#coming into conflict with his stubborn refusal of that idea

[scarletspider2the2ndpower]

“After Life,” Scarlet Spider (Vol. 2/2012), #2.

Writer: Christopher Yost; Penciler : Ryan Stegman; Inker: Michael Babinsky; Colorist: Marte Garcia; Letterer: Joe Caramagna

[spiriteddreams]

thinking about childhood friends to enemies/strangers to friends to lovers arranged marriage with jing yuan. as a child, you could have never imagined that you would marry your "childhood best friend!" and you find yourself caught in an arranged marriage that is nothing but words on a paper signed by both your parents. the older you grow, the more you realize how easy it is to fall in love with him.

but all too quickly, you realize how hard it is to be in love with him. jing yuan decides to join the cloud knights suddenly and is whisked off to war. when he returns and rises the rank of general, he is quiet in calling off the marriage. everyone assumes that the two of you have grown up and decided that perhaps the marriage is simply not right. to everyone else, you both are still friendly with one another. behind closed doors, you meet his stare with icy eyes, demanding for a reason behind this sudden decision. he says he doesn't feel it to be of any convenience to either of you, that he doesn't want to force either of you to be in love with one another but oh how wrong he is.

he refuses to admit that the reason that he called it off was because he felt that you didn't deserve someone who would constantly be whisked off to battle. you don't deserve someone so dedicated to work that he is willing to sacrifice all his time for the success of the xianzhou. your cold shoulder has begun to show in public but before any outlandish rumours can start, jing yuan strikes first. he is snarky and petty with his words until you finally agree to calling it off. to everyone else, and to you, it is a falling out. to him, it is every deliberate action taken to keep you safe from danger, from him.

but of course, he wouldn't expect you to strike back fast, leaving him with nothing but a letter and a promise ring that held nothing but false words and lies. you leave the xianzhou to join a crew called the astral express and are whisked far away from him. but as fate should have it, you return years later, older, wiser, and seemingly colder towards him as if you had just come from a planet caught in an eternal freeze and brought that ice with you.

and when jing yuan sees you again, his first thought is to make amends. they say that distance makes the heart grow fonder so perhaps you'll be just as inclined as he is. and perhaps, you'll let him slip that ring back on your finger like he did when you were young. but when you stand across from him with your new companions, one hand resting at your side and the other looking just about ready to draw your weapon, jing yuan realizes that maybe this won't be as easy as he thinks.

there is new conflict in the xianzhou and you both become torn between rebuilding years of distance and focusing on solving the problem at hand. old wounds are torn open, new friendships are thrown into the mix, and familiar faces from the past return to rub salt in.

you'll make it as difficult for him as possible as you grapple with your own emotions. you are just as stubborn as he is, and after years away, you've learned to better keep your emotions in check. but you're nonetheless a fool around him, and your friends know all too well about the boy you fell in love with. the same boy stands in front of you today as general of the xianzhou luofu, jing yuan, your dreamy, silky haired, animal loving, ex-fiance. oh how are you supposed to hide your heart when it's stitched upon your sleeve?

haha... what went from an oc idea turned into a post studying 1am drabble good night!

[yoursweetwife]

omg… ur dr ratio idea… i’m eating up that angst,,

just thinking about how it’ll cause a rift in their relationship. he feels so inferior to his lover. to watch someone else (who might not even be trying to pursue knowledge) gain acknowledgment from nous, when all of his life he’s been vying for a place in the genius society, makes him feel so conflicted.

he loves them dearly, but he can’t help what he’s feeling. it’s soul-crushing, and he can no longer look at them the same way. their words of comfort are lost on him when he knows that they’ve got potential to join the genius society.

ooh but what could impact him even more is the fact that his lover refuses. they don’t want to take a part in the genius society. 2 ways:

rejecting because they really aren’t bothered about the pursuit of knowledge, nor are they bothered about nous’ acknowledgment. this infuriates ratio further — they had a chance to meet nous, ask a question, be part of the elites — and yet they refused? he’s baffled, irritated and just heavily conflicted on how to feel about you.

rejecting because they feel it’s unfair to ratio, but perhaps to make a point? they explain to ratio that value in oneself doesn’t need to proved to another, that his knowledge is very much enough and maybe comfort him — show that his achievements have merit, tell him that they don’t care about anyone else’s acknowledgement but his. very fluffy. he can react in either way — touched that his lover would refuse something so great, just for him, or be infuriated and baffled like the idea above.

maybe an argument ensues. and again, that argument could end in two ways, depending if you want it to be angsty or not hehe— dr. ratio is angry at first, but melts into your arms, so surprisingly vulnerable as he tells you of his sorrows and insecurities of not being able to join the society. OR it’s a REALLY big argument… and angst ensues….

anyway yeah, good idea. great idea. i love angst so much.

Yeees Ratio will have mixed emotions after this incident. What do you mean they don't want to join the genius society? This is a unique opportunity that only an idiot would refuse. It seems to me that he really believed then that the genius Society was something wonderful that only the best deserved.

The moment Ratio learns of [name]'s decision to refuse the invitation, he becomes even more disappointed. Even words of love will not calm him down. And because of the accumulated disappointment, he will flare up and a quarrel will begin, several offensive words will fly towards his lover, and before he realizes what he said, [name] leaves him alone. This will increase the distance between them. But Veritas will remain a stubborn jerk who will never be the first to apologize. In the end, everything could turn into a breakup, because [name] will no longer be able to tolerate Ratio’s behavior, which at that moment resembled an offended child.

Or things could end more smoothly. Ratio decides to give in to his feelings, he sees that [name] sincerely loves him, an understanding comes to him, biggest loss for him is not the rejection of the genius society and not how Nous ignores him, but his beloved, who always supported and inspired him. And when Ratio hears that [name] refused his invitation, he will not be able to contain his emotions, leading to a touching moment between the two of them. However, he will be left with a little disappointment and self-doubt, but at least the [name] is there to help him deal with it.

It's quite difficult to choose between these two options, I love angst and fluff omg

[bitterbeanren]

Yet another instalment of “I’m down bad for Jing Yuan so I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote.”

THIS IS FOR ME! THIS IS FOR MEEEE!!! IT IS SELF INDULGENT AND BASICALLY A SELF SHIP.

Jing Yuan x AFAB nonbinary Reader.

This story contains: Jing Yuan being a tease. Lil bit of spiciness but nothing actually happens lmao. Stubborn idiots in love. Jing Yuan has been pining for you/me for years and all he wants is for you to say I love you first. Possible spoilers? Read at your own risk. Reader’s face/ears get hot when they’re embarrassed bcuz that’s what happens to me.

Taking His Time

Rating: T… leaning towards M. It’s a lil spicy.

Minors DNI.

Jing Yuan holds you in his lap, your back pressed to his chest as he alternates between nuzzling your shoulder and pressing light kisses to it. “Won’t you admit it? I want to hear you say it…”

You shake your head no, face hot, and Jing Yuan lets out a heavy sigh fraught with disappointment.

“Were I not so inextricably fond of you, your refusal would dash my hopes. Thankfully, I already have a good idea how you feel for me, ___. You just need to admit it out loud.”

You’re certain that had your heart not been caged inside your chest, it would have burst out the door. “You admit it first, Jing Yuan!”

“Oh, I’ve held back for countless years now, my dear. Waiting longer isn’t going to trouble me,” he chuckles, this time pressing his lips to your neck and making you squirm in his relentless hold. “Just holding you like this is enough to tide me over.”

A whimper threatens to free itself from your throat when Jing Yuan nuzzles the space between your neck and shoulder, and your head feels like it’s spinning. How can he be so relaxed while you’re so amped up?! You try to wriggle out of the man’s hold, and he lets out a dreamy sigh and tightens his arms around you. “Stop being so clingy, Jing Yuan!”

“You’ve been avoiding me for weeks now. I am simply making up for lost time,” you can practically feel the smugness in his voice. “Unless you truly don’t enjoy being close to me like this… though, weren’t you the one who said that you wished to be closer?”

“I find myself regretting those words more and more with each passing moment,” you grumble. Jing Yuan lets out a defeated sigh, allowing you to leave his grasp. You do, moving to sit across from him, and feel your heart tighten when you see genuine hurt behind his pout. “I… sorry, Yuan. That wasn’t kind of me to say.” Now that you’re not being held by him, you feel conflicted. You now have space to ground yourself, but…

You let out a groan, covering your face with your hands out of embarrassment. It was nice, being in his arms like that, as much as you complained. You’re a walking contradiction.

Jing Yuan gazes at you, his expression turning soft and his smile gentle. “What, did you want to come back?” He teases lightly, patting his lap. “I wouldn’t mind at all, you know. Feel free to crawl all over me.”

“You’re insufferable,” you huff, reaching out to lightly smack his shoulder. He catches your hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. You think steam might come out from your ears. Your throat feels dry, and you feel your face get even hotter at the knowing smirk he shoots you.

“Reject all these courtship requests,” Jing Yuan demands, and though his tone makes it sound like a request you know it isn’t one. “Spend more time with me.”

“Why?” You ask. You’re proud that it didn’t come out as a stutter.

“Because I want to spend time with you,” the white-haired general tells you bluntly. “And because I don’t want you to be engaged to someone else. The only courtship request I’ll be happy for you to accept is mine.”

The white-haired man you had seen as your best friend for centuries grins at you as though what he said was perfectly normal. As though he hadn’t just, essentially, said that he would be happy to be engaged to you. To marry you. To stay by your side for eternity.

Your face burns, and Jing Yuan leans forward, brushing some of your hair back and resting his forehead against yours. All you can see are seas of gold.

“Reject the proposals, okay?”

“Okay.”

~*~

Jing Yuan doesn’t say that he loves you. Instead, he pats the top of your head and presses kisses to your pulse points when you’re alone.

When you’re with him, you’re acutely aware of how close he is. Before, you had always been the one to touch him casually… Now, when you hesitate before touching his hand, shoulder, or his hair, he reaches out and takes your wrist himself, as if silently encouraging you to just touch him.

You send polite rejections to all the courtship requests you’d received. Jing Yuan grins when he finds out.

The two of you are in an in-between state. You can tell that something has changed between the two of you and both of you are aware… but neither of you have said the words that will move you from friends to lovers.

You desperately want him to say them. Every fiber of your being wants you to tell him how you feel, but you desperately want to hear him say that he loves you first. Not that he cares for you, or that he likes you…

I want you to say you love me.

Every day, if you don’t visit him yourself he visits you. Smiles down at you the way he has always smiled, and you just want to know for sure if he loves you or not.

You’re desperate.

He presses his lips to the corner of your mouth, and you gasp. A sharp intake of breath that makes you feel warm all over.

I want you to kiss me.

Jing Yuan chuckles in your ear, hugging you from behind, and you want to kiss him. You want to tell him how you feel and finally know for sure that he loves you.

You’re desperate.

Calloused fingers play with the hem of your tunic and with your hair and you want him to touch you. To feel his fingertips against your skin and

I want you.

You can’t hold back anymore. “Jing Yuan, please… I love you. Stop teasing.”

“Finally,” he breathes, holding you against him with strong arms and you want to cry, you love him so much. “I love you too. May I kiss you properly now, my love?”

Jing Yuan has waited for you for so long, he feels he can be selfish now.

Aeons, he loves you.

He’s loved you for centuries, for most of his life. All he needed was for you to say you loved him first, and he was a goner.

He was a goner from the first time you smiled at him.

Jing Yuan has waited for you.

“Please,” you beg, and you sound divine. Every second of waiting was worth it for this moment. He presses his lips to yours and you melt against him with a small moan.

Jing Yuan has waited.

“Yuan…” You whisper against his lips. Fuck, he can’t believe he finally has you. You mean the world to him. Jing Yuan closes his eyes and rests his forehead against yours. He loves you, he loves you, he loves you.

It was worth it.

[krisssssssy]

random astrology of ardyn ramble

This is probably not interesting to anyone, but my other hyperfixation is astrology, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about Ardyn's placements.

Okay, I realize Eos is fictional, and that these characters aren't existing in the same solar system as us, which would obviously change everything about their signs and planets. ANYWAY.

Ardyn's birthday is April 30th, which would make him a Taurus sun sign. I think this makes sense, Taureans' can be eccentric, every Taurus sun I know radiates very appealing weirdo vibes, idk why this is, and ALSO if we look at Ardyn's behavior prior to the scourge, he was fairly stubborn, determined to heal everyone (and Taureans, once they start on a path, it is very difficult for them to deviate), despite his relationship with Aera.

I don't THINK we have a canonical birthday for Somnus, but he strikes me more as an Aries (or at least Mars ruled) and a Taurus (as a Venus-ruled sign) is not some warmonger, or making rash decisions to set anyone on fire who even *possibly* has the scourge.

I also like the idea of Ardyn being a Taurus, which is an Earth sign, and trying very hard to cleanse the Earth (or Eos), as it were, of some disease/affliction.

ALSO. If you dive deeper into other astrology placements (for those unfamiliar, we have not only a Sun sign, but a moon sign, a Mercury sign, a Venus sign, etc).

When I first saw Ardyn I was like, bro is a Gemini. He's shady, he's snarky, he more often uses his words (I mean literally like 75% of his dialogue in the game is just him screwing with Noctis mentally while he's in Zegnautus Keep). He resists most physical battles at all opportunities, doesn't want to engage in fighting (though he is obviously the strongest person in all of Eos besides Noctis) and avoids doing so. This to me also speaks to him being a Taurus, stubbornly refusing any kind of fight unless it's the final one, with Noctis (of course, he does fight Ignis in Episode Ignis, but literally during that fight with him in Altissia, if you don't attack him, he WONT attack you. He just saunters around and hordes of Imperials soldiers come down from the Magitek engines to fight you).

ANYWAY. If you are a Taurus sun, Mercury can *only* be in the sign of Aries, Taurus, or Gemini, because Mercury is never more than one sign away from the sun. So I'm saying, Ardyn is a Taurus sun, with a Gemini Mercury (which explains the Gemini nature of his speech patterns). An Aries mercury would be more forceful, impulsive, impatient, but a Gemini is going to give you the snark that we see from Ardyn.

I've also been thinking of this from the standpoint of my fan fiction (Precarious Games) because I have a Reader character, and I decided on their placements before I started it, to determine their essential personality. Reader (in my mind) is a Libra sun, with a Libra mercury, and Scorpio Venus, which would then make her sun Venus-ruled, giving some compatibility with Ardyn's Taurus sun, and then I suspect Ardyn has a Taurus Venus, which would then oppose Reader's Scorpio venus (as Taurus and Scorpio are opposite signs), which explains a lot of their conflicts, but also their attraction (and a scorpio venus is more willing to let a relationship utterly destroy them emotionally, and are even potentially attracted to people who aren't good for them, which gives some explanation for her continuing her relationship with him despite well, everything. and just being a Libra sun/mercury makes them crave partnership and balance, and to ignore conflict)

So yeah. Ardyn, I think, is a Taurus sun, Gemini Mercury, with a Taurus Venus. I don't know what his rising or moon sign would be, I just feel like, with villains, everyone is so quick to be like SCORPIO! So I wanted to give my thoughts. Like I said I realize this is probably interesting to NO ONE lmao but I needed to articulate this somewhere.

I haven't even thought about the Mars sign. Mars (I believe) can be anywhere regardless of where the Sun is, based on it's movement and retrograde period. I think possibly because he is a bit flamboyant, and showy, his Mars makes sense if it was in Leo, which would then square his Sun and Venus (i.e. his motivations, his drive are at odds with his sense of self/identity, and ability to relate to others).

I could also see him being a Leo rising, to give more emphasis on this showmanship vibe he has, and that would place Mars in the 1st house, and Sun/Venus in the 10th in Taurus (which is the area of your life purpose, your public facing self). Also, a lot of planets on the angular houses (1st, 10th) give someone a lot of strength in their personality, they are able to succeed (and let's not discount his success in Gralea, which he achieved not from Bahamut's intervention, but from his will alone, really).

But yeah! Astrology is fun when you apply it to fictional characters, for me it helps me understand their personalities better, especially when writing fan fiction, and it's nice to at least have a canon birthday (day and month at least) to go on.

[thunderxleafart]

"I'm really sorry, Ben. You were just looking out for me, but I was so stubborn I didn't listen." "That's okay, Bill. I'm sorry for teasing you so much." "Nah, don't be. I deserved it for being so silly." "Hehe, yeah, you were awfully silly. Now come on, let's get you back to the Pits."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey y'all! Hope you're all doing well! ^^ I'm here today with some more train art based on another potential story idea I came up with! :D

One day Bill isn't feeling well, but his crew can't seem to find anything wrong with him. And of course, the stubborn little bastard won't admit to feeling bad either, he absolutely refuses to look weak in front of Ben, so off they go to work.

Bill continues feeling worse and worse, and it all comes to a head when Ben takes notice and begins asking questions. Bill goes on the defensive and Ben gets more and more frustrated with him, leading to many a remark about Bill just being lazy that royally tick him off. Bill, determined to prove he's fine, challenges Ben to a race. And it ends exactly how you'd expect; Bill bursts a piston/valve because he was too stubborn to just admit he was feeling unwell, and Ben, despite it all, still rushes back to make sure his twin's ok.

Bill owns up to his mistake, Ben apologizes for teasing him, and it's safe to say that Bill never let pride get in the way of common sense ever again! xD

Man, I've had a field day with coming up with stories involving these two, mostly just cause I see so much untapped potential in them! Especially in their dynamic with each other.

We've seen them annoy everyone else into oblivion, and they clearly have similar interests/personalities, but it really left me wondering what makes them different? What kind of conflict could you draw out by just giving them a lil extra nuance and seeing how those slight differences affect their interactions? I.E Bill is more prideful, or Ben being more indifferent. 

So yeah, it's safe to say the bees have infected my brain yet again. xD Thanks a lot you little devils.

But there ya have it! I had a lot of fun working on this, and I hope you guys can enjoy it too! <3 And as always, thanks for looking everybody!~ ^w^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bill & Ben (c) Thomas & Friends Art (c) Me! <3

[libellule-ao3]

The wands of Ominis Gaunt & Sebastian Sallow (HC)

Ominis Gaunt:

11.5 inches, Ebony, Phoenix feather, sentient.

Wood: Ebony

Although I wouldn’t be surprised if some wizards used a tinted varnish to give their wand the prestigious appearance of this precious wood, Ominis’ wand is made from real ebony, a deep, rich, dark colour. According to Ollivander, ebony wands are often found in the hands of those who are comfortable with the status of an outsider (which Ominis is within his own family), who stick to their convictions regardless of outside pressure. While they may be open to discussion, they are unlikely to change their opinion unless they are given a reason to do so, that is in line with their own ideals/goals.

Core: Phoenix feather

Unlike most Gaunts, who have a custom-made wand made from basilisk horns passed down from generation to generation, a Phoenix feather forms the core of Ominis’ wand. Phoenix feathers are reputed to be the rarest of cores, but also the most adaptable to the widest range of magic, with a preference for the unusual. However, they often have the disadvantage of taking longer than unicorn hair or dragon heartstring to reveal themselves.

Capable of taking the initiative, wands with a phoenix feather sometimes act of their own free will, a quality that is generally not appreciated. But it’s a quality that suits Ominis, as he needs this particular sensitivity, especially when aiming a spell at the target. However, this self-will can sometimes be a source of frustration if it comes into conflict with its wizard.

Coming from one of the most independent of magical creatures, this heart goes particularly well with open-minded wizards who refuse to change who they are or their values to please others.

In conclusion, this is a magic wand where wood and core reinforce each other to enable Ominis Gaunt to rise above his family history.

Sebastian Sallow:

11.5 inches, Aspen, Dragon heartstring, unyelding

Wood: Aspen

Aspen is a magnificent white wood, highly prized for its resemblance to ivory and the fact that it is particularly suited to martial magic. Aspen wands are generally chosen by strong-minded, determined wizards who are accomplished duelists (or have the potential to be) and who are attracted by new quests and innovative ideas. It's known as a revolutionary's wand. This can lead to the best and the worst, as we see with Sebastian.

Core: Dragon Heartstring

The dragon heartstring exacerbates Aspen's natural qualities, making it easier to learn the magic for which the wand is intended, even dark magic. What's more, this core endows the wand with the blazing power of the legendary creature from which the core springs.

The length and flexibility suggest a wizard who is confident in his own abilities, without being arrogant, stubborn in achieving his goals, someone who learns better from his own mistakes than by following others, however well-intentioned they may be.

I would remind you that these are only headcanons (extrapolations based on the visuals of the wand, the characters' personalities and samples of wood cut and sanded from woodworking websites) and not official information. 🙂

[eretzyisrael]

The American Front

An American friend asked me yesterday where I thought our greatest dangers lie. Getting bogged down in Gaza? The northern front, facing Hezbollah and the Iranian militias in Syria? The soon-to-be nuclear Iran? Another intifada in Judea and Samaria? Violent riots by Arab citizens of Israel?

None of those, I said. The greatest danger facing Israel today is from the Americans.

My friend was surprised. How is that possible? President Biden expressed his full support for Israel, and is supplying us with weapons and ammunition, and has sent significant naval forces to our region. He threatened Iran against intervening. Congress just overwhelmingly passed a resolution of support for Israel. What more do I want?

So I explained that the problem with America is the same problem that we had here in Israel until October 7. It is the conseptzia, the stubborn resistance to the reality that is behind the conflict that has been going on for at least a century, and of which the butchery on Simchat Torah was just the most recent flareup.

What is the conseptzia? It is a collection of wrong ideas, a constellation of misunderstandings about who the Palestinians are, what motivates them, and what they want. It involves the mistaken projection of a set of values common in the West on a people that have different values, a stubborn refusal to listen to them, and a consistent underestimation of their intelligence, their tenacity, and the exceptionally strong emotion of hatred that infuses their culture.

Right now someone is asking how I can generalize. There are several million Palestinians, and multiple political and religious factions. How can I say they are all the same? Hold that thought – I will come back to it.

Here are a few false propositions that are part of the conseptzia:

1. Like most present-day Americans and Western Europeans, Palestinians are primarily motivated by economic considerations and only secondarily by religion and ideology. 2. The violent terrorism of the Palestinians comes from their frustration that they do not have an independent state. 3. Palestinians are essentially corrupt and will give up their ideological goals if paid enough. 4. The Palestinian Authority (dominated by the Fatah movement) is more moderate than Hamas, and would accept a Jewish state somewhere between the river and the sea if enough of their demands were met.

The reasons none of these are true come from the nature of Palestinian culture.

Palestinian culture is very different from that of liberal Americans or Europeans. That is not surprising, since it developed in an entirely different place from different antecedents. The starting point is traditional nomadic Arab culture, with its emphasis on maintaining personal and family honor and avoiding shame. The Arabs of Eretz Yisrael, who came from various parts of the region, did not consider themselves Palestinians in the beginning of the 20th century (with the exception of a small movement made up of educated Christian Arabs). Their identity was as part of their clans, and as part of the Muslim Ummah. As far as they were concerned, Eretz Yisrael was southern Syria.

Once the 400-year yoke of the Ottomans was removed and Jewish immigration increased, Muslim resistance to the possibility of a Jewish state grew, and was especially encouraged by Amin al-Husseini, the British-appointed, Nazi-supporting, Mufti of Jerusalem. The British had their own reasons for preferring Arab sovereignty when they left in in 1948, and they supported resistance by local Arabs as well as an invasion by the Arab states. But as everyone knows, the Jews succeeded in defeating the Arabs, Arab society in Eretz Yisraelcollapsed, and hundreds of thousands of Arabs fled the area that became the State of Israel.

This was the nakba, a terrible blow to the honor of all the Arabs, who were defeated – and to Islam which was outraged by the reversion of an area from Muslim to infidel rule. And they lost to Jews, the Jews that Mohammed routed in the 7th century and who were permitted to live in Muslim lands only as dhimmis, institutionally inferior to Muslims. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of this event in forming a specifically Palestinian culture, a culture that grew out of this massive loss of honor. To be Palestinian is to suffer from the nakba, and to dream of reversing and avenging it.

During the 1960s, the Soviets encouraged Palestinian nationalism, adding to it some spices of Marxism-Leninism, and presenting the Palestinians to the world as an oppressed third-world people fighting a war of national liberation against European colonialism. Later we had the “Zionism is racism” resolution in the execrable UN, followed by the 2001 anti-racism summit in Durban, South Africa, which emphasized this theme (despite its complete inapplicability to the conflict), leading to today’s accusations of “apartheid.” Despite all this, which is mostly intended to make Western liberals comfortable with idea of wiping Israel off the map, the Palestinian consciousness still centers on the shame of the nakba.

The honor lost in 1948, and which has continued throughout “the occupation” (to Palestinians this means the period of Jewish sovereignty that began in 1948), can only be recovered by reversing the nakba, bringing back all those who fled in 1948 and their descendants, and establishing Palestinian sovereignty over the land. It is also a religious imperative to restore rule by Muslims. Finally, the shame of what has occurred is so great, that the reversal must be accomplished with great violence. Only if the land runs with blood can the accumulated insults of the last 75 years finally be avenged.

This is Palestinian culture. This is what separates Palestinians from other Arabs and Muslims, many of whom can accept the existence of a Jewish state. With various modifications and different emphasis, this is what every Palestinian child learns in school, whether in a Hamas or UNRWA school in Gaza, or a PA school in Judea/Samaria. It is even to a great degree taught to Arab citizens of Israel in the Israeli Arab educational system. It is what Palestinians hear from their leaders, in their mosques, on the TV and radio, and in their newspapers and social media. It’s what Palestinians say in Arabic, and often in English too.

Certainly there are Palestinians for whom economic goals are important; there are secular ones and Christians; and there are those who hate violence and believe in democracy. There is opposition to Hamas in Gaza and to the PA in Judea/Samaria. But the basic ideas are unchallenged – they are pervasive in the culture itself. They are the conventional wisdom, the motherhood and apple pie of Palestinians, and some form of them is accepted by the great majority. Polls consistently show that most Palestinians favor armed resistance against Israel, and elections are almost always won by the most radical candidate. If that isn’t enough, Palestinian values are often enforced by men with guns.

So that is why the ultra-violent massacre in the south was cheered by Palestinians everywhere. And that is why the propositions of the conseptzia are false. Honor/shame and religion are at the top of the list of motivators for the Palestinians. Palestinians have consistently chosen violence over statehood, and weapons over economic development. They are not frustrated because they don’t have an independent state – they are infuriated because we have one on what they believe is their property. If we give them money for development, they will take it (and skim off plenty from the top for the benefit of their leadership). But the PA will always pay terrorists and their families, and Hamas will not stop building tunnels and rockets.

The Palestinians can’t be bought off and they can’t be persuaded that it is in their interest to live at peace alongside a Jewish state. The various factions have different strategies and tactics, but their ultimate objective is the same: Israel must disappear.

The Americans are dangerous, because they don’t or won’t accept this. The Americans have been slaves to the conseptzia since at least 1967. Biden, Blinken, and the rest continue to talk about a “two-state solution”, by which they mean a Palestinian state under the PA in Judea/Samaria and Gaza (sometimes even with a road between them cutting Israel in two!) What happened on October 7 shows that this is unacceptable. If Israel loses control of Judea and Samaria, the horrific events in the lightly populated Gaza Envelope could be repeated, this time in Tel Aviv. Even if the PA were more moderate than Hamas (it isn’t), who is to say a moderate leadership wouldn’t be replaced by an extreme one? Indeed, Gaza was originally ruled by the PA, but Hamas won the PA elections; and when in 2007 it wasn’t allowed to take power, it overthrew the PA in Gaza, tossed local officials off buildings, and took over.

Ordinary Israelis understand this, and our government seems to as well. This is why it announced that it did not want to decide at this time what would happen in Gaza after Hamas is defeated. It is obvious to us that only some form of Israeli control in both Gaza and Judea/Samaria can protect us, and it is equally obvious that the Americans oppose that. That’s why they are demanding that we come up with a plan for “the day after.” Israel would prefer not to have this argument today.

There are two kinds of people that favor a two-state solution: those that don’t understand Palestinians, and those that do and want to hurt Israel. I believe that Biden belongs to the first group, but there are far too many in his administration and the State Department in the second.

[dotthings]

With Rob there in a 70's wig as the keyboardist of the band, yeah sure it could be Chuck and he's enjoying all this drama immensely, that's likely. It's creepy. But once again I need to do a reminder: Chuck does not force people to have feelings. He doesn't implant feelings. He moves events around the Winchester family, puts obstacles in, he can make things move physically, he can even force a human to move a certain way but he cannot make them feel what they don't feel. There was a ton of bad takes about this during the run of the mothership while antis kept trying to claim things like--Saileen is noncon, roofied into loving each other, when it was Eileen and Sam's real feelings all along. Chuck made a spell, a piece of paper, fall out of one of Rowena's spellbooks at the right moment, the rest was all them. That all was expressly canon, antis still kept shrieking it was noncon and Sam and Eileen didn't really care about each other and weren't really falling in love, that it was all Chuck.

That was antis being objectively incorrect and anti-canon. And that is the argument some fans of TW are reaching for again to deny what John/Mary actually is.

It already had become clear me on TW that John and Mary's romance is not cupid roofies. I've been saying this for a few months.

They were not forced to feel things.

They were not forced to fall in love.

Trapped in a maze, they ran their own race.

Mary tells John she needs more time. After seeing her friend Carlos almost having to sacrifice his very soul, and then when he refuses that path, Carlos almost died, and then Carlos serenades his friends, who are his family, Mary is shooketh. It made her think. Carlos sings to this rag-tag group of hunters who mean everything to him. He's lost a lot, had to lose some of his dreams, but gained a lot. Carlos leads with his heart and he's very loving.

It's after Carlos' song that Mary is able to go to John and act on her feelings she already has, but she was afraid. Mary, who Samuel said is so stubborn and will go head-first despite danger, when it's about killing monsters. But when it comes to feelings, and being close to people, especially her romantic feelings for John, she's scared.

Nobody roofied Mary into going to John and reciprocating.

Not Chuck. Not cupids.

Seriously, guys, so much of fandom is clinging to the idea that JohnMary is a manufactured romance where their feelings aren't real.

A lot of us thought that. I know. It's based on bits and pieces of information the mothership dropped, it's understandable, but if you look back now, you see how much was assumptions. Old school fandom made assumptions, newer fandom made assumptions.

And now TW is spelling it out loudly and clearing that up. It's not a retcon, it's a clarification and filling in blanks. We only had bits and pieces before and assumptions.

The love was real.

Their conflicts and problems were real.

They loved each other and they had a lot of problems, the marriage was troubled, and there's reasons for that. They both have issues.

What about any of this is real, we are.

Destiel shippers don't want to admit how similar these two love stories are, while TW keeps throwing Destiel parallels. It's not that canon is saying these two love stories are identical, but there are things in common some shippers don't want to admit. But also, what else are these parallels saying.

They are both romantic love stories.

Trapped in a maze but the feelings are real.

They love each other but the relationship has problems, conflicts, things that pull them apart.

TW is knocking on Destiel shippers' doors, you can answer or you can pretend it's not, because you're scared to be hopeful, about what TW is saying to you.

*****Also please don't diminish Carlos' emotional importance, the very self-evident impact he has on his friends, on Lata, on Mary, on John. Which was an A plot of this episode, the ep was very Carlos focused.*****

Don't ignore Mary starting to sob when she thought Carlos was about to die, John's anger on his behalf, Lata's tears, or how John, Mary, and Lata were all entranced by Carlos' song that he sang for them.

It moved Mary and it helped her get past her fear and she went to John and was able to reciprocate.

Nobody roofied her feelings.

It's just feelings.

[atopvisenyashill]

What are your thoughts on pol!jon? I’m no fan of j/d but pol!jon feels so out of character and cruel that I really can’t see it

Oof okay that’s an interesting question.

I think there's a lot of elements to the political!jon theory that people tend to just conflate into one big theory similar to how the grand northern conspiracy has some parts that are a little galaxy brained and some stuff that makes perfect sense and has a lot of grounding in the text.

So for anyone who is unaware - I know a lot of my oomfs didn't get into the series until after the show stopped airing - the pol!jon theory came from s7 of the show to explain the absolutely inconsistent and stupid decisions jon makes in s7 and s8. The idea was that, basically, like Torrhen Stark before him, Jon Snow bent the knee to Daenerys at Dragonstone not because he actually wants the North to be tied to the Iron Throne again or because he's loyal to Daenerys but rather because he is attempting to manipulate her; when he realizes that she will not come North to save his people but did cross the Wall to save him he makes the decision to seduce her in order to bring her to the North to defend his people.

Now...a lot of people really dislike this theory. They feel it's too cruel of Jon to do, it's OOC, I've even seen some people say that any sex between them is noncon (which...aight), etc etc. I do understand to a certain point why people think it's out of character for Jon to do this but the thing is...he literally has already done something very similar in canon. Look at his relationship with Ygritte:

Two hearts that beat as one. Mance Rayder’s mocking words rang bitter in his head. Jon had seldom felt so confused. I have no choice, he’d told himself the first time, when she slipped beneath his sleeping skins. If I refuse her, she will know me for a turncloak. I am playing the part the Halfhand told me to play. His body had played the part eagerly enough. His lips on hers, his hand sliding under her doeskin shirt to find a breast, his manhood stiffening when she rubbed her mound against it through their clothes. My vows, he’d thought, remembering the weirwood grove where he had said them, the nine great white trees in a circle, the carved red faces watching, listening. But her fingers were undoing his laces and her tongue was in his mouth and her hand slipped inside his smallclothes and brought him out, and he could not see the weirwoods anymore, only her. She bit his neck and he nuzzled hers, burying his nose in her thick red hair. Lucky, he thought, she is lucky, fire-kissed. “Isn’t that good?” she whispered as she guided him inside her. She was sopping wet down there, and no maiden, that was plain, but Jon did not care. His vows, her maidenhood, none of it mattered, only the heat of her, the mouth on his, the finger that pinched at his nipple. “Isn’t that sweet?” she said again. “Not so fast, oh, slow, yes, like that. There now, there now, yes, sweet, sweet. You know nothing, Jon Snow, but I can show you. Harder now. Yessss.” A part, he tried to remind himself afterward. I am playing a part. I had to do it once, to prove I’d abandoned my vows. I had to make her trust me. It need never happen again. He was still a man of the Night’s Watch, and a son of Eddard Stark. He had done what needed to be done, proved what needed to be proven.

Now, I don't think this is rape on either side but it's certainly uncomfortable, dubious consent wise, and not meant to be just a straight romantic scene. Ygritte isn't aware - though she does suspect - that Jon hasn't truly joined their side. Ygritte feels he's holding onto his vows out of stubborn pride or perhaps ignorance; she does not suspect he's actually going to betray them, but she can tell he's clearly conflicted over his desertion. Jon, meanwhile, is only having sex with Ygritte to prove he's a true deserter; he is actively manipulating her by playing on her fondness for him and invoking Wildlings customs like bride stealing when they have sex here.

So the idea that political!Jon is out of character doesn't really work because while Jon is clearly guilt ridden over it, he can and has used sex and romance as a manipulation tactic before. As for it being too cruel, well, let's ask Gilly about Jon's capacity for cruelty then hmm?

“You will make a crow of him.” She wiped at her tears with the back of a small pale hand. “I won’t. I won’t.” Kill the boy, thought Jon. “You will. Else I promise you, the day that they burn Dalla’s boy, yours will die as well.”

Jon is quite capable of cruelty when he wants to be just as surely as he's capable of manipulation. This doesn't mean he doesn't feel guilt or that he doesn't care for the people he manipulates. On the contrary, I think part of why Ygritte continuously echoes in Jon's mind as a sort of mentor figure is because of the guilt he feels for leading Ygritte straight to her death. When Ygritte briefly opens up to him about a past abusive relationship, he doesn't dismiss her at all, and seems to make an effort to otherwise be kind, affectionate, and loving to her. He's just also planning on betraying her because he feels the Wildlings as they are currently organized are too dangerous to just be set free on the unsuspecting North (and he's not wrong - his alliance forces the Wildlings to put down their arms, yes, but it also empowers the Wildlings to come to the negotiation table as equals, as people of Westeros rather than as nameless, faceless barbarians).

So no, I don't really think it's OOC for Jon to realize that the enemy he is facing is too dangerous to deal with as is but if he maneuvers them in such a way that they have to listen to him and negotiate as equals, he can keep his own people safe while in a prime position to deal with the threat if it gets out of control. He is also capable of ruthlessness - the entire battle at the ending of ASOS, killing Qhorin, the baby swap, killing Janos Slynt, etc - and cruelty and sexual manipulation.

I also think - and basically everyone agrees, it's not just me - that their "romance" is written incredibly badly and weirdly. So much so that I think it made sense that people would wonder if Jon has an ulterior motive. I reblogged this gifset to my personal a few years ago and you can really see Jon is just over everything that's happening on Dragonstone, he's incredibly unimpressed with Dany, he refuses to even indulge in her fantasies the way he does with Ygritte (like when Ygritte makes that "oh let's disappear into the caves" comment, Jon is wistful! He brings it up as she's dying to comfort both of them! He doesn't like what he's been doing even though he feels it's necessary!), and I know Kit has never been particularly gifted at emoting but he looks just straight up miserable the entire time he's with Dany.

So...even back in s7, I didn't think Jon was actively plotting to murder Dany but I did think he was manipulating her to get the end goal he wanted (protection for the North) and that there was a high chance he was going to turn on her later when the time was right. It wasn't like he was thinking "alright so once the Long Night is ended, here's my twelve step plan to get Dany off the throne and murder her" but I do think he felt like well, once the Long Night is dealt with, there's still a lot of other problems we have to deal with and who knows what might happen as those problems arise. I never thought he was interested in her long term. Some people seemed to think that was beyond the pale but like, that's literally how he felt about Ygritte - he never considered this a long term relationship even if it was a serious one.

If we get anything like that in the books - Jon seducing Dany to get close to her dragons - I generally imagine it going that once he figures out how to ride one of the dragons, he just makes off with it and leaves her high and dry. Maybe he plays up the "we're the blood of the dragon" angle as a distraction of some sort. But like - is he actively manipulating her specifically to usurp her? No. But is he worried about the North and willing to once again put his sexuality, emotions, honor, and body on the line to protect it? Yeah, I think that was the initial plan when they wrote s7 and if Joner.ys happens, I do imagine it's going to go like that; not actively trying to kill her (anymore than he was actively trying to kill Ygritte) but definitely using her feelings for him to get the goal he's aiming for (protection for the North).

[the-derpy-duck]

For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky makes me think a lot of thoughts.

Yippeeeeeee!!! McCoy is my favorite Star Trek character. He might be one of my favorite characters in general. I like that he is empathetic but not exactly ‘nice’. He doesn’t express empathy in the way that is generally expected, but he obviously has empathy in a way that Kirk and Spock do not. His actions are driven by his emotions, him and Spock come into conflict because of this. The main two three characters make up a large portion of the show and it’s one of the easiest things to see in any given episode because both Spock and McCoy are extremely stubborn and believe themselves to be in the right. To Spock, McCoy acts irrationally, to McCoy Spock is sociopathic in everything he does. Despite coming from a planet filled with people who have minor telepathic abilities Spock has a difficult time understanding the feelings of those around him, and McCoy can’t fully understand Spock or his emotions despite being so empathetic. He knows that Spock feels emotions and he calls him out a lot because he wants to be right, Spock disputes him with logic every time because (logically) he also wants to be right. Long way of saying, they are fighting and the reason why they are fighting is fairly ironic.

I’ve been watching a lot of Star Trek. I’ve watched more of a show from the 60s then I ever wanted to. A lot of the episodes are really good. A lot of them are really bad. All of them are from a show that was made in the 60s. I think that the best and worsts parts of shows often stem from when they are made, as attitudes change with time so do the ways actions and ideas are presented in media. As we develop better technology we are able to do more. TOS Star Trek has a lot of charm and it is fun, it also is unapologetically and unforgivably from the 60s and I love it for being that. I think the show has told many good stories and I think ‘For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky’ is one of them. That’s a really long title holy shit.

The episode is centered around McCoy. He is the main character for arguably the fist time and he is dying. The episode opens with him telling Kirk that he is going to die (after a small fight with Nurse Chapel) and asking him not to tell anyone. Kirk agrees but is clearly upset because his friend and CMO is dying and he has one year to live. The enterprise runs into an asteroid that is going to collide with another planet in 390 days. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam aboard the asteroid which is actually a spaceship. Nurse Chapel says ‘a lot can happen in a year’ to McCoy. He is probably leaving Star fleet due to whole death thing and this is probably the last time he will ever go on a mission for the Enterprise. Kirk wants him to stay on the ship because it is a lot safer for him there, McCoy refuses and insists on going. Spock has probably clocked onto the fact that they are both acting weird. They are confronted by the people who inhabit the spaceship and are overpowered. McCoy is knocked unconscious for a very short period of time and Kirk explains that they come in friendship. He also helps McCoy stand up again. The priestess, Natira, takes them to see the oracle which is their leader. It is also explicitly stated that they think that the spaceship is an actual planet. The oracle shocks all three and they are all knocked out. The group is then taken to their own little space. Kirk and Spock wake up but McCoy is still unconscious. Spock comments that he must have been hit with a stronger shock. Kirk explains to him that McCoy is dying. When McCoy wakes up Spock puts his hand on his shoulder for an extended period of time. This is his way of showing support and that he is upset about the fact that McCoy is dying. It looks like he squeezing his shoulder, McCoy moves and he keeps holding on. He doesn’t say anything and I think this could be representative of Spock’s need for his friend, although they may bicker a lot they are friends and Spock’s life would be a lot more empty without McCoy in it. He isn’t ready to let go of him yet. Kirk tells McCoy that Spock knows and they move on. A man enters and he explains that he knows that the world is a spaceship because he climbed a mountain (which is forbidden) and touched the sky. He says this as he is out through an extreme of pain before he dies. A devise is in his head and it glows red when it is hurting him. Natira enters with some other women and she gives them food. Kirk notices that she likes McCoy and it seems to be reciprocated. Kirk comes up with the idea for McCoy to talk to her and stay with her while Kirk and Spock find out what’s going on with the oracle. Things go very badly and Natira wants to kill them but doesn’t because McCoy doesn’t want them dead. An interesting thing to note is that when McCoy was talking to Natira he says that he was never happy. He also wants to stay on this planet and I don’t think it’s entirely for Natira. He likes her a lot but I think another factor is the fact that he doesn’t want his friends to have to watch him slowly wither away and die. He wants them to suffer as little as possible and staying on this spacecraft living with someone he loved would be a way for them to think that he spent his last moments in peace. It would line up with the way he’s been characterized up to this point. Eventually the gang figures out that this is a ship from a galaxy long sense destroyed and it has been floating for around 10,000 years. This detail is important. McCoy becomes apart of the society and the obedience thing (what killed the old man from earlier) is put in his head. McCoy figured out how to access a book that Spock can read to fix everything. He contacts the Enterprise but almost dies in the process. Spock removes the obedience chip and he fixes stuff. They also find a large database of medical information so McCoy isn’t gonna die anymore.

That was a lot and a very bad summary, I highly suggest watching the episode as it is very good. I think the ship is a metaphor for how religion is used to manipulate and hurt people. Hear me out. So Natira is a priestess and whenever Kirk and Spock go see the oracle on their own it is called sacrilege, which is when there is a violation of what is considered sacred. The man walking up the mountain despite it being forbidden could be an illusion to a few different biblical stories but none would line up exactly. The book is the largest thing for me though. This could be interpreted as just humanity in general with facts and science and studies and whatever, but my own experiences make me lean more into religion. The people are not allowed to read the book. They have also been floating around for 10,000 years which I think is about how long our recorded history is. I could be wrong though. The people blindly follow the oracle and it will use its power to make sure that they stay in line. This is demonstrated with the old man, McCoy, and even Natira.

Widespread literacy was not always a thing and this was especially true during the Middle Ages in Europe. Art was so important because it was how the people could learn and know about their faith, but the upper class (which did include preachers) were able to read. The general population was unable to check to see if what they were being taught was accurate to the original text which created a power imbalance and an exploitable population. During the time a bit before the French Revolution (not the Middle Ages or when widespread illiteracy was a thing) the clergy used money from the peasants for their own gain.Religious groups have also used their power to silence people. Galileo was put under house arrest because the church believed in the geocentric model whereas he presented evidence for a heliocentric model. Despite this Galileo was still Catholic and believed in the Christian faith when he died. The old man who we see in the episode could very easily be a Galileo stand in. He climbed a mountain, a forbidden thing to do, in pursuit of scientific discovery relating to space. He spent a large portion of his life being unable to share this information but was willing to die to get it out. Natira is upset by his death but doesn’t seem to recognize it as a failing of the oracle but of his outspokenness and his need to spread his word. I’m not very knowledgeable about Galileo’s history but my astronomy teacher said that he believed that Galileo wasn’t put to death in large part because he was Christian and because the people who wanted him dead knew that he was right, but he was too loud about it. Old man is Galileo. Mistranslations and misinterpretations of the Bible specifically are widespread today and it causes a lot of people to be shunned and othered in certain communities. As a queer person who is also Catholic I have experienced this firsthand. I also live in a generally conservative area although it is very close to a city. Although my parents aren’t actively homophobia and I am very lucky that they were mostly chill they still have issues regarding the lgbtq community. I don’t think that this episode is specifically about gay issues but it is about control. McCoy no longer has control over how long he will live. Spock cannot control the fact that his friend is dying. Kirk can’t control McCoy. Nurse Chapel encourages McCoy to take control over the little time he has left and to live a good life. The oracle works to keep control over the people. I don’t fully think that the motivations of the oracle matter that much, because it’s not about the oracle it’s about what the oracle does and how it affects these people’s lives and how it reflects onto us. The oracle works to maintain control, because if the people read the book then they would be able to understand that they are not where they need to be. And the oracle would be corrected, as it is done in the episode. More connections to religion can be very easily spotted in the episode, the people kneel when they are in the presence of the oracle, they are promised a paradise that will eventually come and they are never given a date for this paradise (note that when the asteroid arrives at its destination it will crash into a planet and both the people on the asteroid and planet will die, creating a small Armageddon), the ‘creators’ gave the people a book of teachings that is hidden in a rock, and even the star that’s on the oracle has a bit of religious imagery. When Jesus and two of the apostles went up the mountain and Jesus either showed them god or turned into a heavenly form it was stated that his face shinning like the sun. The three wise men also follow a star (I think it was the brightest star) to find Jesus, and in old Catholic art (and modern catholic art but it’s a lot more toned down) people who were important characters were depicted as having a yellow halo/ring around their head.

Also this is the biggest stretch but I think the cure to McCoy’s illness being found in the data logs could be a reference to Jesus healing people, preforming miracles, and bringing people back from the dead. Look. It’s an explanation, that doesn’t mean it’s a good one.

A major part of this episode is McCoy facing the fact that he will die. Religion helps a lot of people feel calm about death and the potential of nothing. It brings people peace and that is not something anyone will ever have the right to take away from a person. McCoy joining this world could be like when people who are dying turn to religion. It can be inferred that McCoy is Christian through a few comments and context regarding where he is from. McCoy is from Georgia (or at the very least the American south but I think he’s specifically from Georgia) and that’s apart of the Bible Belt, aka lots of religious people live there. McCoy also makes a few references to the Bible, mainly in regards to the Garden of Eden. The spaceship (a religion) helps give him a sense of belonging, purpose, and community, as well as a sense of control that he lost earlier in the episode, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that this world will kill a lot of people. But the people on the asteroid, at this point in time, do not know or have the ability to change the fact that they are gonna crash into a planet. It was a malfunction and one that was actively hidden from them. It’s sort of comparable to Fahrenheit 451 in the sense that they never got to live in a world where they had a choice. This is how they were raised basically. Montag and co were never in control or their world, their parents and their parents’ parents were the ones who made the world the way it was, they were just raised in it. They didn’t choose to not read because it was never an option. They have only known propaganda and they were never taught media literacy. The same logic can be applied to the people of a Yonada, the decision was made for them centuries before any of the characters were born. They aren’t stupid, they just didn’t have a choice.

Another interesting thing to me is that McCoy doesn’t seem to be that good at lying to people about how he feels. We’ve seen Kirk flirt with women a lot of times but it is almost always because he is lying to them and trying to get something. McCoy doesn’t flirt, the one time that he does have a love plot he genuinely cared about the other person. Kirk doesn’t consider how his actions will affect people in the way that McCoy does. In the Omega Galaxy episode McCoy is very compassionate towards the captain of the other ship for the first third of the episode. Kirk is very compassionate, which is why he is (mostly) a good leader, but he isn’t exactly empathetic and definitely not in the way that McCoy is. Anyway, I do believe that McCoy genuinely cared about and loved Natira. Apart of why he wanted to stay was because he genuinely enjoyed her company, I think the other part has to do with not wanting his friends to see him die but that’s already been stated. McCoy has never come off as the type of person who would lie about emotions, he makes it clear when he is being sarcastic but I don’t think he has ever lied about his emotions to gain something. Although when Kirk and Spock lie it is mostly out of necessity so they can return to the Enterprise. Kirks main solution to every problem sometimes seems to be lie and flirt basically. But I think that’s mainly because I’ve been binging the show and watching like three or four episodes per day sometimes. McCoy isn’t very good at being manipulative or flirting but he is very good at disobeying orders.

The interpersonal relationships between McCoy and everyone else is developed quite a bit. He fights with Chapel at the start of the episode and they are implied to be very close friends. She genuinely wants him to spend the rest of his time doing things that would make him happy. Which makes sense, I would imagine that working closely with someone for such a long time would cause people to become very close. Spock is also affirmed to be McCoy’s friend multiple times, the whole logic vs emotion debate doesn’t really ever start because it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if something doesn’t make logical sense in this scenario because in a year McCoy will be dead. Spock cares a lot about both Kirk and McCoy, and despite how much they fight both of them do (begrudgingly) respect each other. When Spock asked McCoy to come with him and Kirk for the thing in ‘Amok Time’ he agreed without question or any snarky comments, he also did try to learn how to do the Vulcan hand salute. He said that it hurt but I think that was meant to be taken literally. I think most people need to train their hands to do the thing and I don’t think McCoy would actively go out of his way to insult Vulcan culture past the whole being obsessed with logic thing (not gonna get into the debate on if or not Vulcan is obsessed with logic or if a culture can be obsessed with something. Not what this is about.) the main issue that McCoy seems to take issue with is the way that Spock handles things. They are set up to fight but they are friends. The fact that McCoy wouldn’t have told Spock on his own is also interesting to me. I think a large part of that is because he is extremely prideful, but I also think that no matter how Spock were to react McCoy would be upset by it. If he had an emotional reaction (which he arguably did) then that would be bad because he is a Vulcan and that’s a big no no. But if he didn’t care then that would mean something else entirely and I don’t think that something is else is something that McCoy would want to confront in his life. He wants to die not knowing exactly how his friend would take this news because his friend is a repressed prick emotionally unavailable 99.99% of the time and is never emotionally available for McCoy. Kirk is also very badly affected by the news that McCoy is dying. He respects McCoys desire to not have anyone else be told. I think the way that he is portrayed in the episode is very well done, Kirk values the lives of all the crewmen on his ship but he is friends with McCoy. They are extremely casual with each other and I think that McCoy is the only person who constantly will go against Kirks’s orders in sound mind because he does not agree with them. In general I thought that the acting was well done in this episode, DeForest Kelly did an amazing job and I think he generally just plays the character of McCoy extremely well.

Outside of a religious reading, this episode has a lot of general commentary about dogmas and how misinformation spreads through generations. It’s fairly one to one for both a religious reading and a general secular reading, the asteroid spacecraft has been traveling for around 10,000 years which I think is roughly how long we’ve (humanity’s) recorded history. We’ve lost a lot of history due to the burning of books, purposely or accidental, and the longer we exist and the more history we record the harder it is to teach our history. Schools have to cut out parts of history because there isn’t enough time to teach everything (speaking in the us, I took ap history classes so it was very different for me I got to learn a lot more history but for on level classes I know it’s a bit different). We also just loose stories and we loose bits of history. Movies and books get lost because copies weren’t made, people cover up their own tracks to make sure they are safe and that makes looking back harder. There is that one Russian composer who was gay and his letters to his brother were censored for many years. Gay and trans people have existed for a long time and so has their works, but they get hidden and destroyed. A binary gender wasn’t fully the normal in native cultures to my knowledge and understanding but I’m also not an expert on that. We will never be able to learn everything but we can still learn a lot. But we have lost things to obscurity. People will continue to lie for their own gain and benefit, but sometimes we don’t realize that we are lying. When a fact becomes widely accepted it is what is true, which is part of what this episode is warning against. This also gives it another connection to F 451, in a very broad sense the societies are similar. They are both oppressive, the main population had no power in making the world, and the messages and themes are similar.

McCoy and Kirk are so similar yet so different that it makes me think they are almost character foils of each other. They both are compassionate and use emotions when making decisions, but McCoy actually understands and feels the emotions of those around him, he’s a bit more considerate than Kirk but he’s not as good with words or as tactful, he’s still blunt and he’s not necessarily nice about what’s happening. McCoy’s own emotions often blind him to all sides. Kirk doesn’t always consider how his actions will impact those around him, he lies to save himself and his crew numerous times but this ends up leaving a lot of people out of the loop when they really should have known what was happening or what the plan was. He’s a good leader and cares about others a lot, he is aware of the emotions others feel and he uses that to his advantage when he needs to. Which is something McCoy clearly struggles to do. Kirk didn’t expect McCoy to stay or to want to stay on the asteroid. I think he thought that McCoy and Natira were both physically attracted to each other and he probably didn’t think anything much would develop. He wanted McCoy to keep her distracted. But McCoy wasn’t able to do that because of the way he experiences the world around him and emotions. Kirk definitely feels sympathy and some empathy but, for the seventh time, not to the extent that McCoy does. McCoy would be an awful captain because he rarely considers logic in non medical situations. Even then, I don’t think he would actively consider the risks of providing medical aid to someone (who he is confident operating on), he just would. He is impulsive and can be a voice of reason when he isn’t the one who is in charge of the enterprise. He is a good doctor and is presumably good at leading the medical team. Kirk is sort of if you combined McCoy and Spock, which is why he is a good leader as only focusing on logic or emotion will lead to failure or at least a breakdown. Kirk very clearly wants McCoy to come back to the Enterprise, but he does let him stay. Kirk and McCoy both have a mutual respect for each other which is part of why he lets him stay. But Kirk (mostly) shows respect to those around him. Which is probably why people like him. McCoy is 100% willing to disobey Kirk if he is asking him to do something that goes against his moral compass. Also this is a small thing that doesn’t fully relate to anything but McCoy didn’t tell anyone that Miranda was blind because it was her choice on if or not she told the others. And I just think that’s neat and didn’t fully expect that from the show. Anyway McCoy is one of the few characters that will openly go against Kirk when he is of sound mind. He is definitely loyal to Kirk but it doesn’t make him blind to Kirk’s flaws and he’s usually one of the people who will point out when he is doing something wrong or out of character. Spock does it as well but I don’t think he’s as willing to go against Kirk. Like he will, but he won’t like it and he’s a lot less aggressive when compared to McCoy, who will tell Kirk that he’s being an idiot and that yes we need to go investigate the mental hospital you idiot.

I feel like the romance aspect of this episode was done pretty well, and I think I do have an explanation for the insta love thing. So McCoy is someone who is isolated, not the way that Spock is but he still is isolated. In TOS it is never confirmed that McCoy had a wife or kids. It’s also not outright denied but McCoy’s family isn’t mentioned to my knowledge. He is friends with Jim, Spock, and Chapel but he states in the episode that he is unhappy and the implication is also that he is lonely. I think that he was desperate for any sort of connection after getting his diagnosis, he clearly found a lot of joy and purpose in helping others but (from what I know) working in the medical field is stressful and death is an inevitable part of the job. McCoy isn’t unfamiliar with death, he’s the main person who confirms that people are dead in the show, but he was actively putting off confronting his own mortality and loneliness. I also think that it is possible that he just couldn’t connect with anyone else on the ship the way that he could connect with Natira. He obviously has friends, but it isn’t that difficult to take a queer or neurodivergent reading from the episode (if your a bit off like I am). Kirk and Spock are both fighting back when they meet Natira, but McCoy choses to surrender and that makes her take an interest in him. He cannot fight very well (it’s explicitly stated and shown in one episode) which makes him an easy target but it also shows a clear difference. Him initially surrendering could have been a sign that he was more friendly than Kirk or Spock, the latter of which insulted Natira when she welcomed them although the insult was not unwarranted or even that harsh. It wasn’t even really an insult actually. He was just sort of rude. Regardless, McCoy is different. He is physically weaker than the other two and he was the first to try and make peace. He also was the first to point out that they didn’t know that they were on a spaceship. Natira notices that McCoy was struggling and she wanted to stay with him. I do think they were both intended to be physically attracted to each other, but they don’t express it in the same way that Kirk or Spock would with their own love interests. McCoy asks about the Oracle and wants to know more. Even if he was just trying to get more information about what they are dealing with but it’s more fun to think that he did take genuine interest in her and her culture. McCoy also does say that he values truth and I don’t think he would lie in this situation. Like he wouldn’t have a lot to lose but I don’t think he would lie. McCoy saying that he valued truth makes me think that he was being genuine about his feeling for her. Natira seemed to also be lonely. McCoy said that he was lonely and Natira talked about how her heart was empty until she saw McCoy, saying that it sustained her but that it was empty. Her job likely isolated her in a way similar to McCoy. Her job is important and everyone knows who she is but she has so few connections to others. She could choose a partner but she doesn’t even consider it until McCoy shows up. This could be viewed as a metaphor about relationships, specifically queer ones. Neither character felt attraction to others before they met each other and that could speak to a gay awakening or dating and having crushes when you are asexual. It could represent finding a person who understands you and how your brain works when you’ve previously been surrounded by people who simply cannot understand how you. It’s definitely a stretch, but I do think it is a potential reading. I don’t think it was intended at all to be anything remotely like that, but the author is dead and I killed them.

Overall I really enjoyed the episode. Again, McCoy is my favorite character from Star Trek and I like that he got his own episode, even if he needed to be diagnosed with a terminal illness to get one… Regardless of everything I said I think it is a powerful story about having a terminal illness and being forced to face the fact that you/your loved one is dying. Kirk struggles to let go of McCoy and he very desperately wants to stay with him (he was actively fighting that one star fleet officer so he could stay near the Asturias for just a little longer) and it’s very understandable. I could write a whole other post about how much Kirk struggles to let go of loved ones but I think this one is long enough as it is. Actually fuck it. Kirk spends the entire episode attempting to grieve his friend who is still alive. He’s going to lose a person who is so very clearly important to him. I haven’t watched The Search For Spock yet but from reading the little blurb thing I do know that Kirk is not handling his friends death well. Even in The Wrath of Kahn (which I have watched) Kirk has a really hard time accepting the fact was gonna die. He was clearly shaken when he was giving the eulogy at Spock’s funeral. Which makes sense because he just lost a person who was very very very important to him. When McCoy is telling him about how one of the crewmen has the terminal illness he is not happy but when he is told that it is McCoy he is devastated. He continues to be upset after the fact and he starts to treat McCoy like he is made of glass afterwards. He openly objects to McCoy coming with him and Spock on the mission and is more protective of him than he would have normally been. He very briefly freaks out when McCoy doesn’t wake up when his name is called. It’s sort of a blink and you’ll miss it type thing but it is there. He’s not coddling McCoy or even that controlling over him, Kirk treats McCoy with respect and dignity. He recognizes that McCoy is still a person who has the right to make his own medical decisions. Kirk is upset and he doesn’t want to leave his friend but he cares for and respect him. He isn’t the type of person who would force his friend to do something he didn’t want to do, especially if said friend was dying. He spends the entire episode in shock and just morning his friend while he also needs to do his job. He isn’t ready to let go of McCoy, multiple people tell Kirk that he needs to let go, including McCoy although it was indirectly. If they actually had the balls to keep the terminal illness and have everyone deal with the consequences it would have been really interesting to see how Kirk would continue to grieve. Spock as well because I’ve noticed that he has this tendency to literally hold onto people. He does it to McCoy in this episode and in ‘The Empath’ and he does it to Kirk in ‘The Motion Picture’. You can definitely get some interesting analysis out of that, which I sort of talked about but not that in depth.

McCoy and Spock have a very complicated relationship and it gets explored in a few episodes which I really like. Most of those episodes also have Spock in command which I also like seeing because it does a good job at showing why both Spock and McCoy fail as captains (for extended periods of time at least). Spock often ends up being so logical and distant that he comes off as cold, uncaring, and apathetic. This is most obviously seen in ‘The Galileo Seven’ where everyone gets more and more upset with him as time goes on. But the relationship that Spock and McCoy have when Kirk isn’t around and they are under pressure becomes antagonist in a more genuine way. McCoy verbally rips Spock apart in the episode where the one ship disappears for a bit and everyone looses their minds. He was under an extreme amount of stress but it’s one of the few times where we actually see McCoy loose his shit with Spock. Despite the fact that they have opposing personalities and philosophies they are still friends, the fact that they both care about each other is very clear to the viewer. If or not the characters both understand this is a bit more unclear. They mutually are fiends and they both know that they care about the other, but I don’t know if McCoy thinks Spock cares about him. If he is so lonely, it would make sense to assume that he feels disconnected from the world around him and also makes sense to me to assume that he assumes (or knows) that the people around him do not feel as strongly as he does. He has three friends that we know of; Kirk, Spock, and Chapel. He’s also on a giant spaceship floating around in empty space. Being lonely and isolated makes sense but it makes more sense when you consider that one of his closest friends is emotionally unavailable, although you do know that he feels emotions. You’ve seen him show emotions, but never for you. You care deeply for him but he can’t feel the same way for you, even if he is your friend and he feel friendship for you he doesn’t feel the same amount of friendship and he doesn’t feel it as strongly. And I mean that it a completely platonic way. It sounded like I was describing an unrequited crush, which I guess you could see it as. I get why people ship Spones. Silly little guys. Anyway Spock’s general disconnection makes McCoy’s worse, even if it wasn’t intended. They don’t mean to hurt or isolate each other but they do. McCoy didn’t want to tell Spock he was dying because no reaction would have been a good one. I also think that he doesn’t want to know that his friend wouldn’t feel anything or care about McCoy’s death. He has a year left and he doesn’t want to spend that year dealing with the aftermath of him telling Spock. Sorry this repeated a lot of stuff I already said but I wanted to talk about McCoy and Spock’s relationship in a more complete way.

McCoy doesn’t want to let others know that he has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and he doesn’t want to tell Spock. It’s an upsetting position to be in and McCoy really can’t do anything about it. Apart from kind of the oracle there isn’t a real villain in the episode. There is a conflict but not a person who is actively being antagonistic. The conflict is generated by two inevitable outcomes, McCoy’s death and the asteroid colliding with the planet. They both are ultimately changed but for most of the episode death was the only real outcome that could happen. Anyway, thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[k-s-morgan]

Hi!

I love your WHGTB so much! I just finished it and it's awesome! You are awesome!!! :3

At the beginning of the fic, you said you decided to write WHGTB because all the "Harry raises Tom" type fics you like are unfinished.

What inspired your new fic?

How long will it last in general? I can't wait to read your new TomHarry!

Please, stay safe.

Hello! Thank you so much, I'm so happy you enjoyed WHGTB and that you are excited about the new story!

When it comes to Tomarry, I always loved two tropes: Harry raising Tom & Harry and Tom studying at Hogwarts together. Since the latter is much more common and there are more completed stories with this plot, I was interested in exploring the Harry-raising-Tom scenario first. Now that I'm done with it, I can move on toward my other favorite idea!

What inspired me in general:

1) The grand and gloomy atmosphere of Hogwarts of Tom Riddle's time, where he is still a brilliant, intelligent wizard slowly building his empire. His canon school years always intrigued me because they are wrapped in mystery while being arguably the darkest and the most complex period in HP history. They unfolded during the time of two large wars, giving birth to the greatest and darkest wizard of all. The politics, the knowledge, the blood that must have accompanied this process - it's fascinating. For some reason, those years give me a feeling of dark romanticism, something I don't feel in Harry's Hogwarts days.

2) The idea of Tom, with his already-shaped vicious, elitist views, becoming infatuated with the worst possible person who threatens everything he has managed to build and who's destined to possibly kill him. Choosing Harry above his more powerful, more influential followers; being obsessed and protective of him even though they represent two opposite sides and killing Harry would be the smartest choice. I love the idea of enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-who-are-in-love-with-each-other :D

3) The thought of Tom's frustration and resentment over having to return to the orphanage year after year, being forcibly torn from the world where he feels like a king, thrown into the circumstances most of his fellow Slytherins cannot imagine - an aspect he has in common with Harry that will unite them further. The horror of the bombing of London Tom likely experienced at least partly, something that's never elaborated upon in the books but which I always felt strongly about. The way it could have fuelled Tom's hatred toward anything related to Muggles even more, building a contrast with how Harry might react in the same circumstances.

4) The endless manipulations and machinations Tom can come up with to get what he wants, countered by Harry's stubborn determination to oppose him. The power plays and the constantly shifting power dynamics, the equal dance of obsession - since Harry and Tom are of the same age, they'll be on a more equal ground, and their conflicts will reflect it. The increasing number of Tom's allies and worshippers put against Harry's contempt and criticism, which will frustrate Tom into losing his fake composure and make him succumb to his more natural temper.

5) The shaky foundation of the wizarding world of that time that canon Tom could have conquered if he made smarter choices. The society was terrified and uncertain, and I love imagining what Tom's large-scale confrontations with Harry could do to it.

In short, I'm inspired by the idea of Harry and Tom growing to be powerful young leaders who are in love and obsessed with each other, but who refuse to compromise their principles and are prepared to fight to achieve their goals. Who will duel each other in the afternoon, destroy their followers, and then lose themselves in each other in the evening. WHGTB Tom was a variation of a child Tom who was raised by Harry, which affected his views and values; this is the CoS Tom who already has one Horcrux, whose views are set in stone, and who doesn't plan on loving anyone. The idea of world dominion is rooted in his mind and Harry is the last thing he expects.

I love the moral ambiguity of this scenario. After all the development, Tom would rather kill any follower who disrespects or harms Harry as opposed to eliminating Harry himself, despite knowing he is the biggest threat to his rule. Harry, in turn, would rather risk people who trusted him than execute any plan that could result in Tom's destruction. What their obsession and possessiveness will push them to is fascinating to consider - there are so many potential arcs in this plot.

This is approximately how I imagine their relationship to have gone in canon if Harry ended up travelling to CoS Tom's time. That version of Tom would not be easily swayed - neither would Harry. They would clash violently, they would hate each other, but they would also be inevitably drawn together because of everything they have in common and everything they see in each other.

The expected count is 23 chapters for now, but it can change in both directions since the size of my updates is always unpredictable! My characters don't like listening to me :D

[dancingisdangerouss]

Image being Steven’s girlfriend and harrow kidnaps you to try and draw out moon knight but then he gets attached to you in a very unhealthy way. He’s never letting you go no matter what 👀

Okay okay okay but this is literally an idea I’ve had 😂

You’ve suspected Steven liked you for a while now, but couldn’t be certain—he was awkward and cute with everyone, after all. Once you started dating, it took some time to adjust to his alters and the whole situation there, but honestly, you’re just happy with him.

You’re familiar with Moon Knight, but Steven is adamant that you never accompany him and put yourself at risk. So you’re forced to grudgingly stay at home “safe” while he goes out to do hero-shit or whatever.

Little do you know, Harrow’s cult peeps have been stalking Steven, and they find out about you. Harrow has been trying to figure out how to lure Moon Knight into a trap because (insert some logical reason here). Trouble is, he can’t figure out what bait to use

Until he finds you.

His followers kidnap you one night, and he has them get in touch with Steven to let him know that he has you. He’s enraged of course but conflicted—Khonshu tells him to not be an idiot and put everyone in danger by marching right into Harrow’s trap, so he’s just stressed and worried while trying to figure out what to do.

Meanwhile you’re allowed to walk around so long as his followers accompany you to make sure you don’t run off. But you’re proving to be quite a bit of trouble—pointing suddenly at something and crying out, “Holy hell! What’s that?” and when your “chaperones” turn to look you go sprinting off.

He also finds you one day in your room trying to pry up the floorboards and escape through the floor, and every time his followers manage to catch you, you give them absolute hell. Multiple cult members have complained to Harrow that you bit them.

So he starts keeping an eye on you himself, making you accompany him to things. He’ll try to get under your skin, taunting you about how Steven must not really love you since he hasn’t shown up yet, but you just shrug like “well good, he’s not a fucking moron. A lot more people will get hurt if he comes for me.”

Basically every time he tries to upset you or manipulate you, you’re like 🤷‍♀️ “whatever dude.” You’re just focused on making more plans to escape so that Steven doesn’t have to make a hard choice because of you. You do sometimes feel like a bit of a burden in that sense…unable to help fight alongside him, causing him trouble by getting kidnapped…

Harrow finds an odd interest in you, unsure of why he’s grown fond of you. You’re stubborn and annoying and taunt him all day long, but you’re also legitimately caring, not wanting anyone hurt because of you, preferring to die rather than let anyone else suffer. You’re strange…but he thinks he likes it.

From there, those thoughts only worsen and fester, and he realizes he’s thinking about you at all hours of the day and night, and can’t stop having these fantasies about you. It’s borderline obsession at this point.

So by the time Steven does show up (after figuring out a way to sabotage Harrow’s plan), he’s unwilling to let you go. What makes Steven so wonderful? He could have killed you while Steven hesitated and came up with a plan. He doesn’t deserve you. No one else does.

When Steven comes for you, he’s devastated to find you nowhere in sight, hidden away like a buried treasure, like another artifact in the desert.

Harrow has you now, and he’ll make sure to treat you so much better than Steven ever possibly could. It doesn’t matter that you’re rebuffing him and refusing his affections—you’ll come around eventually…

After all, we all know he never stops until he gets what he wants.

[acourtofthought]

How do you think Elain and Lucien will get together? I see some theories about them healing and taking care of Spring, but I can’t imagine Elain will jump at the opportunity to be around him right now. It’s so difficult to theorize since we don’t have her POV :/ For all we know she wants to jump his bones every time she sees him 😌🤞

And I don’t see Gwyn and Azriel as friends to lovers (I know it’s a popular theory about them). Seems too easy and sorta bland and I can’t see SJM writing it. I don’t think she likes her endgame couples to be on good terms right off the bat. I wonder what kind of conflict she’ll introduce between them.

I agree with you on both accounts!

The line in ACOSF, where Elain declared she was part of this court and would do what it needed stands out to me a lot. I know E/riels believe that means Elain feels she belongs in the NC but I actually think it's hinting at Elain doing whatever she needs for her family and what is in the best interests of them and their court, regardless of where she ends up.

And I think her book is going to end up with Rhys finding a reason for her to leave the NC to do something that would in fact help the NC and would then put her in the path of Lucien. Or....Elain herself could decide that what would best benefit the Night Court is a marriage alliance with Lucien. One of the major plot points of SF was the NC plotting for Eris to believe he might have a shot at a marriage between he and Nesta which would be important in securing a lasting alliance between the NC and Autumn. We know that was never going to actually happen but the idea of it was put into our heads, that a marriage alliance between courts would have it's benefits. So it's possible Elain will have come to the same conclusion and realize that marrying Lucien would help secure alliances for the Night Court, what with his ties to Spring, Autumn, Day and the friendships he's made across other Courts.

Considering SJM herself admitted to loving marriage of convenience tropes and we've yet to see that actually happen in any of her books, this would be the perfect setup for it. Not to mention any arranged marriage trope always ends in a HEA for the characters who do fall in love.

And it finds a way around Elain refusing to interact with Lucien. I feel like she'd keep that charade going for a long time out of stubbornness alone but if she found a reason to put that stubbornness aside to help out her sisters, I think she'd do it.

And I do agree about Gwynriel. Their current friends to lovers setup seems too much like E/riels current situation and honestly, Gwyn seems too sassy and Az too aggressive to have them be a soft and gentle get to know you from start to finish.

(next paragraph contains TOG spoilers) -

I realize Gwyn has a bit to overcome before she's to the point where she can be intimate with Az and I don't doubt that they'd go slow in that area however she's still got a bold personality despite what happened. And I don't see them just being oh so sweet and gentle until that happens. Rhys was SA too yet he still maintained his snarky, somewhat pushy ways with Feyre. So I imagine SJM will come up with a scenario where Gwyn has a reason to be at odds with Az. Maybe he'll respond poorly when her heritage is revealed since he's got a history of having issues with certain groups of people (those in Autumn, the Illyrians). Maybe she'll call him out on his past with Mor (SJM doesn't do female MC fighting female MC over a male drama but she has shown instances where the female calls out the male for his past with another (i.e., Yrene when she called Chaol out over Nesryn and Celaena).

But yeah, I feel like friends to lovers would not only be out of character for SJM in general but wouldn't make sense for Gwynriel as they've been written.

I do think their interactions in SF were important to establish a foundation for Gwynriel. It was a setup where he wasn't instantly smitten by her and where he was to witness her ability at protecting herself so he didn't develop savior / protector complex with her and where she was able to develop a level of comfort around him. But eventually I do think we're going to need to see a little fire between them and a reason for Gwyn to call Az out on his bad behaviors.

[incorrectshantaequotes]

Blast was the star of the show clearly, and that put me in a Blast drawing mood. So have some Blasts (featuring everyone else)

--

REALLY GOOD FANART THANK YOU. everyone thank @volcanolotus for the fanart

also. unrelated but since I don't know where else I'm going to put this - I will say that while I didn't expect to do so much with Blast in Mermaid Falls, writing him there was a lot of fun! going into this under a read more because this ramble was longer than anticipated

my mindset regarding Blast when coming up with the transcript was "okay I want Blast to be funny because that's just how he is but I also don't want to do him dirty like the HGH writers did with Bolo. so how do I do that" and then it hit me that he was in a very unique position in regards to the personal conflict Risky's going through

I'll get more into it with the post about how HGH would play out in the Reversal AU (because I really DO need to get into that at some point) but unlike the canon version, there's a lot more discussion about the implications of the Dynamo and what it means for Risky - because unlike Shantae, who's worked through her self-image and self-confidence issues by the time HGH rolls around since a lot of that was tied to how much she was bothered by only being a half-genie, and is therefore mostly unbothered by the whole Dynamo thing, R!Risky has NOT worked through those issues, because her self-image and self-confidence issues are completely UNRELATED to the issues she has with her heritage, which have been resolved by the time the Reversal AU equivalent of HGH rolls around, so the Dynamo is very much weighing on her mind

and it occurred to me that Blast is like. probably the only one who'd actually say something? at least at first, and definitely the only one who'd say something about the whole situation so openly and brazenly. Risky may be bothered about the whole Dynamo thing immensely but it's objectively good for the town so she staunchly refuses to admit how much it bothers her at all, Rattle realizes that she's bothered by the idea of being replaced but is too conflicted between his concern for Risky as a friend and his connection to Mimic as a mentor figure to initially say anything, and when he does it'd be a more private conversation, 'Pod would definitely notice Risky's conflict but wouldn't initially connect it to the Dynamo with how insistent she is on helping Mimic build it, and even when he does make the connection he drops the topic pretty quickly when Risky makes it clear she doesn't want to talk about it

Blast, meanwhile, may not be the brightest fuse in the box but he knows Risky well enough that when he thinks about the Dynamo situation for more than two seconds it's enough for him to go "wait this sucks for you actually. why the fuck are you going along with this" and then immediately voices that loudly and right in front of Risky's face. After all, he's concerned for her as his heroic rival! He's used to Risky being more bold and blunt with her opinions thanks to their sort-of frenemy dynamic, so he doesn't really see why she just doesn't tell Mimic outright that she can do better than the Dynamo and kick that hunk of junk into the stratosphere. Blast wasn't expecting Risky to go nuclear on him for bringing that up, and it kinda freaked him out at first, but her little rant of visceral rage DOES explain why she isn't saying anything, so ultimately he really doesn't mind and is completely unbothered by the whole thing

Blast DOES still hold the opinion of "just tell him to scrap the damn thing you're already doing a good enough job on your own," and will still tell Risky that if she asks, but ultimately decides to let her take the lead since he knows she can be as stubborn as he is and won't be talked down out of it

[oxbowridgehq]

MAEVE BYRNE our ALY MICHALKA is looking for their EX-FIANCEE. They are between 33-40 and looks like Rahul Kohli, Miles Teller, Aldis Hodge, Michiel Huisman, UTP. They are currently TAKEN and the writer DOESN’T NEED to be contacted. ( @lawunabiding )

The pair began dating while Maeve was a paralegal at a nonproft organization in Washington, DC. They could've known each other before from college, met one another through work, or even ran into to each other somewhere around the city and began talking. Regardless, they were incredibly happy together - they even adopted a dog, Ruth Bader Ginsbyrne. After about three years, though, Maeve's family finally convinced her to come back to Oxbow as their own personal attorney to clean up any doubt surrounding their shady businesses. Your muse was already skeptical about this set up, but agreed and followed her to Montana. As time went on, your muse watched Maeve lose herself in the conflict and corruption. Her father died nearly a year after they moved back, and since she's been completely unrecognizable. She had been kind and optimistic in DC, wanting to change the world, but now she'd turned into someone who would step on others for her family's gain. He left; there wasn't a place for them in these small town politics. They have likely been apart for 2-3 years at this point, and details can be up to you! He could have been a lawyer with equity in the Byrne Law Firm and he's come to sell it to Maeve, or are being stubborn and refusing to. Or, he could have known enough about the corruption to either write some sort of article or has the intent to out them; he could also just be worried about Maeve's involvement. The last idea I can think of is that he opened his own business in Oxbow when he moved with her and he's coming to either check on it or sell it. Any reason for their return can work! (Maeve kept the dog, Ruth Bader Ginsbyrne, in the breakup.)