#Gift Sanctuary

[destinationtoast]

I celebrated Christmas with my parents, brother, and aunt... and it turns out multiple of us gave each other Ted Lasso, to the point where everyone present ended up with one copy of it. 😹 I was the only one to receive a Roy Kent, though. 🥰

[dr-futbol-blog]

Inferno, Pt. 4

McKay rejoins Norina and the other local scientists with a male scientist -- or at least one of the folks who call themselves scientists -- in tow, who had possibly either been showing McKay something or gone with him to observe something that McKay had been doing. This tells us that McKay had not been compelled to spend all of his time in Norina's company macking on her, which is what Sheppard had been afraid of, and had actually been focusing on the work. For all we know, he had spent most of his time away from her. For what happens then, we have to recognize the fact that Sheppard has just returned to the planet and is on his way to McKay as the scene unfolds, and is most definitely thinking about McKay with Norina while he is making his way back to them. This is relevant, because we suddenly see a marked change in McKay's demeanour that is completely different from the way he behaves throughout the rest of the episode.

McKay: A shield like this would normally require a Zero Point Module to power it but this one seems to operate on geothermal energy alone. Norina: Yes, there's an enormous amount of heat beneath the surface. McKay: Hm, [you're] telling me.

To start off with, McKay is in lecture mode. He is teaching these people, Norina the chief among them, how this stuff works. These people had requested their assistance in fixing the Ancient technology at their perusal that they seem to barely understand and Sheppard had tasked McKay with fixing up their malfunctioning shield generator. But instead of just fixing it, McKay is trying to show them how they can actually work the technology, how in the future they might be able to understand it for themselves and fix their own problems. McKay is being an educator, sounding perfectly neutral as he lectures on. And then Norina says something that causes a sudden change in his disposition.

First of all, her line about there being "an enormous amount of heat beneath the surface" is the writers lampshading what is going on between Sheppard and McKay. There is an enormous amount of heat beneath the surface, it has been steadily building up since the very beginning of the show and particularly for the past few weeks that they had been forced to spend apart from each other because of Project Michael that had caused this heat to have no outlet which had made it build up pressure. Weir had just suggested that Norina is "hot," and she now mentions this heat beneath the surface, but it is not in her that we find this heat. She is very attractive, as pointed out by Sheppard, but it is not her that scorches him, whose flames are lapping him up from the inside. McKay's line "You're telling me!" is purposefully ambiguous, suggesting that he is already well aware of or in complete agreement with what she says -- or that he embodies her statement. You are telling him that there is an enormous amount of heat beneath the surface. The heat is in him.

But let us also acknowledge the fact that McKay does seem to interpret what she says here as some kind of innuendo, even though she probably had not intended it as such. While we have seen several examples of Sheppard interpreting something that McKay says as innuendo when he probably had meant nothing and had made perfectly innocuous comments about Sheppard being slammed against a wall in The Gift (S01E18) or going down first in The Brotherhood (S01E16) or telling him that "size doesn't matter" way back in Hide and Seek (S01E03) (or later on in Lifeline (S04E02) mentioning "penetration" that seems to short circuit Sheppard's brain entirely), McKay himself has seemed much less inclined to interpret things as double entendre because we have seen that he has a tendency to interpret things fairly literally, and has only come to appreciate sarcasm after having gotten to know Sheppard who speaks sarcasm as his second language. It is only after having met Sheppard that McKay has learned to interpret things that people say in a non-literal fashion.

And so McKay seems to make the mental association here between Norina mentioning the heat beneath the surface in reference to the geothermal energy under the planet's crust and her being very sexy, finding her hot. We can tell by the way that he stops to look at her as he says "Telling me" (again swallowing up half the sentence, which ends up emphasizing me [McKay] instead of you [Norina]), smiling suggestively. And you might be well within reason to interpret this as interest on McKay's part, that he finds her attractive, that his intention might be to try to make his interest known to her through this, to get his own space mack on. It is possible that he finds her charming, lovely to work with. A beautiful, brilliant, clearly intelligent woman who is in no way threatening his ego like the likes of Samantha Carter do, what's not to like?

But this does not mean that he is sexually attracted to her. This does not mean that he wants her. She is the one who keeps following him around like a lost puppy for most of the episode (even here, she follows him to where he is going), and as far as McKay's native assistants go, she seems to fall somewhere between Baldric and Jace for him. He is not interested in her, and he finds her existence easy to forget as soon as he focuses on something else. She is not the love of his life, she is not the hottest person he has ever met, she is not someone that he is fascinated by. It is only in this one instance that he displays any kind of interest or attraction toward her, and it may be curiosity or fascination more than anything else. But it is interesting that earlier Sheppard seemed to be channeling McKay when describing the scientists to Weir, and now McKay is behaving the way Sheppard frequently behaves -- toward him. Let us recall that Sheppard is currently making his way back to them and is definitely thinking about McKay.

There is this hot woman that Sheppard seems to find attractive (and McKay seems to require another man to be attracted to a woman to confirm to him that he is meant to find her attractive -- he simply cannot tell a woman is attractive unless another man also wants her), who for some reason seems to enjoy his company, and this seems to boost his ego more than anything else. And it seems to occur to him to test his charm here, to see if he could get her. It is the competition with another man that is important to him, not actually winning the prize -- as we had already seen with Perna in Poisoning the Well (S01E07). His interest for her has very little to do with her and more than a little to do with Sheppard. He wants to understand why Sheppard was behaving the way he was, and so he tries to put himself into Sheppard's mindset, into his shoes for just a moment. And because of this weird mental tether between them, he might literally have some intrusive thoughts from Sheppard enter his mind because he was just about to burst in the door as this was happening.

Norina: When I noticed the fluctuations in shield strength, I managed to override the alarms and make some adjustments, but then other lights began blinking and I was unable to understand what they meant. Shortly after that is when the tremors started. Sheppard: How goes it, Rodney?

Although Norina genuinely seems to like McKay and certainly appreciates his expertise, she brushes right past his comment into an explanation of their trouble with the machine, as though she was trying to keep things professional between them. While as a beautiful woman she is likely used to men behaving all kinds of way toward and around her, it is not entirely clear whether she actually even caught on to the flirtatiousness underlying McKay's comment.

We see a bunch of things happening on McKay's face in response to her seemingly brushing him off. First, his smile freezes up and slowly vanishes as he comes to the conclusion that maybe Norina had not been making advances toward him, he must have misread her. He opens his mouth to comment, and we see him do his nervous thumb thing, possibly feeling abashed, maybe even feeling the need to apologize for his forward and inappropriate comment. Then he actually seems to start paying attention to what she is saying, frowning lightly as he tries to puzzle it together, having to take a few steps back mentally to get the meaning of her words. And it is notable that McKay falls into a lean only after he had actually started paying attention to what she was saying here, after his mind had returned back on task.

So, McKay smiles to himself, leans one hand on the console (the hand on the other side from her), having switched his tablet to his other hand. He actually rests the tablet against his thigh between them so it is effectively creating a barrier between them, between her and his dick, which is something that an attracted man would not want to purposefully put up. He is also just about to launch into what is clearly some kind of an explanation because her mention of the "blinking lights" and her inability to understands seems to have roused his inner college professor, and while there may be a touch of "mansplaining" here because it seems like he wants to educate her because she is a woman in a way that he never had with his young male apprentices, this is not him preparing to mack on her.

We see a clear switch in McKay's demeanour when his mind returns back to business, and then his mirth in getting to show his expertise, having a captive audience for a monologue about Ancient technology. He finds her ignorance endearing and wants to stroke his ego by proving to her his "firm grasp" of ancient technology, especially because Sheppard had belittled his expertise in front of her earlier. He is not a man leaning on a bar trying to pick up a woman here, he is a teacher leaning on a desk. And this is the last of anything that could even remotely be interpreted as interest toward her from McKay's side. He is interrupted by Sheppard, seeming to feel abashed having been caught by him almost launching into "explaining scientific principles to the little alien lady." And it seems as though he does not want to do that in front of Sheppard because Sheppard is the person whose opinion of him actually matters to him.

What Sheppard does however is interesting. He seems to have come directly to where he would find the two of them and he immediately addresses McKay, asking how he is doing. He says it when he is still rounding the corner, barely having seen him. And he only addresses McKay, not their host. And while he is very much intending for Norina to hear what he says to McKay, he is making a real performance out of this, it takes him a long time to actually say anything to her. Because this is not about her to him. He is not interested in her. He had told Weir he was coming here to make sure that McKay was not distracted but in actuality, he does nothing but distract McKay, on purpose, all the livelong day. Sheppard had told the guard in the Ancient warship Aurora in Aurora (S02E09) that he really does not like being ignored, and he especially hates being ignored by McKay. He wants McKay's attention, and seems willing to go to any lengths to attain it. And he is not asking McKay for a status report here. He actually wants to know how he is doing. He wants to know where McKay is mentally in this moment.

McKay: I was just, still running diagnostics. Sheppard: Still? Thought you would have had that fixed. If you want, I can call Doctor Zelenka. I'm sure he could... McKay: I can handle it, thank you! What are you doing back so soon?

McKay is not actually answering Sheppard's question and he is not telling him what he had been about to do -- which was not to try to pick up an attractive woman but to stroke his ego -- which he now seems to realize was a foolish thing to want to do anyway. McKay seems to be still be running diagnostics so he is not lying, in the same way as Sheppard was not lying to Weir earlier, just omitting the pertinent information.

So, first of all let us note that Sheppard is bringing McKay his laptop in a laptop case which means that he had both packed up and picked up McKay's laptop before leaving Atlantis -- it is possible that McKay had tasked him to bring it for him -- and this means that he had picked it up either from his lab or from his quarters, just as someone having brought Sheppard a handheld device had suggested McKay had access to his quarter in The Long Goodbye (S02E16). And since these are the kinds of laptops we usually see people use in their own quarters (Michael had one in the previous episode), it suggests that Sheppard has access to McKay's quarters. It is a small but important detail. But note how Sheppard purposefully lays the laptop down away from McKay with the express purpose of getting him to step away from Norina. He is not giving the case to McKay but uses it to put space between them, and he further steps into the space McKay had been previously occupying to make sure that he cannot return to his former post.

What is more, he suggests that he might call in Zelenka to do this instead of McKay, and his intention is not to undermine McKay's expertise even though McKay very obviously takes offence at this, thinks that Sheppard is continuing his earlier "even McKay doesn't completely understand this" schtick, for some unfathomable reason needing to belittle his expertise to these people that he thinks are barely out of the Bronze Age. McKay is nettled at the suggestion that Sheppard thinks Zelenka is better or smarter than him -- which he does not and never has thought -- where Sheppard's main motivation is breaking up the McKay and Norina party. He would be more than happy if Zelenka came here to do the job with Norina and he would gladly leave the two of them at it if he was able to remove McKay from this scenario. Because it is not about her. Zelenka could keep her for all he cares.

We get further confirmation of the hurry Sheppard had in returning here in how McKay expresses surprise that Sheppard is back so soon. Note that although his "I can handle it, thank you" is said in a tone that is clearly annoyed, his question is not said in the same vein but McKay sounds genuinely curious as to how Sheppard had managed to make it back so soon. He is not displeased that he is back, and he certainly is not upset that he had come to spoil his chances with the pretty lady, that Sheppard had purposefully come to cockblock him -- which, to be fair, he very much had. And Sheppard does not waste time getting right to work on that.

McKay: I mean, I told you this might take some time. Sheppard: Elizabeth wanted to talk to the Chancellor, see if we can establish relations with these good people. Norina: That would be wonderful. Sheppard: In fact, you've been working awfully hard, maybe I could...

So, let us just acknowledge the fact that Sheppard, unlike McKay, really is trying to seduce her. He is trying to charm the socks off of her, using every trick in the book, being so obvious and shameless about it that he almost comes across as sleazy. I have noted before that Sheppard very rarely seems to actively pursue women, and he had confessed himself to Mara in The Tower (S02E15) that when women come on to him, he never sees it coming. Sheppard may find women attractive but he is not interested in them enough to pursue, and the few times that we see him try, it is obvious that he is not very good at it. He does not understand women and his seduction is much better suited for picking up other men, which we also see here.

Sheppard goes up to Norina, looks her up and down making sure that she sees him take in her body and then maintains eye contact with her. This would most definitely get him laid at a gay bar but seems to perplex and amuse her more than anything, like maybe she figures he is going for a staring contest. He is a good looking, charming man giving her attention so she is likely flattered by his blatant interest, but he is hardly the first man to try to seduce her. She is too beautiful and too smart to be easy but Sheppard is, perhaps unwittingly (because men are easy) trying to pick her up like she was easy, doing it fast and dirty. Despite his rakish good looks, Sheppard is not very good at picking up women. Watching this is almost enough to give the viewer secondhand embarrassment.

McKay has his back to the two of them so he does not actually see what Sheppard is doing, and Sheppard does not even seem to want McKay to see him do it because this is not about hurting McKay, he just wants to divert Norina's attention away from him and call it a day. Note that although Norina responds to Sheppard as though he had been talking to her -- which is a natural assumption to make based on how intensely Sheppard is looking at her -- Sheppard is actually having this whole conversation with McKay. Although he gives the appearance of giving his full attention to this woman, Sheppard and McKay are actually again thrown into that world of their own. And make note of this: Sheppard's offer to do something -- he never gets to say what -- is directed at McKay, not at Norina. He says to McKay "You've been working awfully hard," offering to do something to help him unwind, and let us note that offering to take Norina away, to remove her, would not make McKay's work any less hard. It would not help him in any way for Sheppard to take Norina out to lunch or what ever people think he was going to say here.

No, Sheppard was offering to do something for McKay, to get him to take a break. We can tell by the way he actually turns to look at McKay and even gestures at him with his hand. It is only because he maintains this eye contact with Norina that people are invited to come to the false conclusion that he was offering to do something for her. He is not talking to her at all here. He is having this conversation with McKay, and because McKay has his back turned, he is also under the impression that Sheppard is talking to him. The only kind of relations that Sheppard is ready to establish here with her are ones that take her away from McKay. Note that although Sheppard takes basically the same position as what McKay had previously, resting his hand on the console, he is not actually leaning his weight on it but keeps his body turned more toward McKay, keeps turning toward him, draws his shoulder back and encompasses McKay into his space by gesturing with his hand. McKay is the centre of his world even when he is pretending that this woman has his whole entire focus.

McKay: Oh, no-no-no. I was just about to, show Norina the generator log which shows that... you've been running the shield continuously for over a year now. Norina: Yes. When the device was activated... you told me what it was called... McKay: The long range scanners, that's just what we call them. Sheppard: It's from an old TV show... McKay: Yes, yes. What about them? Norina: When they indicated a sudden rise in wraith activity last year, Chancellor Lycus ordered me to increase the strength of the shield. McKay: Well, that's unfortunate. Norina: Why?

Now immersed entirely in the problem and solving it, we see that McKay is not sparing one single thought to either Norina or what ever game Sheppard is playing here, his brain capacity taken up by puzzling out what has been happening to their technology. Sheppard on the other hand is looking at Norina so keenly it looks almost as though he is trying to hyponotize her, like he is a snake charmer trying to get the snake to follow his movements by maintaining eye contact.

It would almost be adorable if he actually was so smitten with her that he was feeling dopey, that his intense focus was actually the result of his attraction for her, but it very much does not seem to be the case, as we see momentarily. Sheppard is staring into her eyes to keep her from looking at McKay, to keep her gaze on himself instead of going out to him. He is trying to occupy her attention so that she has less of it to give McKay. He is not even blinking. And yet he has to glance at McKay when he comes near him, has to turn his face briefly toward McKay as he comments and although this, Sheppard's mention of the "old TV show" is the first thing he actually says to Norina during this scene, his comment is about Star Trek. It is not a reference she would ever understand, it is meaningless to her. She does not even know what TV is. He may have made the comment to her but his comment was only meaningful to McKay.

So, the long range scanners have been named in homage to the long range sensors from Star Trek. Sheppard makes two comments connected to the show in this episode completely unprompted, and his foreknowledge that McKay was going to offer up the Enterprise as the name of the ship later suggests that the two of them have been watching Star Trek together, the geeks that they are. Maybe they have. But one of the first episodes to feature the long range sensor scan on the show was in the episode The Enterprise Incident, as mentioned before, and it might be this episode in particular that they are referencing in this episode for reasons I will discuss later. But these references to the show also serve to remind us of Sheppard's "problematic Captain Kirk routine," as pointed out by McKay in Sanctuary (S01E14) because, on the face of it, it seems like that is precisely what Sheppard is doing here. He is romancing the alien damsel of the week and he gets to captain his own ship ("What are you, Captain Kirk?").

Only, we had noted before that that is not actually a fair description of Kirk on the actual show and owes more to how Kirk has been received in popular culture, how he is interpreted as an incessant womanizer when he had mostly been seduced against his will or had to entice women in service of the greater good when his one true love was the ship itself, the Enterprise and its crew. The references to the show serve to remind us of both of these things because Sheppard is behaving like Kirk but at the same time he is nothing like Kirk, because Kirk would never have done what Sheppard is doing here for such utterly and completely selfish reasons.

McKay: Because the Ancients didn't design these things to run continuously at maximum capacity. Look, shields are for emergencies only, Norina. When you shut down the alarms, you overrode the failsafes and that means that we're... Oh, no. Norina: What it is? McKay: The reason the Ancients chose to power this facility on geothermal energy is because we're sitting right smack in the caldera of a dormant supervolcano... or should I say formerly dormant...

McKay seems distraught as it begins dawning on him what has actually happened on this planet due to the ignorance of the natives for the technology they had been playing with, and he sounds both serious and sober as he starts lecturing her, their lead scientist, on how reckless they have been while playing science. Again McKay walks away from the both of them and turns his back on them without a thought because he is subsumed in the science, he is not thinking about any single aspect of human relationships right now. Sheppard, on the other hand, is still fully in seduction mode and as McKay walks off and launches into his lecture, we see Sheppard lift his brows and open his eyes wide in this "What are you gonna do?" expression. McKay gonna McKay.

He is trying to broadcast to her that this is what the man is like on the regular. You would not like him. In fact, you should just stop thinking about him altogether. McKay is such a difficult person that he is better left for the people that can actually deal with him, like Sheppard. It is his cross to bear but someone's got to do it and it just happens to be him. Sheppard's expression is meant to show Sheppard sharing a moment with Norina at McKay's expense that he never intends for McKay to see but actually this is a moment that shows us how well Sheppard knows McKay. Sheppard knows what McKay is like so that he is able to let strangers know when McKay is being very much like himself and when he is acting strangely. Sheppard knows McKay like the backs of his hands, and in making this expression he is sending Norina the message that he knows McKay, that McKay is his to know. They are not sharing a stolen moment behind McKay's back, Sheppard is actually making a claim on McKay here.

As soon as they can hear in McKay's tone that something is really wrong, both of them abandon their staring contest and walk right up to McKay. Norina seems to forget all about Sheppard, her attention entirely on McKay. And note that Sheppard also forgets all about her and walks to the other side of McKay, walks up to where he is able to see McKay's face -- like he always does. If he was attracted to Norina, he would have walked on her other side and not his, wanting to be near her. But he is not drawn to her, he is not compelled to seek physical contact with her, and when the chips are coming down, he does not want anything whatsoever coming between himself and McKay.

McKay: ...because drawing all of this energy from the magma chamber has made it extremely active. Sheppard: So... things are gonna get worse. McKay: I think we can safely say that things are gonna get... worse. Yes.

Both Norina and Sheppard are angled toward McKay as they flank him on either side but we may note that what ever Sheppard had been doing before, he has now entirely dropped the act. As he stands by McKay's side, he is not sparing one look at Norina, he is looking only at McKay. Able to anticipate what McKay was going to say, he also shows us that he had been listening to McKay this whole time, he had been paying attention to what he had been saying, and what ever he was doing with Norina was just play. He can also see that McKay is distraught and we see him worry his lip here, trying to assess not how much trouble this planet is in but how much danger what ever this is poses for McKay. Do not let Sheppard fool you. He cares about this man so much that it seems to be driving him nuts.

Continued in Pt. 5

[short666bread]

Their fridge

[chayscribbles]

have i mentioned i'm making Dyonas Palace in the sims like i did w the spaceship. it's way too elaborate. there's an underground swimming pool

[smerchingaround]

I have a toy bat that hangs from my living room ceiling btw. If you even care

[fingertipsmp3]

Unfortunately I absolutely fucked up one of my nails today but also I made my grandma a tote bag for her birthday so I think overall it’s going well

[atombonniebaby]

Sanctuary Hills Build 1/2 - Player Home (Part 2 will be the rest of Sanctuary!)

The mod list is included below! :D

Exterior

Living/Dining

Hallway, Bathroom and Upstairs Landing

Downstairs Bedrooms

MacCready and Duncan's Space

So, this is about 95% complete...

Just some structural things to tie up and a few extra decorations (clearly, most of my love has gone into the living/dining and the MacCready boys!)

There is nothing left of the original house. I downloaded a mod that allows you to scrap the houses (with rebuilt precombines and SS2 compatibility!)

My theme was 'Homely Scraver' I tried to add elements of the original home and kept the lower level dimensions (I only scrapped the house after I had everything in place!)

Mod List and Tips!

If you want to download the mods I used, I've linked them all below!

I've also added in keyboard shortcuts I had no idea existed that skyrocketed my attention to detail (and considerably extended how long this took! haha!)

Mods I Used

Base Mods

Settlement Menu Manager (Needed for some of the packs to show up in the workshop menu) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/24204?tab=files

Place Everywhere (Essential for overlapping walls, dense clutter, etc) https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/9424

Sanctuary Deep Clen and Remodel (Needed to scrap Sanctuary player home! Also adds 2 new bridges, pre-war, and a scrappy repair!) https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/65561

Sim Settlements 2

Note: Probably not required. The base game build items and the other clutter mods would work, but SS2 is worth it! I did use the SS2 kit below for quite a few items, like the colored wood walls and such, plus decor.

Workshop Framework (Great mod, required for SS2, but also allows for exporting/importing Settelment layouts!)- https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/35004

Sim Settlements 2 - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/47976

Sim Settlements 2 Wasteland Reconstruction Kit - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/48960

Bethesda.net (Honestly, some of the best workshop packs! Just save to your library for easy access)

Creative Clutter (Hands down can't live without this mod!) - https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/3411824 (There's an update ahh!)

V's Community Art (Some really nice art, some from in-game!) - https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4335883

V's Scavver Art (I'm in love with this pack!) - https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4335878

V's Stylish Decor (This pack is also pretty dang epic!)- https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4335873

V's Book Retexture (No more pristine gray books!) - https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4335888

Modular Kitchens: Updated (Snappable, clean, and worn variations, plus things to put on and in the fixtures!...like a frying pan with an omelet...immersion!) - https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4096569

Do It Yourself: Updated (An easy way to fill up shelves!) - https://mods.bethesda.net/en/fallout4/mod-detail/4129753

Nexus

OCDecorator (Mainly to snag and place Mac's wooden soldier!) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/4270?tab=files

Capital Wasteland Workshop Pack (pack one and two bring some nostalgia for a certain merc!) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/43068

Capital Wasteland Workshop Pack II -https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/5062

Rebuild - Workshop Standalone (the interior Sanctuary doors, with aged textures) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/71742

The Cozy Scavver (Curtains. Will also be used for pre-made decor. Has some awesome pre-fabs!)- https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/38982

The most immersive Coffee Mod (Coffee machines!)- https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/19012

Snappy House Kit (I believe the staircase was the only thing used, but this mod includes repaired versions of Concord-style homes and so much more!) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/11639

Scavver's Settlement Kit (Most of the wooden floors and walls!)- https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/25515

cVc Dead Wasteland (All packs and all dependable! Some great clutter and Pre-fabs! Reorganises other mods to be included in the menus...such as display cases!) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/43818

Femshepping Minimalist Homewares (Great decor! I love Femshepping's stuff!) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/16316

CWSS Redux (Working bathroom furniture, with animations! - Also responsible for the "we aim to please, your aim will help" on the bathroom mirror, hah! Pair with advanced needs to add bathing requirements!...and yes, companions/npcs use them!) - https://www.dropbox.com/s/i3qi9s6yex2liyv/CWSS%20Redux%20v4.01.7z?dl=0

Fast Food (Adds a toaster, kettle, teapot, and bucket for fast, well food. Makes toast, and boiled water by simply tapping them!) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/68467

Old World Plaids (Lots of scrappy overhauls with plaids...Nate is Scottish...this is essential for storytelling, hah!) - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/10769

Voiceapalooza Assortment (Adds cheese to the game, what else can I say?)- https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/71486

Keyboard Shortcuts for fine-tuned placements!

Num Pad

8 & 2 = up and down.

4 & 6 = left and right

7 & 8 = move at an anlge

1 & 3 = size down and size up

/ & * = Adjust movement speed

- & + = Adjust Rotation amount

num Lock & then hit 0 = Unlock inaccessible items in build mode. (Good for deleting shrubs or doors that can't be highlighted—be careful. This includes companions! Guess how I know, hah!)

I have also noticed 1 & 7 (If I remember right) turn off physics, so any items you can pick up become static and won't move around!)

Main Keyboard

, & . = Rotation

L-CTRL or R-Alt = Change rotation axis.

I used the placement and rotation axis keys a lot in this build! Mac and Duncan's room has the best examples. I used these shortcuts to make Mac's soldier sit in the little bin on his dresser, place the cushions, etc., on their beds, including hanging Mac's hat on the bedpost!

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Gift, Pt. 1

The penultimate episode of the season The Gift (S01E18) is a Teyla-centric episode, and really sets up her arc for the remainder of the series. The 'gift' is a reference* to her particular brand of 'the shining,' the special connection she has to the wraith on a genetic level. It also allows us to see the expedition one step closer to total annihilation. They are nearing their collective 'dark night of the soul,' hitting rock-bottom, the peak of their desperation.

We start with what appears to be Teyla's dream within a dream. We are shown Atlantis at night as it might be, business as usual. It is unclear whether this is a reflection of how things have been recently in their actual state or whether this is how Teyla has been seeing and/or interpreting things to be. That is, it's not certain whether she is dreaming McKay being in his lab in want of coffee and Sheppard asleep in his bed, or that we are to understand this being the case and her dream involving just the wraith disrupting this normal state of affairs in the city. Both layers of her dream feature Sheppard, the first one sleeping in his bed and the other one having been killed by a wraith, his drained corpse laying in the same bed. Dreams have no meaning, Heightmeyer later tells us.

Both Sheppards of Teyla's dream have the poster of Johnny Cash on the wall of his quarters that Teyla had actually seen in Sheppard's self-constructed reality in Home (S01E08). While he does get one for his room later on, he shouldn't have one at this time, not yet. Sheppard was allowed to bring one personal item with him, and he had chosen a video tape of the Miracle in Miami game from 1984, and he had also brought a copy of War and Peace** (which can also be seen on his bedside table in the dream). Sheppard does not yet seem to have the poster in his room in Atlantis during Home (which this episode seems to intentionally call-back to). So, this is an odd detail.

All of this--the poster on the wall where it shouldn't be, the wrong angle from which Sheppard's room is shot (usually, his room is seen from the right side of the bed), the door to his quarters being on the wrong side of the room, and McKay being out of coffee (they should have been out of coffee ever since Chaya drank the last of it during Sanctuary, S01E14)--suggests that what we are seeing does not correspond with actual reality but is symbolic, is all fabrication of her subconscious mind.

And since we are introduced to the expedition psychologist Kate Heightmeyer in this episode, even though she tells her that dreams are basically meaningless, having dream symbolism in the episode would make sense. Sheppard does eventually get the poster for his room but not until they have re-established contact with Earth. Her seeing it in his room before it happens may even be foreboding, some form of augury on her part. But the fact that we were previously introduced both to the poster and to his copy of War and Peace in the same episode is not meaningless.

Teyla is startled awake from her first-order dream and, still asleep, she seeks out Sheppard in his quarters. When Sheppard does not answer her call, she opens his door with a hand-wave and walks in (and it's never made entirely clear how locking the doors of private quarters works on Atlantis; whether the doors are programmable, whether anyone can just walk into anyone's quarters like Weir walked into Sheppard's room after knocking in Home, if Sheppard has made sure that she is able to access his room in an emergency as member of his team, or whether Teyla just dreams that she is able to walk into his room at will).

This is Teyla's dream, so we don't actually even know whether Sheppard had been sleeping in his own quarters, and if he has, the reason could simply be because McKay has still been pulling those all-nighters at his lab as is textualized in a later scene. The dead Sheppard in Sheppard's bed may even be symbolic of the fact that in her subconscious, she knows that her leader does not sleep there. With that being said, it is suspicious that they show everyone else's quarters but McKay's. They hold off showing his quarters for a long time and even then we only get a quick peek.

It is of course possible that Sheppard had been sleeping in his own bed. This may well be the case. But the following morning when we find Sheppard and Teyla training in the same Athosian martial art we saw them practicing in Hot Zone (S01E13), they have a conversation that once more calls into question whether he does, in fact, sleep alone:

Sheppard: You OK? Teyla: Yes. Sheppard: Are you sure? Cos it's usually me picking my butt up off the mat. Teyla: Truthfully, I have not been sleeping much. And when I do, I have been having nightmares about the Wraith. Sheppard: Well, you're not the only one.

They could definitely use some quality bonding time together following the events of the previous episode.

First thing to note is that Sheppard has no problem kicking her ass if she's going to let him because he sees her as a warrior first and woman somewhere way down the line. It is uncharacteristic of her to be losing this badly, though, so he is starting to get worried about her. But more importantly, Sheppard doesn't actually say that he has been the one having nightmares about the wraith, or that he has been the one not sleeping much lately. It is a natural assumption to make and one that Teyla probably makes, as well. Only, it would be very unlike Sheppard for him to make himself vulnerable like that, to confess that he has a weakness.

Yes, they are friends, they are close, he does at least sometimes try to share personal things with her, to connect with her. But clearly there is nothing wrong with Sheppard's physical prowess, here, compared to hers. He even admits it himself that usually Teyla is beating him with little effort. So it follows that he is not the one who has been sleeping poorly, and as he has not been sleeping poorly, he also has not been the one having nightmares about the wraith. We also learn a few episodes hence that his nightmares are about what he had to do to Col. Sumner, not about the wraith as such. Also, he makes the comment much too casually (ie., the casualness is feigned) for him not to be genuinely concerned about who ever he is talking about.

So. There is someone else that has not been sleeping much (and this much even Teyla knew in her dream, McKay is becoming seriously sleep-deprived) working around the clock. And even when he does sleep, he has nightmares about the wraith. McKay, who has personally been to several hives, has seen the wraith up close and personal, has watched a wraith almost kill Sheppard without being able to stop it. Yeah, whether or not Sheppard is talking about him, McKay has definitely been having nightmares about them. Sheppard further has a strange reaction to Teyla mentioning his father being taken, here ("It has not been so bad since my father was taken"). Yes, Sheppard has issues with his family and we have just recently been reminded of this. But his father is still alive. McKay's parents, we already know, are both dead. Teyla and McKay may be paralleled in this, as well.

It follows that Sheppard is likely not talking about himself when he makes the comment that Teyla is not the only one that has been having nightmares about the wraith, he's not going to leave an opening like that for anyone at this time, is not even able to expose himself like that, to make himself vulnerable like that, to anyone but McKay. So he has to be talking about someone else. And if he has personally been sleeping poorly, it's because he has had to sleep in his too-small bed alone where McKay has had no time for sleeping whatsoever. But compared to everyone else, it seems like Sheppard has been the one getting sleep.

This is all but confirmed as they return to this very topic in the following scene in the meeting room where a large contingent of the expedition have gathered, among them both scientists and military personnel. The meeting is already underway as we join them:

Weir: I want options. McKay: You mean, besides crying ourselves to sleep? Well, not me! I haven't slept in days. Weir: And what do you have to show for your sleepless nights, Rodney?

The lady doth protest too much. He frigging volunteers this information completely unprompted. He admits it himself that he has been sleeping poorly if at all recently. He is the only other person besides Teyla that we know for a fact has not been sleeping lately. That tracks with what Sheppard was saying to Teyla. But he also says crying ourselves to sleep. Ourselves. Ourselves.

Also, while he does not look at Sheppard, he does gravitate toward him as he says this. He turns his head and says the first part to Sheppard and then turns to Zelenka with his explanation as though Zelenka--his closest lab collaborator--is the one who most needs to be convinced that McKay hasn't been sleeping for days. If anyone should know whether he has been sleeping or not, surely it should be Zelenka. Now, I'm not suggesting that McKay and Sheppard have actually been bawling their eyes out ugly-crying together every night because a) Sheppard has been trying real hard not to feel anything at all and b) they're both grown-ass men. But this is highly likely to be an example of parapraxis, of unwittingly speaking out thoughts that one tries to put outside of consciousness. At the very least the show has gone out of its way to make us think about their sleeping arrangements over several episodes.

Over the seasons we learn that Sheppard and McKay know so much both random shit and extremely private information about each other that it would not be out of the question for the two of them having spent these, what they believe of be their final days (and nights) not only together but alive at all, sharing things about one another in the small hours (whether in the bed that they most definitely share together at this time, or in "the game" room, if you prefer). And some of those things probably at least make you want to cry, knowing the kind of crap the two of them have been through in their respective lives that we have been hinted at. So, yeah. While what McKay says might not be literally true and he's certainly not admitting to it even if it was, the thought did not come out of nowhere. Also, when we find him exiting the office of Heightmeyer later, McKay does seem to be wiping his eye so it is entirely possible there has been some weeping in his recent past.

The scene in the meeting room has some interesting cuts again. We are not shown Sheppard and McKay in the same frame at all but they are not standing as far apart as they first seem. Only Teyla is between them, and they (and Zelenka) are all leaning against the tables to allow the people standing behind them a better view. There are, once more, marines standing guard at the meeting showing us the precautions Sheppard has been taking (and the fact that he has done this may have spared them a lot of trouble down the line as, unbeknownst to them, there is a wraith loose in the city at this time).

And once more, we don't see the beginning of the meeting, we don't see people coming into the room and settling to their places. When the meeting is already underway, everyone's attention is on Weir. Weir tells them that she would like everyone to focus on what they do best so it's fascinating that in this meeting, McKay is being somewhat combative and Sheppard is being conciliatory, again telling us which one of them has not been sleeping.

Now, what McKay and Zelenka are doing in the meeting can only be described as bickering:

McKay: Well, since we've got here, we've uncovered a number of defensive weapons systems beyond the shield. Wh-- Zelenka: We think our best option is the control chair. McKay: I was gonna say that. Zelenka: Yes, but you were taking too long as usual. McKay: Yes, but the point is, this may not be our best chance. Zelenka: Name a better one. Weir: Gentlemen!

First of all, Zelenka says that McKay usually takes too long which is something that Sheppard might heartily agree with. See discussion on Sheppard having helped speed McKay up and McKay having helped slow Sheppard down in connection with The Brotherhood (S01E17). Sheppard, of course, has suffered from this affliction of his more than most but Zelenka is also clearly running out of patience with hm.

The fact that McKay would ordinarily be doing this kind of back-and-forth in a meeting with Sheppard is only emphasized by Weir's "Gentlemen!" which she has had to say to the two of them several times previously. With regards to bickering, I have referred before to the scene in First Strike (S03E20) where Sheppard finds the two of them all bickered out, which actually makes him worried because he's so used to them working together that way. When they do start bickering again, Sheppard flippantly suggests that they should just make out to get it over with but he had been genuinely concerned to find them not bickering. Listening to this exchange must be comforting to Sheppard because, for one, he likes listening to McKay and second, Zelenka actually forces him to walk other people through his thinking and somewhat translates him to a lay audience.

So, in the previous scene we saw Sheppard with his best buddy doing physical exercise and here we see McKay with his best buddy doing some mental sparring (I mean, Beckett does theoretically hold the title of his best friend but in this episode, Sheppard-Teyla and McKay-Zelenka are clearly paralleled; it is meant to highlight to us the difference between friendship and something that is more than that). It's very poetic. But when we compare the way McKay bickers with Zelenka and the way he usually banters with Sheppard (which also happens toward the end of this scene), there is a difference. Often, McKay and Sheppard are going back-and-forth because they enjoy it, they want to get a reaction out of the other, it's teasing but good-natured, they are doing it to get closer to the other person. With Zelenka, they are actually in contest, trying to one-up each other. They are actually sick of having spent so much time in each other's presence recently and are airing the frustration born out of this. It is very differently motivated. For Sheppard and McKay it builds tension, for McKay and Zelenka it diffuses it.

Weir doesn't seem to have patience for the McKay and Zelenka show any more than she has for the McKay and Sheppard show, so she changes the topic. They have established an Alpha Site on another world:

Weir: Sergeant Bates: where are we with our Alpha site? Bates: We've completed the ground and aerial security sweep and are ready to begin establishing base camp. We're just awaiting final inspection by Major Sheppard. Sheppard: Right after lunch.

So, apparently Sheppard has lunch plans and can't go before. Which is real fucking interesting considering that in that the next scene, we find Teyla eating alone and being joined by Heightmeyer. The fact that Sheppard makes explicit reference to lunch and then we don't see him having lunch with his best work-out buddy and team member with whom he should be going to the Alpha Site right after lunch is something. That is a damn lampshade.

And like McKay turned his head toward Sheppard when he mentioned the crying ourselves to sleep thing, Sheppard here nods to McKay's direction as he mentions lunch, glancing at him from behind Teyla's head. It's not that he's meaning to signal to everyone what (or who) he will be doing for lunch, it's a subconscious gesture. It's his body-language revealing things that he has no conscious desire to disclose to anyone.

Weir and Teyla have a discussion about what the Athosians intend to do during this time that turns somewhat philosophical. Note that Weir and Teyla are mirroring each other, Teyla is tilting her head to the same direction as Weir whereas Sheppard... isn't (in fact, his head was tilted the exact opposite way; his face turned to McKay while keeping his eyes looking forward).

Note also the fact that here Teyla emphasizes the word "ourselves," indicating that she means herself and Sheppard, which just makes McKay's "ourselves" earlier so much more likely to also contain Sheppard. And Sheppard also reacts to this "ourselves" in particular; they probably briefly share in the memory of what they saw on the planet. We did not get to see how if at all he reacted to what McKay said earlier about the crying ourselves to sleep.

Weir then mentions McKay by name, prompting him to do a little wave to acknowledge what she was saying, accompanied with a raising of his brow. He also looks at Sheppard because obviously his reaction is what he most cares about. And where Zelenka seems to be so very done with McKay at present, Sheppard on the other hand, is all about him. His entire world is oriented to McKay.

Sheppard almost smiles at McKay, catches himself before he does. They cannot be seen mooning at each other during a meeting especially when there are goddamn marines standing just behind Weir looking right at them. This is a subtle exchange between the two but in that context, really rather bold.

I will also remind you of the fact that when McKay was removing the control crystal in Home (the episode is again calling back to it), kneeling underneath the table with Sheppard seated next to him completely zoning out, Sheppard was so damned turned on. This was when they were still just flirting. When nothing had happened. When Sheppard had only his imagination, and a cold shower waiting for him. Now, I can't tell you for sure that this memory is where Sheppard's mind went here but it certainly is the first thing it reminded me of. Especially given that McKay's flirtatious little wave here matches with his flirty tone back then.

Weir and Teyla go on for quite a while and are only interrupted by Kavanaugh who, as an honest coward, has no desire to die. The thing is, Sheppard doesn't really know what happened between Weir and Kavanaugh during 38 Minutes (S01E04) beyond possibly reading the mission report. We know that later on he really hates the man which, to be fair, seems to be a common experience for pretty much anyone that runs into him including actual aliens. But here, Sheppard doesn't really have any reason to dislike him. And you can see that while he very much disagrees with what Kavanaugh says and even makes light of it (he is playing with words and Kavanaugh either fails to notice or just ignores him; Sheppard is saying that considering is within the realm of possibility, not the actual doing), he is trying really hard to be respectful toward him. Sheppard's disagreement is meant to make the others believe in themselves, to keep hope alive:

Kavanaugh: We can't possibly consider staying and fighting. Sheppard: I disagree. I think it's entirely within the realm of possibility. Kavanaugh: There are tens of thousands of life-sucking aliens in highly advanced spaceships on their way here to destroy us, and we have, what, two hundred people, most of whom are scientists who've never even fired a gun before? McKay: Shockingly, first time ever I've found myself having to agree with Kavanaugh. Sheppard: All I'm saying is, let's not give up--just yet.

Sheppard looks at Kavanaugh to whom he is responding, he looks at Weir who is holding the floor, and finally he looks at McKay to see what he thinks about what he was just saying. Because that's what he cares about the most.

Yes, Sheppard is probably hoping that McKay will come up with something, some Hail Mary pass, that might save them even though he knows not to pile any more pressure on him at this moment since the man seems to be crushing under it as it is (and having nightmares and sleepless nights about it). He is trying really hard to keep an upbeat can-do attitude, and to express his faith in the scientists. What he's saying here is very similar to what the said at the beginning of the previous episode ("It means there's still time, Rodney. There's no reason to panic--yet"). And here, too, it is McKay's pessimism that makes him attempt to comfort him and him specifically. He may not be feeling any hope himself but he is damned if he's going to let his own feelings of impending doom and certain death get in the way of trying to make the person he cares about feel better about it all. This is him taking care of McKay emotionally, and in a very public setting, at that.

And since he's doing that, McKay apparently immediately transitions to having a private conversation with him that has very little to do with their current meeting, a general debate over the merits of the military and scientists with McKay arguing that warriors like Sheppard are much more courageous, gallant, and disciplined than scientists like him (although unlike Kavanaugh, McKay would not be afraid to go to the front line if it was needed), and Sheppard cheer-leading for scientists like McKay (who he knows can build an A-bomb and which, frankly, turns him on)*** that are able to do so much more than to just take a stand and lay down their lives for the greater good.

It's very sweet how they are each arguing for the other person with such conviction but their exchange clearly has the potential of turning into a more heated debate if it's allowed to go on for much longer. It does not seem like the first time they are having a discussion on this topic, either:

McKay: Now what was that we were supposed to all remember? It was something important. Oh yes, that's right--the Alamo! Sheppard: Granted you guys are scientists. No one's considering putting you guys on the front line, but science can turn the tide of war. Look at the... A-bomb. Zelenka: Not exactly our proudest moment.

McKay is clearly more testy than he usually is in meetings with Sheppard, his exhaustion showing in his need to argue for the sake or arguing even when he doesn't really disagree with Sheppard (and more shocking than his siding with Kavanaugh is that he takes, possibly for the first time, a public stance against Sheppard here; not because he doesn't think that they should fight back but believing that most of his science team will be unable). We see an even better example of McKay's exhaustion driven testiness with Weir later which Sheppard diffuses, confirming the fact that Sheppard and McKay have had a discussion about his lack of sleep not shown on screen.

It's good of Zelenka to interrupt them for the sake of everyone and for Weir to call the meeting to an end (once more telling the two of them to focus) so that they can continue this discussion over lunch. Or what ever else Sheppard had in mind to do during lunch when he definitely isn't eating in the cafeteria. While they're not exactly jumping for joy the situation being what it is, there's a clear to-be-continued here for the both of them. And as Sheppard gets up to leave, he turns to McKay.

You can see by his body language that this man is walking out of that room following McKay (just as we later see him more explicitly walk out of a meeting following McKay). That man is his Alamo.

Continued in Pt. 2

-* Since we see the poster of Johnny Cash in Teyla's dream, there may be a reference to one of his songs hiding in somewhere. See for example the lyrics to The Loving Gift (a duet with his wife June Carter):

You gave me a blanket to keep me from the cold of Siberia/Antarctic You gave me a song I learned to sing You showed me some beauty through the windows of your puddle jumper soul And you showed me a galaxy world I've never seen

Each giving to the other love and giving it away We spent the precious time we knew was borrowed 'Cause you gave me the courage to live with yesterday And you gave me tomorrow

You brought me a candle to light my way to bed You erased those shadows I'd been seeing You brought me a pillow to rest my weary head You taught me a gentle way of dreaming

Not only have we been made to think about their sleeping arrangements a lot over the past several episodes, even in this very episode we not only see Sheppard asleep in a bed, we are hinted that McKay has been having nightmares and that Sheppard is the one that pushes him to see Heightmeyer about them (see next entry), teaching him a gentle way of dreaming, as it were. For what possible reason do we need to know this much about how they spend their nights, hm?

-** So, we are told that "there are no hidden meanings" in dreams but there is certainly symbolism in scenes that pertain to dreams. There seemed to be a reference to War and Peace the last time we saw the book in Home so it follows that there's probably a reason to show us the book again in this episode. There is an interesting scene in the novel (Epilogue 1, Chapter 16--which suggests that Sheppard is almost done reading the book by this time), where a third character is startled awake from a nightmare pertaining to war (Teyla), in which Pierre (McKay) and Natasha (Sheppard) "began to talk as only a husband and wife can talk":

As soon as Natasha and Pierre were alone they too began to talk as only a husband and wife can talk, that is, apprehending one another's thoughts and exchanging ideas with extraordinary swiftness and perspicuity, contrary to all the rules of logic, without the aid of premises, deductions, or conclusions, and in a quite singular way. Natasha was so used to this kind of talk with her husband that for her it was a sure sign of something wrong between them if Pierre followed a logical train of thought. When he began proving something, coolly reasoning, and she, led on by his example, began to do the same, she knew they were on the verge of a quarrel. [Cf. the beginning of both this episode and the previous episode] From the moment they were alone together and Natasha, wide-eyed with happiness, stole up to him, suddenly seizing his head and pressing it to her breast and saying: "Now you are mine, all mine! You shan't escape!" — from that moment there sprang up a conversation that was contrary to all the laws of logic, contrary because entirely different subjects were talked of at the same time. This simultaneous discussion of many topics, far from hindering a clear understanding, was the surest indication that they fully understood each other. Just as in a dream when everything is unreal, meaningless, and contradictory except the feeling that governs the dream, so in this communion of thoughts, contrary to all laws of reason, the words themselves were not clear and consecutive, but only the feeling that prompted them. ...

"There now—you talk of my absence, but you wouldn’t believe what a special feeling I have for you after a separation....” “Yes, I should think...” Natasha began. “No, it’s not that. I never leave off loving you. And one couldn’t love more, but this is something special.... Yes, of course—” he did not finish because their eyes meeting said the rest.

The scene also features them sharing things about their pasts, their insecurities, the kinds of private thoughts couples share. This is the only time dreaming is mentioned in the entire book so if the episode is meaning to reference to the book, this chapter would be it. I don't know about you, but for me this chapter explains a lot of what happens in this episode.

-*** Here, McKay smiles bitterly as Zelenka reminds them of the role scientists had in the creation of the A bomb but in Underground (S01E07) McKay and Sheppard were having a very different discussion over the topic:

Cowen: The secrecy of who and what we are is the only defense we have against the Wraith. One day, all that will change. McKay: And you think you can do that with an atomic bomb? Cowen: Now it's you who surprise me. McKay: Well, radioactive readings; your fascination with our C4... Sheppard: You're just mentioning this now? McKay: It just came to me when he said one day all that would change. I assume you're hoping our C4 will solve your super-criticality problem. Cowen: Will it? McKay: It might. Depends on your designs. There's a host of other considerations. Sheppard: You know how to make an A bomb? McKay: Major, most of my high school chess team could design an A bomb. The actual hard part is having sufficient fissional materials of an appropriate grade.

I will also remind you of the fact that listening to Mckay talking about the A bomb on the Genii home world is when Sheppard realized that he feels something more than mere physical attraction toward this man.

[sezja]

The fucking popped collar on the polo shirt is fucking killing me

[dinosaurchurch]

My younger sister planned a puffin and whale watching tour with Gatheralls for my birthday last year. We didn't really see any whales but lots of sea birds, if anyone ever gets the chance to do this when you visit the small town of Bay Bulls - I'd highly recommend it. I had a lot of fun.

It was also super cool getting to see the coastline that Mickeleen's Path follows from the water. I loved seeing the sea caves.

August 11th 2024.

[im-not-buying-it-ether]

1. I love this 2.

Ra’s seeking out the rumored Champion of the old wizard Shazam, a powerful titan of magic who safe guards Eternity, someone who would understand his vision for the world and has the power in excess to achieve it. Nigh immortal with their blessings without need for a Lazarus Pit like him, certainly the returning Champion would see his perspective as a fellow old soul whose witnessed this worlds sorrid history.

Only for the Champion he finds to be 10, as freshly chosen for the role as the rumors surrounding him. Which… is unexpected, but he can work with this.

His grandson is soon going to be ten as well, there are few children in the League and perhaps the Champion of Magic himself would do as a good tutor to be at his side (since Dami has been taught magic, no joke) He can hold onto and assimilate the boy into his plans through his grandson, even better when Damian could have a greatly powerful confidant.

Thus starts Billys “Kidnaped into tutoring/befriending an assassin prince” arc of hanging out with a pre-Batman Damian bc “Holy heck there’s a kid here, no way is he leaving rn” and also Talia and Ra’s treat him super well and also there’s a lot of tigers and he really loves tigers.

Cue Damian’s tenth birthday some time later and he arrives with an insult to Bruce’s height, a sword, and his emotional support best friend/tutor in tow. Bruce is confused, Billy is just happy to still be hanging out with his friend, and Damian is wanting to get that Rabin mantle alongside his father now please.

Bruce adopts Billy that, Clark adopts Billy this

But what about the Al Ghul family adopting (kidnapping) Billy Batson?

BAT-son. Come on! It’s perfect! Talia raises Billy as she did with Damian, stern but loving. Ra’s sees Billy as potential against Batman

Come on fanfic writers

[dwuerch-blog]

The Gift of Rest: A Divine Invitation

I’m exhausted with so much rancor and antagonism in our world. I had to turn the TV off because I couldn’t take one more “He said, she said!” I know exhaustion. I lived in it when my late husband was so very ill. That was 14 years ago. It was divine timing when a dear friend gave us this wall decor’. It was exactly what we needed then, and we need it now — more than ever — a sanctuary — a place…

[terracegallery]

Modern Colorful Cross Art

Beautiful colorful white modern cross with crisp clean lines and flowing brush strokes by artist Sharon Cummings. Perfect for the Christian soul! Great for Christ centered home, church sanctuary and office decor spaces. Christianity furnishings and accents. GET IT HERE!

[successfulblackparenting]

Indulge Mom: 5 Self-Care Gifts She’ll Love this Mother's Day

This Mother’s Day, go beyond the usual flowers and chocolates and treat the special woman in your life to something truly extraordinary. Dive into our guide for the perfect Mother’s Day gifts, focusing on self-care—the ultimate expression of love and appreciation. From pampering skincare essentials to serene relaxation aids, we’ve curated a selection of self-care gifts designed to nurture her…

[turpentinecreek]

*** Unique Gift Ideas *** Porcelain Pendant Necklaces - This durable porcelain pendant is waterproof, kiln-fired at 2200F, and the design will not fade or wear off. Each piece is handmade in DeWitt, MI.

They are 1" round with 32" black braided cord and come on a two-sided card with the pendant and the animal’s attributes displayed on the front and the reverse side has the scientific name and four interesting "It's True" interpretive facts, as seen in the sample photo.

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Brotherhood, Pt. 4

McKay leaves to go to bed and passes the table where Sheppard, Ford and Teyla have been having supper. Sheppard is acting nonchalant like he hadn't just been listening to and watching the whole thing that had happened in his line of sight, behind Ford and Teyla. And as McKay passes behind him, he just has to comment on what he has been observing:

McKay: I'm heading to bed. Sheppard: Which bed might that be? McKay: What?

He sounds hoarse. Not playful or mischievous or someone dicking with a friend but like he actually has to force the words out. He's projecting nonchalance, to be sure, even going so far as to pretend to be reading a parchment like it's a magazine or something (second time in this very episode we see him pretending to be reading) but it is entirely an act. McKay smiles as he passes Sheppard (not 'is smiling while passing Sheppard'; as in, his smile was a response to Sheppard engaging him), and it takes him a moment to register the question. McKay is honestly confused by it. What even are the options, here?

He actually stops, turns, and then steps forward to check up on Sheppard. Is he okay?

So, let's assume for a moment that they have been fucking. In that context, this question makes sense. It's justified. Gay or not gay, clearly with the whole Chaya situation and this, they need to have a conversation about boundaries and how far they are allowed to push them when something really important, like ZPMs or Ancient weapons, are concerned. Not because of McKay, clearly, but because this is making Sheppard feel some kind of way and he doesn't like it. He's still feeling guilty about what (ever it is that) happened with Chaya (although his mission report suggests that he knows he didn't do it entirely of his own volition), and he's projecting his guilt on McKay. Earlier, he might even have been pushing McKay to pursue this for the common good, and he doesn't like it. He's having to confront some of his own issues, and he doesn't like it. He might be the world's biggest hypocrite having a problem with this, and he doesn't like it. But he can't help himself. Sheppard needs to be the centre of McKay's attention.

McKay is shifting on his feet here, this is clearly making him nervous. Not nervous excited, nervous cautious.

I mean, it could just be that Sheppard is being a dick for the sake of being a dick, in which case he manages to make it awkward when it didn't need to be awkward (and to be fair, he does do that a lot) but, like. If they are just co-workers or even friends, he has no business asking something like that. If they are just co-workers and he's merely a team leader to him, that comment would be wildly out of line. But if they are fucking, it is his business. In Sanctuary (S01E14), Sheppard told McKay that when anything he does becomes his business, he will let him know. And now, Sheppard seems to be making McKay's business his business, so I guess this is the point where Sheppard is letting McKay know that his business also has become McKay's business. Which is fair.

Only, by making this comment out here in public instead of waiting to do it later in private because he just couldn't sit on his unease for a moment longer, he's inviting Teyla and Ford into the conversation. And they're seeing the whole situation in a completely different way:

Ford: I think Allina might have a little crush on you, Doc. McKay: Oh, she does? Teyla: It is very clear to us all. McKay: It is? Sheppard: Well, everyone but you, apparently.

Sheppard acknowledges here that he knows McKay wasn't pursuing anything with her. That wasn't his issue. That's not why he's upset, or salty, or what ever you interpret this as. McKay is clueless and, as far as he knows, not interested in women in general or this woman in particular. He realizes now that he's made this into a whole thing when it didn't need to be a thing. Because Ford, especially, cannot know about them and he now seems tickled by the fact that this woman is crushing on poor clueless McKay. Good job, Sheppard.

The thing is, McKay has no idea how to navigate this. He's looking for Sheppard for some guidance on how play this. Not for wanting to hook up with this woman that he has shown zero interest in so far because he just has to have her right here and now when he's actually feeling pretty tired, that's not it at all. He needs Sheppard to give him some sign-posts because how ever they are going to play this out, he's doing it for Sheppard. Anything he's doing here is going to be for two reasons and two reasons only: to get them the ZPM and to maintain Sheppard's cover of plausible deniability. So he comes right out and asks him what to do while being careful about how he's putting his words:

McKay: Should I have, um… Are you sure about this? Sheppard: Yeah, I'm very sure. McKay: What should I do?

McKay wants him to tell him what to do because he does not know what to do. Not because he doesn't know how to flirt or to seduce a woman or to have sex with one (and if he doesn't, it's purely because he has never wanted to and it never interested him) but it's not like he's a virgin. Notice how serious he suddenly is about this. He's not sleepy, he's fully focused and brimming with his usual nervous energy. And it's not because he's suddenly revved up about the possibility that a woman might find him interesting (which is where they are leading the mainstream audience) because he had no interest in her when she was coming on to him. He does not look excited. He looks cautious. His focus is entirely on Sheppard. He doesn't even goddamn glance at her more than to make sure they aren't being overheard which is what someone would do if they were interested and were told that they might actually like you back.

But, like. Let's also assume for a moment (because we actually are hinted later that this has, in fact, been the case; see next entry) that they have both had the other's private parts inside the other's talking parts very recently. And in this context, Sheppard asks:

Sheppard: You don't know what to do?

He's not asking McKay if he doesn't know about the birds and the bees, here. He's not implying he thinks the man doesn't know how sex works because he's such a virgin. He's not calling him a virgin who can't drive to poke fun at him. He doesn't look like he's making fun of him at all, he looks almost hurt.** He's a little offended because while they probably haven't had the "What are we?" discussion, being in a same sex relationship and having someone of the opposite sex flirt with your partner right in front of you without being free or able to do anything about it is a particular kind of hell, especially if your partner doesn't know how to deal with it quickly, tactfully and decisively. it should be obvious what McKay needs to do. It's also entirely possible that they have actually had a discussion on what to do in this kind of scenario previously, as we learn later in the episode that by this time they have shared so much personal information with each other that McKay is actually surprised there is something Sheppard had not yet told him. If what ever you are doing could end someone's career in an instant, there are things that you need to talk out.

If they have been intimate, Sheppard is telling McKay that he needs to set up a goddamn boundary before he finds himself in a situation neither of them wants him to be in. He needs to let this woman down easy but in a way that won't destroy their chances of getting the ZPM (and this is precisely what we find him doing on the following day). It's all so obvious to Sheppard but, then, McKay isn't the most socially aware person. But at the very least McKay knows what they're talking about, unlike Ford and Teyla.

McKay: I know what to do, eventually. I mean, what should I do now? Should I say something, something tonight? Sheppard: Tell you what, Valentino—wait till tomorrow. You'll be more on your game after you get some rest. McKay: Oh. Right. Right. Good answer.

Similarly, McKay isn't telling Sheppard that he knows how sex works, here. For one, he knows Sheppard knows he knows how sex works. Sheppard isn't zoning out in meetings watching him because he's thinking about flight schematics. And he was never intending to have sex with this woman who, once more, he has shown zero interest in. Who is too primitive for him to even see as a person, let alone a potential sex partner. He's asking Sheppard whether he needs to take care of this thing right away, nip it in the bud. Talk it out right now, tonight. Is this something he has to deal with immediately and if so, what is he supposed to do?

He's not looking at Sheppard for answers because he doesn't know how women work (I mean, he doesn't but he's also not interested in knowing, so that's not the reason), he's looking for Sheppard to tell him what to do because Sheppard the one who has the most to lose here, and hence, he gets to call the shots. He gets to put up the sign-posts. He gets to decide how they play this out. It's Sheppard's military record that is at stake, here.

And Sheppard decides to let him off the hook. He finds the answer that both gets McKay out of this situation he put them in because of his own issues and leaves Ford and Teyla with the impression that there was potential interest there, that this poor woman ever had a chance. And it's also rather sweet how McKay getting rest is an actual concern for Sheppard. McKay is relieved, and you can again tell that the whole thing is a performance to him in how he, now, talks louder to bid her good night, which is not something that even occurred to him to say left to his own devices. He did not care about her or the quality of her night prior to this moment. He's doing this for Sheppard.

Notice that McKay says "Good answer." He doesn't say "That's good advice, thanks" or "You're right, I'll do that" or any variation thereof. He's congratulating Sheppard on coming up with an answer that allows him to walk away. He's relieved as hell that he is able to walk away from this situation without messing anything up for anyone.

Sheppard does not turn to watch him leave like he usually does but instead fixes his eyes on her like he's using this gesture to nail himself to his seat so as not to go after him right away. But he has to occupy his mouth with something all the same. Leaving together in the evening and arriving together in the morning is something they can never be seen doing. I don't know how even a casual viewer could interpret this as Sheppard showing interest in this woman himself. He is so hopelessly, helplessly in love with that man that I don't know what to tell you.

It's real interesting that they chose to use the name of Valentino, here. Valentino is supposed to be a reference to the "Latin Lover," his name synonymous with the consummate seducer of women. The thing is, they could have used the names of much better known seducers of women, like Don Juan, Casanova, or Lothario (Casanova has the exact same number of syllables, too). Out of these, Valentino is going to be the least familiar to the audience, being an actor from the silent film era. Maybe Sheppard is just into silent films, who knows. But as a reference? They chose the one great seducer who was pretty heavily implied of having been gay.

Rudoplh Valentino actually embodied the concept of the "lavender marriage",* he had an actual marriage annulled for never having consummated it, and he starred in a film called The Married Virgin in which the character's inability to consummate a marriage was a damn plot point. They chose Valentino. They didn't choose any of the famous womanizers of history that were actual heterosexual seducers of women, they chose the closeted gay man who had a reputation of romancing women on screen. Also, just to put it out there--if you fuck men and know who Valentino was, you also know that Valentino fucked men. This reference is a tacit acknowledgement of Sheppard's queerness. This is an example of the use of coded language both in universe and toward the audience. Gay people are going to catch the reference whereas straight people are not going to pay it much attention.

So anyway. Sheppard just called McKay a gay man who acts like he is interested in women. After expressing interest in whose bed he was going to sleep tonight.

God damn, show.

Sheppard asked McKay whose bed he was going to like he had options where the natural assumption would have been that he was obviously going to his own bed. The implied options in this scenario are "yours, hers, or mine". And they return to the topic at the end of the episode where Sheppard tells McKay that he's going to be sleeping soundly tonight, and McKay lets him know that he's going to be working instead of sleeping that night. Because, you know. We really need to know about their sleeping arrangements, and clearly it's something about which they like to keep the other person informed, too. We're expressly told that they won't be sleeping together... on this particular night. But this also means that Sheppard did not sleep soundly on the night they're discussing in this scene.

And the reason for this is discussed in the next entry.

Continued in Pt. 5

-* Lavender marriages were practiced especially in the Hollywood of 1920s, when Rudolph Valentino was at the height of his career, because the morality clauses in the contracts of actors forced them to put on displays of heterosexuality for the public and these marriages were just for show. The men would sometimes marry lesbians or other women who knew what was what and may have some other motivations for marrying gay men, or sometimes the women didn't know what they were getting into and these marriages of convenience were just never consummated, hence e.g., Valentino's trial.

It is this use of coded language that really sells it to me that the subtextual narrative was inserted on purpose, that there were several different people making it happen on the show. Straight people are going to hear the line as saying "Tell you what, lover boy" whereas non-straight people will hear it as "Tell you what, closet queen"; the same line has different meaning depending on the context it's inserted into.

-** In two episodes hence, in The Gift (S01E17) Ford makes a disparaging comment about McKay's sexual prowess (the size of his Johnson, as it were) and Sheppard gives him this look of "Grow up" to which he indignantly responds that why is it okay for them to do it and not him. Only, that's not what Sheppard was doing here. It's how Ford interprets it but it is not how Sheppard intended it.