Call OG Star Trek Corny All You Want. Because Yeah. But It's Also Like-

Come with me down this rabbit hole if you will. The moment we the readers find out about how much Andrew cares is the moment he says "I hate you". Because of this one "throw away" line in the first book "I don't care about exy enough to hate it".

I personally think this is the exact moment HE relieved he was in love with Neil. Because he realized he does care, he cares so much it hurts. And he hates that, he hates his feelings, he hates the fact that Neil makes him feel- makes him care.

And so he hates Neil, because he loves him, because he wants him. Because he cares for him.

deadpool and wolverine dynamic goes so hard bc despite pretending to give no fucks (wade with his humor & logan with his attitude) they do indeed give a LOT of fucks. the both battle with self worth/esteem issues, they both have unhealthy borderline suicidal tendencies despite not being able to die, they both have/had families they don’t think they deserve. they’re overly violent and brutal and the definition of rated r but they’re also capable of making the choice of ultimate sacrifice time and time again. of such kindness, of holding breakable things gently in their hands (including each others hearts).

your random blorbo who happens to die is not doomed by the narrative. edith keeler is doomed by the narrative.

Damn...

Me, who has the books in spanish, having to download it in english just to make a dumb joke ;)

Spock's speech defending Kirk in Court Martial (S1 E20)

Spock: "The computer is inaccurate, nevertheless" Shaw: "Why do you say that?" Spock: "It reports that the jettison button was pressed before the red alert" Shaw: "In other words it reports that the captain reacted to an extreme emergency that did not then exist" Spock: "And that is impossible" Shaw: "Is it? Where you watching him the exact moment he pressed the jettison button?" Spock: "No, I was occupied, the ship was already on yellow alert" Shaw: "Then how can you dispute the finding of the log?" Spock: "I do not dispute it. I merely state that it is wrong" Shaw: Oh? on what do you base that statement?" Spock: "I know the captain. He is-" Shaw: "Please instruct the witness not to speculate" Spock: Leutenant, I am half Vulcanian. Vulcanians do not speculate. I speak from pure logic. If i let go of a hammer on a planet that has positive gravity i need not see it fall to know that it has, in fact, fallen" Shaw: "I do not see what-" Spock: "Gentlemen, Human beings have characteristics just as inanimate objects do. It is impossible for captain Kirk to act out of panic or malice. It is not his nature" Shaw: "In your opinion" Spock: "Yes, in my opinion"

Hozier writing De Selby (Part 2) inspired by a character in Flann O’Brien’s novel The Third Policeman makes the music video so much more compelling and absolutely bananas to watch, not just because Domhnall Gleeson is a treasure and delivers a killer performance without even saying anything, but also like… let me get into the lore of this:

The Third Policeman is about this mad scientist/philosopher/scholar who robs and murders someone in the midst of academic pursuit and enters this literal nightmare world where he’s punished by these policemen who are monsters and is doomed to repeat his mistakes forever. And the visuals of Domhnall Gleeson’s character are so similar the drawing of the central characters of the novel as seen above. The shabby brownish clothing, the hair colour, the shovel in hand, it all matches.

The story is also a slight condemnation of science and views trying to establish ultimate truth as prideful and heresy. As an article from The Irish Times on The Third Policeman states: “As a consequence, all theories are crackpot, all knowledge is useless and the only meaning is that life is a hell of endless repetition.”

it also states, on the novel: “To illustrate the futility of scientific theorising, O’Brien uses a recurrent theme of infinite regression. One of the characters has eyes with a pinpoint behind which are eyes with another pinpoint and so on to infinity; the narrator wonders if his soul is “a body with another body inside it in turn, thousands of such bodies within each other like the skins of an onion, receding to some unimaginable ultimum”; De Selby studies in a series of parallel mirrors infinite reflections of his face going back to early youth; and Policeman MacCruiskeen has constructed a series of nested chests with the last few so small that they are no longer visible to the naked eye. So speculation and experiment are mad activities that literally disappear into nothingness.”

And then we see Dumhnall Gleeson in the music video on a cycle he doesn’t know how to break, some violent repetition where he’s burying himself and going crazy, and the imagery of several versions of one person fits this PERFECTLY.

Watching Mirror, Mirror for the first time is an experience that is so fucking hilarious and awesome.

Like the costumes for the mirror universe are so cool to look at and the fact that the og landing party is just in Kirk's quarters going "I wonder how alternate us is doing" and it cuts to Shatner screaming bloody murder as he's being dragged by red shirts.

Mirror!Kirk's threats are also so fucking funny because Spock is just so unbothered with this man that isn't his Jim. Like he knows this ain't his husband and therefore he does not give a fuck.

Shoutout to Kirk's look of horror when he realized that Spock would have to deal with evil versions of the landing party without him. Truly iconic homosexual behaviour.

McCoy: Well, that's the second time man's been thrown out of paradise.

Kirk: No, no, Bones. This time we walked out on our own. Maybe we weren't meant for paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through. Struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way. Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute. We must march to the sound of drums.

Spock: Poetry, Captain. Non-regulation.

Kirk: We haven't heard much from you about Omicron Ceti Three, Mister Spock.

Spock: I have little to say about it, Captain, except that for the first time in my life I was happy.

---

This might legitimately thee most beautiful ending of any episode of Star Trek ever made. The dialogue, as per usual from Dorothy Fontana, is exquisitely written, and it's performed perfectly by all three.

But I find it especially interesting that Ralph Seninsky chose to cut to Spock while Kirk is talking about how "we must march to the sound of drums", because while it's a philosophy that Kirk wholeheartedly agrees with, this episode seems to show that it's one that Spock has taken onto himself - his self-made purgatory. To Kirk, marching to the sound of drums is the only way to find true happiness. To Spock, marching to the sound of drums is the life that he has chosen, and for it he must sacrifice happiness.

But I also find it additionally interesting, as Spock plays a Vulcan harp/lyre/lute. It's almost as if Kirk's poetical philosophizing is speaking directly to various parts of who Spock is as a person. Perhaps he cannot stroll to the music of the lute, but that does not mean he cannot embrace that music all while marching to the beat of the drum.

Like I said earlier, I feel like Spock genuinely did grow after this episode because he does seem to embrace an appreciation for beauty after this more than he had before, and this is the final moment showing that. In his own way, Kirk is telling Spock that he does not have to give up the former in order to achieve the latter. And in his own way, in response, Spock gently denies that.

And it's heartbreaking, and beautiful, and amazing in every way

I’m noticing something absolutely fascinating about the early part of Spock and Kirk’s relationship. I’m making video compilations of every time kirk says Spock/Mr.Spock and vice versa every time Spock says Captain/Jim (I’ve got a spreadsheet and EVERYTHING because I’m obsessive like that)

Regardless! In the beginning, Kirk is very verbally/publicly protective of Spock which makes sense Star date-wise since Kirk just got promoted to captain of the Enterprise and Spock to first officer instead of just science officer:

He’s the first to call out people that won’t let Spock talk in Where No Man Has Gone Before, Charlie X and Balance of Terror.

He has an I’ll Kill You glare whenever anyone is racist/xenophobic toward Spock like Styles and Charlie (even Bones initially if you watch the Man Trap! Which is only their fourth mission).

You can even pin point exactly when Kirk is like “alright... I’m in love with this man” you can pin point it as a slow motion tumble from about halfway through The Enemy Within when he asks Spock to tell him when he’s slipping, to watching Spock stand up against Trelaine in The Squire of Gothos.

He’s got this “if Spock won’t fight for his place on this ship, I will.” Attitude that hits a fever pitch in The Menagerie

Spock on the other hand is extremely physically protective of Kirk from the get-go, even though he hasn’t even fully sized Kirk up. I think at least initially this could be chalked up to feeling like he failed to protect Captain Pike in The Cage (and later from the events that prelude The Menagerie) but it’s more than that. I think it’s also a manifestation of his inner frustration about how closed-off Kirk is because of his painful past:

He goes so far as to request a freaking phaser rifle in Where No Man Has Gone Before, just to potentially protect Kirk from Mitchell, and seems a little peeved that Kirk fought him alone. That’s not his freaking job, he’s a science officer

Pretty much ALL Spock’s actions in The Man Trap, Charlie X, Squire of Gothos, What Are Little Girls Made Of are directly to protect Kirk, forsaking his scientific curiousity (something he will keep doing for Kirk’s sake as we know)

In Dagger of The Mind Spock even forsakes his own personal boundaries to potentially protect Kirk by mind melding with Dr. Van Gelder.

All of this frustration culminates in the way they bicker in Conscience of A King, Kirk is closed off and has a self-destructive streak that Spock can only curb by physically getting in the way.

This protectiveness (like Kirk’s) hits its fever pitch in The Menagerie where Spock is willing to potentially face the death penalty for both his captains because of his intense protectiveness of them.

They protect each other in opposite ways that you’d expect them to, Spock the academic punches monsters and throws himself into bodily/mental peril without hesitation. Kirk the soldier cuts with words and wit to defend Spock from prejudiced assholes and is absolutely enthralled by Spock’s intellect.

All these episodes I’ve discussed are only the first half of the first season. It sets the tone for their relationship, their proclivities complete one another and it’s so... romantic. I don’t see how other people don’t see it.

Of course the relationship evolves beyond this simple feelings protectiveness but man, it sets a tempo to their romance.

logan (the worst wolverine) found out he was wade’s best wolverine and decided never to be normal again. oh u want me to move in to ur tiny ass apartment with your blind 80yo skiier of a roommate and a dog? say less. you want me to meet all your friends and family? I will be so behaved. actually hold up let me try n set u up with your ex while giving you heart eyes. like idk what logan will get up to next but it’s going to be out of loyalty & devotion to wade bc that feral beast domesticated himself for that man