking, and Raf asks Bumblebee why he isn’t a warrior yet. Optimus then steps in, saying something that he thinks Bumblebee deserves the warrior title, but Bee has a lot to learn, which sets up him becoming a warrior later. And then, at the end of the episode, Optimus says, “Bumblebee, putting yourself at risk wasn’t the wisest of strategies, but you performed admirably,” setting up how Bumblebee ‘dies’, gets brought back to life, and then kills Megatron, effectively ending the war, at the end of s3. This line also subtly adds an interesting character flaw to Bee; he’s extremely self sacrificial, especially when it comes to protecting/helping the Autobot cause. This is heavily implied/basically confirmed in later episodes (Sick Mind, Operation: Bumblebee), and this is most likely due to Bumblebee only seeing himself as a soldier and basing his self-worth on what he can do for others/the war. 

can you even imagine the feeling of being the one who spent Years cultivating and expanding a safe space for shane to actualize his want, like you've been kneeling there with your fucking knife and bobby pin delicately prodding each pin into the correct position and suddenly the entire door opens and everything is yours. the rush of reaching in and taking because you answered his fucking riddles three.

what ilya gets after that isn't just a really great piece of ass, it's knowing that he did it right. that feeling of achievement has got to be such a massive headrush. and potentially bigger than that has got to be the moments when, only because of the years of labor ilya has put in to build this space for shane to operate within, shane chooses to express a desire or exert any sort of control. shoving him against a wall, telling him not to marry svetlana, planning an alternative to that that centers himself. feeding his thumb into ilya's mouth and guiding him to his chest. earning shane's expressions of desire has got to make him so weak in the knees. "i want this enough to show you. i trust you enough to want this. i'm offering you something no one else gets."

the power that shane holds as a sub isn't meant to be seen outside of the world him and ilya create with eachother; that alone is more than we've earned cause we're not there putting the work in that ilya has. the power that shane does hold is plainly displayed in their poolside interaction. i see shane's overall passive but observant state, ilya's bratty water shake, his cheeky demand for shane's money, and the fact that shane is the one who decides whether that's money he's earned, as a microcosym for their bedroom dynamic and feel confident that's the point of showing us the interaction.

(don't mind the weird, incorrect subtitles this is the only file i have on hand).

you have vessel, who's stuck as the dancer within the music box, his so-called "prison," forced to spin and dance to the rhythm per some mechanical programming or code that he can't seem to break. he feels as if he has to do it for us, asking us if we like that:

tell me, did i give you what you came for?

are we satisfied with what he gives us?

and then you have us, the users, the consumers, who crank the music box. we wind it up let the music box sing a song to us, often without a second thought. perhaps it sings a soothing lullaby or dramatic tune we can take comfort in as we watch the dancer spin around in the center to the rhythm.

and when we're done with it, when the song ends, we close it for the time being and the dancer stops. when we want to hear it again, we open it back up and wind it back up again to hear the melody and observe the dancer. it's just a cycle. a cycle in which the figure in the center is left dancing forever per the wishes of the user.

but, despite being stuck on the "stage [that] is a prison," vessel invites us to dance along too:

but i'm still glad you came, so let me see those hands

walk beside me till you feel nothin' as well

after all, why don't we both dance to the same rhythm, the same pained melody together? if we are to be submerged, let us be submerged together. perhaps we can even show each other how to dance forever.

basically just. yeah, we share pain and suffering.

in terms of attractiveness, i think xavier and zayne would be kind of aware but might not care that much??? i think rafayel, sylus and caleb know how attractive they are and know how to use their looks to get what they want...

if he could put his home on a jersey, he would wear it in a heartbeat.

you guys probably know from experience that all i write about lately (or at least this is what it seems like to me) is the concept of home. i've written countless stories about my home. i've written stories about characters finding their home, or creating their home, or losing their home. to me, falling in love is finding a home, and when you're away from the home you've always known, it's easier to fix yourself to another person rather than a place.

this is a joke but also not a joke: the trauma-bonded rookies. horses do it too: if you take two horses and put them in a strange situation, they become each other's best friends. even if they've never met. even if they hated each other beforehand. they are the most familiar thing the other can find in their new, strange landscape, so they stay together.