#tos: s1

[msbonnibelbubblegum]

Errand of Mitski

(Addding to the intersection of Spirk shippers and mitski stans)

[robiberon]

WHY DID THAT PLANT MAKE SPOCK STRAIGHT

[anghraine]

I watched "Measure of a Man" not long ago, and while it was indeed very good, the weird, toxic, bitter relationship between Picard and his JAG ex really made me nostalgic for one of my favorite Kirk/lady of the week relationships—Kirk and Areel Shaw in "Court Martial."

Kirk himself is the one on trial in "Court Martial," and Areel is the prosecuting attorney rather than the judge. They're exes in their early 30s who broke up in the past for unknown reasons, but are still fond of each other, respectful, and retain an amicable, pleasant relationship years after their break-up. Both of them handle the strain of Areel's professional obligations with maturity and grace, but not impossibly idealized invulnerability. Areel recommends a good defense lawyer for Kirk and regrets the role the situation places them in, but she also doesn't sabotage her case against him and is good at what she does.

The thing that really makes this a favorite "Kirkmance" for me, beyond all this, is that it's very obvious that both of them still care a lot about each other and remain deeply attracted to each other. Neither of them have anything to gain by this. They're both too intelligent and sensible to consider re-kindling their old romance; it fell apart for a reason, despite the lingering affection/attraction, and for pragmatic reasons, sex isn't on the table.

But both early and late in the episode, Kirk and Areel seem to enjoy the flirtation for what it is: not calculated or desperate, not useful, not some fridge horror dub-con scenario, not a high-romance disaster waiting to happen, not even a prelude to a one-night stand, just a fun and affectionate acknowledgment that the chemistry remains strong and they still love each other in a way. There's something genuine and tender and unforced about their flirtation and mutually agreed-upon good-bye kiss that is just so conspicuously different from the tactical Kirkmances. I think it's really lovely, actually:

[fructo]

I swear I'm normal about them Your Honor, I swear

[startrek-eridani]

“It was very important for us to get at least one episode with DeForest Kelley, considering the character of Joanna was initially born from a conversation between him and TOS writer D.C. Fontana. She has changed a lot since that initial pitch, of course, but we still wanted that father-daughter moment on screen, enriched by the original series actor. We were incredibly lucky when Mr. Kelley agreed to appear on the show.

It’s also interesting to say that the moment of their parting at the end of «What’s in a Name?» was actually improvised by De. The script only mentioned an embrace between father and daughter, and he actually suggested a kiss on Susan [Gibney]’s forehead, leading to a very sweet moment between Dr. McCoy and Joanna. It felt so sincere, the familial chemistry between the two actors was more than we could have ever dreamed of.” 

Excerpt from the episode commentary for S1 Ep. 3, by creator Pauline I. Birchwood, found in the special features of the DVD set for Star Trek Eridani Season 1 & 2.

[dmynte]

can’t sleep, feeling like:

[anghraine]

Still feeling "happy pride to these assholes specifically," so I feel it's worth emphasizing that while "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was aired third, it was the alternative pilot that got the show greenlit and makes more sense as, well, the pilot, and this is basically Kirk and Spock's first onscreen interaction ever.

Star Trek: The Original Series 1x03 - Where No Man Has Gone Before

[kyanitedragon]

Captain James T. Kirk is alloaro

Evidence:

It's said 3 times in season 1 alone that the Enterprise is his lover, and that he would prioritize it over any woman

The only "romances" he has are (1) past lovers of his returning for an episode, or (2) flirting with the woman of the week in order to save his crew — femme fatale style

His uniform is gold, and his secondary wraparound outfit is green — the alloaro flag colors

[wormnamedwax]

“and where would you estimate we belong?” “you, at his side, as if you’ve always been there and always will” HELLO!??? HELLO??? I CANT BE NORMAL ABOUT THEM LIKE THISSSSSS THEYRE SO AGHHHHH

[anghraine]

I love this scene too, and Spock's addition before he closes out the call:

I remind you it's a proven killer. I'm on my way.

[yourfourthgradepetrock]

man they really did just put a dog in a costume and passed him around. I love this show

[of-fear-and-love]

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 5 - "Where No One Has Gone Before" (October 26, 1987)

[gidakata]

SCREAMS CRIES SOBS AT KIRK IMMEDIATELY KNOWING SMTH IS WRONG W HIS BF AND ALL PANICKED GOING “Doc! Don’t you know me?”

LIKE THE WAY KIRK AND SPOCK LOOK SO DEJECTED AND SAD AND PISSED AT RHE SAME TIME SHUT THE HELL UP NOBODY TOUCH ME DONT TOUCH ME DONT TOYCH ME !!

[anghraine]

#Spock was busy plotting her downfall#Gary? dead. Edith? dead. Rayna? dead and mindwiped away for good fucking measure.#obviously neither party was actually interested in the other in this case since they’re both manipulating each other#but I just KNOW Spock would have thrown her out the damn airlock had this been a real moment of interest for either of them#and he would have had a logical excuse locked and loaded and his big brown eyes with extra eyeshadow ready for Jim (via @alderaan-babe)

ahjkdfjk;adfjkjafd

I cackled at this, can't lie. It's genuinely hilarious to me that Spock's kneejerk reaction is so visibly displeased, and only later does he think clearly enough to conclude that Kirk isn't actually into Lenore and something is genuinely wrong.

Spock's conclusion that this flirtation + Riley's demotion + Kirk's random questions about Thomas Leighton suggest some unknown connection between Kirk, Riley, Leighton, and Anton Karidian (not Lenore) is dismissed by Bones but leads Spock straight to his discovery of the Tarsus IV genocide. He disregards the possibility of Kirk actually being interested in Lenore in the gayest way possible, so it's often a joke at his expense, but he's actually completely right about everything throughout the rest of the episode and it's Bones's het goggles that keep him from seeing the evidence that's so clear to Spock or understanding the weight of the genocide. And yet Spock is so pissed every time Kirk and Lenore interact, lmao.

It's like in "Dagger of the Mind" when Spock 100% knows about the neural neutralizer and goes to rescue Kirk specifically because he fears his mind has been altered. When he sees Kirk impulsively kiss Helen, Spock hears her say outright that it's morally wrong because Dr. Adams did this to him, and despite knowing all of this, Spock just looks incredibly bitchy about the whole thing.

Uhm excuse me miss but how dare u flirt with my captain in front of me 

[anghraine]

So I just discovered a cool conversation that spun off from one of my tag monologues on a gifset—I'd seen the initial tag peer review, but hadn't realized they'd gone further than that until @ladytharen tagged me. Yet again I didn't want to pester the original gifmaker too much, so I decided to respond separately to the part I found especially interesting.

For context, these were my original tags on the "This little thing? Just something I slipped on :)" Kirk captivity scene from "Tomorrow is Yesterday":

#captain gender strikes again! #i appreciate the read on this scene as 'captain kirk is a queer guy flirting with random 20th cent dudes holding him captive. bicon' #but personally my read is 'captain kirk is a queer guy deliberately leaning into effeminacy to fuck with hypermasc douchebros #from the very era in which the show was made irl. bicon' #it's definitely flirty but it is an aggressively feminine-coded flirtiness that's going to triply bother these kinds of guys #ngl i feel like kirk enjoys fucking with gender norms in all directions just because of who he is as a person (his true gender: diva) #but it's extra fun when it lets him troll ultra-military assholes neurotic about their own masculinity who are trying to intimidate HIM #(these guys aren't his type at all - christopher is much more that - but as usual that's not the point of the flirtation #k/s is nerd4nerd but also troll4troll)

I was really intrigued by this response from @mycroftrh, and thinking about it again on this inauguration of Pride month.

#yeah#in a certain context queerness and effeminacy are power#these are also unfortunately often the same contexts where queerness can get you hate crimed#but if you’re gonna be beat up/killed anyway…#you might as well make the homophobes maximally uncomfortable first

Yep, exactly. You can absolutely see the moment when he decides on exactly which side of his personality he's going to use for maximum effect on these gender policing, homophobic, ultra-military, paranoid bigots from the 60s:

I do think it's interesting that the full scene includes not only Kirk's bisexual chaos gremlin diva genderfuckery (enrichment for him!) but moments of fear and defiance:

He doesn't drop the flamboyance until he wants to, though. And the framing, lighting, angles etc only serve to emphasize their attempts to loom even more over him, aggressively get into his space, gesture right at his face to unsettle him, and his refusal to be intimidated by these fundamentally pathetic responses that are by no means free from real danger, just silly and contemptible nevertheless. It's not that he's too disdainful or amused at his own hijinks to understand how easily this could go very wrong. He simply has no respect for these men and enjoys leveraging their own hang-ups against them.

His eye make-up is also more than usually noticeable in the close-ups in this scene—even compared to other scenes in the same episode—which seems maybe not unrelated!

I think it's also worth pointing out that, TOS make-up aside, Kirk's navigation of gender performance in the original series is ... let's say, idiosyncratic. Most of the 23rd-century male characters are far more inflexible and singular about what gendered roles they're willing or able to inhabit. Kirk specifically is very deliberately fluid and versatile and theatrical about a lot of things, very much including gender performance and sexuality.

[boneskullravenriver]

Honestly, Spock is giving me big ol' Aquarius energy. I say this as an aquarius myself.