#gene roddenberry's ridiculous stories

[dekaydk]

Laws of Architraction

Sorry, Nawin, you're smokin' hot, but your taste in architecture is as erratic as your temperament. This belongs on @mcmansionhell and deserves a special.

"Special" as in

"You bring this network's ratings down, Flavius, and we'll do a 'special' on you."

[t0ast-ghost]

S2 episode 26 (Assignment: Earth)

- 🎵Gotta go back in time 🎶

- Guy with a cat. Probably the best thing to randomly beam aboard

- Bones gets so worried so fast

- SPOCK PETTING A CAT

- I like how the doors open just enough to let the cat in

- wtf is up with that vault door portal mechanism? No other show would do that, especially not new trek

- I like that the computer is sassing this guy

- That is the most ridiculous hat they’ve given Spock

- I like Miss Lincoln…“Very Groovy.” Omg I love her

- he just appears in a government base petting his cat

- OH SHIT THEY BEAMED THE POLICE UP

- goddamn Spock and Kirk in suits

- Spock in an increasingly ridiculous hat

- OMG MISS LINCOLN

- she’s talking to the cube. yeah I’d do that

- ya know I’d like a show that’s Lincoln, Seven, and the cat going through shenanigans

- “I have never felt so helpless.” Really, Kirk? There’s so many impossible situations you’ve been in, and this less lethal one takes the cake?

- So what I gather from this episode is they decided to make a rocket and now it’s basically not blowing up in space but rather in Europe and Asia, so they’re in deep shit.

- Kirk’s being an idiot

- “It is difficult to know which is best, Captain.” That’s so helpful Spock. So helpful.

- Kirk and Roberta squinting at the bright light while Spock and Seven just stand there

- SORRY?!? They just randomly show a goth woman sitting in a chair. And then I realized it was the cat (Isis)

- I think Roberta and Isis have really nice contrasts in costumes. I’d like to draw them.

- Spock and Kirk are practically finishing each others sentences

- The way they were talking I bet Lincoln and Seven would think, “What strange gay men from the future.” And each would mean it in a different way

- Can’t explain why but miss lincoln is now one of my favourite characters. Bring her back. Please.

Hello everyone. We’ve come to the end of another episode, and another season. I’d like to say thank you to everyone for whatever support you’ve given (‘specially comments, I love reading everything y’all have to say even if I don’t respond). I hope to see you again for the next season of thoughts.

On the next one :D

Masterpost

Episode teleplay by Art Wallace

Story by Gene Roddenberry and Art Wallace

[cantsayidont]

May–August 1985. Conceived before the Crisis on Infinite Earths but published concurrently, THE SHADOW WAR OF HAWKMAN was an ambitious attempt by writer Tony Isabella and editor Alan Gold to forge a new direction for Hawkman and Hawkwoman, who'd been stumbling along since the late 1960s in a series of backup features and guest spots. The story borrows a page or three from the lexicon of paranoid '70s conspiracy thrillers, revealing that agents of the Hawks' homeworld of Thanagar are now on Earth, working in secret to lay the groundwork for a military invasion by using the Absorbacon, a Gardner Fox gimmick capable of gathering all the knowledge of a particular world, to gather exploitable secrets from the minds of Earth people. Thanagarians are immune to the Absorbacon's mind-reading powers, but the Hawks are cut off from most of their friends and allies, fearing that any information they share with their JLA comrades might immediately fall into enemy hands. The infiltrators, meanwhile, target the Hawks in hopes of seizing their now rare and valuable Thanagarian technology.

In the Silver Age Hawkman stories, Thanagar had been presented as a typical scientifically advanced post-scarcity society, where crime is mostly limited to a handful of thrillseekers and alien invaders. However, it had suffered a series of major crises in the '70s, which the miniseries helpfully summarizes while filling in a few blanks:

(Inevitably, a few key points of the original stories have gotten lost in translation: In the original Equalizing Plague storyline in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #117–119, Katar and Shayera are both infected, but Katar is able to cure himself and later Shayera, albeit not anyone else on Thanagar. The cure provided by Hyathis, an old JLA villain, is not part of that story, but is revealed in the 1978 Adam Strange/Hawkman crossover in SHOWCASE #101–103.)

The original Equalizing Plague storyline is a weirdly reactionary effort for the usually humanistic Elliot S! Maggin, about a silly-looking space villain (the dude with the red helmet and the mustache in the first page above) whose desire for universal equality destroys whole societies by transforming everyone into nebbishes. Even Gene Roddenberry might have balked at that one, and a central problem with Isabella's "Shadow War" storyline is that it requires readers to not only take that story seriously, but even empathize with how it has left Thanagarians susceptible to fascism. (The villains are never very sympathetic, but you're supposed to see where they're coming from, which would be a lot to ask even in less ridiculous circumstances.)

Despite that, the SHADOW WAR miniseries is a decent effort, with higher-than-usual stakes and an effective sense of menace. The scripts are a bit florid — albeit fairly restrained for Isabella — but the art suits them very well, with Rich Howell's Murphy Anderson-like pencils given moody atmosphere by Alfredo Alcala's inking. It sold well, leading to a 1986 HAWKMAN SPECIAL by Isabella and Howell with new inker Ron Randall. This has Katar agonizing over the Thanagarian agents he's killed, which is most interesting for Isabella's novel take on the Gentleman Ghost, an old Hawkman villain who unexpectedly becomes the Hawks' new ally.

Unfortunately, what Isabella and Gold had intended as a five-year saga quickly ran into trouble in the new post-Crisis HAWKMAN series that followed the SPECIAL. According to Isabella, the principal problem was that new editor Denny O'Neil, who took over soon after the launch of the new series, was annoyed that Isabella would attempt something so grandiose and demanded that the "Shadow War" be wrapped up quickly. Isabella soon bowed out, leaving Dan Mishkin and co-editor Barbara Randall to tie things up.

The dismaying resolution, in HAWKMAN #12, ends (temporarily) Thanagar's adventurism on Earth, but culminates in Katar deliberately choosing to leave the planet's new military government in power, with his father's old friend Rul Pintar taking the place of the previous ruling junta. Conceding that the Thanagarian people will be "helpless" without a dictatorship, Katar announces, "You lead them, Rul Pintar! Then at least their next dictator will be a benevolent one who remembers Thanagar's greatness--and can perhaps give a little bit of it back to them!" Thus, what had begun as a paranoid thriller about a secret alien invasion concludes with Hawkman's explicit endorsement of fascist dictatorship, after which he and Shayera fly back to Earth so it won't be their problem. Yikes!

Having lost any sense of narrative direction along with its moral compass, the book lasted only five more issues and was canceled in late 1987. Isabella says some of his original ideas were later recycled for "other company-wide crossovers," which I assume refers primarily to the 1988 INVASION! event, in which Thanagar was one of the invaders.

[jujupepi]

A Pre-History of Fanfiction IV: Slash Trek

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Chapter 4: Slash Trek 

BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING. It is true that Star Trek exploded onto the SF scene and changed the fandom forever. Star Trek premiered on NBC September 8th, 1966 and aired for three seasons. Star Trek fans were dismissed as “TV star smitten pre-teen” and not “true fans” (Bruce Soutard). Despite gatekeeping by THE ‘true fans’ Star Trek fans made a huge splash in the community. Star Trek zines account for a ridiculous amount of total zines. The first one, Spockanalia was published in 1967 by Devra Michele Langsa and Sherna Comerford aided by fanzine vetern Juanita Coulson. Spockanalia was what was known as a ‘secondary universe’ zine which assumed the world put forth in Star Trek was real. It was a massive 45 double sided pages and it sold for 50 cents at the World Science Fiction Convention. Spockanalia was so widespread, Gene Roddenberry and Leonard Nimoy sent letters to the editors that were published in subsequent issues.

Notably, the third issue has a very early example of real person fanfiction wherein Kirk, Spock, and Bones travel to the set of Star Trek and meet Gene Roddenberry. Besides that, many of the articles had to do with Vulcan history, archeology, and language exploring what was left unexplored in The Original Series. There’s sexy stories, too, one presented Spock involved with a part-Vulcan woman. All the sex happened off-page but it was controversial to ST fans at the time who in all honestly come off as very prudish as a group. 

It’s time now to get to the part we’ve all been waiting for: the SLASHFIC. Kirk/Spock or K/S skyrocketed in popularity in the 1970s among the women publishing fanzines at the time. The first documentable K/S fic is The Ring of Shoshern written by Jennifer Guttridge in around 1968, maybe earlier. She didn’t want to publish the story for fear of litigious action by Star Trek actors. As common as it is today, writing a story with gay protagonists was not a trivial choice, especially in England were obscenity laws were tightening. Later, the fanzine Alien Brothers published Shoshern without Guttridge’s full permission. (Comandini and Sinclair)

The first official slashfic is A Fragment out of Time published in Grup issue 3 in September of 1974 written by Diane Marchant. The story is sexually explicit but doesn’t identify the protagonists by name. The subjects are made clear by line drawings of Kirk and Spock. Funnily enough, the first line of the fic is “Shut up… we’re by no means setting a precedent.” It went on to set the greatest precedent in fanfiction and fandom in general. 

In 1976, Gerry Downes published the 1st standalone K/S zine named Alternative: An Epilog to Orion. It was 50 pages, with 12 pages of poetry, 21 pages of prose, and the rest containing art. It was described as “A new mature-theme zine from Gerry Downes. A different kind of love story for Starship Captain James T. Kirk and his first officer, Mr. Spock.” The plot dealt with a psychic creature invading Kirk’s mind defeated by Spock’s Vulcan mind meld. During the meld, Kirk’s mind reveals the depths of his love for Spock. 

Do not fear, these stories did not exist without THE DISCOURSE. After publishing Fragment out of Time Marchant wrote an essay defending her work called Pandora’s Box… Again: A Psychological Discussion of the Relationship Between Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock. Marchant maneuvers around expliciting defending gay love, but those in the know read it as a argument for a sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock according to Joan Marie Verba (Boldly Writing). It created a firestorm in the community, inspiring both derision and zeal. At this time, pins started to circulate at cons with the letters K/S crossed out. 

So why Star Trek? For one, Star Trek was much more accessible to new SF fans than Amazing Stories type magazines mired in history and SF subculture while still showcasing what made science fiction so attractive. Star Trek was a mainstream television show airing at a time when there were only three channels in America. There was a good chance you caught Star Trek at some point, whether you liked it or not. And as for what made Star Trek special, I would say that there is a reason fan obsession seems to orbit around Spock. He’s a compelling character, stuck between two worlds, unable to show or understand his own emotions. That kind of tension can set a creative mind going with ideas. 

So why slash? Well, for one, if you’re going to write romance about Star Trek characters, then there aren’t many woman characters to do it with. This isn’t to degenerate or diminish those actors and characters, but men characters took up most of the screen time. In a more philosophical sense, Star Trek presents a world where race, nationality, and creed don’t matter and that isn’t a step too far from sexuality and gender not mattering. 

Writer PJ Falzone speculates that K/S isn’t gay in the tradition sense but instead indifferent to gender. It’s not the sex or gender of these character that matter but the dynamics between them. Kirk and Spock aren’t a bonded pair but a divided self. A dyad in the Force, if you will. This theory is also acknowledged within K/S fandom itself with a trope entitled “We’re Not Gay, We Just Love Each Other.” 

Petty fandom drama could have also stoked the proliferation of K/S. As much as Star Trek fans were marginalized in larger SF fandom, women Star Trek fans were marginalized further. It only makes sense that they would coalesce around a few zines that accepted them. Some fanfiction theorists take a more psychological stance positing that these fans might have been writing romance stories as a way to explore sexuality without the potential dangers of real-life relationships (Falzone). 

After the explosion of K/S, fanfiction was divided genetally into three categories: ‘slash’, ‘het’ or ‘adult’, and ‘gen’ meaning general. 

K/S set a precedent for a fandom that is fueled by shipping. The influence can be seen from LiveJournal to Tumblr. From Fanfiction.net to AO3 and from fandoms as disparate as Supernatural and Hetalia.

[abowlofpetuniasandawhale]

every time i see “problematic media” discourse i just think about star trek TNG and how Gene Roddenberry decided that there would be no interpersonal conflict among the starfleet characters because in the Perfect Socialist Space Utopia of the future all these characters would just be beyond that kind of thing.

So what happened? The first two seasons of TNG (where GR had an active roll and these rules were strongly enforced) is widely considered the worst of the show and, some could argue, the worst of the franchise.

It was also a major contributing factor to pretty much all the writers completely walking off the show.

because it is so ridiculously restrictive to try and tell any story without conflict, but especially when you’re trying to do a morality play

[1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt]

Star Trek TOS’s Finale, The Turnabout Intruder 03X24: Just Sexist, or More Than Meets The Eye?

Bear with me here, most folks immediately condemn Star Trek TOS’s final episode and conclusion as it’s most embarrassing, cringe worthy and sexist of the original series episodes. I’m not here to disagree with some of those sentiments, either.

But hear me out: I have another perspective on this episode to offer, if anyone is interested in exploring another take on it with me.

Read on if you’re interested!

I always felt that this episode was kind of clever in that Gene pushed to have women on the bridge and in command roles originally and was denied. It could even be seen as an allusion to how Una, Number One played by Majel Barrett, was intended to be second in command but denied that right.

It was shot down, largely by other women on the viewing panel who responded negatively to how "aggressive" or "assertive" Una was.

Basically, production shot down Gene's wish to portray a woman in a command role despite it being one of the first ideas Roddenberry pushed. Apparently there was the feeling of "well we are in the future and yet we are forced to portray women as if they are in the 60s, how does that work out?"

I always wondered if The Turnabout Intruder was a very cheeky way of slapping back at production for forcing the shutting down of women in command roles in Starfleet.

Perhaps not and I read into it too much, but it seems a snide, shady way of trying to explain this absolutely absurd rule they forced upon Gene and the crew on-screen. People were going to notice women did not have a balance of power due to this rule, so in a way, I always thought of this episode as a clever way to address it and criticize how stupid that looks in practice. It highlights how utterly unfair it was that production tied Gene and the crew of TOS's hands whenever they tried to push to give women prominent, strong roles.

As a woman, I felt a sear of almost indignant camaraderie when Janice ranted about how unfair and ridiculous the rules were -- the same kind of rules that oppressed my mother and her sisters as they grew up in the 60s. Sure she was absolutely unhinged and insane, but what she lived through and the unfairness of it all eroded away at her until it ate her up. That was the genuine, real-world fate of so many ambitious women of that time period. I know as an ambitious woman myself, I too might have lost my mind at the injustice of it all as Janice did.

In a way, I felt like the episode tackled an extremely uncomfortable topic which was pervasive in the 60s and socio-culturally relevant at that time. Women living in that time largely didn't have power or control over their identities or futures, and many of them, like Janice, were furious about their ambitions and opportunities being stifled due to gender alone.

It also highlighted another powerfully controversial gender topic: The belittling of men who are on the receiving end of abuse from women. We see Jim being laughed at, his manhood and authority questioned for being "bested" by a woman. It shows how society likes to mock and laugh at men or the suggestion that they could be abused by women.

We get to see a rare, vulnerable portrayal of domestic abuse and terrorism perpetrated against a man that we all know, admire and recognize as a beacon of strength, competence and intelligence. Even with all his strength, courage and power, Jim is overpowered, assaulted, victimized, gaslit, and nearly murdered by an ex lover. To me, this was a story that direly needed to be talked about somewhere. I think very few pieces of media were allowing men to be portrayed in such a vulnerable position at that time, especially one portrayed as typically macho and strong as Jim; it was an episode that made some interesting observations and criticisms of how we ultimately hurt and diminish one another with gender roles and stereotypes. In this episode, both Janice and Jim suffered for it.

To even hear Kirk proclaiming loudly as a man in a position of power about the unfairness of it all -- to me, that was a testament to the absurdity of that mindset held in the 60s towards women: They were called "hysterical", drugged, subdued, belittled, made to feel like their hobbies and lives were trivial or unimportant, told they were weak, and beaten into submission. They were unfairly institutionalized for "hysteria" and depression brought about by the restrictiveness of their lives due to their gender. Women were often chained to their marriages and homes, often stunted by gender alone in the workforce, not due to their abilities as an employee. And they needed the support of men in order to get out of the oppressive situation they were strong-armed into. 

To hear a man displayed in a position of power speak out in defiance against that unfairness when women were seldom permitted a voice of their own in the media at that time. Jim paralleled those men of the 60s who spoke out against injustice and inequality when they saw it.

That was a rare and direly needed sentiment at that time, even if by today's standards the episodes content seems dated and misguided. 

Even when his ex-partner was cruel, violent and did not even perhaps deserve his empathy, Jim made a point of highlighting that Janice might have had a rich and fulfilling life as a valuable captain in the fleet had the rules not done her life's work such a callous and unfair injustice. 

Both Jim and Janice ultimately suffered for this Starfleet rule; and as an interesting parallel, the original series itself suffered due to this production rule. 

The episode looks sexist now, maybe even then -- but back then it dared to touch on several controversial gender topics and socio-cultural elephants in the room that very few had the gall or interest in tackling on a public platform at that time.

I’m not saying the episode isn’t inherently sexist or misogynist in nature, but I am saying that there is more to offer here than what is glaringly obvious at surface level. 

[olafur-neal]

The only thing that Nu!Trek has done wrong is somehow convince new fans that Star Trek hasn’t always been absolutely ridiculous. So accidental dilithium babies are absolutely A Thing™️.

Star Trek has given us:

Mobsters in space

Actual Nazis in space

Giant Green Hands in space

Greek Gods in space

Q stopping the enterprise with a giant chain link fence

HOLODECK EPISODES (none of them have added anything to continuity except maybe Hologram Rights)

The OK Corral...

Aliens that somehow spoke to whales on earth with absolutely no discernible technology or satellite system of broadcasting here on earth. The whales just did that...

And of course Gene Roddenberry being absolutely convinced that anyone would take the Ferengi as actual serious villains.

Note this isn’t about gatekeeping. This is me pointing out that there have been more ridiculous storylines and scenarios that we’ve had to endure in the 50+ years of Trek. The mobster planet was hand waved by explaining that their entire culture was shaped by a crappy noir novel someone left behind. So an epigenetically mutated fetus becoming attuned to subspace radiation destroying dilithium in the entire galaxy is definitely not the worst story arc I’ve ever seen on Star Trek.

[anotheruserwithnoname]

When did you start writing fan fiction? And why did you decide to start?

My earliest fan fiction that I recall was written back in 1984-1985. I was in high school at the time. I wrote a Star Trek, I also did one based on Modesty Blaise (a story that, incredibly, was a mashup with, of all things, a Kurt Vonnegut novel - now there’s a combination for you!). I actually got one published in a literary magazine that was based upon Leslie Charteris’ The Saint (Simon Templar), though I changed the name and the inspiration was pretty superficial. I think I started writing fanfic as a response to/protest against what the other kids were writing in the creative writing and English classes - my memory is that they were mostly either stories set “on the farm” (which was ridiculous since none of the kids I went to school with had any connection to agriculture), or were variants of what I called “woe is me” or “dead grandparent” stories. And I remember being told “write only about stuff you’ve experienced” which I considered not only creatively stifling, it sort of cut off sci-fi and fantasy as I assume Tolkien never actually went hunting for treasure guarded by a fire-breathing dragon, Gene Roddenberry never captained a starship and fought Klingons, and Rod Serling never lived on an asteroid with a gynoid that resembled Jean Marsh (as one of his characters did in the very first filmed Twilight Zone episode). I remember in second-year university I got into an argument with my writing instructor that I didn’t want to write in the “dead grandparents” genre considering my actual grandmother was dying of cancer at the time and I saw writing as an escape from what was happening to me in the real world.

I also wrote original stories in high school, of course don’t get be wrong, but I always enjoyed doing the fanfic more, even before I ever heard the term (and years before I first got on the Usenet newsgroups and was able to read people’s works). In 1993, I wrote a script for Star Trek Deep Space Nine and actually submitted it to Paramount (back in those days they accepted fan-written scripts and even produced a couple; I actually learned a lot about scriptwriting from that exercise. And no, the story isn’t going to show up on AO3. It wasn’t that hot.). That was pretty much the last bit of serious fiction writing I did before I spent the next 23 years focusing on journalism, a different beast entirely, but one that led me to do so much writing, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was to do more writing. So fiction writing went by the wayside for many years.

Fast-forward more than 20 years. After Series 9 ended (December 2015), and while still recovering from the Raven Trilogy, I began reading This is Yesterday, a serialized post-Hell Bent Twelve-Clara reunion novel on Archive of Our Own. The novel (still a work in progress as of early 2018, though nearing its conclusion) sparked something and inspired me to try writing my own Whouffaldi stories. So, when I wasn’t hustling for freelance journalism work, I spent six weeks plugging away on a story that ended up being the novella Time Bomb, which I uploaded in April 2016. I have mixed feelings about the quality of the piece, and someday I’d like to do a top-to-bottom revision, but it got my foot in the door and I got enough encouragement to keep writing. 53 stories later and counting (and with at least a dozen more story ideas residing in a folder ranging from single-sentence concepts to more than 12,000 words of one story I wrote before I put it aside because other stories wanted to be told. Oh and there’s also the story I still want to tell someday involving Twelve, Clara, Three, Jo Grant, UNIT and  … TV detective Frank Cannon?) and I’m still going.

Why do I keep doing it? Primarily for myself. I think ultimately that’s what writers should do - write for themselves and if other people like what they do, that’s fantastic; I appreciate the comments and kudos I get. I write also for relaxation and my original attitude about it being an escape for me still stands, perhaps even moreso than ever. With fanfic I determine the destiny of the characters I choose to write about, and I have the freedom to follow - or ignore - what others have done. That’s the real power of fanfic.

[thechurchillreview]

Contains SPOILERS for Doctor Who and Season 2 of Broadchurch.  

Imy Comic by Irma Ericksson. 

http://www.imycomic.com/the-cartoonist/

Images/Gifs from Doctor Who (2005-), Black Mirror (2011-), Attack the Block (2011), and Broadchurch (2013-2017). The humorous Fem-Agenda List from comedian and late night show Full Frontal host Samantha Bee. Tweets from Johnathan Pyror and Mackenzie Lee. 

I’ve being going through some life-changing stuff. I moved and got a place with roomies. Not done transporting possessions yet. Working somewhere else. Dealt with car issues. A lot has occurred. :) 

Hence why this has taken considerably longer to type, edit, and post than I originally envisioned over a month ago. XD 

On Sunday July 16th 2017,  the long-running BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who starring a time and universe traveling body shifting Gallifreyan Time Lord made the announcement that a woman would play the longtime exclusive to men portrayal character next. Alongside companions, the Doctor is the true definition (not the derogatory kind) of a Social Justice Warrior. The Doctor assists civilizations, helps people, tries to alter certain events in time, and clashes against all types of enemies. The most famous among them being the Daleks, of course. 

There’s been twelve Doctors (Well, thirteen if John Hurt’s War Doctor is counted...Doesn’t seem to be though. Since Jodie isn’t labeled as the 14th Doctor. ) played by men since the series inception back in 1963. The original run lasted until 1989, the revival of the show began in 2005. Doctor Who was created by C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson, and Sydney Newman. Producer Verity Lambert, story editor David Whitaker, and writer Anthony Coburn also contributed to the development of the series that would eventually become Doctor Who. In 1986, Newman wrote to BBC Chairman Michael Grade, "At a later stage, Doctor Who should be metamorphosed into a woman. This requires some considerable thought — mainly because I want to avoid a flashy, Hollywood Wonder Woman because this kind of heroine with no flaws is a bore. Given more time than I have now, I can create such a character."

So, over three decades (839 episodes, one TV movie, four charity specials, multiple specials, and two animated serials) later, Newman’s words are realized under Broadchurch creator and new Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall (with the departure of Steven Moffat). At the end of 2017, the current Doctor incarnation actor Peter Capaldi portrays will be replaced by Jodie Whittaker following the Regeneration process. This decision is is merely another form of change: a significant theme pertaining to the Doctor’s character as a whole.

On top of that, in the 1999 Red Nose Day telethon episode Doctor Who: The Curse of the Fatal Death was the first time the doctor was a woman (Joanna Lumley). In the audio drama Doctor Who Unbound Exile which is free from the restraints of continuity  released in 2003 actor Arabella Weir played the Doctor. During the 9th Doctor’s run, it was revealed that the Doctor was bisexual even though the character rejected Jackie Tyler’s advances in “The Parting of Ways”. The Doctor flirted with Jack Harkness, proposing to dance with in the episode “Doctor Dances” whilst promising to give him what Rose Tyler had with Mickey Smith should Jack purchase him a drink. Captain Jack Harkness and River Song are characters both from the 51st century where pansexuality is the norm. Companion Clara Oswin Oswald has been in a relationship with a man but mentions kissing women too. When the 11th Doctor touches his hair following the completion of the 10th’s Regeneration process, the character says, “I’m a girl. No, no. I’m not a girl. And still not ginger.” This suggests that a the Doctor could be a woman. In the 2011 episode “The Doctor’s Wife” Neil Gaiman wrote from over six years ago, the Time Lord Corsair is mentioned and it is divulged that Corsair had a Regeneration that switched him into a her. In the 2013 mini-episode “The Night of the Doctor”, the Sisterhood of Karn (first appearance was in The Brain of Morbius that aired in 1976) asks the Doctor what Regeneration is desired (“Fat or thin, young or old, man or woman?” “Fast or strong, wise or angry, what do you need now?”): ultimately Paul McGann’s 8th Doctor wishes to be a “warrior” and is transformed into the War Doctor (portrayed by the late and incredibly great John Hurt). Since the show’s 2005 revival, an infamous Time Lord villain known as The Master went from being solely men into a woman named Missy (Michelle Gomez) after an off-screen Regeneration took place.  

Change is important for the purposes of bringing a fresh angle to an established accepted formula whilst having potential narrative merit, symbolizing growth, modern day relevance, and validation to something existing. How change is navigated, utilized, or coped with is equally as important. Each Regeneration leads to viewers, writers, showrunners, and cast members  having to accept that a previous version of the Time Lord is gone. “No more.” Their look, personality, memories, relationships, mannerisms, and whatever else gets scrambled into something entirely different post-Regeneration.

Likewise, the companions of the Doctor go through switcheroos often as well. Some leave us furious. Sad. Perhaps even glad.

My point is that we’re resist to change. Struggle with it. Less of a fan as a result. Which is understandable. However, when a certain demographic has been catered to for decades, altering this comes with a price. To be candid, I find the reactionary backlash a tad odd and chuckle-inducing. As if the time-traveling alien Doctor was ever defined by masculinity before. If that’s your chief defining attribute of the Doctor then I legitimately feel sorry for you. The Doctor represents more than a man or a woman and that’s why this beloved character has obtained a prestigious status among fictional creations. 

This is the inherent beauty of science fiction. Close to infinite possibilities at one’s creative fingertips are there. That’s why Daisy Ridley’s Rey being a protagonist and an in training Jedi (General Leia Organa never got this despite her mighty connection to the Force) within the new Star Wars flicks is a big deal. Nichelle Nichols’ Lieutenant Uhura from Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek was historical by being the first African-American not to play a servant on American television. Did you know that Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. asked her to remain on Star Trek when she thought about leaving in the late 60s? “For the first time on television, we [people of African descent] will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people who can sing and dance, yes, but who can go into space, who can be lawyers and teachers, who can be professors — who are in this day, yet you don’t see it on television until now." Nichols would further influence Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, directly cited Star Trek in her decision making. Additionally, Nichols’ Uhura would serves as a role model to Star Trek: The Next Generation Guinan actor Whoopi Goldberg ("I just saw a black woman on television; and she ain't no maid!") too. Should I list all of the ways in which Charlize Theron’s Furiosa of Mad Max: Fury Road and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman have contributed to the more inclusive than most genre?

The casting choice of actor Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor bothered me from the get-go. Since Peter Capaldi had already been on the series via the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) episode “The Fires of Pompeii” as Caecilius. Not too long after that Peter would be in the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood: Children of Earth as John Frobisher too. Capaldi took over the role of the Doctor from Smith in 2013. Why the Doctor’s facial appearance is similar to Caecilus was eventually addressed in the 2015 episode “The Girl Who Died”. For whatever reason I’ve been unable to decipher, I’ve just never clicked with Capaldi’s Doctor. On the other hand, I am still grieving a tremendous loss...Which is actor Pearl Mackie’s SDCC announcement she’s leaving the companion position this December. Meaning I do have some level of viewership enjoyment with Capaldi due to Bill’s accompaniment with him.

I’m sincerely going to miss her.

In short, what has been hinted at in the past will become reality this December. No one’s being blindsided, I’d argue. Not about being PC either. These seeds were clearly being planted prior to.

Yes, this a holiday present I’m fondly looking forward to. Especially after seeing Jodie Whittaker’s nuanced performance as Beth Latimer in Chris Chibnall’s Broadchurch. Or Jodie’s role in the Black Mirror (a dark genius sci-fi series courtesy of Charlie Brooker) episode “The Entire History of You.” Psst, the entirety of Black Mirror is on Netflix...There’s even an episode that warned about a candidate like Donald Trump rising to power. I’d be remiss not to type about Whittaker being in the cult science fiction hit film Attack the Block (2011) as well. All of that she’s done deserves to be seen. That’s what I’ve been re-doing in anticipation actually!

With both Peter Capaldi’s and Steven Moffat’s tenures with Doctor Who coming to a personally welcomed close, my ranking of excitement is considerably lofty I must admit. We’ve needed an overhaul for awhile now. The long awaited for revolution of making the protagonist Time Lord a woman next brings a fresh dynamic to Doctor Who. I reckon she won’t be able to coast or take some things for granted like previous incarnations did. The involvement of Chris Chibnall and the inclusion of Jodie Whittaker has me ridiculously psyched for Doctor Who’s future. I believe both of them will positively contribute to the series with their injection of needed new. I even feel compelled to finally watch Doctor Who again in a strangely devoted fashion (something I haven’t done in years) versus sporadic glances at the telly throughout Capaldi’s run.

[anselm0]

Novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture

I knew this was going to be Something, and it sure is.

I’m not the first to remark on it, but that sure is a gay pride flag on the cover of this book/movie. A quick google reveals that the pride flag debuted in 1978, while TMP was released 1979, which by no means proves intent, but those are facts of general interest I’m going to share here.

Two things: 

LOVE INSTRUCTOR???? Her FIRST, no less??? what

Why am I being subjected to Roddenberry’s writing exercise of reviewing his own tv show while in character of one of the characters on said show

One actual thing that we learn from Kirk’s preface is that there are apparently two varieties of humans, the original flavor and then the super cool Crystal Pepsi humans who are wicked smart and pretty insufferable about it. Also not in Crystal Pepsi humans’ favor is that they SUCK at space travel because they can’t “help but be seduced eventually by the higher philosophies, aspirations, and consciousness levels” they encounter in aliens and doing a bunch of disappearances, defections, and mutinies as a result. So the moral of the story is we need humans too stupid or stubborn to want to be better to drive the space planes, I guess. 

I also find this amusing. The editor’s note on this line from “Kirk” is that he’s being modest, because he did a great five year deep space mission. ~~Kirk begs to differ, though: 

I also liked TOS, imaginary editor, but 94 deaths in five years of peaceful exploration is not an amazing statistic. Anyway, Kirk’s annoyed at how he and his five year mission got portrayed by the guy they sent to record it, what does that asshole have to say for himself?

what. is. happening. 

Look. I am all for world-building. But this is ridiculous. What kind of false modesty self-dragging self-insert Bolshevism

We are, by the way, only 11 pages in, and the story hasn’t even started officially. This will be the longest long post.

Chapter One opens with Kirk getting a semi-telepathic message from Starfleet that is the opening scene of TMP in which the space cloud zaps some Klingon ships.

Yeah, I can see where the public concern over this policy would come from, imaginary editor. It is bananas, and I hope consigned to a quiet ‘canon? never heard of her’ retcon. Imagine if this were still the case when the Borg came. Who could have guessed that having technological access to the brains of all the top brass in the Federation’s first and only major defense force might be, like, a bad idea!!!!!

It’s also a POINTLESS idea, because after getting the message, Kirk goes to a signal station to call Starfleet because he can’t reply (a design flaw) and also he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do with this information because he didn’t get any instructions (why send classified info to people who don’t need to act on it???), and they just show the same scene to him again when he’s there. 

Before that happens, however, Kirk gets put on hold long enough to think thoughts and feel feelings he “had not permitted himself to admit” to himself. Like all former greats, he hates his desk job. He took it for reasons, despite this amazingly persuasive case against doing so:

We get it, you’re a Real Man. 

Literally the entire medical profession apparently agreed with McCoy that a desk job would be bad for Kirk, but Starfleet wanted him to be their posterchild of awesomeness for all those frickin’ Crystal Pepsi humans wondering if Starfleet is even necessary (why they would care about low intellectual ability Kirk is a mystery left unaddressed), so they made sure Kirk was persuaded to accept against medical advice. 

The way they did this was a combination of his sense of duty and a sexy lady. Of course. Sexy lady (Vice Admiral Lori Ciani, spelled Ciana in all subsequent mentions) is in fact the one Kirk gets connected to once Starfleet takes him off hold. Lori always gets his blood pumping, what with her “unusually large eyes and the slim, youthful angularity in her arms and legs” that “always reminded [Kirk] of a fawn’s wild grace and innocence”, even though he knows she’s actually a freak in the sheets. Oh, and she’s also smart and a great officer or whatever, her lips caress his name whenever she says it, he can almost smell “her body fragrance” and Kirk’s getting hard.

I wish I was exaggerating.

There are a number of concerning things here that I think McCoy should turn his attention to instead of whether Kirk can survive at a desk job. Are relationships one year contracts in the future? That seems like a bad idea.

Kirk has a paranoid fantasy that Admiral Nogura manipulated Lori Ciana into contracting sex/mothering/friendship with him and is pretty sure that Nogura told her to talk to him now to make sure he does what Starfleet wants again. 

I’m tired already.

It is not clear to me if she acts like he expects her to if his paranoid fantasy was real. In any case, the conspiracy theory and THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER was all for nothing because Kirk just goes to Nogura’s office and convinces him to give him command of the Enterprise.

On a more pleasant note, there was a chapter in the middle of all Kirk’s nonsense of Spock’s POV. He’s at Gol trying to achieve Kolinahr and he gets distracted by what seems to be the space cloud momentarily linking his and Kirk’s minds. Spock is shook and “knew in this instant that the human half of him was far from extinguished. That half had simply been capable of human guile and had learned to hide itself even from his own notice. He had foolishly and carelessly underestimated it and believed it to be gone. But like the enemy it had always been, his human half had merely lain in wait in order to assault him while he was defenseless.” 

MY POOR BB

Anyway, Kirk’s on his way to the Enterprise and once again thinking thoughts.

I’m going to guess that Kirk is not a great boyfriend.

There are several things going on here, none of them good or pleasing. 

There are some really uncomfortable descriptors for Sulu and Uhura, which are unnecessary in addition to being offensive because we all know what they look like. We know Sulu is Asian, so you don’t have to call him “the Asian romantic,” or really modify any descriptor of him to remind us that he’s Asian. Uhura initially has “classically lovely features,” which is okay, I guess, but then she has a “fine-boned Bantu face.” Um. 

There are some weird descriptors of Will Decker, too, who Kirk is coming to demote and summarily replace, but the worst one is this one, Scotty’s perspective on Kirk pulling Decker aside to tell him he’s being demoted:

My face is a rictus of horror. 

The description of the transporter accident is quite gruesome and Good. We all know the fate of the unfortunate Commander Sonak, but Roddenberry now reveals that the second person was sexy lady trap Lori Ciana!! Kirk inexplicably took over the transporter controls to try to save them her, but isn’t familiar with their new configuration, and is guilt-stricken by the uncertainty that their deaths might have been prevented by someone like Decker, who really knows the new Enterprise. Also, nobody knows why she was there.

FUCK YOU

I’ve been very negative so far. The novelization actually does a lot better than the movie does in conveying Kirk’s disorientation with the new ship and how much he’s second-guessing his fitness for command, despite his insistence before that he was the only one who could do this. On the other hand, he doesn’t realize that he should PUT DECKER BACK IN COMMAND. 

Oh, he makes Decker the science officer in addition to the executive officer because he won’t accept a different science officer in replacement of Sonak who isn’t Vulcan. Apparently there’s no replacement for a Vulcan science officer.     .   .   .        He immediately begins worrying that he’s overloading Decker with responsibilities. JUST MAKE BETTER CHOICES INSTEAD OF WORRYING ABOUT BAD ONES.

Hey, you know that dumb scene in TMP where all the crew gets together in an empty room to once again watch the Klingon ships get destroyed and since it’s a rehash, everybody spends it wondering why Starfleet has like eighteen different uniform designs in unflattering cuts and colors? Roddenberry knows we all think it’s dumb and has some strong words in response:

lol

Apparently that room is the “rec deck,” which is the largest interior space in a starship ever designed. Some people think it’s wasteful but real space veterans know that the rec deck is where “the most vital of the ship’s mechanisms [are] kept in peak operating efficiency through music, song, games, debate, exercise, competition, friendship, romance, [and] sex.” There were definitely regular public orgies on the five year mission, weren’t there. 

Thirty-one people bail after seeing the Klingon ships bite it, which seems like a thing that they shouldn’t be able to do?? Also, what was the point of all that secrecy with the secret implant for telepathic transmission of classified information if Kirk’s just going to show it to several hundred people who are free to leave if they want to?????

I know TMP gets shit for being The Motionless Picture, but you really have to read the novelization to grasp the complete lack of plot points. It’s EIGHTY pages before Lieutenant Ilia arrives. The book is 250 pages long. 

Uhura has some kind of Tone when she tells the bridge that Ilia is Deltan and Kirk rebukes her, “And there are no finer navigators in Starfleet, Commander.” 

This is a weird species whose major defining features are overwhelming sexual pheromones and a GREAT sense of direction.

Kirk immediately regrets chastising Uhura since she’s “the last one who needed instruction in diversity from him.” IS THE FUTURE RACIST OR NOT, GENE

Sulu seems not to know what a Deltan is, even though all the other TOS officers do, so I don’t know how that happened. I got my hopes up for ONE SECOND when he didn’t seem to care but he is affected by her allure after all. Stand down, gays. 

Kirk clocks the obvious clues that Ilia and Decker were involved before, and starts finding ways to make it his business. 

Sure, Jan.

Anyway, the ship leaves the orbital dock in a looooong and boring chapter, then spends another chapter flying past Jupiter at IMPULSE. Thank Jupiter and Zeus we did not have to sit through the slow ride from hell through the solar system. 

Some random things we learn in the meantime (a lot of meantime!!):

McCoy is a hippie who dislikes surgery and medicine, preferring to just berate people into healing themselves or whatever. I now see why starships would need ship’s counselors but there would be absolutely no Xanax or beta-blockers for the Reg Barclays of the future.

There are body scanners incorporated into all the new uniforms, which constantly transmit biodata to the medical bay. This was always a part of the costume design (it’s in those super ugly belt buckles!) but never mentioned or actually used to my recollection in TMP. It’s also not a thing in future Trek series, presumably because it would be boring to not have medical emergencies.

Chapel went on the five-year mission with a PhD and now has her MD! GIVE HER SOMETHING TO DO

McCoy resigned from Starfleet because Admiral Nogura would not heed his medical opinion that Kirk is a Manly Man who needs to be doing Manly Things out in space instead of working a desk job. 

Immediately after this reveal, Roddenberry reinforces how scientific it is by having Chapel say, “deprivation of [starship command] produced physical and emotional symptoms remarkably like those associated with narcotic withdrawal.” Okay!!

We only refer to Ilia as “the Deltan navigator” now.

“The so-called mutant-farm civilizations of pre-history had known [humans aren’t alone in the universe] of course, but their information had been a gift and not the result of human labor and growth.” W H A T 

What do these words mean

FEELS racist??? idk idk

also this:

What a piece of information to just casually drop with no followup whatsoever!

Roddenberry is basically masturbating himself and Kirk about how great it is that he’s back. Having Kirk command the Enterprise again is

“like Lazarus stepping out into the sunlight” plz

so spiritually moving that Decker is suddenly feeling fine about being inexplicably demoted (couldn’t Kirk have just been an admiral still? and Decker a captain?) and removed from command

By the way, Kirk apparently didn’t officially take command until moments before they left orbital dock, which feels wrong to me?? There were eleven hours where he was giving all the orders but had no official jurisdiction or responsibility for the consequences. Starfleet needs better command protocol.

making Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov ecstatically happy, a fact that Kirk somehow knows from looking at their faces despite not seeing any of them in years and having done nothing but demand the ship be launched before being properly tested or configured for warp and against the advice of his first officer and chief engineer omg you idiot

Kirk then orders them to go to warp agains the advice of his first officer and chief engineer, accidentally creating a wormhole the ship falls into along with an asteroid that nearly destroys them because Kirk doesn’t know how the phasers work on his new ship. Kirk then gets shirty with Decker when Decker factually states that Kirk doesn’t know what he’s doing and Decker does, and knowing things was useful in that it saved the ship being blown up by a series of stupid choices. GREAT FIRST DAY

Again, I do think the book is doing a good job of conveying Kirk’s motivation of scrambling to relive his glory days and his willful blindness to the consequences, but I don’t know how we’re going to get to a point where we’re actually happy this guy gets to be in command of a starship for another five movies. McCoy does call him out on his nonsense, but I don’t see him learning or growing at all yet and can’t foresee it from what I know of what plot is coming next.

Speaking of plot developments

SPOCK!!!

First of all, “severe black robe” is underselling one of the best looks ever served to my undeserving eyes. Second, no sooner has Spock stepped back on the bridge than everyone starts dropping serious hints about his relationship with Kirk. I mean

subtle!!

Spock is not a happy bunny, though. Everyone is happy to see him again - it’s been so long and Scotty’s so excited he apparently forgets that you don’t touch Vulcans? - but Spock’s ignoring them. As soon as he can, he finds a place to meditate.

Roddenberry wants to make absolutely sure we know that the Enterprise is a nonstop fuckfest. Consider me informed!

Spock needs to meditate because he was way too excited to see Kirk again. He’s pretty whatever about everyone else (”humanly human” McCoy and Chapel “with her bizarre and impossible fantasies of one day pleasuring him” ick) but his t’hy’la is a different story.  I MEAN!!!!

He has to go to a meeting with Kirk and McCoy (who’s now monitoring Kirk’s behavior re: his unfitness for command) and we get this little gem about the officer’s lounge:

I know it’s supposed to be a utopia but come on. 

WINK

They’ve established there’s some kind of intelligence in the space cloud that Spock can telepathically link with when the first probe arrives and injures Chekov. Chapel comes to treat him but she can’t do anything for him. Ilia does...something vaguely telepathic that usually happens during Deltan sex to make him feel pleasure instead of pain and you know what, I’m going to choose to not read into this. It does seem weird that Starfleet has extremely strict regulations about allowing Deltans to serve due to their pheromones but telepathy is A-okay. 

We learn during the probe’s visit that the only console hooked into the ship’s main computer and Starfleet databases is the science station’s, which seems pretty unbelievable. There isn’t even an uplink for centralized record keeping about course changes and phaser discharges? 

Ilia disappears and Kirk is surprised how much he cares. They did meet just today but SHE IS YOUR CRACK NAVIGATOR why wouldn’t you be upset! Her replacement comes up as they’re getting pulled into the space cloud and she’s also good; Kirk thinks, “There might be something about her worth remembering.” I’m concerned that Roddenberry doesn’t seem to realize how unlikeable he’s making Kirk. 

See the entire sequence where the Ilia probe arrives:

Gross.

Kirk does spend a lot of time thinking that Deltan pheromones don’t affect Vulcans and that Spock is annoyingly unmoved, but that’s just guys being dudes. 

Probe Ilia remembers Decker, so Kirk tells him to use that to try to establish productive communication with Vger. I know it’s spelled Vejur but that’s dumb. It’s Vger. V’ger if you’re nasty. Anyway, Kirk was making this traumatic assignment about him and his awesome sexual prowess. 

But he’s not done!! How could this sequence possibly end WITHOUT Kirk creeping on his first officer trying to fuck an alien probe!!!!

It’s completely normal! Look, Decker even expects it!

Decker is Manfully frustrated that his Manliness isn’t working on the probe. Kirk and McCoy are armchair quarterbacking this like the fans of weird sexual encounters they are. Chapel comes in to make a good suggestion and McCoy condescends to her, of course. There’s some worldbuilding around Deltan sexuality which seems to be just that there are psychic connections involved that make regular, non-psychic sex boring for humans afterward. Okay? I thought it was going to be something much weirder. Again, I don’t know why THIS makes Deltans have to take celibacy oaths to be in Starfleet but non-sexual telepathic actions are totally fine. 

This is all going on while the Enterprise is in the cloud, so they take a break from creeping on Decker and the Ilia probe to go to the bridge and have Kirk condescend to Uhura about how to do her job. Look, I don’t want to get into a whole thing about Kirk’s virtues as a commander but he is not better at Uhura’s job than she is. PLEASE give her something to do other than be impressed with Kirk.

Around page 209 (out of 250) we finally get a chapter from V’ger’s POV and it is legitimately Good. If Gene Roddenberry was capable of writing science fiction without obsessing over future sexuality, this book would be so much better. 

There are fewer than 40 pages left by the time we get to the iconic sickbay scene. 

This book is so weirdly paced. If you’re going to write about future sex, please let it be between the characters we actually care about!! For example!!!!!! But no, we get Decker and Ilia-probe, which may actually be Ilia’s psyche in a mechanical casing? Unclear, but Decker is pretty convinced.

Gross.

The rest of it is basically exactly the same as the movie: they get to V’ger and figure out it’s Voyager and respond with the correct code, but V’ger refuses to acknowledge it. Decker and Ilia somehow become noncorporeal entities joined with V’ger. It’s not clear how this is possible, but whatever. Kirk is, like, mildly regretful about the absolute shitshow this mission turned into and the fact that he lost two good officers to a space cloud, but he’s not torn up about it. He got his ship back! And he has no fear that it will be taken away again because he caused half the shitshow! In true Star Trek fashion, there is literally ZERO discussion of where V’ger, who is a perambulating cloud as wide across as a small solar system, is going to go now instead of Earth bc that’s a somebody else problem.

The end.

[sunshine-captain]

do you have any good star trek novel recommendations? (tos please!!)

Yes! I do! I’ve been meaning to make a post about this for…so long, whoops, but I’ll answer this ask instead! (might still make the post someday, idk tbh. I probably should though because since I have so many Trek books I haven’t read yet, I might like more enough to rec them, haha.) Okay, anyway… (By TOS I assume you mean the original Enterprise crew, I hope it’s okay that not all of these actually take place during TOS, aka the five year mission.)

Sarek by A. C. Crispin You might have seen me mention this one the other day on my blog; I really love it. It takes place post TUC, Amanda is dying and Sarek is uncovering a plot that’s way bigger than anyone realizes at first… Also there’s some stuff about Jim’s nephew Peter (from the episode with the farting flying pancake aliens? lol.) and yeah, it’s a great read. All the parts with Sarek and Amanda are lovely and sad and the plot is interesting and it’s just all around enjoyable.Definitely recommend.

Collision Course by William Shatner This is the other one I mentioned on my blog already, and this one is probably my favorite Trek novel. Spock is nineteen and Jim is seventeen when they first meet, and they’re both too smart for their own good and get into trouble and…well, all the things you expect from Jim and Spock. It was originally supposed to be the first in a series, but for various reasons, there probably won’t be any more (CRIES) but this one is so good. And it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger so it’s okay. I especially enjoyed tbh how Bill appreciates what an effect Tarsus would have had on Jim (this is only three years later, after all) and it’s still very visible on lil’ Jim. Not a spoiler, bc a reference is made to Tarsus on…literally the very first page. Lol. Anyway, this one is really fun and sometimes sad (bc Tarsus) and just really great! Also, at least one of the plot twists genuinely surprised me, which is rare… I normally see them coming a mile off in Trek novels. ;) (Which doesn’t usually take away from my enjoyment, tbh!) But I really appreciate when they can surprise me.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (novelization) by Gene Roddenberry You knew this was coming. This is an absolute must read if you’re a Spirk fan, tbh. I’m not all the way through with it so far, about halfway done, but I can tell you it’s a much better way of telling the story of TMP than TMP. Lol. The movie has this simple feeling and Jim rushing to Spock on the bridge and saying his name like a prayer and other things, but it also has all those dreadful special effect sequences. And the novel has its own gay to offer. I don’t necessarily agree with the way Gene wrote Jim (in fact, it’s been forever since I picked it up but I distinctly remember being bothered by it), but…yeah, at least borrow a copy from someone and witness the gay parts for yourself, haha.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (novelization) by Vonda McIntyre I’m going to go ahead and say right now that if you’re going to read the novelizations, go for the ones by Ms. (Mrs? idk) McIntyre. She wrote 2, 3, and 4. I haven’t read 3 yet, but I have read 2 and 4 and I like that she actually adds in scenes and stuff that weren’t in the movies. It makes me feel like I’m actually getting something additional for my time even though I’m reading a novelization of a movie I’ve already seen. I like this one, because there was quite a bit that wasn’t in the movie (I have a hunch the extra scenes, at least some of them, might be based on the script? because the scene with Sulu’s great….something or other grandfather as a child meeting Sulu is in the book, and I know they tried to put that in the movie but never managed to. anyway.) But yeah, there’s actual stuff in there that’s not in the movie! that’s the way it should be. Also…she ships Saavik/David pretty clearly. :P Like I said, haven’t read TSS novel yet, but I know she was working it into 2, and it’s mentioned in 4 as a thing. Anyway…good stuff! This is the one where the whole “Vulcans get drunk on chocolate” thing comes from btw :))) (Avoid the novelizations by JM Dillard! Avoid!!! I’ve read them and they’re not good.) (Oh and pretty much everything I’ve read by Vonda McIntyre I’ve enjoyed, she’s a good Trek writer.)

Dwellers In The Crucible by Margaret Wander Bonnano Margaret Bonnano is another writer I just generally recommend bc I like all the stuff by her that I’ve read, too. Anyway… okay so let me say that this book’s main characters are not Jim and Spock. I know, I know. But wait!! It’s so worth a read!! Jim and Spock are in it, not much, but when they are they’re literally so married and explicitly confirmed to be t’hy’la… :)) it’s great. okay anyway. The main characters are a human named Cleante and a Vulcan named T’Shael. They are ladies. THEY ARE GAY AF. OKAY. THAT ALONE MAKES IT WORTH A READ. it’s so glorious.I mean the book only says they’re friends but…in the same way Jim and Spock are friends in canon. they’re super freaking gay. and also there are like a thousand incredibly obvious parallels between our human and vulcan lady and Jim and Spock. it’s fun. also Sulu goes undercover as a Romulan. :D yeah, just…read it. it’s great. (it made me angry at one point. I’m still angry. but I recommend it.)

Ishmael by Barbara Hambly This one was, for me at least, just a genuinely good read. I really enjoyed the plot. So…Spock goes back in time to 1867, not willingly I don’t think. And he gets amnesia. So right there are two tropes I ADORE (time travel and amnesia, I don’t care, I LOVE THEM.) He lands in North America, in Seattle if I remember correctly. And that’s the plot pretty much. Haha…okay, there’s a Klingon plot, the Enterprise crew searching for Spock, Spock trying to adapt and hide he’s an alien while bonding with the members of the community he lands in. Also Jim and Spock’s reunion is a bit gay. (Warning for spoilers if you click that? it’s pictures of when they find him near the end, so. Yeah.) I just really enjoyed the book in itself, the plot and everything. Fun!

Enterprise: The First Adventure by Vonda McIntyre In light of the tv series called Enterprise, the title of this one might be a little confusing… But it’s most definitely TOS and has nothing to do with Enterprise, haha. The premise is that it’s the first voyage of the Enterprise with Jim as the captain. And the mission is…to transport a theater troupe. It’s ridiculous and so silly, I know, but it’s really fun. There’s a winged horse, a really un-Vulcan Vulcan (I think he’s Spock’s cousin? I don’t really remember tbh), Spock heckling the theater troop, Uhura being a good friend to Janice…that’s all I remember off the top of my head, but I remember really enjoying it when I read it! 

Unspoken Truth by Margaret Wander Bonanno Remember what I said about those two writers? Lol. Okay so this is a Saavik-centric book. I really love Saavik, okay? So, as you might know, Saavik is half Vulcan, half Romulan. Well in this book (actually, in a bunch of books, by at least three different writers, it seems to be her accepted backstory in the novels) she was the result of a terrible experiment by Romulans, and when it didn’t work out, she and a bunch of other children were abandoned on a planet called Hellguard, and…some really horrible things happen. Anyway, Spock saves her, mentors her, and Amanda and Sarek basically adopt her (literally, she calls them mother and father, IT’S MY FAVE), well anyway, years later, either after or during TVH, she learns things are happening to the survivors of Hellguard…and the story goes from there. This was really good! Intense tbh. I loved it, but then, I love Saavik. If you don’t like her… But if you do, you’ll enjoy this one!!!!

Doctor’s Orders by Diane Duane Diane Duane is another must read author. All her books are excellent. In all honestly, I don’t remember too much about the plot of this one, but I know I liked it! Dr. McCoy is like “you can’t make me take command on the bridge” and Jim is like “uh actually I CAN” so he does and of course on McCoy’s very first day watching over the bridge Jim goes AWOL and shit starts going down. Poor Bones. Also, there’s some crazy aliens in this one, but they’re interesting!

The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah This one has such misleading cover art, lmaooo. At least, the version I have. There might be others… Anyway. Patients at a hospital on Vulcan keep dying and stuff, and then Amanda is in trouble. Lots of Sarek and Spock and Jim and Bones interaction. It’s a good one. (It’s been soo long since I read this one, too, sorry. But again, I know I enjoyed it!)

Uhura’s Song by Janet Hagan I love the alien species in this one. They’re like giant cats, and I love cats. When I read it, I got really into the planet and the species and their culture. The plot is that an old friend of Uhura’s is from this planet, and they “exchanged songs”…songs are a big deal in their culture. Anyway, there’s a plague threatening everyone on the planet and humans, too, and they think a song might hold the key to curing the disease, so they all go down on the planet to try and find it.

Strangers From The Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno The plot to this one is…kind of hard to describe. Okay. So the parts with Jim and Spock go back and forth in time, part of the time being like, post-all the movies (I think) where they’re old friends (and really married, they’re just like. Margaret Bonanno has this way of inserting this really easy, casual intimacy they have with each other, and calling it friendship when OBVIOUSLY they’re married af, but either way I love it) and part of the time being very early on when Jim hasn’t been in command for long and he and Spock didn’t care much for each other (I mean personally I think they liked each other quite well from the start, but I’ll let it go, lol)… And then there’s a book. In the book. That everyone is reading and obsessed with and Jim starts reading it… It sounds weird, I know, but the book in the book is the story of the first time Vulcans came in contact with humans, long before the OFFICIAL first contact, it was when Vulcans crash landed on Earth and were discovered by some humans… I fucking love Vulcans, so that is obviously a great point of interest for me. Lol. Anyway when Jim reads the book he has nightmares, but then he discovers Spock has those nightmares, too, and it’s more than ‘just’ a book. Probably sounds bizarre but I really enjoyed it. ….and doesn’t every Trek plot EVER sound bizarre af when you try to describe it?

That’s all I’ve got right now!! This got so long I’M SO SORRY TBH BUT I HAD TO BE THOROUGH.

[sshbpodcast]

Shall I Compare S3 TNG to a Summer's Day?

by Ames

What a turnaround from the mishmashes that were season one and season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation! Season three makes up for all the Okonas you could throw at us with some seriously great writing, acting, design, and all the rest (though we're still not fully satisfied on the ice cream front).

In keeping with tradition, your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By have wrapped the season with our top and bottom three episodes (take a listen here for some bonus rankings with our special guest star: Mr. Mobile!). We've made all the hard decisions for you, and there were a number of photo finishes!

[images © CBS/Paramount]

Bottom Three Episodes

The struggle of picking the bottom three episodes this time around is that we wouldn't even have turned up our noses at them amidst the drek of the previous seasons. So just being kinda meh this season qualifies you for the naughty list. Here're some ittybitty lumps of coal:

“The Ensigns of Command”: Ames Plagued by bad acting and really distracting voiceovers alike, this episode was just too convoluted. The more you think about how so many colonists illogically survived and how annoying the Sheliak are, the worse it gets.

“The Offspring”: Caitlin Lal left a lot of us fairly cold and we didn't give much of a shit what her fate would be. Sorry, Data, but your child wasn't that great and you should feel not that great (because you totally have feels, dammit; stop pretending you don't!).

“Who Watches the Watchers”: Chris I don't know what Chris is on to have put this on his bottom list. He claims it's because of comparatively shoddy story development and poor execution of what could have been solid ideas, but personally I think he just wants attention.

“Captain's Holiday”: Jake This episode wasted both our and Picard's time with its Indiana Jones–style adventure story in Gene Roddenberry's erotic fantasy, I mean, on the pleasure planet Risa. And thanks, Vorgons, for creating a self-fulfilling prophecy; now Picard is his own grandpa.

“The High Ground”: Caitlin and Chris Just plain not a successful outing into the topic of terrorism. Asking the audience to sympathize with terrorists is one thing, but not justifying why we should be doing so is another when, at the end of the day, they're still terrorists!

“The Vengeance Factor”: Ames, Caitlin, and Jake We're usually pretty good at suspending our disbelief for sci-fi shenanigans, but there was only so far that we could follow Yuta's nonsensical plot before everything became just a little too convenient. Computer's got some great photoshopping skills though.

“Transfigurations”: Ames, Chris, and Jake Evidently, this is how someone on the writing staff thinks evolution works. It's just leveling up in a video game and selecting the "Orange Man" skin, right? This decision was so brickheaded they could only write their way out by using magic.

Top Three Episodes

Wow, was it hard to pick just three episodes to put at the top of the list! Such a strong season deserves a lot of praise and we had to cull a lot of winners to keep it to the creme de la creme. And the award goes to:

“Deja Q”: Ames There are straight up comedies that don't have the comic timing and sassafrass that Q does in human form. You'd think a mostly silly episode would topple over from the weight of its own ridiculousness, but this one handled it perfectly.

“The Enemy”: Caitlin Geordi and Bochra are just so damn cute together. They have so much more onscreen chemistry than Geordi and any of his ladyfriends, and we ship the hell out of it. Also Worf gets to subvert our expectations with some interesting character choices.

“Sins of the Father”: Chris The Klingon plots that deepen Worf's character and provide lots of stunning worldbuilding continue to be highlights of any season. We loved our introduction to Q'onoS and are on the edge of our seats to see how Worf's story arc continues to pan out.

“Who Watches the Watchers”: Jake To make up for Chris's misguided opinion above, Jake gives "Watchers" some love. It's a very interesting exploration of the Prime Directive that keeps upping the stakes and tells a complex story about the responsibilities of space travel. Take that, Chris!

“The Best of Both Worlds (Part I)”: Caitlin and Chris What a way to end the season! You get a whole lot of borg for your buck, and a cliffhanger that makes you have to fish your jaw out from where it dropped and rolled under the sofa. And did you see all that great borgified design work? Swoon!

“The Defector”: Ames and Jake The Romulans have made up for their lackluster presence in the first couple of seasons, and then some! Admiral Jarok had a well-written story that any spy novelist would kill for, complete with Klingon foreshadowing, a double-crossing, and a sad demise.

“Sarek”: Ames, Caitlin, Chris, and Jake It's been a while since all four of us agreed on something, and this one is worth the shared accolades. Mark Lenard gets a big pat on the back for bringing such chops to a returning guest role, but Patrick Stewart gets the blue ribbon for his heart-rending Vulcan meltdown.

By all accounts, the trend of great Trek episodes continues into the next season, so keep your sights here, be sure to keep listening, follow A Star to Steer Her By on Facebook and Twitter, and grab a chocolate sundae with Troi! We're bound to actually eat one sooner or later!

[tuanntuanntuann]

Iann had some time off, and he was alone in Tuah's home (or so he thought). Strangely, Iann realized it wasn't often that he was home alone at Tuah's so to speak. Not because Tuah didn't trust him or anything silly like that, but just that they just enjoyed spending time together so much, even spare time was spent together. Tuah was at the cafe, and that meant Iann was either doing his own work, or hanging at the cafe. But he'd slept in this morning after his spider-adventure with Nuadia, and woke up to a quiet house, a cold cup of coffee waiting for him (thank you Tuah, so considerate) and the rest of the day free. A free day. How often did that happen. Iann could've left the house but...found he didn't want to. He stretched out, pretended he lived here, for real-real. He drank his cold coffee, ate some breakfast, read some of Tuah's extensive library. After a few hours of reading, Iann got restless, and decided to explore. Some doors were locked, and Iann didn't try to break in. Others were open, but with some items of interest that kept Iann entertained. And then...he hit jackpot.

Tuah had just returned from spending the morning at Rein's. the nymph had wanted to tell him about something that he couldn't tell over a phone call or a text, so he obliged. Apparently, he had tried to perform at Nuadia's bar and had stormed off in a fit of nervousness. Tuah spent the rest of his morning trying to distract the nymph from his troubles and made breakfast for both of them before excusing himself once he felt Rein was feeling better. He stopped by the grocery store on the way back (they were out of milk, among other things), and started to put the things away once he returned. When he was about to go to their bedroom to check up on Iann, his ears picked up some rustling from the small room. Furrowing his brows together he made his way towards the room and found Iann in the room. Tuah pressed his lips trying very hard not to panic when Iann started to rummage his collection, instead opting to wrap his arms around Iann's waist and pressed his lips on his shoulder. "Is this your adventure for today, kasih?" he asked, his tone light and playful.

Iann did hear Tuah come home, smiling to himself that the vampire didn't holler for Iann's attention. Not in the way Iann did whenever he came home 'Tuah, Tuah, drop everything you're doing and come pay attention to me' was Iann's usual routine when he came home from some adventure or another. Tuah just came home and gently went about his business, sweetly patient, with all the time in the world. But Iann didn't feel the need to flee the room and pretend he wasn't there, because - well. The door /was/ unlocked, practically an open invitation for Iann to snoop. And besides, what Iann found there was almost unbearably adorable, and certainly nothing terrible. So when he felt Tuah's arms around his waist, Iann's smile got even wider. He leaned back against Tuah (how much did he love leaning all his weight against Tuah Arjuna) and turned slightly to look at him. Iann lifted up an extremely vintage 1970s Star Trek lunch kit - still in its packaging. "Oh honeycake. I knew you were a Trekkie, but I didn't realize I'd fallen in love with a...dun dun dun.../Collector/."

Tuah “Ha, ha. Very funny kasih.” Tuah rolled his eyes at the other’s teasing, taking the lunch set from Iann and placing it back onto the shelf. Inside the room there were rows upon rows of collectibles and DVDs of every episode of Star Trek both the original series and reboots, each item was handled carefully to preserve their quality. “They were much cheaper back in the days,” Tuah heaved a sigh, as if that explained the reason why he had so many vintage collection of the franchise that he loved so much (though that didn’t explain the newer collection that he had in the room, but he wasn’t about to argue his own logic). “Now that you know my secret, I can’t let you leave this house,” he threatened, though it failed spectacularly as a grin spread across his face as he pressed another soft kiss on Iann’s neck, and wherever he could reach.

Iann "You think I'm kidding! As one capital-C Collector to another - you've just added a whole new facet to yourself, Tuah Arjuna. Hm? I mean..." Iann turned in Tuah's arms to face him, but also to reach out and remove a perfectly preserved science officer Federation uniform, encased safely in a plastic coverslip. He held it up to Tuah. "If you have a pair of Vulcan ears, then you know what I need you to be for Halloween." Iann let Tuah anxiously take the suit away from Iann and put the suit back on the rack. But Iann caught Tuah's hand and pressed it palm to palm with his, in the Vulcan split-finger greeting. "In fact, it's already decided, Me, you, and a werewolf I know named Lara Kirk, she's a huge Trek fan too, hm? We're going to be the classic trio for Halloween. Please please please, you'd look so cute," Iann said, doing his multiple kisses on Tuah's face thing, which he always did when he wanted something. "My green-blooded goblin."

Tuah scrounged up his nose as he was kissed, trying to focus on what Iann was saying instead of getting side tracked (to which he found he often did whenever he was with Iann whenever they were in the privacy of their home), “Miss Kirk?” Tuah blinked a few times trying to recall if he had met this werewolf the other was referring to. “I’ve met her. We were, ah, transported into another world together.” He would have been excited to be transported to a world where elves and dwarves and orcs existed and there were space pirates and magic that he had never seen in this world if he and Lara weren’t running away from said pirates and being too preoccupied trying to get them safely back into their own world. “I’m assuming that Miss Kirk is going to dress as the Captain, so that would leave you to be the Doctor.” He didn’t even pause to consider how ridiculous he would look with pointed ears and shaved eyebrows, already on board with whatever Iann had planned for them. “I might have a full set of the trio’s costume somewhere in here.”

Iann "You need to tell me all about it," Iann said, eyebrows raising and eyes lighting up at the idea of Tuah and Kirk getting embroiled in something so fantastic. Tuah didn't have to tell him now, but Iann would be eager to listen later. It was one of those things he loved constantly reminding Tuah - that Iann /wanted/ to hear about Tuah. How his day was, who he met, what he did. It wasn't easy to convince Tuah that Iann was genuinely interested in these things, but Iann was slowly massaging the idea into Tuah's levels of comfort. He put his arms around Tuah's neck, resting his arms easily on his broad shoulders and rubbing their noses together. "Right and right. I'll have to practice muh Suhthern ahhhccent," he drawled out with a grin, laughing when Tuah very seriously stated he had all three uniforms somewhere here. "Mmm-hm. And you have the dollies too, so you can play out your own Star Trek episodes you wrote but never sent to Gene Roddenberry, right?" Iann couldn't help but tease. In truth, the reality was pretty incredible. Iann imagined Tuah in the 1960's, television still a black & white novelty, and Star Trek a show so unprecedented on American television...and Tuah /lived/ through that. Had he watched the show at the time, or discovered it years later? He was actually there, living through the three seasons as they aired on TV week after week, marveling at this revelation of outer space and aliens and a message of hope. It was all just so...Tuah. "Is Star Trek what got you interested in your first true love?" Iann asked, picking up a fan that looked suspiciously like Uhura's fan-dance fan, and coyly brushing it along Tuah's chest. "Outer space, I mean."

Tuah ‘s immediate response was ‘oh, there was nothing interesting’ and tried to steer Iann’s attention away from him, but he fought the impulse and decided to indulge Iann with his misadventure with Lara. “Well, it involves space pirates,” he said, smiling giddily at the treatment he received before pressing his lips against Iann’s own, “so I’ll definitely tell all about it, hm. Perhaps we can have Miss Kirk over at Bean Me Up to regale the story together, hm. How did you meet Miss Kirk, by the way?” He couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at Iann’s attempt at what he called a southern accent. “If that’s your southern accent, then it definitely needs more practice,” he commented, though not unkindly as laughter still lingered in his voice. The laughter then continued at Iann’s comment on his attempt at writing a script, and at his teasing for having a play pretense with his collections. “I don’t have a knack for creative writing, unfortunately,” he said, shaking his head at the incredulity of having anything that he wrote being read by anyone. “I’ll leave that to those that are far better suited than I am.” Tuah hummed at the other’s question pursing his lips slightly as he mulled over Iann’s question. “I’ve always liked looking at the stars,” he said quietly, as if parting with a secret, “perhaps it was one of the reasons why I love the franchise so much.” Tuah then took the fan from Iann’s hands, placing it on the surface before taking Iann’s hands in his, pressing his lips against the knuckle. “Have you watched all the series to the show, kasih?”

Iann "Space pirates! That's...that...I'm jealous already!" Iann settled on saying, although he was mostly teasing. If Tuah or Lara were (in Iann's biased opinion) unworthy of such a fantastical journey he'd actually be jealous. Iann did believe some experiences were wasted on dull people. With this though, he was eager to live vicariously through his Tuah. Detaching only enough to keep poking and prodding more of Tuah's things - he had a collection of novels, some that Iann even remembered reading as a teenager only these were pristine - Iann made noises of delight as he asked: "Okay, tell me how things went today. You're home early, everything good at the coffee shop? Ned and the gang holding things together?" Iann shook his head and gave Tuah a Look. He bet that Tuah was an amazing writer, eloquent and old-fashioned in a charming way, but of course he was sweetly modest. "Well, you should write me love letters instead," he decided, not actually holding Tuah to this request, but just in jest. He paused his prodding when Tuah took his hands, and Iann returned automatically to him, pressing against Tuah and nuzzling along his face like a cat. "Ummmm I watched a lot of The Next Generation and some of Deep Space Nine. By the time the other ones came around I...I guess I found other things to occupy my time. Reality, hm? Supernatural reality." Iann kisses Tuah, and nibbled the vampire's bottom lip a bit as he thought. "Wouldn't mind seeing the version with the lady captain, though. I can't remember what it's called. What about you? Or are you a ToS purist?"

Tuah couldn’t help but laugh at the other’s reaction, secretly loving the way Iann reacted and always wanting more. “Well, we have our own adventures together,” he said, trying to convey that Iann had nothing to be jealous of. He was sure that Iann had had his own share of adventures, ones that were far more interesting than he had been through. “I actually wasn’t at the cafe,” he confessed, “I spent the morning at Rein’s. He sounded quite upset over the phone so I decided to head over there.” He watched as Iann continued to probe and prod at his collection, thankful that at least they were minted so nothing could damage or lessen its value. His attention shifted from the collectibles towards Iann, arching his brows at the snippet of information of Iann’s life. Like Iann immersing in his past, Tuah always wanted to know everything that Iann could offer, little snippets that he would tuck neatly in his mind to build around the man that he was in love right now. Iann grew up with his mother and his aunts, he was married twice, had a bad fall away with his first wife and his second wife drowned. Little things that strung Iann into the path that he had chosen. “How young were you when you found out that you were interested in the Supernatural?” Tuah asked, runing his hand along Iann’s side as he was lavished with kisses and nibbles. “I don’t know about being a purist, as you say, but I did watch every production. I’m looking forward to the latest installation too. It’ll be aired this September, from what I’ve read.”

Iann The replica of the original Enterprise caught Iann's attention, and the Klingon ship next to it. Had Tuah constructed these himself, painted on the details lovingly? "Our adventure is the best adventure," Iann murmured almost absent, brushing his hand along the protective cases, that prevented his hands getting on the precious treasures. And with good reason, since Iann had been working on his van and only haphazardly scrubbed his hands afterwards. He looked up at the mention of Rein. "Well shit, is he okay? Was it a nymph thing?" But Tuah's affectionate attention completely distracted Iann from everything except the other man. Damn Tuah and his ability to make Iann forget everything else except this loving vampire. Iann may bray for Tuah's attention, but Tuah had his own ways of capturing Iann's as well, the handsome sneaky devil. "I...I mean I told you how my aunt Lily looked after me when I was a teenager, right? When I was too much for Ma to handle, she kinda made it Aunt Lily's job..." Iann grinned, arching his neck eagerly for Tuah's kisses. "I was a little monster. Anyway, Aunt Lily was a witch, although I didn't really find out until I was an adult, but. She kind of...steered me on the path. Of occult, really. Runes and tarot and herbs and histories of witches and vampires and werewolves...that sort of thing. She'd...mmm...." Iann leaned more against Tuah, enjoying the attention as his own hands roamed along Tuah's back, massaging the muscles and cupping his ass. How shameless they were, just standing in Tuah's fanboy room and groping like teenagers. "...she'd make me go out into the woods behind the house and forage and bring her things and then she'd promise to teach me about them. God, I got lost so many times, once I spent a night out in the forest until Aunt Lily found me. We never told Ma, or else Ma would hide me," Iann laughed, because for him being smacked by his mother was normal, not cruel. "Latest installation of what?" Iann said, his voice dreamy, too saturated with Tuah's scent and kisses to think properly anymore. "Oh - Lara by the way, I met her years ago in Albuquerque. Or rather she caught me breaking and entering..." Iann gave a low laugh. "She was a cop then. And - coincidentally, she caught me robbing someone in Soapberry too, funny how these things happen huh?" Iann cupped Tuah's face, looking at him for a moment before kissing him deeply. "Tuah..."

Tuah shook his head. “More of a stage freight than anything else,” he muttered, “apparently he was invited to perform at Nuadia’s bar but promptly stormed off without another word. I’ll need to talk to Nuadia to get a full story, however.” He imagined both parties were upset, Rein definitely was when he met the nymph. He wasn’t sure if the fairy would want to meet him after their parting from Grizzle Island, however, having the thought that they had parted on rather bad term. Well, not a bad term, perhaps a big misunderstanding. Nuadia didn’t outright say that he had done something wrong, just in the way that they acted. Then again, he could have misinterpreted them, and was making baseless assumptions as a whole. He’d talk to the fairy later. For now, he was far too preoccupied with having Iann near him, touching each other as if newly discovering the other’s body with their hands. It was becoming more difficult to concentrate on what Iann was saying, though Tuah did make an effort to listen. Iann was talking about his past, so he had to listen. He wanted to listen. So he stood there, with Iann in his embrace looking absolutely delicious, trying to picture younger Iann getting lost in the woods while trying to help his aunt with the herbs that she had asked him to collect. “Were you scared?” he asked, trying to gauge what Iann was like in the past.”They’re making a prequel to the original series, apparently, and they’re planning to air it on Netflix.” It was surprising to him that they were able to carry the conversation seeing how distracted they both were. “Why were you even breaking and entering, Iann?” his tone chiding, though it was laced with fondness, as it always had whenever it concerned the man. Tuah simply hummed when Iann called for him, more content to busy his lips with nibbles on Iann’s skin than actually talking. He eventually pulled away, looking at the man as he stroke Iann’s face. “You look absolutely ravishing right about now, kasih,” he said, and to prove his point he kissed Iann just he had been kissed, then nibbling on Iann’s bottom lip.

Iann backed Tuah up because - lo and behold, the nerdy vampire actually had an exact replica of the Captain's seat in the small room. And After Iann cleared aside some knick knacks sitting on it, he sat Tuah down on it, then straddled the vampire's lap. Not giving him much choice, pushing Tuah's boundaries as usual just to see what it would take to have Tuah shove him off. Poor Tuah, Iann thought as he toyed with the man's hair on his temples. Iann knew he was being terrible, but he couldn't resist. "So ravish, Tuah," Iann invited, kneeling so Tuah had to look up at him, as Iann kissed him harder. He unbuttoned Tuah's shirt, so he could sprawl that gorgeous beefy chest. "I was terrified," Iann somehow managed to continue the conversation (it was kind of hot, talking about unsexy things while being so filthy), "I was pretty sure I was going to die. Then again I'm always pretty sure I'm going to die..." He laughed, rocking against Tuah's thighs and hips. "Are you excited?" he asked, then grinned wickedly. "About the show, I mean. I can tell you're /excited/, baby." He gave a nonchalant shrug about his b&e, clearly unrepentant. "It was for a good cause, even Lara agreed." And then as he pinched and toyed with Tuah's nipples, kissing him and exploring his mouth thoroughly with his tongue (oh god, that beautiful pink tongue, no longer blackened), Iann returned to the first topic of conversation. "Rein has the temperament of an artist, that's for sure. And Nuadia is an artist. I guess clashing was bound to happen. You're such a good friend for him, darling. So considerate and I'm sure you're an expert at calming the guy down, he's got a bit of a temper. I've seen it. Hm? I hope he appreciates you."

Tuah was far too happy to have Iann leading him to wherever he wanted Tuah to go, as long as he had the man in his arms and his lips against the other. He was a little distracted when he was being pushed into the chair, letting out an ‘oomph’ as he sat before his hands already pulling Iann onto his lap refusing to have Iann away from him. By the Gods, Iann was driving him insane with these acts of his, the familiar heavy weight on top of his body with his hip grinding against his own and eliciting a low moan that captured in Iann’s mouth. Another low moan escaped him as he felt warm hands against his skin, the contrast of heat between them causing a slight shiver to travel across his back, his eyes fluttering close and his jaw went slack for a moment. Already Tuah felt that it wasn’t enough, so when Iann pulled away and started talking, he started peppering kisses on the other’s shoulder, his own hand grabbing Iann’s arse and squeezing it gently. Tuah slipped his hand underneath Iann’s shirt, feeling the muscles moved underneath the warm skin as his hand travelled upwards. “Hm, very excited,” was all he could answer, before continuing, “By the heavens, what are you doing to me, kasih? Whatever it is, please don’t stop.” But Iann was talking again and he had to refocus on whatever topic that was revolving around other people and not themselves. Gods how he could be so selfish at times, though he found that the paid no mind that he was. “I’ll have to ask Miss Kirk about that.” His teeth caught the skin on Iann’s neck, leaving a light bruise in its wake before he kissed the spot where he marked Iann as his. “He does, I’m sure he does. I’ve never seen him getting upset whenever I’m with him, however.”

Iann A shivering vampire. /'I did that'/, Iann thought to himself proudly, an accomplishment to him if ever there was one. The shiver after all, was pure sensory reaction, and it was beautiful to witness. He was fascinated at the way he could...do this, to Tuah Arjuna. Not that Iann was putting himself down, but perhaps he was rather reverent of Tuah for a myriad of reasons. He loved the vampire, but he also highly respected him. Iann did right from their first meeting, their brief acquaintance that led them on a path that Iann would never regret. "Mmmm..." he hummed in approval when Tuah's hands curved around his ass, and Iann sat in them giving Tuah a proper handful. But Iann was better at chatting senselessly than Tuah, and so he did. "He was gone for a while, hm? Maybe he feels out of touch, needs to get his bearings back," Iann pondered, then grinned. "I'm not doing anything! I'm being so good, I didn't tear open any of your packages of phasers and tricorders, even though I kind of wanted to..." He looped his arms around Tuah's neck again, eyes fluttering when he felt that familiar little nip against his skin, the inevitable bruise. Tuah...loved marking him, and Iann found it so unbelievable when he'd look at himself in the mirror afterwards. "You make me into a different person, did you know that?" He could feel the pull- that blood bond tugging them close together in a way Iann hadn't imagined. He pressed his forehead against Tuah's and demanded, "Let's move to the bedroom, hm? So we don't ruin your things. Take me to bed, amor."

Tuah simply hummed at the other’s words, too busy exploring Iann’s body to give a proper response. “Perhaps,” he said, “he’s so used to being alone before coming to Soapberry, so it’s easy for him to fall back to such routine.” Eventually he pulled away, just enough to admire the bruise forming on the other’s skin. He looked up then, eyes dreamy and lips curled into a smile. “And I think you should be rewarded for your very good behaviour,” he said offhandedly, letting out a soft chuckle as he grabbed a handful of Iann’s arse and squeezed it before giving it a gentle slap. Focus shifted to iann’s words afterwards, brows furrowed together as he looked up at his kasih. “How so?” he asked, genuinely wanting to know before putting in his two cents. “I think I’ve changed as well, thanks to your influence.” The thread that bind them hummed in harmony, with each decision they made together another string looped around the already strong braid. It wa disconcerting at first, but Tuah had learn to appreciate its existence, to see something so physical that sealed their love together. He fluttered his eyes close, his lips still curled into a smile at the request made. “So demanding, my kasih,” he kissed Iann fully on the lips as he easily lifted the other and started making his way towards the bedroom. “Does this mean I have to carry you around at all times now? Not that I have any complaints about it, mind. Just that I think we won’t be able to do much else, nor I think we’ll go out of the house much, if at all.”

Iann "We did promise each other a week of not leaving your home. Things are nice and calm, everything's a little peaceful, hm? Take some time off work and I'll stay here for a week let's just...enjoy this." Iann suggested, holding on a bit tighter as Tuah effortlessly picked him up. His legs didn't succeed in hooking around Tuah's waist so they kind of dangled a bit, no doubt making Tuah's stride a little awkward. But it didn't matter because it still felt good to be in Tuah's arms. "I mean we can go out and stuff but our time at home together can be utterly debauched..." he huffed a low laugh, hands skating down Tuah's back. "Like the sound of that, you beautiful kinky bastard? Don't even try to be all demure and blushing! You're a wicked sex fiend and you know it." And Iann loved it - a good segue-way into talking about how Tuah changed him. "Well for one, I feel a lot more lust. Like that whole primal sexual drive thing that people always describe where they can't help themselves? I get it now, with you. And I get now how that sex drive can really shape a person's personality, hm? You think I was teasing when I said you're my main focus of study now. But it's true, I'm obsessed with you, Tuah Arjuna."

Tuah “So I’ll have you all for myself for a whole week? No interruption whatsoever?” Tuah arched his brows, looking far too thrilled to have Iann all for himself, though he tried to hide it behind a curious and cautious look. “Are you sure you can abstain yourself from venturing out? No adventuring and running around town?” Gods he wanted nothing more than to have Iann all for himself, and honestly he felt one week was simply wasn’t enough. But he was afraid that Iann might grow bored staying home, seeing that his lover had never stayed in one place for long. There was always something for Iann to do, some kind of adventures that would get him in trouble with him barely escaping the jaws of death. So to have him bring up their promise to one another, a silly one that was simply said and agreed when they were tired of the bleakness of his sickness, well… “I like the sound of that,” he said once they were both in their bedroom, to both the idea of them being left alone in their little world in the safety of their home, and that he was Iann’s main focus. Tuah, son of Arjuna, being the focus of anyone surprised him greatly. It simply didn’t register to him that he could be of importance to anyone. “Tell me something else,” he requested, peppering Iann’s skin with kisses as his hand slipped beneath the other’s shirt, feeling the warm skin against his cold one. “How else I’ve made you to a different person, kasih? Tell me everything.”

Iann looked surprised at Tuah's questions and cautions, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized Tuah had a point to be so wary. Iann had a tendency of just saying things in the heat of a moment, and then not exactly breaking his word, but merely fulfilling it his own way. But Tuah's reticence went far deeper than distrust. Iann knew Tuah trusted him, tolerated Iann's ways all out of not just love, but understanding. They didn't try to change each other, but rather work with all the little quirks they each displayed. This wasn't about trust so much as...what else? Fear and worry. And most of all, Tuah's self-doubt. That rascally little demon inside his beautiful lover. So Iann wasn't offended or wounded when Tuah looked at Iann with caution and doubt. He was used to Tuah's hesitance now, and being Iann, it redoubled his will and drive. It was exactly the sort of thing Iann needed in order to carry something through with his brand of enthusiasm. He looked at Tuah, giving him a firm kiss on the lips before looking at him again. Iann's thumbs stroked along Tuah's dark eyebrows, smoothing them down. "A whole week, baby. You and me, no interruptions. I'll turn my phone off," he said with a promising song-song. "I'll saturate myself in you, from the inside out..." Iann ducked down licking along Tuah's neck, inhaling the vampire's scent. A blend of sweet spice from Tuah's soap and cologne, but something else underneath, cold and salty. It was intoxicating to Iann. "No caveats, hm? No 'if we need this'. The pantry's full, there's no emergencies out there, and you, baby. You're all I need." On the bed, Iann, lightly gasped at the feel of Tuah's cold hands, clamping his own hand down on it to warm Tuah's skin. The vampire would have to feed if any warmth would travel in his body and...Iann was looking forward to it. "You've made me kinder, Tuah. I actually give a damn about people's personal lives now...and frankly I think I'm handling it pretty well. No one's fled from me in tears yet," he said with a slight laugh, his fingers digging into the meat of Tuah's back. "You've made me rethink...everything about humans and vampires. And being a human...what it means." Iann's eyes flew open when he admitted that, staring at the ceiling. That was a huge one. He blinked for a moment, then pulled Tuah up, fingers brushing along the vampire's teeth and upper lip. "You've made me want your bite...fuck. Baby..."

Tuah hummed into the kiss, long lashes fanning his cheeks as his eyes fluttering close when he felt the soft touch across his face. Another shiver broke through and ran across his body as he felt wet tongue against his skin, his cock twitching in the tight confinement of his jeans. “A whole week,” he echoed what was already said with reverence. He felt his doubt slowly melting away, giving way that cautious happiness to bloom and spread across his entire body. The thought that Iann was willing to do this with him, for him… it was simply overwhelming. So much so that Tuah felt that it was twisted into something darker, his possessiveness coating the exterior of his happiness to have Iann all to himself. He liked the idea of being saturated with one another, loved that once the one week was up, they had lost their individual scent and simply created something new, something that was uniquely theirs. He moved to capture Iann’s lips with his own in a heated kiss, a kiss full of promise of the things to come and drowned Iann’s gentle gasp. “And you’re all I want. My Iann,” he pulled away enough to look into the other’s obsidian eyes, feeling himself being pulled deeper into the blissful abyss. It was his turn to trace the bumps and crevices on Iann’s face, tracing over the laughter lines and wrinkle on Iann’s forehead. By the Gods, the man was beautiful. “How did I get so lucky to have you,” he wondered aloud, one he didn’t expect to have answer. Tuah then listened as Iann spoke, the gentle adoring smile never leaving his lips at the other’s confession. He couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. “Has anyone ever ran away in tears from you before?” he couldn’t help but ask. “I think you’ve always been kind, kasih,and I believe others see that as well. But I’m glad that I’ve made you kinder than you’re already are.” It wasn’t to say that he thought Iann was a saint, no one was in his opinion. Iann had his flaws, had inflicted damage onto others as others had onto him. But Iann was still kind despite it all, in his own way. He swept his tongue across the pad of Iann’s thumb before taking it into his mouth, hollowing his cheeks slightly to suck on the digit. “Do you…” he hesitated, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. Heightened arousal was making it difficult for him to think when all that was on his mind was to devour him, an echo of what he thought in the catacombs, when Iann first offered his blood to him. “Will you,” he amended, “drink from me? That night, when your mouth and tongue are red from my blood, I think you looked… well, it’s no surprise that I find it rather enticing, hm.”

Iann The reverence in Tuah's tone made Iann shiver suddenly, make him panic slightly when he wondered if he was appreciating this enough. He gripped Tuah tighter, scrambling to catch up; but Tuah's expression, god. Eyes closed, lashes brushing his cheek and just this...smile on his face as if he was being graced by sunlight after months of darkness. He didn't see Tuah's possessiveness; Iann was too caught up in the sight of Tuahface, body, entire self - just for a moment - looking absolutely at peace. 'I did that,' a part of Iann gleefully claimed, but it was chided immediately by another part: 'No, you're just reading too much into it. You'll never be able to do that for him.' Consciously, Iann had to pick between these two internal claims. He chose the latter, and cupped Tuah's face, and kissed Tuah's cool fingers as they passed over his lips. "Okay," he said and then shook his head. "It's got nothing to do with luck. You made all of this happen, hm? Your choices led you here and I'm so fucking glad they did." When Tuah called him 'kind' of his own accord Iann laughed; but then he realized Tuah meant it. "You might be a little biased," he demurred. "But I like your pro-Iann stances on things." He kind of lost his voice towards the end there though, as he watched Tuah suck his thumb in, that soft tongue swiping at the pad and making Iann's hips jolt. Encouraged by the involuntary movement Iann moaned slightly and ground his hips against Tuah's, wanting more friction. He fought to pull his concentration back to Tuah's words - because words were precious, after all - although it took a moment for Iann to realize that Tuah was asking. Slowly, Iann grinned, and then gave Tuah's ass a loud, resounding smack. "I'd love to..." Wait did that sound too overly-eager? Truth was, as weird and nauseating as it was to drink vampire blood, the effect afterwards was...so worth it. Iann loved that euphoria, better than any fucking drug because his feeling of invincibility really was exactly that. "You naughty, naughty vampire," Iann teased Tuah, surging forward to kiss him. He opened Tuah's mouth with his own, tongue licking across where Tuah's fangs dropped. "Bite your lip, baby, and I'll drink," he murmured against Tuah's mouth. He wanted it too - because once he drank Tuah's blood, well. They could go all-out fucking, at least for a little while. And Iann wanted to be rough.

Tuah opened his eyes when he felt the grip around him tightened, brows furrowing together slightly as he wondered what was on Iann’s mind to cause such reaction. He ran his fingers along the other’s face, thumb tracing across Iann’s cheek and down to his jawline as he tried to reassure the man from whatever concern Iann might have. His lips then curled into a slight smile when Iann once again explained that there was no such thing as luck, a contrast of his own belief that everything that transpired in the world was pulled by both one’s effort and one’s fate. He had to believe there was some higher power that guided his choices that led him towards his kasih, because if it was left to his own device Tuah wasn’t sure he would have lived this long, and wouldn’t that be a shame. He let out a chuckle, a huff of breath that escaped his lips as he kissed Iann’s lips. “I just might be,” he replied, “I mean, how could I not think of anything short of wonderful about my kasih, hm?” his eyes fluttering close once more when he felt Iann grinding his hip against his own, feeling his cock twitched against its tight confinement. Tuah felt his own hip moving in its own accord, his arm wrapping around Iann’s hip to pull him closer to feel the friction against him. “You’re wearing too much clothes, kasih,” he complained, trying to make pulling Iann’s pants free before throwing them across the floor and doing the same with his. The smile on his lips grew wider against Iann’s lips as they kissed, feeling the same surge of thrill when Iann agreed as he pushed the man back against the back. “Only with you, you know that.” Once he pulled back, Tuah let Iann watch as hazel eyes turned a rich golden hue and canine teeth pressing against the bottom lip as it bled. He swept the blood across his own tongue before kissing Iann once more, careful not to hurt Iann as they kissed. But between teeth and tongue clashing in his own heat, Tuah couldn’t help but bite Iann’s bottom lip a little too hard, causing their blood to mix. “Now we can go all out, hm,” he couldn’t help but tease, running his hand along Iann’s thigh before moving his hand between the other’s thigh.

Iann had a fleeting thought to ask Tuah if he agreed about luck versus hard work, but it was all washed away by how much he loved basking in Tuah's attention. It was ridiculous. He was a 38 year old man, not a young guy with the blush of newfound sex. Except...well it wasn't as if, for all of Iann's jadedness in life, he was particularly well-versed sexually. In truth it really only took his second wife to allow Iann to discover that he did indeed posses passion, desire, lust - the things most people normally felt. When she died, those newly exposed wires were still live, electric but open-ended - and when Tuah came into Iann's life, he attached them to the vampire with an eagerness to feel them again. "You flatterer, " Iann said, because really. He knew Tuah wasn't fibbing, but he made Iann far more epic than the reality. He wriggled and grabbed at Tuah's clothes as well, trying to help and only releasing his breath in pleasure once their skin made contact. God, Tuah was so cool, but it felt good against Iann's burning skin. He watched Tuah, all golds and greens and blacks, rich and vibrant, a vessel full of a very distinct, proud history. Then red joined it, and Iann kissed back hungrily, but made a little "Mmmph!" noise when he felt those sharp fangs puncture his own skin. "This is okay right?" Iann asked, breathless and paranoid. "This isn't enough to...no. You actually have to drain me dry, right? Okay..." Iann kissed again, sucking hard on Tuah's bottom lip and tasting bursts of salt and deep iron. Just enough for him to take a hold of Tuah, and flip the vampire onto his back. Iann grinned, bearing down on him. "Now we can go all out," he agreed with a wolfish smile, as he gave Tuah one more kiss, then trailed bites and kisses down Tuah's body. He paused at the muscled swell of his chest, sucking the nipple into painful hardness before moving on down. He knew the scars were there; and each time Iann's mouth passed over one, he looked up at Tuah, to see his face, his reaction. Pleasure, or eyes wide with a self-conscious anxiety?

Tuah let out a chuckle, moving his shoulders mimicking a shrug. “Think what you like, I still believe what I said.” He ran his hand along Iann’s skin, loving the contrast of warmth and cold between their skin. It was one of the many things that he loved about them, about their relationship. How Iann could make him feel so electrifying just by being close to him. He didn’t feel like this before, not when they’d confessed their love for one another. What he felt before was nothing like this, it was simply an infatuation that he could easily brush off, but now it transformed into something deeper that he couldn’t bear to live without. Part of him, a small part of him, was afraid that it would all be taken away from him at a moment’s notice, which caused him to grabbed hold of Iann by his shoulders, his grip tightened as he was kissed hungrily. Iann didn’t give him enough time to respond, seeming to have found the answer on his own before Tuah realised he was being kissed once more, feeling the soft mattress against his back as he was pushed onto the bed. He followed when Iann pulled away, trying to catch the other’s lips with his before falling onto the mattress and simply looked up at the man. His pupils blown until they were as black as Iann’s own, lips parted slightly in a mock grasp of breaths. Centuries of living and still he could not shake the habit. His eyes then fluttered close as his already heightened senses being overwhelmed with Iann’s lips and tongue and teeth. Tuah felt his body shivering every time Iann paid more attention than necessary on his old scars, warring between wanting to close his eyes shut fearing of what he would see on the other’s face, or keeping them opened to watch his lover going down on him. In the end, however, he compromise between the two, as he always did with everything in his life. He kept his eyes opened, meeting Iann’s gaze cautiously yet trusting him, trusting Iann not to do him wrong. His body arched as Iann sucked on his nipple, a low moan escaped his lips as he grabbed hold of the man’s hair into a tight fist, screaming in his mind to have more. “Please, kasih,” he pleaded, though he didn’t know what he was pleading for. “More.”

"You always want more," Iann said, somewhat entranced at the way Tuah...actually kept looking at him. And even more important, Tuah didn't try to distract Iann with his own enticing ability to give pleasure. Even for Iann and his forever-thinking brain, Tuah had a way of short-circuiting him just enough to make Iann go mindless, thoughtless, brainless. It felt so fucking good at the moment, somewhat scary afterwards. To know that Tuah was so good at providing a customized pleasure for Iann (was it customized? Maybe Iann's pleasure was as generic as all of Tuah's previous lovers), that Tuah could render him unthinking for long swathes of time. But here was Tuah now, facing his own fears it seemed. Fears embedded into his skin, that Iann's tongue roamed over. Scarred skin - especially large, thick scars like this - had a different sensation to normal skin. Iann knew, he often pinched and toyed with his own scars on his hands and arms when he thought, enjoying that weird numb mangled-nerves feeling on the smooth scar tissue. Did it feel the same for Tuah, on his unliving skin? "What does it feel like, to be you?" Iann wondered, as he bit down on a scar along Tuah's stomach. He bit harder than usual, pulling back to smooth his fingers along the red teethmarks that quickly faded. "I love every bit of you, even the parts you don't like..." Iann spoke, but he wasn't looking up at Tuah. He wasn't trying to convince Tuah of anything, speaking instead to the scar itself. Iann nestled down against him, and trailed his teeth lower, hand wrapping around Tuah's cock first. A squeeze first, and then Iann looked up with a grin. "At least we both like this, hm? I know I do..." Iann teased Tuah, lightly running his mouth along the tip, tugging the delicate skin down to lick along the slit first before sliding his mouth over the shaft. A long, gentle moan as Iann cradled Tuah's cock between lips and tongue, and Iann eased himself down slowly, warm and wet.

Tuah let out a breathless chuckle, tearing his gaze away from his kasih and towards the skylight above them. “Only with you,” he mumbled, the end of his words swallowed into a low moan with his nails digging into Iann’s shoulders when he felt teeth once again grazing against his marked skin. He didn’t realise he had his eyes closed, but he fluttered them opened, blinking a few times with his brows furrowed together as he tried to discern what Iann was asking. “I -” he paused, letting out a low moan and trying to give more thought before he answered. In the end, he gave up on trying to figure what exactly the man had meant. “I have no idea what you’re asking of me, kasih,” he confessed, letting out a breathless chuckle before shifting to get a good view of his paramour. It was a good thing that Iann wasn’t looking at him directly, because his eyes were wide and jaw slackened by surprise at the confession. He always found himself surprised that Iann would profess his love to him, despite the many times they had said it to each other. There would always doubt in his mind that Iann would soon tire of him, that stubborn thoughts that fed him to say that Iann would leave him for someone more interesting that him. Tuah managed to recover from his surprise and shook himself from such thoughts. But before he could reply, another low moan escaped him, throwing his forearm on top of his eyes. “You’re making it hard to think on an even basic level, kasih,” he complained, though there was a definitive smile in his voice. The smile turned into a shivered sigh as he felt the warm wet tongue and lips around his hard cock, his arm reaching out to grab Iann by his hair, Tuah’s legs spread opened wo allow Iann more access. “Alright, now I can’t think of anything other than this,” he spoke in a rush, his hip moving in its own accord.

Iann looked up when Tuah's legs got wider - goddamn that was hot, the entire sight of Tuah right now was electrifying and even though Iann was the one with the cock in his mouth, he couldn't help but admire just how utterly...slutty and debauched Tuah looked right now. There was no other way to describe it, the man was a beauty-shot jerk-off fantasy for likely millions of people with the way he looked right now. But millions of people weren't looking at him - only Iann. The arm carelessly strewn over Tuah's eyes was what made Iann pop off Tuah's cock and grin, hand teasing down the centre of Tuah's muscled torso. "I am being awful, aren't I," he said, his own voice gravelly and thick from desire, and from the feeling of Tuah's cock bumping up against the back of his throat. He faced a small dilemma - Iann suddenly wanted to talk. He felt aroused and deeply in love with Tuah just from talking to the man, and he wanted more. Sex - well. Sex was great of course, but Iann missed talking with Tuah, his confidante, his best friend. But one couldn't talk with a rock hard erection, that was certain, not even Iann. "I have an idea," Iann said, because he had tasted vampire blood after all. The effects were short-term but still valid enough to make Iann limber and sprightly. He shifted suddenly. "Don't you dare close up shop, baby," Iann said, with a demanding smack on Tuah's firm thigh, as Iann pivoted himself around, straddling on top of Tuah on his hands and knees - the perfect position for a 69. So Iann assumed - it wasn't like he'd done this before, not with a guy anyway. But his own cock hung tantalizingly over Tuah's face now, and Iann was positioned squarely in full possession of Tuah's, to do whatever the damn well pleased to it. Iann looked down, between their bodies, grinning upside-down at Tuah. "Go on," he encouraged, taking a lick of Tuah's cock to demonstrate. "Let's get off together."

Tuah “Not that I’m complaining, mind,” Tuah replied after a moment of gathering his thoughts. It was rather difficult when all his thoughts was about how amazing his cock felt inside the wet cavern of Iann’s mouth, so his kasih had to forgive him if he simply let his baser instinct guide him. If Iann wanted to have a talk right now, while they’re doing this,, he didn’t think he’d be able to carry on with the conversation. It wasn’t helping that Iann’s deep voice filled with desire. For him. Tuah turned his attention towards the man as Iann started to shift, his hooded gaze watched as Iann’s hard cock dangling so close to his face. His Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed, tongue swiping along his lips before he tore his gaze away from his prize and towards Iann’s face as the man spoke. He let his lips curled into a smirk before adjusting himself so he was facing directly the other’s cock, his hands running along Iann’s outer thighs and along the other’s side before wrapping them around Iann’s hip. He darted his tongue out and swept across the slit before moving along the underside. A muffled moan escaped his lips as he took the head of the cock into his mouth, taking as much of it into his mouth as he could. “Gods I could taste you forever,” he mumbled as he pulled the member from his mouth, pressing his lips against its head. Tuah dragged his nails across Iann’s skin, slipping his middle finger between the cheek and pressed the digit against the orifice. “You’re intoxicating, did you know that?” he pressed another kiss against the tip of Iann’s cock before hollowing his cheeks as he took the hard member into his mouth, sucking on it gently.

Iann "You can't taste anything..." Iann murmured as his sigh came out shuddered and thick with pleasure when Tuah's hands and arms and mouth just completely owned him down there. It was a perverse feeling that Iann never thought he'd enjoy, being possessed by someone else, but. This was were trust came in; Iann never thought he'd trust someone as he did his late wife, and now Tuah. It was...easier than he thought, to trust someone like this; and that realization scared him too. But right now, deeper thought was unnecessary - because Tuah's nails dragging made Iann's hips jump, cock plunging deeper into Tuah's mouth. "You like...the texture maybe? Or you're just a naughty, dirty old man who likes his mouth wrapped around cock..." Iann smirked, but then proved he was the same way, as he too sunk down onto Tuah's hard member. His hand gripped the base firmly, little encouraging pumps as he filled up as much of his mouth as he could with Tuah's cock. It was so large and heavy, a playful, velvety weight on his tongue. Iann lapped shamelessly, licking down the underside and curving around just enough to tongue and lap at Tuah's balls as well. Everyone got some playtime, and Tuah was downright intoxicating. "How does a vampire give off pheromones?" Iann wondered aloud, breath warm and panting against Tuah's sensitive skin. His own hips were moving of their own accord now, slowing fucking into Tuah's mouth like he couldn't help himself.

Tuah Muffled laughter escaped his lips, turning into a moan the cock slipped deeper into his mouth, almost choking him at the sudden movement. Musky scent overwhelmed his senses, and Tuah quickly adjusted himself to accommodate as best as he could so he could delved deeper into everything that was Iann. another muffled moan escaped him as he felt wet tongue and lips along his own hard member, before Iann so cleverly moved to give the same treatment to every part of his lower region. He pulled away, letting his eyes fluttering close as lustful laced shiver was felt across his body. Gods, the things that Iann was doing to him was absolutely intoxicating. Iann was intoxicating. At least to him he was, though he supposed it was as Iann had said; he was a little biased in his opinion when it came to the man. “Only yours,” he said after a while, pink tongue licking his wet lips and Adam’s apple bobbing as he gathered his thoughts. “I only like the taste of your cock in my mouth. Well, I like the taste of your everything in my mouth.” Another chuckle escaped his lips in a huff of a breath. “I can’t quite explain it. It’s true that I can’t taste anything, but I’m not wrong when I say that I can taste you, you know. Not just the texture, as you’ve pointed out.” He glanced towards his side where Iann’s thigh was so close to his face, letting his fingertips caress gently along the inner thigh. “I suppose my psyche is trying to make me remember how you taste like. Or how you’re supposed to taste like.” Tuah furrowed his brows as he came to that theory, jaw clenching slightly before he relaxed them, pushing himself so he was able able to plant kisses along Iann’s inner thigh. He did the same to the other side, taking his time leaving bite marks with his blunt teeth where he knew Iann would be most sensitive. He kissed the bite mark before letting his tongue made a broad swipe along the underside of Iann’s length up to his orifice before falling back onto the mattress. He hollowed his cheeks once more and humming as Iann slowly fucking his mouth, his hands simply caressing along Iann’s thighs encouraging him further.

Iann Those moans did things to Iann, toes curling in from the sound and balls almost tightening, ready to let loose as Tuah's fingers got busy too. It was ridiculous; he felt vaguely ridiculous right now, randy and eager as a 20-year old, but. A pause to catch his breath, and once more look through the gap between their bodies reassured Iann that none of this was being taken with levity. Tuah was enjoying himself and that reassured Iann greatly. He continued his attentions on Tuah, exploring his skin, the nooks and spaces between skin and hair at his leisure as he listened to Tuah try to describe taste. Iann listened with a grain of salt, thinking at first that Tuah was just trying to be romantic, make some exception to his limited taste when really Iann knew there wasn't one. But then again, it wasn't really like Tuah to sugar-coat, was it? Tuah didn't fool himself in anything. He either told the truth, or he deflected. Which meant right now, he was telling the truth: he could taste something about Iann. A memory, when his tongue was blackened and sensitive to taste. "You never got a chance to enjoy that..." Iann said softly, recalling the gift that was wrecked by the demon's illness. "So cruel. So cruel to my baby. We're going to start working on that again, hm? The tea, remember the tea, how...ah...oh-" Again, Iann's brain shorted out, as Tuah's soft lips and gently scratchy stubble laid a trail of kisses along Iann's tender skin. The bites felt so good, made Iann remember them in his basement childhood room, the first time Tuah bit him there and licked his blood. Iann hadn't been ready for it, he was startled, not even sure he wanted it. But afterwards, god. He couldn't stop thinking about it. The way Tuah's fangs dropped, his eyes turned golden and intense with thirst and desire, the red stain on Iann's thigh. "Oh fuck - fuck, Tuah," Iann closed his eyes and groaned, mindlessly fucking into Tuah's throat now and craving that release. "You're so good to be, hm? So good to let me...hn...use your mouth - jesus - " Iann's fingers dug into Tuah's hip, his other hand squeezing the base of Tuah's cock tight as Iann picked up the pace, got rougher and harder just long enough to cry out as he came. He shuddered, still thrusting, resting his face against Tuah's member, panting Tuah's name loud and unabashed.

Tuah simply hummed, distracting himself with Iann’s cock fucking his mouth and his hands running along the muscled thighs and the man’s side. There were a great many things that he regretted, though having lost his sense of taste had never been one of his biggest regret. Now, however, he had reasons to regret not being able to have a sense of taste of his own, simply because he knew how Iann was rather obsessed with it, or rather obsessed with finding a cure for his predicament. He didn’t want to see Iann being disappointed because of it as he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Iann was not capable of doing anything that he had set his mind to, far from it really. But he had to wonder how long would it take before Iann started to realise that it was all for a nought. How long would it take him to grow bored of an almost dead end pursuit before he gave up entirely? How long would he continue until he grew bored and started to find other distraction? Such train of thoughts were dangerous to pursue, hence Tuah simply tabled it and shelved it in his mind. Instead he focused on hollowing his cheeks as he continued to suck on Iann’s hard member as the man did wicked things to his own cock, his eyes fluttering close to imagine the salty taste on his tongue, facilitated by the musky scent that was uniquely Iann. His muffled moans were answer enough to Iann’s demand, letting his jaw relaxed with his hands on Iann’s hip simply to have something to hold onto as Iann fucked his mouth. Tuah felt the tightening around his cock from Iann’s grip, feeling the heaviness of Iann’s own length against his tongue as it continued to move erratically in and out of his wet mouth. And when Iann’s balls tightened he was ready to take the load, swallowing in big gulp as he continued to milk Iann. Gods how he wished he could see Iann’s face right now. It always drove such pleasure for him when he could see how much his partner was affected from what he was doing to them, watching their eyes rolled back or closed shut as their jaw slackened screaming either loudly or silently for him or some deity they only believe in the moment of bliss. In part it fed his own ego to know that he did that to them, which made him even more eager to please them. He then flipped them over once he felt Iann was spent, pulling his lips away from the cock with an obscene sound. His tongue running along his lips as he turned to look at Iann, his lips curled into a smirk and his hooded eyes still held a lustful gaze. “Thank you for the treat,” he teased, making a show of brushing his thumb across the slit before bringing it into his lips. He shifted so he was between Iann’s legs, hand running along Iann’s thighs as he bent down to place kisses on Iann’s cock, moving to nuzzle his nose against the hair before letting his tongue move along the curves of Iann’s torso up to his chest. “You’re up for seconds, my love?” Tuah moved his fingers between Iann’s cheeks, letting his middle finger enter the small orifice as he showered Iann’s body with bites and kisses. “Because I’m not done having you yet.”

Iann "Bastard," Iann gasped, unable to do anything but let Tuah flip them over. His breathing came out laboured, heavy and ragged as his head fell backwards against the sheets. It was Iann who clung to Tuah now, holding him close, that beautiful hard cock kind of slapping him in the face, not that Iann minded. It was filthy and so was Tuah, in his own prim and prissy way. The juxtaposition tickled Iann completely - god, the man just fucking drank his cum down like blood and didn't even blink a fucking eye. Even went as far as to keep teasing Iann's spent cock, thumb swiping over the sensitive slit that made Iann buck in uncontrolled reaction. And then Tuah had to call it a treat. Like Iann had bought him dinner, or taken him to see a movie after a long hard workday. Iann laughed, shaking his head in disbelief, one hand finally letting go of Tuah's thigh to grip his own hair. "I can't believe you sometimes. I don't know what to do with you, Tuah Arjuna. " But his arms outstretched when he felt Tuah rising upwards, turning around so that they were face to face. Tuah's fingers remained between Iann's legs though, returning with that gentle but persistent intensity that summed Tuah up perfectly in bed. The man was insatiable, in the most incredible way, honestly. Iann sometimes felt like he could barely keep up; and what surprised him was that this didn't mess with his sense of control. If anything, he just felt this strange, new desire to...give up. Not throw in the towel but just give in, give everything up to Tuah, son of Arjuna, this vampire who was so intent on giving him love. By giving, it was how Tuah took. Iann saw that now: Tuah served, Tuah pleased, so that Tuah could feel pleasure. In a sick sort of way, Iann could understand that and again that should have boiled down to conflict, a struggle for control, but. It didn't. Iann didn't understand why, he really didn't, but there were dark, unpretty reasons that sometimes swirled in the back of his mind as he looked up at his beautiful lover. "No, you're not, are you?" Iann murmured, stroking Tuah's face, drowning in the dark galaxy of Tuah's eyes. He'd intended to take a shortcut, but Tuah. God, Tuah. No shortcuts for him. Only pure, unadulterated, deliberate and completely full experience. There was no saying no to that, Iann realized, and he couldn't stop staring at Tuah now, brow furrowing and mouth parting in small breaths as he felt Tuah's finger penetrate, the bites and kisses like Tuah was...well...consuming. Consuming, without tasting, god. Iann gripped Tuah a bit tighter, fingers digging into the flesh that would never bruise for long. "Please, mi amor. Please...I want you," he begged shamelessly, voice soft and breaking.

Tuah let out a chuckle at Iann’s befuddlement of his behaviour. “I think you’ll be able to figure that one,” he replied, moving to plant kisses on Iann’s skin before moving to kiss the man’s lips. He continued with his administration of his digit in and out of the pucker, drinking in the sound of shallow breaths and quickened pace of Iann’s heartbeat from his release and from the onslaught stimulation that he still received from Tuah’s treatment. The words that spilled from Iann’s lips left no doubt in his mind that the man wanted this too, and who was Tuah to deny him the pleasure, no? The thought made his lips curled upwards into a slight smile as he shifted slightly so his cock was lined perfectly between the other’s cheeks. “By the Gods, Iann, the things you say,” he muttered as he stroke his still hardened cock with his hand, groaning as his thumb brushing against the slit that was slick with precum. He rubbed the head of his cock between the man’s cheek, trying to find relief and denying himself the pleasure just a little bit more. “Do you need more blood from me? Help you recover a little bit faster?

Iann "Yes please," Iann said almost immediately when Tuah offered, eyes down, pinned to the girth and hardness of Tuah's cock positioned there but just not yet going in. Iann felt achey and a little tense, typical human problems. Things that, if he was a vampire or some other supernatural being with healing ability, he wouldn't mind at all. Maybe he'd like it, that painful pleasure. Because he'd know it wouldn't last or cause any complications. Things that a human in his middle years couldn't quite compensate for without a little boost. A thousand thoughts flit through Iann's mind then - about Faye and Fane and their talks of immortality not always tying into vampirism; about Martin Adjaye and Freddie and the blood, violent, desperate tactics that vampire used; about Bellamy and her crude jokes about Tuah really badly hurting Iann because of his goddamn human frailty. He groaned, shoving the thoughts back and concentrating on Tuah's face. "Bite your lip and your tongue and let me kiss you and taste your blood, baby."

Tuah did as he was asked, biting his lip hard enough that it bled before kissing Iann. It was intoxicating to see the way Iann’s own lips painted with his blood, with the muffled moans and the tangy taste of iron that sealed their kiss. His groaned, the head of his cock pushing incessantly against the small pucker. “By the Gods, I want you so bad, kasih,” he muttered, his hand grabbing hold of the base of his own cock and squeezing a little to give some kind of relief. “You ready for me?” Slowly he pushed his cock into the man, groaning as he felt his member being enveloped by the warmth. He pushed himself until he bottomed up, his hip moving in slow circle before pulling his cock out and push it inside once again, letting Iann adjusting himself. His eyes never left Iann’s own, feeling himself drawn into the obsidian gaze as he moved in and out. He could feel the soft thrumming from the thread that bound them together, a soft hum at the back of his head that he kept hearing every time he was near Iann. Millions thoughts crossed his mind, all focusing onto one man; Iann Cardero. stay with me, he heard himself plead, forever. Tuah moved to capture Iann’s lips with his, tongue and teeth and lips mashed together in their heated passion. “Iann,” he called out repeatedly between the groans and moans that escaped his lips, never tiring of saying the man’s name.

Iann "No," Iann said explosively in response to Tuah's question, but he was half-laughing as he said it, smacking at Tuah's shoulders while trying to urge him on. "I'm never ready for you! You're like a tidal wave and I'm always facing the other way. You knock me over - oh fuck god yes--!!" Iann's yammering was cut off in a strangled noise,, grit teeth and eyes widening and blasting out completely. Still, Tuah's eye contact held Iann there, helped him breathe into it - and with the vampire blood, he recovered from the sting and strain with remarkable ease. Oh yes - yes, this was what Iann wanted. He grinned, then chuckled in the back of his throat as the pain subsided into a sensitized bliss. Pure enjoyment - Iann made a light 'ahhhh' noise and then tilted his hips upwards, trying to take more of Tuah in. His eyes rolled up and his entire body started slacken, relaxed under Tuah's steady pace and strong grip. "Come on, baby," Iann said, once his eyes opened again, hands clutching Tuah's face to center him. The look in Tuah's eyes was so focused, so intense that Iann felt like his heart stopped for a moment before Tuah fucked it back into beating. "Harder and faster. Give it to me, hm?" Iann pressed a heated kiss against Tuah's open mouth. He clenched around Tuah's cock as it stroked out. "I can handle it."

Tuah laughed, pressing his forehead against the corner of Iann’s shoulder. “You’re such a romantic when you want to, kasih,” he teased, pressing his lips against Iann’s skin, moving up to his neck and to his jaw. Each kiss he paused to thrust his hip, his cock moving in and out of his kasih. Iann’s words kindled his own desire further, his gaze fixated on the many emotions that flitted across Iann’s face. His hand ran along Iann’s side and rested on the man’s chest when he saw the other’s minute expression, brows furrowing together slightly as he waited for Iann to adjust himself. He moved his hip slowly first, meeting Iann halfway in a heated kiss. A groan escaped his lips, his free hand clutching the sheet of their bed, when he felt the tightness around his cock. Curses flew from his lips in both languages that he knew fluently. Both his hands moved to grab Iann’s jet black hair as he started moving his hip and picked up his pace and slowed down. He trusted the man would tell him if he was overdoing it, so he decided that he would let loose of his control a little as he pushed deeper into Iann. “Gods I love it when you say that,” Tuah pulled out his cock and waited for a moment before pushing it back in forcefully. “How much do you want to be fucked by this cock, hm kasih?” Gods he loved when Iann talked, he loved when he was able to make the man speechless, and Gods he loved it when the man begged. “Tell me how much you want me, kasih, and I’ll give it to you.”

Iann "Why does that always sound like an accusation..." Iann said with a huffing laugh, as his hands scrabbled long Tuan's skin to find purchase. It wasn't like Tuah could sweat really; in fact sex with a vampire could make a human realize just how much they were pouring with all sorts of liquids and heat that vampires just...didn't have. Tuah emulated it though - funny how 30-odd years of human could still show up 350 years later in Tuah's gasps and explosive words. One day, Iann decided, he'd oil Tuah down before sex. Just...cover him in olive oil and then scrape it off to leave a thin sheen, ancient Roman style. Regardless, he grinned and panted and yelped slightly in surprise when Tuah took Iann's words and actions to heart - Tuah could feel, despite the unbeating heart and lack of breath. And Iann loved knowing he did this to the vampire. He didn't know how rough and demanding Tuah could get, until Tuah's strong hand fisted into his hair. His thrusts got jarringly hard and his words...jesus. Iann's eyes flew open again, looking at him like Tuah was a new person. Or rather - a new facet. Achievment Unlocked: Aggressive!Tuah. Iann grew excited, fascinated; his well rested cock jumping to attention between them. If Tuah wanted to go there, Iann could certainly play along. It kind of thrilled him, in a way he never realized he'd ever actually...wanted before. "So badly," Iann replied with an immediate eagerness. He urged Tuah to lift his legs higher (Iann couldn't quite do it himself, flexibility at his age and so forth). "I think about you all the time, baby. I think about your cock all the time, sucking it and touching it and letting it fuck me until I can't think anymore. I lo - ah- I love it." His voice jolted with every thrust, and pain shot through his system everytime, but the vampire blood did its job and compensated. Iann was bolstered by this. "I want to worship it, hm? And you..." Iann was enjoying the words he was saying, exciting himself as he braced his hands on Tuah's chest, rolling Tuah's thick dark nipples between his fingers. He angled his hips up more, to pick up some of the friction between Tuah's near-punishing strokes. "Make you keep me here for days, with nothing else for me to think about but being with you, paying attention to only you, drowning myself in you, mmm. I'd be so happy to just spend my time thinking about nothing else, but you, Tuah. Tuah...god Tuah--"

[ethanalter]

'Star Trek: Discovery': Rainn Wilson on playing the mischievous Harry Mudd

Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd in Star Trek: Discovery (Photo: Michael Gibson/CBS)

When he hosted the Star Trek: Discovery panel at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer, Rainn Wilson made it absolutely clear where he stood on the Star Trek vs. Star Wars debate. “Well, Star Trek is just better,” he told the assembled crowd. Granted, the former star of The Office is a bit biased considering the fact that he’s now officially part of the Star Trek universe. But as he tells Yahoo Entertainment, he earned his Trekkie cred well before being cast as a (slightly) younger version of Harry Mudd, the intergalactic rogue that Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew originally encountered in two episodes of The Original Series. “My family would watch all the re-runs all the time in the ’70s, so I was probably 6 or 7 years old when I saw my first episode of Star Trek. And I probably saw Harry Mudd right around that time!”

Flash-forward to 2017 and Wilson is exploring the final frontier as Mudd in a pair of Discovery episodes. He made his debut in the fifth installment, encountering Discovery captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) in a Klingon prison. When Lorca staged a jailbreak, he rescued the mysterious Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif), but pointedly left Harry behind due to the fact that his cellmate was spying on him. On this week’s episode, “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” Mudd makes his grand re-entrance… and he’s none too happy about how Lorca treated him. We spoke with Wilson about how he devised his own take on a fan-favorite Star Trek character and when we’ll learn the origin of Harry Mudd’s fabulous mustache.

So this sounds like a dream role for you! Absolutely. Actors are always like, “This is a dream role for me,” and that’s become kind of a cliché. They’re doing some dumb show no one watches and are like, “It’s a dream role for me to play the dishwasher on the new action-adventure show, Chicago Pizza, on NBC.” [Laughs.] But I grew up watching Star Trek, so when they were doing this new Star Trek show, I had my agents call them up and beg for a meeting. They didn’t have anything for me, but I asked them to keep me in mind and months later the phone rang and they talked to me about Harry Mudd. I thought the combination of the dastardly rapscallion and the theatrically comedic was a perfect fit for me. So it really was a dream come true.

How closely did you model your performance after your predecessor, Roger C. Carmel? I had been lucky in that Dwight from The Office had the great Mackenzie Crook doing his version with Gareth, so I got to steal the best bits and make the other stuff my own. It’s the same with Roger Carmel, and his combination of the theatrical, the mischievous, and also the deadly. I wanted to accentuate that, and thought about how much fun I could have and how deadly I could be at the same time. That was really interesting, bumping up against the different colors of a character.

When I spoke with James Frain about playing Sarek, he talked about how he wanted to show how the character ends up becoming the one we remember from The Original Series. What was your mental image of a pre-TOS Mudd? There’s not a whole lot about Harry from The Original Series. I went back and watched his episodes, as well as the episode of The Animated Series. I think the Discovery writers did a great job fleshing out his backstory. The idea that he’s pursuing Stella and purchased a moon for her, and that she’s got a powerful dad he can never please. Also the idea that he’s got resentment for the Federation; he thinks their whole mission is ridiculous, the idea of boldly going where no one has ever gone before. Of course you’re going to end up in war if you do that! You’re going to end up bumping into a species that doesn’t want you on their front lawn. Of course, you don’t know how much of it is true, because he could be making up the whole damn thing!

Did you want to suggest how this experience informs the Mudd we meet later on in “Mudd’s Women”? You can’t link it completely because it doesn’t quite add up. When you look at “Mudd’s Women,” he’s had some interaction with the Federation before, but he’s a very low-level merchant trader. So it doesn’t quite add up exactly chronologically. But that’s OK — it’s the spirit of Mudd that’s the important thing. The Original Series had these really broad comedic episodes, so my larger mission was to be part of the great Star Trek tradition where these larger-than-life characters would be splattered into occasional episodes.

How do you feel about Discovery‘s darker tone in contrast to The Original Series? I think it’s a bold move. In today’s TV environment, you can’t really make a Star Trek show without the action element that J.J. Abrams brought to the movies. You can’t have an episode where they’re like, “Look here’s a planet! I wonder if there are Dilithium Crystals on that planet? Let’s go down and see! Oh, there’s a talking tree and a bunch of children running around by a brook. That seems mysterious, I wonder what’s going on?” You can’t do that kind of Twilight Zone-esque Star Trek episode; it’s not going to sustain for the audience. You have to be true to the original Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s vision, but also modernize it. I think the idea of a war with the Klingons — the darkness of it, and the action sequences it allows — gives the series a propulsion it otherwise wouldn’t have. Personally, I’m a fan of the episodes where the crew lands on a planet and there’s a reading they get from a rock that unravels this whole mystery. But I don’t know if those episodes can work now.

Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd and Shazad Latif as Lieutenant Ash Tyler in Star Trek: Discovery (Photo: Michael Gibson/CBS)

Can you tease how Mudd will make his return on this week’s episode? Well, at the end of the fifth episode, he was abandoned in the Klingon jail by Lorca, which I think was a pretty sh*tty move! Lorca absolutely should have taken Mudd with him; that goes completely against Starfleet protocol. He should’ve taken him with him and put him on trial for abetting an enemy or something like that. So Harry is pretty pissed off and he gets onboard the Discovery and sh*t is about to get cray-cray. I will say that I do get to fire a phaser, use the transporter, and sit in the captain’s chair. So talk about an actor’s dream coming true!

It sounds like we’ll be seeing a more vengeance-minded Harry than we’re accustomed to. Do you still bring some comic notes to it? It’s definitely another color from Mudd than we’ve seen before. Though he was pretty dastardly in “I, Mudd” — wanting to trap the Enterprise crew on the planet with the androids. So we’ve seen him be dastardly, but this is much more of a straight-up revenge episode. I give all the credit to the writers for writing in most of the comedy. I do try to bring extra elements — physicality and other things. But I didn’t improvise so much on this show. It didn’t feel right to improvise on Star Trek!

When are we going to see the origin story of Mudd’s famous mustache? I had the idea for the beard. I told them that if I let the mustache grow and be part of a beard, it would be a little less like Dwight from The Office [in space]. But Discovery has gotten picked up for a second season, so I think that’s what we need for Season 2, episode 7. It’s just called “Mustache” and it shows Harry Mudd shaving off the beard. We’ve gotta do that! It’s the origin story the world has been clamoring for. [Laughs.]

Star Trek: Discovery airs Sundays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS All Access.

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