I don’t think love should have to be a fight.
If it is, maybe it’s not love, it’s just war with different rules.
But I think some things stay even when you stop fighting. Probably not everything, but the important things. Thats how I see this. Maybe one day you feel that you won’t have to fight anymore.
Good evening Nigel,
I was at the National art gallery with Beth this afternoon. I saw Botticelli’s ‘Venus and Mars’ there, it is an absolute study in paradox!. About forces that should collide yet instead settle into something resembling harmony. It reminded me of space in that way. Mars, the god of war, lies unconscious, unarmed, seemingly at peace. Venus, the goddess of love, seems watchful but unaffected, an island of serenity beside him. She has not conquered him. She has not subdued him. And yet, in her presence, he is still.
Many people would assume that love triumphs over war, that beauty tames violence. But I think Botticelli offers something more intricate. Venus does not demand change. She does not impose softness upon Mars. She simply exists, and in doing so, creates the conditions for stillness. Mars, so accustomed to unrest, is given a rare and unfamiliar gift—the absence of conflict. And he does not resist it.
The tension here is not one of struggle, but of transformation. Venus has not altered Mars, she has only revealed what he is capable of being. I imagine this as love at its most potent—not forceful, not possessive, but a quiet invitation to become. There is no battle between them, no need for submission or control. Instead, they are two opposing forces that, for a moment, find equilibrium. Together.
This is the paradox I was speaking of : not that one must destroy the other, but that they can coexist. In Metamorphoses, Ovid describes their relationship as both passionate and volatile, yet Botticelli captures something…subtler. Venus does not try to change Mars, nor does she fear him. She understands him. And understanding, more than any weapon, has the power to disarm.
I remember Beth asking ‘Why does Venus choose Mars? Her husband Vulcan presents as a more fitting counterpart, someone more aligned with her nature’. I answered that, perhaps love is not drawn to reflections of itself, but to contrast. To the possibility of transformation. Venus does not force Mars to lay down his weapons. He does so on his own, because in her presence, he does not need them.
There is power in that, in my opinion. A kind of power that does not shout, does not demand, but simply is. Not dominance, but invitation. Not submission, but balance.
And it reminded me of you.
Well, shit… you’ve really got me here, don’t you? Never thought I’d be sitting here, having someone talk to me about love like that, beautiful. It’s funny though. Mars? Peaceful? Never thought I’d see the day.
An invitation, huh? Not a fight, not a conquest, not a struggle to win someone over. Just... being. That’s a new one for me. Love makes me do some fucking crazy things, but never like that.
If I’m being real, I don’t know if I believe in that kind of love. The kind that just fucking is. Hell, I’m not sure I’ve ever let someone just exist if I really loved them, or that I've ever felt like I can let myself relax that way, or if I even can. I’ve always thought that if you don’t fight and keep fighting to keep what you have, you end up losing everything.
Maybe you’ve got a point, Adam. No one’s ever said anything like that to me before.
I’m glad you thought of me.
Well, actually no
historically speaking, Andromeda wasn’t exactly a helpless damsel.
Most modern versions of the myth paint her that way, sure, but if you go back far enough, Andromeda was considered pretty courageous. She didn’t just sit there crying and waiting to be saved. A lot of early accounts show her facing her fate with dignity, knowing she was being sacrificed to atone for something she didn’t even cause.
And , surviving something like that, being left to fend for yourself against a literal sea monster, without losing who you are? That’s not weak. That’s strength. Thats how I see it. She was strong enough to endure the whatever was coming her way.
You’re right, though. Chained or not, she could still bite.
If you could assign constellations to your associates/friends what would they be and why?
I don't know much about constellations but I'd love to hear you talk about it :)
- 🧷
I actually spent some time thinking about this. It’s a interesting question, astronomy as a mirror for people. It’s not the first time I’ve made that comparison in my head.
So Nigel would probably be Andromeda. There’s something about Andromedas story that reminds me of him , chained and waiting, not exactly helpless, but holding back. Andromeda’s one of those constellations that’s easy to overlook unless you know where to look. But once you do, you stay looking. He’s like that. Quiet and beautiful, and much more capable than most realize. There’s distance there too. Something unspoken and mysterious. And maybe that’s part of it.
Abby is Lyra. Steady, constant sound in the background that makes everything else feel less chaotic. She’s the kind of friend that doesn’t try to change the rhythm, she plays along, and somehow makes the melody make sense. She won’t try to change but instead accept the people around her. I trust her more than I trust most people. Probably more than I know to articulate.
Duncan is definitely Ursa Major. He’s calm and grounded. One of those people you automatically listen to when they speak. Like the Big Dipper, It’s just always been there. Reliable. Big presence. Never unpleasantly overwhelming.
I see Tonny as Gemini. There is some sort of double-sided energy to him. Always talking, always bouncing between ten things at once. Sometimes it’s annoying. But he makes things feel alive. That counts for something. Very unapologetically himself.
Beth… She’d be Scorpius..I think. There was beauty, but also something sharp underneath. I thought I understood her. Maybe I didn’t. It’s hard not to associate that constellation with betrayal once you’ve been stung by someone you trusted. But I also think Scorpius is about change. You don’t walk away from it unchanged.
Lastly Hannibal , Aquarius. There’s a logic to him that i understand. The kind of person who thinks about everything three steps ahead. Our conversations are always sharp. Always interesting. We don’t need to be close emotionally to have a kind of mutual respect, and I appreciate that.
That’s how I see it right now.
That could change, maybe it won’t.
If you could assign constellations to your associates/friends what would they be and why?
I don't know much about constellations but I'd love to hear you talk about it :)
- 🧷
I actually spent some time thinking about this. It’s a interesting question, astronomy as a mirror for people. It’s not the first time I’ve made that comparison in my head.
So Nigel would probably be Andromeda. There’s something about Andromedas story that reminds me of him , chained and waiting, not exactly helpless, but holding back. Andromeda’s one of those constellations that’s easy to overlook unless you know where to look. But once you do, you stay looking. He’s like that. Quiet and beautiful, and much more capable than most realize. There’s distance there too. Something unspoken and mysterious. And maybe that’s part of it.
Abby is Lyra. Steady, constant sound in the background that makes everything else feel less chaotic. She’s the kind of friend that doesn’t try to change the rhythm, she plays along, and somehow makes the melody make sense. She won’t try to change but instead accept the people around her. I trust her more than I trust most people. Probably more than I know to articulate.
Duncan is definitely Ursa Major. He’s calm and grounded. One of those people you automatically listen to when they speak. Like the Big Dipper, It’s just always been there. Reliable. Big presence. Never unpleasantly overwhelming.
I see Tonny as Gemini. There is some sort of double-sided energy to him. Always talking, always bouncing between ten things at once. Sometimes it’s annoying. But he makes things feel alive. That counts for something. Very unapologetically himself.
Beth… She’d be Scorpius..I think. There was beauty, but also something sharp underneath. I thought I understood her. Maybe I didn’t. It’s hard not to associate that constellation with betrayal once you’ve been stung by someone you trusted. But I also think Scorpius is about change. You don’t walk away from it unchanged.
Lastly Hannibal , Aquarius. There’s a logic to him that i understand. The kind of person who thinks about everything three steps ahead. Our conversations are always sharp. Always interesting. We don’t need to be close emotionally to have a kind of mutual respect, and I appreciate that.
That’s how I see it right now.
That could change, maybe it won’t.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/65369347/chapters/168209467
Here’s chapter one! I kept it pretty short and simple for the start. Hope y’all enjoy!
Hey guys!
I know this is probably terrible timing, but I did want to let y’all know I’ll be taking a small break
or at least I don’t anticipate it to be long. My mental health hasn’t been the best, and I’ve got a lot of medical stuff I gotta take care of rn. So sorry to let y’all down like this. I’m super grateful for you guys, and I’ll do my best to be back soon.
Note: Some good news is that I’ll still be continuing my AO3 story tho! Since I only really plan to posting once a week, I think it won’t be too much on me. I also haven’t posted the link for it on here yet ’cause I’m still working through some stuff in chapter one.
Anyway, love y’all and stay safe 🤍
This is the same anon that asked about nebulous.io,
Errr well i didn’t exactly like much about it because most of my memories playing it as a child is that i was blackmailed by my older sibling into doing so, but i did like the spacy names and skins, though back then as a kid i did infact not know that andromeda was a galaxy and to me it was just that one annoying bot with a funky name that kept eating me
I didn’t really understand that Andromeda was a galaxy at the time either.
As a child, I just thought it was an interesting name. I was more focused on avoiding that bot, actually. I got frustrated after a while.
Looking back, I realize there were a lot of things I didn’t know about, but I think I’ve gotten better at understanding those things now.
DEM L71 Supernova Remnant ©
Someone told me today that ‘the stars have aligned.’ I checked. They have not. Stellar positions do not change in response to human events
Have you played the mobile game nebulous.io ? I recommend. I grew up on it
I have played Nebulous.io before.
I liked the concept of absorbing smaller cells to grow larger, though I found the movement mechanics somewhat frustrating at times.
What did you enjoy about it?
I do actually own two!.
A ‘Meade Polaris 70mm Refractor‘ that my father previously owned and a ‘Celestron NexStar 8SE’ that I bought myself.
Hello, Adam. I was wondering if you have a favorite flower or plant or a favorite animal?
-Duncan.
Good evening Duncan!.
I do have a favorite animal.
Raccoons. Definitely raccoons. They’re highly intelligent, their problem-solving skills are impressive, and they have these incredibly dexterous little hands. Did you know that they can remember solutions to tasks for years? And they wash their food before eating it, which is both practical and oddly endearing. I often go to watch a family of raccoons at a park near me. They bring me joy.
As for plants, I think carnivorous plants are fascinating. They literally evolved to defy the usual order of things—plants aren’t supposed to consume animals, and yet, here they are. The Venus flytrap, for example, counts the number of times its trigger hairs are touched before closing, like it’s verifying the presence of prey. That kind of adaptation is remarkable. If find that they have a philosophical aspect to them.