#and i would have liked to see more of the mccoys tbh! but what was there was nice

[vulcanhello]

A LOT TO LOVE ABOUT STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL SERIES: CRISIS ON CENTAURUS BY BRAD FERGUSON

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E19: Arena

Original Thoughts

"Well now I know which episode those screenshots of Kirk fighting lizard men that are clearly guys in uper cheap costumes come from. So Kirk is forced into a battle to the death more or less against a vicious alien species by another alien species of greater power. Man, they’ve had bad luck with the latter thus far. Despite the cheapness making it hard to take seriously, it was cool to see Kirk get to fight full-on against something since episode 3. Shatner kinda overacted a bit with the dialogue, but was fine otherwise in a more action-oriented episode that had Kirk completely on his own with no help available to him. Kirk’s proven to be quick-witted in the past, such as in the previous episode, but he had nothing but wits and a communicator here, and he was awesome! The Gorn are also dangerous but also display intelligence and cunning like how the one came pretty close to killing Kirk and devising a way to trap him. The Enterprise’s helplessness in this situation is also very strong with even Spock unable to do anything but wait it out. A cheap episode for sure, but a good episode regardless."

Rewatch Thoughts

Wow Callie, way to not even pay attention to the moral of the episode, you dummy!

When going back to rewatch this one, I only remembered two things about it: the Gorn and the scene where McCoy tries to hold Spock's hand while they're watching Kirk struggle. The former cause of that legendary costume, the latter cause... well, me taking in every Spones moment that I can. Otherwise? I remembered virtually nothing else. It sucks that I forgot about most of it, but it's also kind of nice cause I got to experience it again, and DEAR GOD this is so much better than I had remembered!

The first part of the episode is great, from Kirk and McCoy being all giggly and cute in the transport room to them finding the base they were going to utterly obliterate. Only one guy was still alive and it was an active blast zone as well that only our three mains, the dying guy, and one Blue shirt survived. We're left wondering WTF happened and Kirk... well, he doesn't take the incident well. He declares it an invasion and goes after the ship of those responsible, fully intending to return the favor.

It was a little scary TBH to see Kirk so... I guess the word that works best is vengeful. I don't think I've ever seen him this willing to kill an enemy before, even in Conscience of the King he kept his cool overall. I guess given the amount of life lost, even compared to say Balance of Terror, it makes sense. It's not OOC either, we've seen Kirk flare up whenever any of his men are killed/threatened (The Man Trap, Balance of Terror, The Corbomite Maneuver to some extent) so what looks like a calculated attack on this level? And when he's the only one in a position to give pursuit? Yeah, Kirk ain't gonna let that go. He's going to find whoever/whatever did this and stop it before such a thing happens again.

This presents a problem, however, that being how irrational Kirk is being. I don't mean that in a bad way either, it's interesting to see this side of Kirk. He's so determined to pursue this enemy, to take them down, that he doesn't care about any possible explanations about why the Gorn did what they did. Spock tries to express that very concern, but it falls on deaf ears and he pretty timidly falls back into place. Spock's very much been willing to question Kirk before, we saw it in Conscience of the King, but in that instance, he had time to go over everything before choosing to confront Kirk and also discuss it with McCoy, who noticeably stays in Sickbay until Jim gets whisked away. Given McCoy's the one who would most likely speak back and try to talk Jim out of it/appeal to him emotionally, keeping him in Sickbay with the traumatized, nearly dead officer and thus unable to be Kirk's soundboard to vent his emotions to had to have been on purpose. That's not to say that Spock is a mindless follower, he isn't by any means. But at least at this stage of ST, I don't think he has the nerve to argue or defy Kirk without being prepared for it or without McCoy or someone else in his corner to back him up. Plus logically, what can he argue against Kirk when he's not gonna listen? He can't. This is why in cases like Conscience of the King and later in Obsession, you need Spock and McCoy both standing up to Kirk: alone they probably couldn't do much, but together? Jim doesn't stand a chance haha.

Even the crew is pretty mortified by Kirk's recklessness and... for lack of a better word, murderousness. Uhura gives him some mega side-eye when he and Spock are talking, and everyone looks mortified when Kirk keeps making them go up to more and more dangerous Warp levels. They don't go against the orders, but it's very clear that they're unsettled. Kirk is very much presented as in the wrong and dangerously reckless for everyone. He doesn't even really give a damn when Uhura tells him that they're being scanned nor questions why the Gorn are coming to a dead stop when entering the mysterious galaxy, only caring that they have the chance to shoot them down. He is laser-focused on shooting down the enemy, and this bites him in the ass hard as the Metrons, unhappy to have this quarrel brought to their end of the universe, forces Kirk and the Gorn Captian to settle the matter... one-on-one.

Kirk is in a bad position, but it's kind of cool to see him under conditions like this. He has no weapons, no way to communicate with he Enterprise, he has nothing but his own wits. He's against a Gorn, who is much stronger and as Kirk finds out, very much intelligent. That's one thing I enjoy about the Gorn, they are brutish and violent, but the Gorn Captian at least isn't stupid. Kirk mistakes the alien translator that the Metrons outright told him that they were giving him to talk directly to the Gorn. In other words, because Kirk didn't pay close enough attention to the Metrons words, he gave away EVERYTHING that he was thinking and doing to the Gorn, who took all of that, and countered. He even set up his own trap and Kirk survived by the skin of his teeth. Ironically the guy in the cheap lizard costume was the one being smart and calculative, while Kirk... well sorry honey, but you're kind of an idiot during most of this. But it's okay, I know it's cause your two brain cells aren't with you.

Speaking of said brain cells, the Spock and McCoy moments during all of this are so good! I mentioned the hand-chasing bit, which is still fantastic and I'll never get over the fact that De Kelley decided that was perfectly IC to do. But even disregarding that, this is a really good one to watch if you wanna see a good example of their relationship when they aren't bickering. You can REALLY tell that McCoy wants to when he gets to the Bridge and presses Spock for answers, but he actually holds it in. Likely due to the time-pressing circumstances, but still. I mean he even turns the Captain chair so Spock can sit in it properly (my hilarious theory is Nimoy somehow missed it when filming so they had to have De holding it so Nimoy wouldn't hurt himself), how anyone can look at them here and think they hate each other I'll never know. I also love how it's when McCoy appeals to the Metrons to let them see Jim that the Metrons decide to show some compassion and comply. It's an early sign to them that humans aren't just savage killers, and it's Leonard 'The Heart' McCoyt hat starts it.

Spock also doesn't even attempt to hide his emotions here, his uncertainly over what to do and how he doesn't know where Jim is, his fear and worry when seeing Kirk near death, his relief when Kirk starts piecing together what to do with the resources around him, and let's not forget earlier where he decided that going after Kirk in an active blast zone was a perfectly logical thing to do. Seriously, this is also a great episode to point to whenever Spock claims he has no emotions cause... yeah sorry Spock, all you've proven is how Vulcans are giant ass liars.

Honestly, this is such a good episode showing how devoted the Enterprise crew is to Kirk. When Kirk instructs Sulu to abandon the landing party if necessary and to protect his ship, Sulu very clearly does NOT want to do it. He knows he has to comply, but if he has the chance to save Kirk and the others, I don't doubt at all that he would do it. Despite the visible shock regarding Kirk's orders and actions, all of the Bridge are horrified and worried when he disappears and when they see how badly he's doing. Poor Uhura looks like she's about to cry I swear. Kirk has his bad moments, but ultimately he's a respected Captain for a reason and Uhura, Scotty, and Sulu especially know that (and Chekov but he ain't around yet). No one wants anything to happen to him and if anyone on that ship could do something to save him, they would. They're so devoted to Kirk, even when they disagree with him, and I love it.

All that said, in the final stretch the Gorn finally speaks and we find out why they obliterated the Base and everyone on it: because Starfleet were the invaders. The space was the Gorn's and Starfleet suddenly setting up a base there scared them and they concludedconclusion that it was an enemy attack waiting to happen. While they certainly jumped the gun... I don't blame the Gorn too much, to be honest. You see these people that look virtually alien to them settling in without any explanation about where they're form or what they intend, what other conclusion is there to make? I don't believe Starfleet was attempting to do anything malicious, at least in this case, but the fact that they just assumed the space was free for the taking... yeah, not one of your better moves guys. Did that justify the Gorn's actions? It's hard to say since they certainly had an understandable reason, but it still caused massive casualties that I think could have been avoided had the two sides just... talked and mediated things. Still, as McCoy points out, Starfleet was the one in the wrong first, and Kirk just about nearly caused even more unnecessary bloodshed because he didn't at all consider why this happened to begin with.

Given that, it makes sense why the Metrons would see us humans as primitive savages (poor Spock getting lumped in there too haha), especially with Kirk's behavior up to that point. It makes his decision to NOT kill the Gorn Captain, despite having blasted him to near death and having the perfect opportunity, all the more impactful. Throughout the episode, it's all he'd wanted to do, to the point of endangering the Enterprise and everyone on it to get the chance. But having now heard the Gorn's reasonings and being able to look at his own actions, he realizes how wrong he was. The Gorn aren't mindless monsters, they were afraid and were trying to protect themselves from what they saw as invaders, and it was a matter that Starfleet provoked first. He even refuses the Metrons offer to kill the Gorn and instead wants to properly mediate things over. It convinces the Metrons that there's hope for humanity before returning Kirk back to the ship safe and sound.

Given recent times, the moral honestly this a lot harder. The Gorn were motivated by fear, Kirk was motivated by vengeance, and had it kept going I could easily see things escalating into full-blown war. Ultimately though, Kirk decides to be the better man and not continue it. He's seen the destruction that the Gornc caused and likely people he knew got killed, he fought the Gorn Captian face-to-face and both of them were fighting to the death, and acted irrationally all throughout the episode. But Kirk learned and chose the diplomatic route instead. I wish that it were that simple, to realize all sides feelings and decide that there's been enough hatred, fear, and vengeance by everyone. I wish that more leaders chose to communicate and mediate things out, which si certainly more difficult than it sounds but it's still a better option than war and death. TOS is outdated in so many ways, but is also still incredibly relevant in others and I think that this is very much one of those kinds of episodes. It certainly hit me a LOT harder this time around than it did the first time.

This episode is so freakin' good. A great plot with a very well-handled message, great character moments for both our main trio and the Bridge crew, and very well-executed tension. I knew full well how this whole thing ended and I was still worried about if Kirk would make it out, that's how well this episode does in immersing you in it. Even Shatner's over-acting, which tbh wasn't even as over the top as I made it sound in the first viewing, didn't phase me. Also that Gorn suit is perfection and it needs to stay the Gorn's default look, I don't make the rules! I thoroughly enjoyed this one... and hopefully, the memory of it helps me survive the next episode, The Alternative Factor, cause if it's like I remember... yeah I'm not gonna be feeling much joy after it. But that's for then, for now? Arena is great~!

Original Rating: 4/5 Rewarch Rating: 9/10

[My TOS Reviews]

[TOS S1 Reviews]

[teaboot]

Now I want to know which transformers generation is your favourite. And your favourite transformer. Please tell me about your blorbo.

egcuhfYDYGGUJGUHFYH YOU ARE DOING THIS TO ME????

Starscream: The Transformers (1986-1987): This whole show was SUPER corny tbh but I really loved Starscream's personality and character arc. I feel like a lot of the newer series just make him shriller and whinier, which is fine I suppose, but I always kinda felt like he had the potential for more depth than that. He's still a huge bitch but he's the huge bitch I love

Jazz and Prowl. Just in general. I'm BIG on that "straight laced lawful good and his subtly scarier chaotic neutral friend" and when I was in middle school and deeply into the bayverse I was super upset they left Prowl out and didn't show them interact. Prowl is a bit of a Ross here and there and unfortunately is a literal police car but idk

Drift: Transformers: DRIFT Comics version. Because giant robots, swords, and underdog 'bad guy' redemption stories all kick like fuck. Michael Bay can once again kiss my lily white ass about it

Ratchet: All Versions. Ratchet is my grandpa. The Leonard McCoy of this enterprise. If you don't like him you're objectively wrong. I cried real tears when I saw what they did to him in the live action run. Repeat: Michael Bay, my ass, etcetera.

Sideswipe: Bayverse. No real reason, just that teenaged Teaboot thought giant robot with knife arms was hot and adult Teaboot agrees. Would have been interesting to see Sunstreaker too, I love those big stupid jerks.

But you know at the end of the day beyond lovable characters I think this part may have had the strongest impact

Obviously this was a cover-your-butt moment for not having enough female characters and explaining why robots have ""genders"" but explicitly saying "gender isn't real, it's a human construct, and our bodies don't reflect our reality" was not the worst way they could have gone with it. (Talking in transmasc)

Thanks for the ask!!!!

[t0ast-ghost]

S3 episode 2 (The Enterprise Incident) yeah. I bet they have a lot of those.

Starting off:

- with McCoy narrating

- “I can find no reason for the captain’s behaviour.” Kirk is on his period, that’s why.

- *enters neutral zone* *immediate Romulan ship*

- Spock outright disagreeing with Kirk! Spock and McCoy on the same side! Oh, Kirk dismissed McCoy. He knew he couldn’t take both of them.

- violated your territory? Girl what were you doing in the neutral zone?

- I can’t tell if Kirk is being controlled in this episode or just being a dick

- Spock is trying to save your ass Kirk! Spock cares about his boyfriend and he’s worried cause he’s been more irrational than usual

- “I’ll kill you!” Damn poor Spock

- The Romulans are being kind of reasonable

- “If you stop looking upon star fleet as the whole universe.” Right it’s star fleet. Not Kirk and McCoy or anything. Noo..

- “I don’t make house calls.” “Doctor, it’s Captain Kirk.” WHO DID YOU THINK IT WAS? Like who would request McCoy’s services on the Romulan ship other than Spock and Kirk.

- She wants Spock so bad.

- This guys got the bluest of pants

- “This man is not fully competent.” “No, not now.” McCoy really wanted to laugh

- McCoy getting angry at Spock and the commander stepping in like, ‘back off from my man’

- That face clutch

- “I instinctively used the Vulcan death grip.” McCoy looks at him like, ‘the fucking what?!’

- “The captain is dead.” Big moment and whatnot but Kirk’s dead face is…

- “My neck feels like it’s been twisted off.” Kirk’s neck, his back- etc.

- “Bones I want you to prepare to surgery.” Kirk touches McCoy’s shoulder so tenderly. Like that’s just not normal.

- WHAT THE FUCK

- I love how happy Scotty is, “You look like the devil himself, as long as you’re alive.”

- “What the devil is Spock doing?” McCoy says ‘what the devil’ when he is worried about someone or confused quite a bit

- I still do not know why they went into the neutral zone tbh

- So Spock will drink with HER but not with McCoy. Wow.

- “A place?” “With me.” Commander back up he is taken

- It’s interesting to see how everyone really wants Spock to ‘embrace his humanity’ because they can relate to it better. Vulcans can seem like the most distant and the least able to connect with anyone because of their claim to logical and unemotional ways, but they still desire peace and helped to create the federation. I think that Spock rejects a lot of his human side because that’s what those around him in his childhood defined him as. And so he finds pride in being a Vulcan when working in star fleet, and anytime someone tries to force upon him the idea of being human he continues to reject it. With McCoy and Kirk it’s almost come to a playful rejection because he cares about them a lot and knows they appreciate his Vulcan side, but it’s got to still hurt that anytime he connects with them they think it’s his more human side. Obviously he’s not just split down the middle, he doesn’t just act wildly like one or the other because it’s a mix, but to him it really seems to be like a one or the other kind of situation (which is fair because that’s what he’s been taught) so he mostly chooses to connect with his ‘Vulcan half’ because that’s the one that’s so often pushed away by others. All that to say, he hasn’t been able to find a balance within himself and it’s not his fault because that’s difficult to do especially with a lot of outside forces pushing him to be one way or the other. And I think about this a lot.

- OMG THEY’RE MAKING OUT. WHY DID THE CAMERA ZOOM IN ON THAT

- Kirk is not a good spy. He is good at beating the shit out of people though

- HE TOOK THE WHOLE FUCKING PART?!?

- “What are you that could do this?” “First officer of the Enterprise [that bitch (positive)].” She slaps him and then he says, “What is your present form of execution.” HE IS THAT BITCH (🎵i-t-g-i-r-l you know I am that girl🎶)

- “You will not die alone.” Spock would find this mortifying. He does not wish for Kirk to join him in death. He would do anything to prevent it. But I could imagine that in their last moments, they would share a look to try and help each other and know it would be futile but share it anyway. (Edit: Think I was supposed to edit this but I’m too tired)

- Spock’s eyes are enchanting

- “Captain… please go. Somehow they [pointed ears] do not look aesthetically agreeable on humans.” I love each of the crews reaction to this comment but especially Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura’s reactions

Spock is so tired, let him rest.

Masterpost

Episode written by D. C. Fontana

[positivelybeastly]

I have to say that your insight into beast as a character are simply marvelous to read every single time and I can’t help but take the time to read them every single time they pop up on my dash no matter how long. I’m reading that the instant I see it.

It’s fun cause i discovered your blog via the four pillars of hank post and I love the fact of him having a child would be a great next step for him cause it just really feels like it could expand more of him. Also he has the dad energy! Give it to him marvel please >:(

Thank you so much! Every now and then, I do occasionally get little pangs, thinking that I'm just shouting into the void about my hyperfixation on a sad lil' blue guy, but hearing that people are enjoying my thoughts and insights into Henry Philip McCoy does a lot to reassure me that no, it's not just me that loves this big blue lug.

And yes!!! Honestly, Hank feels like the X-character who would easily have been advanced and developed the best by giving him a kid - not only would it have naturalistically have continued his development from Avengers and New Defenders, but it's canonically something that he was scared of, something that he had complicated feelings about!

"It might take after its father."

Like, fuck, man, that is so much to dig into! Especially given where Hank's feelings about his mutation end up going in New X-Men and Astonishing X-Men? There is such fertile ground here - the mutant metaphor is so incredibly wide and encompasses so much, and that includes, oh, I don't know, disability, and mental illness! You know, disorders and the like that could be inherited?

And this is not a story that can be covered by characters like Scott and Jean with their kids, because I'm sorry, three out of three of those kids have invisible mutations that pass with ease, and they don't manifest in nearly the same way as Hank's mutation does over time. There is story here!

And oh my god the dad energy! The dad energy is off the scale!

Hank and Rictor!

Hank and Broo, with added bonus of Abigail mom!

A whole ass gaggle of children!

The man just. Suits, being a father. He always has - and there's so much material that means it wouldn't be a boring plotline! His X-gene and the stories that have been told about its development naturally lead itself to all kinds of supplementary storylines, and honestly, it feels like they were heading in this direction, until . . . well.

Until Bendis.

Bleh.

But still. Now that we're back on track with where Hank is meant to be in general, maybe this is a storyline we can come back to? I'd really like it, tbh. It can even be looked at as an outgrowth of his story about coming to grips with his re-emergence in modern times as a clone - now that he knows about his future, does he have the right to bring further life into being; does he deserve that kind of domestic bliss after what his other self did; who would want to be romantically/domestically entangled with someone with such a past?

C'mon, Marvel. You know it makes sense . . .

[muirmarie]

mcspirk month mYEAR planning post

idk if anyone likes these (these being planning posts), but here, it feels weird to have it tucked away in my notes when my BTHB and mcspirk bingo planning posts are on here, so. anywho. you know the drill: this is just me rambling, feel free to ignore!!

the bolded are those i still don't have a plan for <3 - as per my usual these are all tos unless otherwise noted

Day 1: Forced Proximity (“this isn’t a blessing,” mccoy hisses. “one day,” the king says, “you’ll see that is it.” - the one where spock and kirk cannot get more than an arm's length away from mccoy for 30 days w/o causing him debilitating pain)

Day 2: Touch-starved (spock and kirk cuddle mccoy out of touch starvation - this is like 75% done, I just need to finish it)

Day 3: Only One Bed (established mckirk to mcspirk. um. very nsfw. by far the most nsfw i’ve ever even considered writing lmao. currently sitting at almost 12k, probably will be around 15-17k all told. i don't even know how to describe this. kirk aggressively helping spock play gay chicken with mccoy until mccoy finally believes spock wants both of them, idk.)

Day 4: Hand Holding (maybe the one where spock & kirk slowly gaslight mccoy into holding hands with them - yes the tags are spones but i am very certain kirk would be very happy to gaslight mccoy into hand-holding as well)

Day 5: [hurt comfort or against a wall (no story planned)]

Day 6: Protective McCoy (no story planned *eta - actually i think i am going to take the one elian assigned me w/o even asking me lmao, where mccoy drinks the poison meant for kirk, but don't tell him that)

Day 7: Hand Kink (the one where spock is cucked w/ hand sex lmao)

Day 8: Public Display of Affection (would you still love and/or employ me if i was a worm?)

Day 9: Spock is a Hopeless Romantic (the flirty spock one probably?)

Day 10: [Hands or a bonus (no story planned)]

Day 11: Fuck or Die (vulcan sex magic hanahaki, this is, like. I have elements of it, but it’s not nailed down yet quite how it works. it's a vulcan disease but naturally mccoy's the one who gets it.)

Day 12: Aliens Made them Do It (the plato’s stepchildren one - i've been poking at this one since. like. january lmao. it's maybe 30% done, but it's not gonna be super long, i'm just slow with it. it is. hm. not a fluffy story. the platonians decide that mccoy simply needs to learn to say yes to them. how helpful they have spock and kirk around to help underscore the point.)

Day 13: [time loop or sex in a three way body swap or a bonus (no story planned, BUT do I really wanna write another time loop fic and/or can I really handle writing another smut fic lmao. If I did do time loop tho it would be the one where Kirk refuses to leave the time loop until he can solve the no-win scenario, i just don’t know how that goes yet. The sex in a three way body swap would be the AOS mcspirkura one, probably. Or the tos spones to mcspirk one. idk idk.)]

Day 14: Tarsus IV (kirk: i always knew i’d die alone. this is....jim character study, i think? I do need to come up w/ a happy (or at least: not sad) ending for it tho. So I’m still Thinking about this one.)

Day 15: Fake Dating (the one where the royal is trying to marry mccoy in order to keep him, and spock and kirk independently decide to fake date him to save him. also sarek loves trashy romance books. background uhura/scotty.)

Day 16: Lost the Ability to Speak (bones and uhura signing in federation common sign language - yes that's vague but all i need is something to center around tbh)

Day 17: McCoy Hurt w/ Spock & Kirk Comfort (this is like 95% of what i write lmao but i don’t have a specific plot yet)

Day 18: [Jealous Bones OR Oral Fixation (no story planned but it it’s jealousy it’s not gonna be traditional jealousy, bc I’m generally not a fan of jealousy storylines (unless all parties are unaware that they’re jealous - those I find VERY funny)]

Day 19: [Kirk is Missing, Presumed Dead or a bonus - probably a bonus (no story planned)]

Day 20: Accidental Voyeurism (okay the one where mccoy wakes up and his arm is trapped underneath kirk’s head and spock’s holding that hand as he’s laying on top of kirk and making out with him. I will have to find a plot tho. a reason. a Reason. It’s not established spirk either)

Day 21: Bondage (heh established spirk discovering mccoy’s penchant for getting tied up and/or tying others up and then literally not able to shut up about their platonic friends private habits for like a solid three months. they only care platonically of course. you don’t need those other ppl to tie you up bones you’ve got us. this one’s about 10% started.)

Day 22: Mirrorverse (mirrorverse katra sharing, it’s a whole thing, this is out of my wheelhouse but i have some Ideas, but this one isn’t going to be anytime soon)

Day 23: [reunion or teasing or a bonus (no story planned) - *eta actually for teasing i could maybe do the one where spock conducts an "experiment" in a private lab where he has mccoy & kirk work on a project for him while he gets extremely handsy w/ them - he's doing a study ("study" - they're all aware this is just spock's ideal version of foreplay) about human arousal in a working environment, and they're supposed to not let him distract them*]

Day 24: Temporary Blindness (this is going to be such a long messy mccoy whump story tbh. orpheus and eurydice part two. before i can even really start it tho i have to decide on pov, because that….really affects things for this one. but i mostly know how the story goes. also not anytime soon tho, maybe not even this year)

Day 25: Praise Kink (i COULD go temporary awkward ability if i don’t want to write anything too sexy, but the planned version is, like, kirk blossoms like a bashful babe and spock is genuinely moved when it comes to praise, but mccoy turns bright red and wants them to stop? BUT they like so much the way he flushes and struggles to accept the praise that they ask him to be good for them because THEY like it, and so he’s absolutely mortified but still? allows it for them? and they of course like it because they want to make him accept it.)

Day 26: Expectations vs Reality (counseling fic! The one where spock and kirk are dating but still somehow drag mccoy to their relationship counseling.)

Day 27: Vacation Gone Awry (no story planned) (*eta actually i think i'm changing this to Voyeurism and stretching that to make it work for the spirk - they keep coming up w/ weird sex injuries until they can finally convince mccoy to come over to help them figure out what they're doing wrong....he probably needs to watch....actually maybe hands on is better....actually maybe he just needs to stay forever*)

Day 28: Awkward Spock (checking for pulse over the liver instead of the wrist because he forgets where human hearts are when jim or leonard is hurt)

Day 29: Getting Interrupted (mcspirk sexy 3d chess - that’s right they’re interrupting mccoy’s WORK lmao)

Day 30: Desperate Measures (the enemy within one that’s 80% finished where kirk’s wolf and sheep sides both have to have sex w/ mccoy while spock melds with them both, all for very important science reasons - don’t worry about it.)

Day 31: Insecurity (*eta - mccoy gets out of a LDR and is bummed, and kirk tries to cheer him up by putting his name up for the underground "sexiest starfleet officer" bracket that scotty & uhura are running, to prove to mccoy that ppl find him attractive. unfortunately it turns out the crew finds him VERY attractive, kirk is having some jealously-related revelations, spock is gonna kill jim if he has to watch mccoy get asked out one more time, and mcco is yay close to having a nervous breakdown from being turned into a sex symbol*)

Bonus 1: nightmares (look this is fucked, just trust me this is a very messy thing and it is very fucked and i have to make all my maths fit together before i write it or it will feel too flimsy and fall apart, but. kirk's trapped in a nightmare by a parasite that bleeds into the waking world (there are reasons for it) that cause physical damage to mccoy. spock melds w/ kirk to try to change the dream. this has unexpected side effects. - this one WILL be written for mcspirk month i just don't know what day i'm replacing yet.)

Bonus 2: pet names (i think i might be able to fit the kiss me/fuck me fic into this prompt but i’m not 100% sure yet - aka the one where mccoy & kirk use “kiss me” as a SFW swear for “fuck me” and “don’t make me kiss you” as a SFW swear for “fuck you” and annoy everyone around them w/ this silly in joke until one time mccoy says “kiss me” w/o thinking to spock, and spock’s just. hmm. don’t mind if i do. and kirk thinks it’s so funny he starts kissing mccoy all the time as WELL. very pre-them even realizing they want a relationship (except for spock, spock has Plans, thank you). this will be written at SOME point, it depends if i need another bonus/if it fits the prompt enough.)

Other bonuses i’d consider if i need them, but no stories planned: blindfolds, misuse of the bond, uhura helps them out.

Other vague stories i have that i could rotate until they might fit a prompt: pacific rim au, space forgetties, [number]+1 of mccoy getting kissed awake/the +1 getting kissed to shut him up, spock going through the wringer re: mccoy getting hurt (that was written spones but could easily by mcspirk), empath era katra au, post-empath spock won't stop touching mccoy, katra transfer requires a kiss, this isn’t even all of them, it genuinely is absurd how many tag spirals i’ve written like this lmaoooo /sigh 

[doubledyke]

what kinda music would the eds like?

oh dude

you'll be shocked to learn that all their tastes are based on my own.

to me eddy is a big Music Enjoyer™ and i think he goes through phases, but his overall taste is expansive. he's is obviously into disco - abba, sylvester, bee gees, EWF, kool and the gang, barry white. i see him enjoying old funk/soul/r&b - bootsy collins, the gap band, chaka khan, curtis mayfield, patrice rushen. pop/country oldies - nancy sinatra, dusty springfield, patsy cline, brenda lee, peggy lee, loretta lynn. 40s, 50s & 60s girl groups cuz that's what his mom likes- andrews sisters, mcguire sisters, ronettes, marvelettes, etc. 80s dance - the egyptian lover, pretty tony, debbie deb, newcleus, loose ends, madonna. 90s house and dance - crystal waters, la bouche, lisa stansfield, robin s, real mccoy. other 90s pop - aaliyah, britney, sugar ray, backstreet boys, nsync, aqua, smash mouth ace of base, TLC, destiny's child. a touch of ska with sublime, 311. other random stuff - fatboy slim, louis prima, azalea banks, limp bikit, shaggy, dua lipa (gay), the prodigy. there's so much more honestly but basically anything i like is what eddy likes 😳 he's like the catch all haha.

edd also loves music but i tend to think of stuff that reminds me of him vs. what he would actually listen to. crystal castles to me is edd music because i'm gay and emo but i don't think he'd really listen to them outside of the gothedd au that exists only in my head lmao. things i do think he'd listen to include kraftwerk, aphex twin, boards of canada, daft punk, massive attack, agnes obel, avalanches, burial. most of which he discovers through eddy of course. some outliers might be tool, muse, enya, anita baker (don't ask ok). there's other stuff i'm sure but that's probably enough for now.

ed is harder for me to nail down cuz i see him as mostly a rock/metal fan and even though i grew up listening to it, i've never gone super deep into the genre tbh. his favorite bands are primus and death grips. others would be alice in chains, nirvana, SOAD, melvins, butthole surfers, smashing pumpkins, black sabbath, metallica, rob zombie/white zombie. he might be into other 80s metal, black metal, sludge metal. none of which are anything i listen to so i couldn't tell ya what artists.

BUT other folks have made some great playlists for ed and the eds in general which i'll link here.

@mkorpse13's ed playlist

@mysticbeaver's ed and eddy playlists

@owmylasagna-blog's playlists for all the eds

@fish-bowl-2 has a great playlist for general eene vibes as well

my playlists for all three are here. not super long but i might add to them at some point.

[sleepymccoy]

every chapter is better than the last! That's not true, I really love chapter two. And four. And eleven. And seventeen. Most of them are really good tbh.

Here's a link to the start

-

“When have you ever had a chance to try haggis?” McCoy asked, laughing at Jim’s description of bland mince meat.

“When have you?” Jim shot back as Scotty stammered in outrage.

“I haven’t, I’m not calling it bland! What, did you have- ”

“Bland?” Scotty shouted. “Captain, I cannae- what are you- Sir, please- ” Scotty got quiet, “ -you’re pulling my leg.”

“I have had haggis,” Spock interrupted.

“You never,” McCoy said immediately.

“It’s bland!” Jim said.

“Captain!” Scotty shouted. “Nay!”

“Every component is meat, Spock,” McCoy continued, “whatever you had wasn’t haggis.”

“It was soy-based.”

“Och!” Scotty said. “Yer breakin’ my heart, both of you. Jim, I’m beggin’, how did you have it bland?”

Jim sat back, hands open wide. “You boil loose mince in water, what do you expe- ”

“Loose!?” 

“Well, yeah,” Jim said, suddenly sounding slightly less sure. “You get it out of the ball packet and put it in water, like the instructions say.”

“Yer meant to keep it in the blasted stomach, the flavours don’t have a chance against…”

Spock didn’t need to hear the details of what went into haggis. McCoy nudged Spock’s foot under the table. He looked up and scanned across Scotty’s focused outraged and met McCoy’s eyes. McCoy smiled and nudged again, confirming it was him. 

“Got a favourite Vulcan dish?” McCoy asked softly as Scotty continued listing the ingredients of haggis.

“That would be illogical,” Spock said. “Food is merely fuel.”

McCoy rolled his eyes. He knew Spock went for comfort food, he was just trying to get a rise. “I like barbequed peaches, which is a much nicer answer than food is fuel.”

“Oh, I did not realise you desired a nice answer rather than an honest one. In that case, I prefer shur t’bertakk.”

McCoy leaned onto his hand and glared at Spock. He was such an annoying shit. He grit his teeth and asked, “So, is that a soup or a tea?”

Spock raised his eyebrow. “Soup, in fact.”

McCoy hummed, unimpressed. 

“How did you know that- ?”

“You ain’t all that mysterious,” McCoy snapped. He nudged Spock’s foot again, the nudge being slightly more kick-like than the first had been. “All you eat is tea, soup, and salad and no one's favourite food is salad no matter what they say.”

“You often eat salad.”

“I’m a doctor.”

“I do not see how that- ” Spock’s soft shoe set on top of McCoy’s boot, then quickly traveled north to rest against his ankle. McCoy breathed out his surprise, stiffening to try and not move in reaction. “ -follows, sir.”

McCoy swallowed. Spock’s shoe dragged up, scratchy against his calf as he tugged McCoy’s pant leg high. Jim and Scotty had stopped shouting and were now talking about potatoes in some detail. McCoy cleared his throat. “Ah, I have to set a good example,” he said vaguely. What had they been discussing?

Spock’s foot slipped out from his pant leg and hooked around McCoy’s knee, tugging him almost harshly. McCoy obeyed and pulled his chair in closer to the table. The ball of Spock’s foot ran up McCoy’s thigh quickly then rested on the edge of McCoy’s chair. McCoy let out a breath and met Spock’s eyes, only to be met with a smug smirk. 

[bardicious]

Saw a post with Chapel/Spock interactions in TOS and SNW, and honestly, I change my mind, I don't think it's fair to say she necessarily wishes Spock were human, or prefers his "human side" more.

But I think there's an audible difference between how Chapel expresses her love for Spock and how Jim expresses his. Jim never has any expectations of what Spock should be like in their friendship, Jim takes what Spock is willing to give him. Jim enjoys Spock's friendship, and finds it compatible, so he will seek out more interactions with Spock. But if Spock didn't feel the same, Jim would have simply moved on.

Their relationship works specifically because they don't give each other unreasonable expectations. Spock and Jim simply are. And what they have, as a result, is a bond that works off and plays off each other. They're what the other has been missing their whole life. It's not a relationship, it's simply each other's company that draws them. And it can express itself romantically, platonically, familiarly. But it doesn't need to be placed in a box to be secure.

When we match this up with Chapel and Spock's relationship, Spock is exploring his human and vulcan side in SNW, but the connection between both the women he interacts with appears less than romantic, more like Spock entangling his feelings of friendship with romance to the two women who have pursued him.

Chapel, while combating her own commitment issues, simply either expects too much from Spock, or too little. She falls in love with Spock hard and fast, but its after a string of failed relationships that she sabotaged herself. Maybe Spock can be different, because he's the perfect guy to love. Courageous, smart, kind, and they become friends fast, if she can commit to anyone, it should be him. But she soon finds she can't. Then presumably abandons the relationship (yet to be seen, but pretty sure it's going this route). Chapel and Spock started their relationship off on unequal footing.

And tbh, if we follow TOS, their friendship doesn't really withstand their breakup. We still have Chapel pining, we see that Spock has quite visibly moved on, but they don't even spend much time together outside of hanging out with McCoy or Jim. Their very beginnings were hinged on the idea of a romance, not a friendship, but I do believe Chapel does love Spock, who he is as a half human and a half vulcan, it's just unfortunately quite unrequited even when it's seemingly requited.

[tabi-wa-michizure]

I’m enjoying all the meta (and basically using tumblr as therapy in the wake of ep6, tbh), but I have to say…although I understand it, I still felt somewhat betrayed by those final 15 minutes. I was thinking about the book and the show, trying to put the end into context.

In the book, there is no body swap, no bus ride holding hands, no being cast out by their respective sides. In that context, it makes perfect sense for the unwritten second book/season 3 to open with Aziraphale’s promotion, and the shadow of the Second Coming. Aziraphale and Crowley still haven’t worked through much, but they are slightly more on the same page.

In the show, there has been a lot more interpersonal (inter-ethereal and occult being?) drama, and more misunderstandings. Crowley thought he’d been making himself and his feelings clear to Aziraphale without needing to say much aloud, and was horrified when he realized the full extent of the gap between them, how far apart they still are. I respect that, in the show, this is still where they are, but I can’t help but feel that leaving us there, with a minimum 3 year wait for season 3/continuation in another medium, runs contrary to the spirit of the book.

Good Omens the book has been in my life for 20 years, and became a part of me as soon as I read it. Even from elementary school, I had anxiety (undiagnosed at that point), and was on my way to becoming an atheist despite being raised Christian. My parents weren’t extremist or even religiously conservative, and yet still somehow religion plus my own propensity towards anxiety left me lying awake into the night, so many nights, wondering if I would go to hell, if I was just somehow an intrinsically compromised as a human being, and wondering what exactly what goodness means in the context of our humanity.

And then in high school, I found this book by two authors I loved, and it was a clever, hilarious comedy, but behind that, it was sharp and incisive about what it meant to be human.

“I don't see what's so triffic about creating people as people and then gettin' upset 'cos they act like people,” said Adam severely. ‘Anyway, if you stopped tellin’ people it’s all sorted out after they’re dead, they might try sorting it all out while they’re alive. “

“There was never an apple, in Adam’s opinion, that wasn’t worth the trouble you got into for eating it.”

“Hell wasn't a major reservoir of evil, any more than Heaven, in Crowley's opinion, was a fountain of goodness; they were just sides in the great cosmic chess game. Where you found the real McCoy, the real grace and the real heart-stopping evil, was right inside the human mind.”

“And just when you'd think they were more malignant than ever Hell could be, they could occasionally show more grace than Heaven ever dreamed of. Often the same individual was involved. It was this free-will thing, of course. It was a bugger.”

“Everyone found their eyes turning toward Adam. He seemed to be thinking very carefully. Then he said: “I don’t see why it matters what is written. Not when it’s about people. It can always be crossed out.”

It was so fond, and so uplifting in a very particular way. Not that bad things didn’t happen in the GO universe; obviously, they did. But the overarching feeling is one of fondness and love for humanity, and the angel and demon who stood by and among humanity, taking it in, and letting it change them.

The book ended in a place of hope, while the end of season 2 left us in a very dark place. Perhaps in the future, paired with season 3, the ending will feel right as we watch the whole story unfold. And yet…right now, the end of Good Omens as we know it so far left me feeling utterly gutted, and it’s hard to move past.

As I watch Crowley watch Aziraphale leave, I can’t help but think of this line: “Underneath it all, Crowley was an optimist. If there was one rock-hard certainty that had sustained him through the bad times—he thought briefly of the fourteenth century—then it was utter surety that he would come out on top; that the universe would look after him.” TV Crowley doesn’t show that core optimism as much, but I wish we could have seen it at the end.

[storiesofsvu]

Alright, happy Thursday hoes, lets get to this.

Mothership first

Okay… interesting open…

Omg…how many times are they gonna use the trope of “don’t touch that!” “who the hell are you?” surprise it’s the new laywer…

Not surprised its another old white dude, but at least he’s not as old as mccoy

Okay seriously…. If they get rid of Samantha I will not be watching this show anymore..

I wonder if they’re going to bring this staff change up on svu too considering this guy is also now carisi’s boss… but the writers seem to have forgotten that these shows all exist together until they want to do a crossover.

If this was svu the ada would be storming into the squad room yelling at the detectives for making a mistake that’s gonna cost them their case. Why don’t we get to see that on mothership? I want more crossing over between departments, cops never show up in the gallery either, just to testify if they’re needed.

Oooo yesss that maroon suit. I see you ma’am!

Man they’re just right fucked with this case aren’t they?

This defence attorney is super crusty

How come these videos are coming up NOW and not before things went to trial??

This judges office is barba’s office. They really only have so many sets, hey? (also the continuity of that office on this show/universe drives me fucking insane).

My subtitles keep cutting in and out and that is also driving me insane

Toronto time.

Will I pay attention? Likely no

JESUS FUCK talk about a cold fucking opening wow.

Big surprise I stopped paying attention halfway through the ep. Like, it’s fully muted right now and I’m working on writing LOL

SVU time

BRUH is this maria stuff ive been seeing all over twitter legit?! I thought people were fucking clowning LOL

Olivia in uniform just fucking makes me so fucking weak every single time

Clearly the other captain hasn’t been in the field a lot if that was her immediate reaction to that crime scene

Okay… hear me out… olivia literally saved maria’s life and stayed on the phone with her ALL night. We all know she has a habit of taking in strays… there’s no doubt maria became a cop because of liv… maria would have reached out TO HER about her graduation, not the other way around…

Velasco getting actual screen time finally. I do have to say, im back on my Velasco bullshit…

LOL. I know it was unintentional but the harshness of velasco’s knock on the door killed me.

4 hours of law and order is too much. Im getting bored and this is the show I actually like. I think imma start skipping Toronto cause mothership does hit some days

If this girl has a good enough lawyer she could easily get off on an insanity type plea… tbh this episode would’ve been way better on criminal minds. That would’ve been bad ass.

This episode is almost over and we got absolutely NO closure on the maria thing AND we didn’t get to go to court. Im OVER this fucking show man lol

Liv being back in her bac nail polish era is bomb though

Fin doesn’t strike me as a scotch guy… this is weird..

Okay… liv is really not okay. Like this girl needs support, she needs proper and regular therapy, she needs a break from work. Go home and spend time with your son instead of drinking cheap wine alone in a bar? Also while we’re talking about drinking alone after work being all sad, can we touch on the fact that her mother was an alcoholic, and that was what *killed* her… this is incredibly worrisome and I doubt we’re ever going to touch on it/get it fleshed out like we should…

Okay we at least got some maria closure. Thank you.

OC time!

Jet *attempting* to control stabler, woof. At least someone’s trying loooll

This bitch is so dead

Part of me feels like its bullshit that se wouldn’t know any of this about her own brother, but also I never talk to my family so…. LOL.

Fuck he’s creepy as shit

There is NO WAY THAT TINY MAN IS THE SAME SIZE AS ELLIOT

The fact that it took THIS long for someone higher up to question his anger/trauma/etc affecting his job is wild.

THE BARTENDER IN ME IS FUCKING DYING. I had a PHYSICAL reaction to that conversation.

“you’ve never had a long island ice tea?!” “I don’t like ice tea it’s too bleh” guy promptly orders two to prove that theyre good? THERE IS NO ICED TEA IN LONG ISLANDS

Cragen’s really just gonna be in the last second of this episode isn’t he?

Everyone: proper ear pieces

Jet: nah. Air pod.

I really thought that stabler was gonna be missing for a like, a good chunk of time with no one knowing.

OHHHH right! The foil he found in the bathroom garbage and immediately licked… right… I forgot about that. Now the question is who it belongs to…..

[lenievi]

snw #5 (rewatch)

- I still love how fully Vulcan Spock moves like Sarek <3

- the thing about Spock is that it’s him who fears that T’Pring would reject him because he isn’t a true Vulcan, but that was never a problem for T’Pring (I know a lot of people say that she didn’t want him because he wasn’t fully Vulcan but that was literally never alluded to in Amok Time, and I’m glad SNW doesn’t make it a problem either - and hopefully keeps it that way) [looking forward to seeing Spock suppressing his “human” qualities more and more as the seasons progress.]

- I think Spock should have cut himself like he did Kirk 

- I don’t find Kirk attractive but he still looks better in the green uniform than Pike lol (I guess the stuff on the arms is what makes the uniform kinda weird looking)

- I just love Spock/T’Pring so much okay

- LMAO Spock was ‘dumped’ by T’Pring and went to a bar omg that’s hilarious actually

- oooh, he actually mentioned I’Chaya (I know that how he pronounced it is the correct pronunciation but I just... pronounce the “i” as in “interesting” not “ivy” lol) [Chapel here knowing about his pet sehlat and Sybok and Sarek while McCoy and Kirk are like kept in the dark LMAO it’s hilarious, don’t you dare changing that]

- I love this episode (too bad that I remember not fully enjoying all following episodes, except the finale, I guess. Hopefully it’ll change this time)

- omg Spock is like T’Pring you gotta pretend to be me and the moment Pike enters, he just forgets jdahakjfhkjsahfkjhfjh

(I still wanna know how Pike and T’Pring met)

- La’an and Kirk are made for each other. La’an also likes to get too into the role lol Would love to see them roleplay together tbh 

- I’m so happy Spock had sex that wasn’t forced (that’s why I guess I also like him and the Romulan Commander because that too was his choice, one he enjoyed)

current ranking of the episodes (based on my personal enjoyment, not on how good they are): 5 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 4

[mejomonster]

All that to say ToT

1 i am juggling writing like 4 original stories right now, most with extensive outlines, and sequels outlined, so while ive got creative freedom to ADD and flesh out these stories i am also viscerally aware that every vague part of my outline is a risk to possibly veer off course and i LIKE the sequel plans so i do not want to have to change Their outlines drastically

And 2 i am contemplating finishing my old spirk fic What will they find when i am ripped apart. I have the next chapter outline. I have read my outline. Rip i decided to add pon farr to an already complicated story. Rip i decided to add Uhura/T'pring. Rip i decided to add T'pring at all, life would be easier had i mininized the cast lol. And of course. Im already juggling a Episode level A plot/B plot structure that is sort of like the DS9 episode structures, one part big political Fairies and Vulcans and the Federation and the Enrerprise as mediator, another part Spock and Kirk fwb and Chapel/Uhura/McCoy friends (or more?). And like. I remember. When i started that fic. It was meant to be pwp! Or porn with feelings rather. Point is somehow each chapter qent from 15 pages pwp to 50% p with considerahle emotional plot, and 50% big b plot, and those were some big fucking chapters. Upside is i love how i wrote. Downside is What was my mind thinking like did it KNOW did it KNOW it was planning such a LONG story why do i tend to plan such long stories

3 good bad news. I calculated if ill finish my original draft by january 1 and calculator said... if i write 9500 words a day. Upside is it said at my current rate of 2000 words a day, i will finish by January 15. So i wont pass my deadline a horrific amount. Bets are still up for if i somehow finish it by jan 1 or not. Cause of how focused i can get... i think theres still a good 70% chance i finish by then... i suspect i will hit my 60,000 word goal somehow. But i have a fear i will turn this story into a 120,000 word beast tbh. Meaning even if i hit the word count goal... the draft might not be finished -.- we will see

4 id really like to get back to writing some fanfic so like. Thats my reward if i get a draft done ToT

[within-its-cave]

8, 17, 18, 21, & 24?

8) What things do you like to info dump on or have special interests in?

Right now that thing is Star Trek's Romulans. I'd also love to info dump about half-Romulan McCoy but, alas, spoilers!

Also the Four/Five Horsemen. Be it in general, from SPN, or even GO though more on the latter two.

17) Who is your favourite obscure actor/actress?

Do Julian Richings or Matt Frewer count as obscure?

18) Name a movie you think everyone should watch.

Uhhh, Corpse Bride, I guess? Lovely movie with a lovely sound track, also just kind of wacky which is a bonus.

21) Create a line up for a horror film. Who dies first? Who dies last? Who is the last person standing? Who is the killer?

Urge to play into our McCoy Chainsaw Massacre in-joke intensifies

Let's see.... Enterprise-D senior staff (Picard, Riker, Worf, Deanna, Bev, Data, Geordi, and let's throw in Tasha too). Chances are this is Q's fault.

First to die - Worf (ran in half-cocked) or Riker (probably from making sure the others got away safely)

Last standing - Data (unless the killer is another android or has something to fuck with his systems, he'd likely be strong enough to stop them) or Tasha (she's survived worse, is resourceful)

Killer - Deanna (not elaborating or probably got possessed again tbh)

24) VR ideas you think would be cool?

A VR racing game that's set in space and, in particular, around Saturn's rings.

Saturn Ring Racing VR! Get to play as a Terran/Human or an alien...or a Terran supernatural creature.

Or, you know, getting to explore and/or work on a Romulan ship in VR.

[positivelybeastly]

💖

How likely they are to enter a relationship with them:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

(If Marc will stop being so dense that light bends around him and Hank stops being an emotional wreck for three seconds and they can just!! Tell!! Each other!! That they like each other!!)

Would they…

Make the first move? Yes | No (He keeps trying! God knows he's trying! But he takes every minor inconvenience or thing that goes wrong as an invitation to put it off and back off, because he is like this.)

Say “I love you” first? Yes | No (When he's in the actual relationship, Hank is good at this part, tbh. I don't necessarily think he's in a rush to declare his love, but he believes in being emotionally available for his partner and being honest. It's the only way relationships work.)

Cheat on them? Yes | No (I would legitimately be more offended by the implication that Hank has cheated on someone than anything Ben Percy has written him doing.)

Be the jealous type? Yes | No (I honestly feel like this is something that would be kinda sidestepped entirely by the system. Hank accepts the system, therefore he can't be jealous. There would be an acclimatisation period, but I feel like he'd get there.)

Plan the dates? Yes | No (I do not feel like Marc Spector plans dates. Hank McCoy plans dates. Hank McCoy probably arrives at the date, waits for a while, then has to pull Marc out of a fire because he is a dumb. This is their date now.)

Initiate the first kiss? Yes | No (If the runway lights are on, then let's gooooo. Hank would even accept a mask kiss if that's what Marc feels comfortable with. He's likely kissed weirder.)

Remember anniversaries? Yes | No (I do not feel like Marc Spector remembers anniversaries. Hank McCoy remembers anniversaries. Hank McCoy probably arrives at the date arranged for their anniversary, waits for a while, then has to pull Marc out of an exploded building because he is a dumb. The anniversary is now of being pulled out of an exploded building instead of the occasion it was before.)

BOLD WHAT APPLIES:

Their Relationship Is:

friends to lovers | rivals to lovers | enemies to lovers | still just enemies | mutual pining | star crossed lovers | old married couple | perpetual honeymoon phase | stable and boring | stable but not boring | secret lovers | best friends hiding their feelings | and they were roommates | friends with benefits | coworkers avoiding HR | one-sided affection | weird sexual tension | it’s complicated | toxic relationship | a secret affair | an actual dumpster fire | other

PUBLIC Displays of Affection:

hand holding | kiss on the hand | kiss on the cheek | kiss on the forehead | kiss on the lips | cuddling | hugging | affectionate messages or comments | pet names | pictures together | no displays of affection

PRIVATE Displays of Affection:

hand holding | kiss on the hand | kiss on the cheek | kiss on the forehead | kiss on the lips |  cuddling | hugging | affectionate messages or comments | pet names | pictures together | no displays of affection

Do they stay together?

yes, this is endgame | yes but someone is gonna die tragically | something is keeping them apart | they part ways as friends | they part ways as enemies | they’re on-again-off-again | they have a super messy breakup | it was just a fling | other

(I feel like if they make it through the first year, then they're gonna be fine. Otherwise, I feel as though one of them is going to die and it's going to fuck the other up, or they part as very good friends who have the energy that they could pick right back up where they left off if they wanted to.)

BONUS

What terrible pet names would they give each other?

I feel as though Hank is careful not to call Marc anything but his name, Moon Knight, Mr. Spector, or maybe MK after he completely blundered during the nuclear convertible debacle.

Marc doesn't feel like the nickname type? I could see him settling on something simple, like calling Hank my Beast, or something like that. Simple and heartfelt. That feels appropriate.

[atwas-gaming]

Building on this theory, I've actually come up with something even crazier:

So, Damu was just a kid, and he didn't seem all that crazy about destruction and killing. He also kept apologizing for various things, like not being able to turn Indra into other creatures (which was what he was initially supposed to be able to do, but it never worked right), or not being able to turn Indra back into a human. So Damu is characterized by innocence, deep concern for others, pacifist tendencies, and a tendency to feel guilty for not being able to fix a situation.

Trace- at least, the Trace that we play as- is strongly opposed to violence, and apologizes frequently for various things (apologizing to his other self in the hallucination boss, apologizing to every boss he has to kill, apologizing and taking it upon himself for not understanding certain things that Elsenova says). He's not someone who holds grudges or loses his temper, even when Elsenova killed him. He also doesn't use strong curse words- and as we see in AV2, the developer, Tom Happ, is not opposed to using strong language. In short, Trace comes across as being innocent, pacifistic, concerned for others, and riddled with guilt.

Do you see where I'm going yet?

In my last AV post, I suggested that Ophelia's real reason for creating a clone version of Trace was to use him as a test run for creating a body for Damu. BUT... what if Trace wasn't just a test run? What if Ophelia already did put Damu's consciousness into Trace?

I've often said that I just can't see how someone as innocent and as opposed to violence as Trace could have possibly turned into Athetos. But if Trace's personality is being influenced by Damu hiding in his subconscious, then that could explain a few things.

In addition, Damu is the one who gives Indra the ability to turn into a drone. And Trace has the drone ability, albeit somewhat jankier than Indra's drone ability. No explanation is ever given for the process of Trace's nanites being transferred into the drone, nor is it ever explained how Trace learned this ability. It seems like he just somehow knows how to do it. He comments on almost everything else he gets in the game- the gun, the lab coat, the bioflux mutation- but not the drone ability. (And, tbh, I've had a headcanon for some time now, before I ever came up with the theory in this post, that the names and instructions for all weapons and items just randomly appear in Trace's mind as soon as he picks them up.)

It would even explain Trace's amnesia. Trace doesn't seem to consciously remember anything from Damu's life, but Trace also forgot "over a year" of his own life. If Damu is tucked away in Trace's brain somewhere, then Trace's memories are likely suppressing Damu's- but Damu may be suppressing some of Trace's memories, as well, in an attempt to bring Damu's memories to the surface.

Now, a large problem with this theory is that it still goes against what Ophelia was trying to do. She wanted Damu to have his own body, his own life. But if Damu is in Trace, then she's essentially just transferred Damu from her body to someone else's. And in fact, Damu is in a worse position, because Damu never even speaks for himself, aside from possibly influencing Trace's personality to be more gentle and pacifist. But outwardly, he's forced to go by the name Trace, and sees all of Trace's memories and none of his own.

In addition, if Trace's mind and Damu's mind are conflicting with each other, I would expect more than just a personality change. I would expect an outright war in Trace's mind. You remember in Star Trek 3, how Dr. McCoy basically went a little nuts because he carried Spock's memories? That's more like what I would expect if Damu was inhabiting Trace's mind.

But then again, Ophelia is the one who experienced having her body stolen by Amashilama. And the notes seem to indicate that Amashilama and Damu are brother and sister. So perhaps Ophelia thinks that Damu can take over Trace's body?

Is that why they put Trace to sleep instead of either killing him or sending him home?

(BTW, the thing about Amashilama and Damu being siblings is straight out of ancient Sumerian mythology. The story goes that Damu died and Amashilama was supposed to bring his blood to him so he would resurrect, but Damu realized he could not be resurrected and accepted his own death, with Amashilama eventually dying so she could be with him. Interestingly enough, Ophelia has been the one to take on parts of Amashilama's role. And we don't yet know how Damu feels about any of whatever Ophelia is planning for him.)

For the record, I realize that this is one of the craziest theories I've ever had for anything. But at this point, we don't have enough information for me to come up with anything better. And, uh, it might be another 4 years before we do.