I’ve always loved this one. The idea that they would have crossed paths, for a few minutes. It’s not something that any of them would ever be able to remember, or put together, but I remember being completely delighted the first time I read it, and still am.
I love the glimpses of McCoy. The southern charm and manners and gives way to his true self. I love that their first interaction is … Scotty being himself and McCoy sniping at him for it. Yep.
A bit of tiny Spock, bright and curious, but more his parents. Lovely Amanda. Sarek, imposing even now, but Spock is safe in his father’s arms. (Sarek messes some things up, and so does Spock, but by the end, they know they love each other.. right here it’s easy and gentle.)
And Scotty. Wanting a go and fixing it, certain he could with that 10 year old confidence.
Being surprise when little Leonard’s “I’m hungry” resulted in … responding to the need with food. Oooof. Little Leonard knows that adults do that. Little Scotty does not.
Scotty, withdrawing the moment he’s seen. (And Amanda, seeing the way he reacts, and seeing through it. Scotty isn’t sure what the look on her face is. I do. It’s a mom watching a kid react with anxiety, and being concerned.)
He wants the food, he doesn’t want to be seen, he’s flustered and angry and taken aback because she’s seeing through it all. It’s a great moment, him spiky and more than a bit self-undercutting
It’s just a brilliant and deft character study, I love this one so much.
I really enjoyed revamping it; I remember it was a request by one of my friend's back in the day, which was why I wrote it in the first place. Technically Scotty could have remembered it, but he black-marker redacted so much of his early life subconsciously that I don't think he would have. Like-- not even intentionally, just lost in that trauma pit. I was tempted to have Len hit on it, though, in Castles in the Sky. Or Spock, who even as a toddler would have a memory of it, though probably no particular reason to recall it unless given one.
I enjoyed adding that bit of tiny Spock picking his head up and little Montgomery waving back.
I've never been a really big fan of Sarek somehow being portrayed as The Worst Father ever. A lot of die-hard Spock fans -- including my ex -- seem to take that view of him, but I always preferred 'flawed, makes mistakes, but does indeed love his son'.
Ooof, aye. Leonard doesn't have the fluffiest life, no. But he never goes hungry. And Montgomery's understanding of adults is that they are either leaving you, hitting you, misinterpreting you or landing you in places you shouldn't probably be. No wonder he's so quiet. Sleeping on table linens, or cringing under a fist; he doesn't quite have context for normalcy. It's a sort of fascinating thing, because your Cait Scott also got her little Montgomery into places he should never have been, and also left him behind, but seemed to still love him as himself, rather than as a kind of accessory, you know? Similar kinds of fuckery, but from very different places.
Thank you. <33 He is spiky, and indeed self-undercutting, but his whole concept of the how the world works is filtered through 'survival' and that survival being somehow his own responsibility. Quite a lot for a little kid to try to stand under.
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daraoakwise Thu 15 Jun 2023 02:42PM UTC
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SLWalker Fri 16 Jun 2023 02:04AM UTC
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