I was pretty much a stack of (admittedly exhausted) exclamation points in a trenchcoat when you previewed and then posted this. LOL! I love it (foregone conclusion), though I will now try to give you all the reasons why.
It's absolutely fascinating the play between nature and nurture with this particular AU version of that particular variation on Montgomery Scott. Like-- he's still quiet, still has a hard time articulating things, still has a kind of-- idk, flat pragmatism? But he's also way more in tune with himself, no doubt because he's been in therapy since he was like-- single-digits. IE, where he's trying to sort through what he expected to feel versus what he actually feels.
Love the atmospheric touches. The higher levels being tacky but largely clean. The lower levels being about like one would expect them to be. I admit, I laughed when his therapist was named Brian. Either a variation on our poor RR shrink a couple centuries early or a charming coincidence. Either way, it really is intriguing seeing this version of Scotty not only cool with a therapist, but perfectly a'okay with baring his innermost to one.
It really is a damn strange thing, how we cope or don't with trauma. I've lived-- similar to him, in this regard. Not only in the 'oh, that? Well-- it's a thing that happened', but also in the, 'this should be really bothering me, is there something weird that it isn't?' and then finally the, 'oh, so that was actually very traumatizing, it's just been living in the dark forever and decides to show up seemingly out of nowhere.' It's all very odd and not very universal and you capture it pretty well here.
I am at least 96% sure his lovely other-half is often his other-half, sometimes platonically, sometimes romantically, always devotedly. Which, of course, I approve of. Also very much in keeping with Scotty in any incarnation to consider taking his partner along and then deciding this is something he needs to go do by himself.
Oddly, this one seems a little less streetwise than his original counterpart. Not completely naive obviously, given his first years, but you don't get that kind of-- sense of a razor edge that the original can wrap around himself like a cloak in this one. Fast enough to catch a pickpocket, but even then, he doesn't seem to quite have that-- idk, level of potential danger? But I love how deftly he dealt with both the prostitute (because he really is incredibly sweet! Like in almost every incarnation!) and the kid who tried to mug him.
Also love the details. The plasma conduits. The heat and what it's used for. The memory of when his mother and he had stayed in the hotel before (and having to flee). How wrenching the idea is, her on a gleeful high-- until it tortures her to exhaustion and despair.
Ooof, the sense memories. And the way they reconnect. I've been there; where a smell or sound just hits like a runaway horse. And then his savior/guardian/benefactor. I'd be bowled over too, if the kid I helped escape showed back up as a fine young man in his prime, healthy and whole and alive. Jay wouldn't grudge Ezekiel's place in his (their?) son's life, especially given how much the man helped.
Darling sort of ending, too. I hope that old man goes on to have a very long rest of his life, somewhere safe where the trees smell beautiful and the sun shines down and he can live a good life. Because he certainly did well by the kid he saved.
The nature/nurture really is fascinating. This version of him is interesting in that, despite growing up on the literal mean streets (or their station equivalent,) he does seem somewhat less streetsmart. Fewer spiky edges. I suspect it’s because he was never betrayed by the people who were supposed to love him. Traumas aplenty, failures in tough circumstances but—they all loved him. Which doesn’t make the danger or the trauma any less but—maybe somehow more bearable? To know he has never been alone.
And then, having not been victimized by medical abuse, he was also able to work through the trauma, even if it is the task of a lifetime. (Brian was absolutely intentional. Probably not our Brian but maybe his spiritual predecessor.)
I left his gentle lover unnamed but. You’re probably right about who it is.
And Jay absolutely wouldn’t begrudge it (and this isn’t Scotty taking anything from Jay, who stepped in and stepped up and fought hard for a kid who fought him, for a long time.) But a way to honor (and give a way to graciously accept help) to a man who saved him, man times over.
Glad you enjoyed this one. It’s a fascinating and heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful timeline. Thanks for the chance to play in it!
Comment on Orange Blossoms and Rust
SLWalker Tue 14 Nov 2023 09:28PM UTC
Comment Actions
daraoakwise Tue 14 Nov 2023 10:37PM UTC
Comment Actions