Someday I will be able to pass up this kind of challenge

[brutti_ma_buoni]

Curse you, sb_fag_ends and your irresistibly ghastly prompt 'oligarchical collectivism'. (It's Nineteen Eighty Four this week, not Jawbreaking Political Systems 101, btw).

Which, inevitably, I wanted to schmoop. Just for the hell of it. And quinara made me do it.

A Separate Universe, 300 words of warm, lazy postseries Spuffy schmoop is here.