#i'm not putting this in the tags bc i don't wanna ruffle anyone's feathers

[muirmarie]

omg, your tags on that post!!! literally agree so hard, never understood why mccoy gets the "bad at flirting" personality in so much fanon, like what show were they watching! he basically flirts with every women he meets that isnt a patient. And i know that a lot of fic is for aos, but even in that mccoy kinda flirts with chapel, the only time when i think it makes sense for mccoy to be so self conscious is after the divorce and not during the 5 yr missioin

yesssss anon you get me!!! I think it's honestly part and parcel with the same mindset that routinely has fandom making him shorter than the other two, when he's only a couple inches shorter than Spock, and is in fact taller than Kirk. (looking up their heights will imply De and Shatner were the same height, but simply watching the show makes it very clear that Shatner or his PR lied about his height - he's very obviously shorter than De.)

and everyone absolutely gets their own headcanons and their own interpretations and can focus on what they want to focus on, but my personal belief is that McCoy is sometimes...

look, I just think McCoy gets hit with that unfortunate fandom mindset that says one of the guys in a mlm ship needs to be fem!coded with the MOST stereotypical gender stereotypes possible.

noncanonically shorter height, insecure, shy, needs tons of reassurance.....like.........it's kinda obvious, imo?

and if ppl LIKE making him short and insecure and shy, then have at it and go with god, just....maybe don't imply that's canon?

like. the sheer confidence required to be the CMO on the flagship? this is an adult who is at the forefront of his field, and he KNOWS it.

the way he flirts with ladies all the time, like you mentioned???

he absolutely DOES turn into a deeply charming deer-in-the-headlights when Natira kisses his hand, but that's about INTIMACY and VULNERABILITY, not flirting and charm.

idk I don't want to harsh anyone's vibe, I just wish that fanon wasn't taken as canon. that's where I start sighing a little lmao.