usertoxicyaoi · 2 years ago
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Hi. I have read your analysis through and through, and I completely love how your analysis matches my thoughts about VegasPete.
But I would like to ask you what is Pete's Dark Side that you see in him throughout the series? I know that his smiles from episode 2-9 are fake, but I want to know the specific analysis about his darkness side that he only revealed to Vegas. And why did he only reveal it to Vegas?
Which is the real Pete? Pete, that's around his friends and bosses? Or Pete, that's with Vegas? Do you think Vegas is the only person who gets to see Pete's true side just like how he's the only one who sees through Vegas?
Who do you think is the master manipulator among the two? For me, I'd say Pete. Because he knows how to connect with people so they can side with him. He knows how to capture someone in an emotional level like what he did to Vegas. Vegas is clearly a very smart and an intelligent person, he understands each situation but he can't touch with a person's feelings cause he has a low EQ, while Pete can balance with IQ and EQ.
Like you said, Pete KNOWS everything. So do you really think that Vegas truly think that Pete is stupid/dumb like he said? Since Pete has already opened his true self to Vegas.
hiiiii anon!!!!
ohhhhhh what an ask!!!!! okay lets talk about dark pete, my beloved!!!!!!
ok so. to break it down. i dont think we see dark pete at all until episode 12. i think up until episode 9, we see flashes of a morally grey pete. a pete that's questioning. a pete that's intrigued and fascinated. i dont think all of pete's smiles are fake, in the sense that pete is a party animal and does like to have a good time. but. i think its the supression of his potential, the holding back, and the reluctance to just ... accept the situation for what it is, that has him just meander through the day to day life whilst serving the major family. it becomes .... as though he's living on autopilot, in a sense. the whole deal about being made to watch movies and dramas when maybe he might not even want to, having to babysit etc. but pete just puts his head down and gets on with it. afterall, its his job. but, personally, as the head bodyguard, ya know, i'd expect him to be a lot more involved in and be more hands on in the action side of things. perhaps pete does too. but, yeah, in the end, he just agrees with whatever is asked of him to do, with a smile on his face, because he doesnt wanna cause a fuss, and he gets on with it.
now. he's known vegas for years. from a far distance. and like i said. pete has always had an intrigue. a fascination. he likes to question and poke and prod. remember in ep 6, when he says to pol "who do you think would do a better job, me or vegas' bodyguard?". so pete's a character that likes to assess and calculate and observe and think of possibilities - part of why is the head bodyguard. remember when he told porsche about how there are no heroes or villains. being in the mafia world of work that they are in, technically and morally speaking, from a very basic, black and white level, they are all Bad Immoral People. but, obviously, the world doesnt work like that. and pete sees that. gets that. applies that way of thinking to everything he does. remember when he told vegas that he was being a good son to his dad for doing what his dad asked of him? and vegas said how pete just likes to see things from an optimistic pov? yeah, true, he does. but he also sees the humanity of the situation - he wants to remind vegas that he isnt his dad's puppet or pet. he's human.
now, there's also another side to pete, that links in: the fact that pete is a very empathetic person, in a way that overtime, the role of being a "bodyguard" i.e a protector, a saviour, bleeds into his dynamic with vegas. and he sees how much vegas needs that. not a bodyguard, but a protector, a saviour, a guardian angel almost. not as a babysitter, but as someone who is truly emotionally broken and full of self-loathing, like he is. and so in episodes 11 and 12, even the beginning bits of ep 13, and most definitely in ep 14, you see pete in that protector/saviour/guardian angel role with vegas, despite vegas telling him he doesnt want to be his burden to bear. but its not about being a burden. pete will never see vegas as a burden. there's just a shitload of trauma to work through, and pete is good at that, he's good at working through trauma, and he wants to help vegas with that - break that cycle of abuse.
so going back to timelines. i think from ep 6-9, you really start to see questioning, fascinated, morally grey pete. with the way his gaze lingers on vegas. how he starts to understand that being around vegas unsettles him. not in a way that he's scared, but that, vegas has finally noticed him, talks to him, touches him, messes with him, makes sexual advances towards him. pete already KNOWS that vegas knows that he is spying on him, and pete already knows that vegas knows that he's doing a shit job at it, and yet still, vegas isn't doing anything about that. he isn't punishing him despite getting caught or questioning his audacity to continue tailing him. and even THAT intrigues pete. so, yeah, pete isnt scared of vegas in those eps. hes just very unsettled around his presence. pete already knows what vegas is capable of, and pete isnt scared of torture or violence (episode 7, where he has the stomach to watch vegas' entire torture session). its the aura of vegas, the way he approaches him and looks at him and lingers around him, that unsettles pete. and not only unsettles him, but he knows that he is getting pulled into a trance like state when he's around him. because its vegas. vegas, who just has that pull about him. vegas who has never done so before to pete, though. vegas who is an enigma thus far to pete, bc he only knows vegas from at an arms length, with his philosophy that yeah even though he's Fucked Up like everyone says he is, but he must also have a "good side" to him, and most notably pete must have seen that good side come out when he is with macau. but also because no one has ever really done that to pete, since pete has always kept himself so well hidden away in the background. also a lot of it is to do with kinn giving him that task of tailing vegas, and thats why pete all of a sudden gets the spotlight put on him.
so then from ep 10 to ep 12, pete is entirely in self-preservation, defiant mode. UNTIL. vegas is tender with him. until vegas kisses him. and i think that REALLY messed with pete's head. because "kissing is only for those that you like", right? so pete doesnt get this. all this while, vegas has gone round claiming that pete is his pet and treated him like one. and all it took was for pete to fall sick and vegas' tenderness bleeds out. and then we see a much more softer, mellow pete with vegas. up until they have sex in ep 12.
because in ep 12, that self-preserving, defiant pete has gone. that inquisitive, full of fascination and intrigue pete is back. the "nosy" pete, as vegas called him in ep 11. who likes to prod and poke. and so pete takes it to as far as he can, until he calls vegas sensitive and tells him that he needs love. and his reaction to vegas kicking the book away isnt one of fear. in fact he becomes even more observant of vegas, as he watches him worry away over his hedgehog, when only 2 seconds ago, he told him he was sensitive, and he refused to admit to it. and then the hedgehog dies and vegas cries. and pete can handle crying. but its vegas who's crying. but pete is extremely adaptable and his empathetic side comes out and he manages to deal with a mourning vegas. because up until this point in the episode, its all been about vegas and helping vegas deal with his emotions, and pete can do that.
but its when the entire focus shifts onto pete, that even he himself wasnt expecting. that all this while, it wasnt just pete who was doing all the seeing. vegas was seeing him too. and when vegas makes that known to pete, that he knows he's suffering inside, that he knows pete relishes the whole saviour role, that vegas has known exactly what he wants, so what do YOU want pete? how do YOU like it pete? that ... shakes pete up. but its so .... ASTOUNDING how quickly and simply pete just ... gives in to vegas. he doesnt even put up a fight, doesnt even try to resist. as soon as vegas is touching his face and his hands are on his jaw and his neck, pete is already in that "subspace". he is GONE. and, well, whats even the point in hiding anymore, when vegas has seen right through him? when vegas wants him. and pete's TRUE nature comes out, when he can finally be selfish. be hungry. act on his lust and desires. go as far as he wants to with vegas. wrap the chain around his wrists. hand vegas the rope and his hands. offer his feet to be hung midair and chained. he is the one dictating how he wants it, how he likes it, and answering vegas' question. and the Dark Pete purely comes out to play when he smiles at vegas. god. THAT SMILE. THAT GRIN. its unlike any we've seen up until that point in the show. like i said: whats the point in hiding this primal, carnal side of himself from vegas, when vegas has seen him bare? both in the physical sense and mentally/emotionally too. when vegas himself asked for pete to show it to him?
and i think THATS why he only revealed it to vegas. because vegas said to him that, i know its there, i know it is because its in me too, so show it to me. he gave pete that chance. he asked of pete to do so. pete told him how they're both similar because they both have abusive dads. and vegas told pete how they're both similar because they both have read each other and know exactly what kind of darkness they both have in themselves. and vegas is offering pete the chance to embrace it. embody it. become it. with him.
and so when you get so intimate like that with someone, how ... do you go back to as you were? and episode 13 is EXACTLY that struggle pete faces, as he's so full of shame and self loathing for giving in. for allowing himself to do so. when vegas gave him the chance to leave and he didnt take it. that, he must like vegas, because he kissed him, right? and so much more. he let vegas see him. and vegas threw it back in his face. and, again, all it took was for pete to bleed, and vegas unravelled, and begged him to stay. and the shame is also in how pete let himself caress vegas' face, because he gets it. he gets that vegas needs him. he said so himself, selfishly so. maybe even that he needs vegas too. bc, god, vegaspete ARE about being selfish - selfish for another. (it is ALL about the codependency here!!!!) but not like this. bc, to bring it back, yes, pete in an empath, he gets vegas begging him to stay, but pete finally thought that vegas saw him as a human, not a pet. and when vegas throws it all back in his face, just when pete thought he could touch vegas again after the intimacy they shared, he couldn't. how do you go back to just becoming a pet again after indulging in and feeling the most desired and seen he has ever had?
its not about "was pete real with the major family or with vegas?" moreso than it is about self integrity and being honest with himself. he could scurry away to the major family and go back on autopilot, just like at the end of ep 13 and start of ep 14. thats a sad reality but he could, and he did. but something in him has shifted. and its very ... telling to me how pete has only ever cried in front of and begged to vegas. he has only ever allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of vegas. not even porsche, who's his best friend, because he feels like either porsche will judge him or just won't get how truly fucked up he is. like. and the most raw version of pete is that scene with him and vegas at the back of the bar. because by then, he's just so Tired. he is EXHAUSTED. and even now vegas can see right through him. at this point, pete is just. empty. he isnt dark pete or defiant pete or full of intrigue pete. he's just empty. he has no fight left in him. pete says he wants vegas gone out of his life in a way they were before and holds him at gunpoint, and yet, when vegas, again, gives him the chance to act on what he wants to do (kill vegas), and even holds the barrel to his chest for pete, so that all pete has to do is put the bullets through him, pete can't. and vegas calls him out on that. not in a way of mocking him. but rather, in seeing him. in knowing WHY he can't kill him, though the words are too heavy to be said aloud right now, but they both know why. and its that admission that has them both cling onto one another as they both cry and hug each other. as pete once again touches vegas' face, because THIS is the vegas that pete holds so dear to him, because he's only this open and hurt and vulnerable and humble enough to apologise again and again and again to him. to him only.
which then goes into ep 14, and when the words that were too heavy to say in ep 13 are finally said out loud ("i love you, pete"), in the situation that they are, where vegas could so easily die at any moment, and NOW is when vegas decides to tell him that he loves him, i think it all just becomes a very emotionally heightening experience for pete. and vegas' dad dying just intensifies it. and at this point, nothing else even matters anymore. pete's tried. he's tried to go back to the way things used to be but its of no use when the only thing on his mind is vegas and all the ways he feels when he's with him. and how this isnt honest anymore. it doesnt work anymore.
so, yes. i'd say, currently, vegas is the only one who gets to see the side of pete where he is honest to his emotions and his desires. in the sense that he can voice both his refusal and his greed. even if that entails the crying and the begging and the pleading. and the killing as a way to avenge for him, where, dark pete once again comes out.
so in terms of master manipulator: its pete. hands down. and my reasoning is exactly the same as yours. with vegas, there's the trepidation, if your the victim of his manipulation. vegas just has this aura that makes your skin feel like its wrapped too tightly around your bones. there's just something off-putting. and you only submit to him and cower out of fear. with pete, though, you won't even KNOW you're being manipulated. he's got the boyish, wide, toothy grin mask READY at his disposal. he's got a way higher EQ level, hence him being the empath/guardian angel/saviour/protector, that bleeds out from being a bodyguard, as opposed to vegas who has to be ruthless and clinical and "by any means necessary", at all times.
and i think vegas knows pete is an extremely calculating, smart guy. vegas knows about pete's masks - remember when he said to pete when he was ready to kill him in ep 13, and vegas hesitates before he says "dont think that by acting weak i wont kill you", when all pete was, was truly on the verge of breaking down. vegas KNOWS pete has masks he hides behind. the immediate sense of shyness and the big toothy smiles that came back once again when macau was teasing him at the hospital? and how BOTH macau and vegas knew straight away that pete was feeling a little out of place and told him not to be shy? yeah. vegas knows pete isnt stupid. at all. i think he only calls him a fool when it comes to them - as in, why did you stay? you're a fool for having sex with a freak like me. bc when vegas said "at first, i thought i was a freak. until now.", that was coming from a place of self-loathing. so if PETE too indulged in it, and enjoyed the sex just as much, just as willingly, then he too must be a fool, bc who'd, in their right mind, wanna sleep with vegas when you have the option to leave and choose not to. because vegas has been made to feel like a freak all his life. a psycho. so WHO in their sane mind would wanna sleep with him? but pete did. pete chose to stay and he did. and vegas just .... finds that .... foolish. which offsets pete's entire downward spiral ... not just at being called a fool, but for being foolish enough to sleep with vegas, who he himself called a psycho. and what the fuck was pete thinking?
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