#this is also true of the vulcan but THAT is actually good

[discjude]

whatever afterlife exists in SGE must be the funniest shit ever imagine being some Jaunt Jolie peasant who gets a little too in the way of the Snake and dying only to see The Literal School Master cheering the Snake on. Imagine dying of like cholera or something and taking a little Ghost Vacation to Camelot and seeing the King of Camelot - who's dead, apparently - beating the shit out of some random other boy with weird eyes. imagine how flesh and blood went down. Do you think they all had popcorn for that

[betty-fran]

S01E25  “This Side of Paradise”

#or one of the K/S talks

I've read at least a few good analyses of this episode, which I don't want to repeat, but I also have a few thoughts on the subject.

I'm sharing Star Trek run right now with N, my sister, which is entirely justified by my tendency to hyper-fixate and her love of old movies, but what always surprises me is that when we look at the same things, we see something completely different. After all, we see the world not as it is, but as we are.

And then I ask myself, is K/S so obvious to me just because of who I am?

N liked Spock/Uhura since we first watched AOS about 6 years ago, which is still one of the main reasons we argue when we watch TOS today. My sister is an HSP, she enjoys reading Zweig and Maurois, unlike me (I was only able to read his history of France), and she's a romantic in the true Ivanhoe way. And while, in my opinion, Spock is objectively difficult to read in the light of a classic heterosexual hero, N somehow manages to do it, and I have to leave room for that because she's my sister. After all, he's so different from other male characters on screen, so noble and reserved that you really know - when he will fall in love, he will love only one person and be faithful to them all his life. Perceiving it this way, it's indeed possible to imagine him caring for the woman next to him, treating her with respect, but such a reading of his character is, at the same time, a complete disregard for his internal conflict, a rejection of even the possibility of this conflict existing.

The problem with TOS is that it's actually hard to tell what was planned from the beginning and what came out of reading between the lines. TOS is incredibly multi-layered, and it can be taken either completely literally or delved into the most subtle philosophical space, depending on the depth of the viewer's thought and their own life experience, but even in a literal reading, it always remains quite ambiguous.

It's obvious that Spock's conflict over his own otherness, his inability to feel that he belongs, is fundamental. This is exposed starting with S1EP3 "Charlie X", and only intensifies as the plot progresses. This may not be related to his sexual orientation, given his pronounced neurodivergence in the first place (read: Vulcans), but I believe it can explain a lot more things about him. There's a great analysis of the K/S dynamic and especially Spock, in his repressed homosexuality, here by @anghraine, which reminds me why Spock is a more difficult character for me to read than Kirk. Even with a literal reading of TOS, Kirk's character remains clearly bi/pan - despite existing objections from both sides. The experience of accepting my own homosexuality, its catharsis, was completely unknown to me. My orientation was never a difficult moment for me; my "something wrong with me" didn't depend on it, and couldn't be solved by it. I loved the women in my life just as the men, but as an autistic person, I saw in the eyes of both women and men the same inability to accept me for who I am, the fear of it. It's hard to erase from your own memories the moment of understanding that the only option to be with another person is to change your very essence. S01E25 “This Side of Paradise” certainly brings this to mind. Leila's declaration of love is both selfish and completely hopeless because it's also her realization of the impossibility of accepting Spock for who he is. The happiness she speaks of could only exist because Spock was a different person all this time, and this scene strikes me with its cruelty:

LEILA: I love you. I said that six years ago, and I can’t seem to stop repeating myself. On Earth, you couldn’t give anything of yourself. You couldn’t even put your arms around me. We couldn’t have anything together there. We couldn’t have anything together anyplace else. We’re happy here.

But more important to me is the scene on the bridge before this, when Spock is about to go to the transporter room to talk to Leila:

KIRK: Mister Spock, Miss Kalomi is strictly your concern, but should you talk to her while she's still under the influence of the spores? SPOCK: I'll be back shortly, Captain.

It's not particularly interesting in terms of dialogue, but it's incredibly valuable in the way it's played. It's a quiet, chamber theater scene of almost intimate realization - for Kirk, that Spock can leave him, and he can't hold him back because he has no right to; and for Spock, that he can never leave him, even if he wanted to. Spock's response is incredibly soft, almost reassuring; it comes easily because he's already accepted it. He means it. He will return, he always will. But Kirk, left alone in the semi-darkness of the studio set, must embrace his own zugzwang. This isn't the most revealing scene of jealousy on his part, but it's probably the first one so clearly realized. That's why I find this episode so important, not only for revealing the internal conflict of both Spock and Kirk, but for defining this unspoken tension between them.

Among all of Roddenberry's quotes, there is one that is not usually mentioned, but which is actually the most profound in explaining his attitude towards K/S:

Oh, I think for the same reason that most heterosexual relationships are not so much for the purpose of sex as many of us — many of the people even who are involved in them assume they are. Most of us go through life trying to find someone — trying to make contact with some of these strange aliens on this planet. . .on this precipice — seeking some assurance that we are not alone. That we are not just "bags of skin." That our consciousness will not just be snuffed out and forgotten — all too soon. Sex is — a great part of sex has nothing to do with the physical — the physical act is not so important — unless it affects the other person — but the real reason for touching a person is just to make this contact. To hold each other.

For me, Roddenberry remains a very controversial figure, because he is the reason for this Schrödinger's Cat, when K/S is at the same time the only objective canon, and can never be in the classical perception of it. He created a story about love, but he left no room for its physical expression. And I understand him better than I would like to - his desire to show that real things, the most important things, are above the physical. This is actually talked about often in TOS - in S1EP19 “Arena” Kirk, after defeating the Gorn and refusing to kill him, receives approval from Metrons, a much more spiritually advanced race, the inhabitants of this system where they were stopped for showing aggression, and who expresses hope that one day humans will evolve enough to make contact with them. Likewise, in S1EP27 “Errand of Mercy,” the Organians, who imitate a simple medieval life, are actually such a highly evolved race that they have long since ceased to be attached to a physical body, having only a spiritual one. This idea of ​​a higher form of existence that transcends the standard physical body is one of the core and often repeated ideas in TOS, and is a beautiful idea that, unfortunately, so far doesn't connect well with our mortal, physical world. Wanting a body does not mean wanting a soul. But it also works the other way around. Would it be enough to have only one thing? What's worse - being physically close to someone who can never fully accept you, or loving someone you can't touch? Unfortunately, this is what makes people who easily read the depth of love between K/S on screen, freaks in the eyes of people unable to see it. They love each other, but it's still not enough for any average viewer to believe. That's what Roddenberry left us with, out of his good intentions. They never kissed, never really touched each other, not like lovers do, and this is the truest and most insidious proof that we are wrong. This makes K/S an almost Shakespearean tragedy in modern reality, a tragedy for people who can understand them, to see themselves in them, for people who don't fit into the accepted idea of ​​what love should be, whose love will always be wrong, insufficient, too much, strange, and frightening.

And while we're free to ignore it, it's still something that emotionally compromises me. For some reason, for reasons I don't understand, it feels like if they can't have this happy ending the way they are, I, as I am, can't either.

[eastsideofthemoon]

Discovery's Most Afrofuturistic Episodes

Star Trek Discovery, in general, is Afrofuturism. It's a show that centers a Black woman's story - her trials, tribulations, and triumphs - in a world of science and technology. Also, much of her story is a reflection on what it is like to be a Black woman in today's world. But even with all of that, there are episodes that are especially Afrofuturistic, and since it's Black History Month, I want to shine a light on them.

1. The Girl Who Made the Stars

This story is pure Afrofuturism. In this Short Trek, we get a rare glimpse of little Michael Burnham with her biological father, Mike Burnham, Sr, as he's comforting her by telling a story about how a little Black girl's bravery created the stars.

The story takes place in the village of the /Xam Abathwa, an African tribe, who are called the "first people". This story proclaims that the first people on earth were African - Black Africans.

Also, during the opening monologue of S2.01 (Brother), Michael references this story, linking it even more into the canon of Discovery and Star Trek as a whole.

2. Lethe

This episode tackles both assimilation and covert racism. I don’t believe it’s by happenstance that Michael, who’s Black, is surrounded by white Vulcans. Through a mind meld with Sarek, we see in this episode the extent to which Michael Burnham has had to assimilate, in the worst way, to Vulcan culture in order to integrate into their society. Her hair is straightened, her speaking patterns altered, and any expression that is uniquely her, primarily her emotions, are suppressed. More poignantly, we learn the truth to why Michael wasn’t accepted into the Vulcan Exploration Group. Despite being more than qualified, it was the bigotry of the VEG only wanting to make room for one non-Vulcan participant because of race, not merit. Sound familiar?

But as the Bible says, The truth will set you free. When Michael learns that not only was she lied to about not being “good enough”, but she was set free from feeling she needed to suppress her true self in order to appease a system never designed for her or even trying to include her. And at the end of this episode, we see Michael beginning her journey of self discovery. There’s a lot to unpack in this episode, which I’ll have to do in a separate post.

2. Perpetual Infinity

I really want to write a longer piece on this episode, but I'll keep it concise for now.

This episode shows that Dr. Gabrielle Burnham, a Black woman, was the genius who created the Red Angel suit and cracked the code on time travel. Unfortunately, due to Leland's negligence, this beautiful family's lives were permanently disrupted, and Dr. Burnham uses the time traveling suit she created to try and save her husband and daughter. In this episode, Michael and Dr. Burnham are finally reunited.

This episode is especially important as it firmly establishes Michael Burnham's origins. We learn about her biological parents, who are both scientists, and get a glimpse of her home life before Vulcan. What we see is a loving family, who relished in their daughter's curiosity about space.

Despite the Red Angel saga having mixed reviews, I believe most people missed what that story was actually about: A love story about a mother and daughter. In short, 2 Black women, a mother-daughter duo, compromised of 2 scientists, save all sentient life via technology.

3. The Hope is You pt 1

Michael jumps 930 years into the future, and the first person she meets is a dark skinned Black man, who introduces her to this new world and new tech she's never encountered. The rest of the episode is essentially us following them as our guides into the 32nd century. Seeing 2 Black characters centered in a show, set so far into the future, is still pretty unprecedented, even in sci-fi.

4. Unification III

This is another episode I want to do a longer breakdown, but for now… I like to call this episode "Claire Huxtable in Space". Dr. Burnham aka Mama Burnham, gives a full display of a Black mother. And I believe her portrayal was as authentic as some of TV's most celebrated Black mothers like Aunt Viv and Claire Huxtable.

A lot of people in the fandom have misinterpreted Dr. Burnham's interaction with Michael during the T'kal-in-ket, either as 1) being too mean or 2) rightfully putting Michael in her place. Both are wrong. Dr. Burnham was doing what Black mothers do - supporting their child(ren) by giving them the truth. Dr. Burnham didn't lay out Michael’s short coming to embarrass her, but it forced Michael to defend herself and Starfleet. By doing so, Michael was able to see she did belong, and it ultimately led to her achieving her goal of acquiring the SB-19 data.

DS9 gave us a wonderful portrayal of a Black father in Benjamin Sisko. But throughout Star Trek, we hadn't really gotten a strong portrayal of a Black mother. Thanks to New Trek, we got two in Dr. Burnham and Captain Freeman.

Plus, this episode is full of Black love. We begin and end the episode with tender moments between Michael and Book, we get the Michael and Dr. Gabrielle reunion and the beautiful moment between Michael and her mom, where Dr. Gabrielle tells Michael that she (Michael) always knows where to find her.

5. The Hope is You pt 2

This is the episode where Michael Burnham becomes CAPTAIN Michael Burnham. To see this woman be given a second chance and watch her make the most of it, and see her be triumphant in achieving captain status was EVERYTHING!

Furthermore, to see a Black woman in a position of power while rocking her braids meant a lot to me. Black hair has been heavily politicized throughout American history. The Crown Act had to be created in order to protect Black people from having our natural be discriminated against in the workplace (and in other settings). So, the significance of Capt Burnham’s image being associated with her braids is highly important. (Side note: I may have to do a separate post on Black hair in Star Trek Discovery, as most of the Black characters sport natural Black hairstyles).

In this episode, Discovery officially became about a Black female Starship captain in the far-off future.

6. Anamoly

Commander Bryce is MVP! Thanks to his hobby with kitesurfing, he's provides the strategy on how to help Book "ride the wave" out of the anamoly. A Black man saves another Black man with the use of science and technology.

7. All In

Michael and Owosekun, the team up we deserved. This gif above is just pure Black girl joy. Similar to The Hope is You pt 1, this episode primarily follows Michael and Owosekun as they go on a mission to stop Book and Tarka from buying isolynium. And they are dynamic together! They hustle their way to winning big in a fighting ring. Owo reads Tarka down, and Michael proves she's always one step ahead.

8. Coming Home

In the season 4 finale, we not only see Captain Burnham lead her team to success, we also see her standing with earth's president, a Black woman (Stacy Abrams). Seeing two Black women in positions of high power, one being the highest authority on earth was something I didn’t know I needed to see. Lastly, the last image of the season is an image of the continent of Africa from space.

9. Life, Itself

In the series finale, Michael meets her creator, a Black female Progenitor, which, in retrospect, feels like a full circle moment to The Girl Who Made the Stars. In The Girl Who Meets the Stars, she’s told a story that the first humans were Black Africans, and then she meets a Black Progenitor.

Then, in the epilogue, we not only saw that she made it to old age, she and Book are thriving and created their own family, demonstrating that the Black family unit is still intact in the far future. That we as a people and our culture still exists.

And for those who think a mixed or biracial family would be more progressive, well, this family is compromised of a human woman and Kwejian man, and their half human/Kwejian son. So they're mixed/biracial.

In closing, despite Bryan Fuller creating the character of Michael Burnham, it was Brandon Schultz, one of Disco's Black writers, who was the catalyst in moving Discovery into including stronger portrayals of Afrofuturism. I highly recommend listening to his interview with the Syfy Sistas (a phenomenal podcast in its own right). On this same podcast, they interviewed Sonequa Martin-Green (definitely go listen to that interview, star date 12/23/22) and she asked them what they wanted to see in Discovery. (This interview was done before the cancellation was announced.) Based on their suggestions, and the fact that SMG said she was going to give their suggestions to the writers, I have a firm belief S6 would have been even more Afrofuturistic.

Although the term “Afrofuturism” was coined in 1993, the concept has been around for decades. Some of the earliest iterations of it go back to the 1920s. We, as a people, have always seen ourselves beyond the limitations our society has tried to dictate to us.

The Afrofuturism and representation in Discovery, DS9, and Lower Decks ALL MATTER. There is no need to be on some crab in the bucket behavior just because there's a new Black character that others relate to different or more than who you relate to. There's beauty in the multiplicity of our portrayals of various Black characters and their stories throughout the Star Trek universe and sci-fi in general. I just hope more of us learn to appreciate it all.

Happy Black History Month

[who-dat-homeless]

Another speculation post on Vulcan biology and social interactions

You know that emotions are actually vital for animals(with nervous system)? It's a way your body let's you know that there's something wrong or good going on with you. Although the popular belief is that emotions are *illogical* I view them as a very logical thing, it's that sometimes it can be too complicated to see the reason right away. Even when you have for example ptsd and you *overreact* to a certain trigger it's not illogical - your body have been in a lot of stress and/or danger and it knows that you're weary of this so it makes sure you're dealing with the situation as soon as possible (even though your reaction to trigger might be tears or panic attack your body actually tries to save you it's just it's the only way it knows how to save you - that's why you might need therapy - to learn new ways of carring about yourself)

Another great function of emotions is to show other people what is going on with you. Like animals show their teeth to warn other animals - they don't have language and they can't explain that they're going to attack. And for people it's also true and it takes less energy to smile rather then to explain that you're actually happy etc.

And then there's vulcans. And a great difference between humans and vulcans - they have telepathy. And just imagine - you don't need language and you also don't need to flex your muscles in order to translate your inner state. And as far as biology goes the actions that take less energy get more advanced.

I think vulcans have emotions, as much as humans do, but they're experiencing them differently. For reference humans can't actually feel wetness we just don't have receptors for this. Frogs do have such receptors, we don't. But we still know when we're wet because of the temperature and pressure.

So vulcans have emotions but they don't show them much because they don't have a need to show them with a body language they can do it with telepathy. On top of that, thanks to their culture and meditation, they're hyper aware of what's going on in their bodies and they're in much lesser need for emotions as a way of letting you there's something wrong. So they do have emotions, I am certain of that, but they're experiencing them so differently from how the other species experience them that vulcans won't even call them "emotions"

[anghraine]

for the fic ask! - 🔪 & 🥤(star trek specifically?)

Ooh, a new fandom (for me) ask!

🔪 - what’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I only have one writing project for ST (if in many parts), and I'm tempted to reply with "looking up the wilder details in the web archive version of the novelization of The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry" (doubly a candidate because I blithely ignore most of the films and other shows for TOS-focused ... anything, just about, but I'm happy to grab a few details I do like or find useful for fic purposes).

Relatedly, there are some of the wilder interviews I dug up. Like, the Hephaestion-Alexander comparison, the reference to Nimoy saying Spock couldn't survive Kirk by long, and the whole "we didn't suggest they shared physical love in TOS, just that they shared a deep emotional love that would be sufficient for physical love if that were normalized in their time" are all from one interview.

But, actually, there's this conversation in the femslash AU where S'paak's vegetarianism is mildly relevant, and I was headcanoning that some of the complications around vegetarianism and esp veganism "in nature" for humans—without supplements, fortification etc—aren't actually true for Vulcans. (The ancient Vulcans ate meat for other, characteristically ancient Vulcan, reasons.)

So I ended up researching what important vitamins/minerals/whatever are easiest to get in vegetarian or vegan diets through alternative sources of food alone, and which are most difficult, for this one brief conversation in the fic. Like, there are lots of ways to get protein without eating meat, for instance, and there are some that are possible if a bit more difficult. The biggest obstacle to veganism without the aid of modern science is probably a form of cobalt (specifically cobalamin or vitamin B12), because it's completely unnecessary for plant life but important for humans, and it's been difficult/impossible for humans throughout most of our history to gain cobalamin without eating other animals or byproducts of them.

And then I ended up being like, okay, it's important, but what are the specific problems with B12 deficiency so S'paak can rattle them off. And I looked that up and was like ".......oh, those are not good" but they worked for the scene. Anyway, all of this was just for a brief interaction in which S'paak expressionlessly gloats about Vulcans not requiring cobalt in any form.

🥤- recommend an author or fanfic you love!

Ooh. Going back to my bookmarks, let's see what I remember from before Lent, lol. I know I liked "The Thousandth Man" by Opheliaj. I also read several of CateAdams's TOS fics on AO3 that I enjoyed, especially the multi-chapter ones.

[helloarska]

SPOILERS FOR FALL AND RISE OF SGE AHEAD

!!!

So naturally, after reading The Rise, my heart was astonished by how underrated Vulcan of the Netherwood actually was. Really. He might have been only a minor character in the whole duology, but trust me when I say that the potential he holds is insane—especially with Rhian. The twin's little crush could make for so many doomed AUs, and we seriously need to have a talk about this.

What if Vulcan had won?

Let’s stick to the scenario where Rafal remained restrained, was thrown into the Doom Room, and tortured. I imagine Rhian being locked up in some tower, trying to save his brother and failing miserably. Vulcan wouldn’t actually execute him—The Storian would likely punish him for that, as would the Kingdom Council. So, keeping Rhian alive and forcing him to not only attend all the council meetings, sign every document, but also cast spells to keep Vulcan young and handsome would become Vulcan’s top priority.

Excluding the whole new School Master deal he had going on.

But that doesn't really matter, because the best part of all this would be Rhian being kept alive in a tower like he was some kind of princess. Surely, Vulcan would use physical force, drugs, and torture to make Rhian obey. Possibly the same straitjacket his brother wears would be used on him—until Rhian lost all hope of escape.

I mean, Vulcan was still beautiful, no?

Even after all the beatings, even after his brother was tortured daily just for fun in their new reality, Rhian would still dream of Vulcan. He’d blush every time he saw that angry face again, turning away when called Duckling, because Vulcan was insanely beautiful—and being selfish in the worst scenarios is what Evil does. Rhian was Evil. He just didn’t realize it yet.

And probably never would. With the prophecy never coming true now, he’d have no way of knowing that Rafal was actually the good one. Both Vulcan and the situation only fed the delusion that he was the one on the side of Good. After all, what’s more Good than spending his immortal days locked in a tower, like a princess waiting for her prince to save her? Even if that prince never comes.

In fact, with all the remaining love he had for Vulcan, he’d probably fall into Stockholm Syndrome just a few years into captivity. It wasn’t the right thing, of course, but it was the best option for him, considering it was either possibly receiving Vulcan’s love like he always wanted—or being tortured again.

That’s where the infinite potential of their new dynamic would set in. Stockholm Syndrome. What would that look like, especially with Rhian—the Evil twin? Vulcan would probably give in, just for fun. The idea of not spending enormous sums on drugs from the best Evil Kingdoms would sound amusing to him. He wouldn’t need drugs to make Rhian sign some dumb papers about the Storian if love already made him fully submit. Besides, it would serve as encouragement for the students—look, he’d say, Lord Vulcan is so great even the Good School Master loves him! And, perhaps, it would be a new way to torture Rafal—showing how Rhian had betrayed his family for a few kisses and a little affection.

Rhian is Evil. He’d do anything to survive, even if he doesn’t realize it yet. So him slowly trying to make himself look good in Vulcan’s eyes would lead him to believe it was all for some greater Good, until he fell completely into the abyss of loving his rival.

He’d definitely try to seduce Vulcan, all while telling himself it was for the better. That if Vulcan let his guard down, he’d finally have a chance to betray him and free his brother—and himself—from all this.

But it would never happen. Because in the end, Rhian was still Rhian—and he was in love with Vulcan. Vulcan was everything Rhian’s heart craved: all his deepest, unhinged desires personified. He always wanted to be put in his place, to make Rafal jealous, to have someone equally Evil at his side—Vulcan was the perfect candidate.

All he had to do for that to happen was abandon his pride—and his brother. The first wouldn’t be so hard. The second, well... at least he would be alive, and not like in the prophecy, right?

So, lying next to Vulcan, drinking some obviously spiked wine with a dumb smile on his face, Rhian couldn’t really care about his twin suffering in the Doom Room. Rhian was here, under a blanket, with a strong man petting him roughly and the Storian scribbling somewhere in the background—all while he was warm and safe. Yes. This was the best possible outcome for Rhian, even if it wasn’t morally correct.

But since when did Evil care about morals?

[t0ast-ghost]

Here’s my thoughts on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

There’s swear words, star trek, and spoilers oh my!

Start it up:

- “The planet of galactic peace.” Somehow. I don’t believe that.

- This guy on his horse looks like death

- “Let us explore it together.” Come take my hand. Let us take ibuprofen together.

- It’s hard to dislike Sybok when he smiles like that so they have to add in a somewhat evil laugh

- Epic music is a go (Music by Jerry Goldsmith)

- “‘You’ll be able to relax’ you call this relaxing? I’m a nervous wreck. If I’m not careful I’ll end up talking to myself.” Kirk convinced him to come here and now he has to watch his idiot husband climb a rock

- Kirk knows Spock and McCoy are there to catch him when he falls but goddamnit if they aren’t both really tired of his shit

- No but seriously what is with science fiction and thinking ‘yeah there’s a race of cat people’ looking at you too doctor who

- Caithlin Dar is awesome already.. I don’t trust Talbot (edit: haha too bad they’re characters don’t really do anything anyway)

- Scotty narrating is my favourite actually

- UHURA IS AWESOME

- are Uhura and Scotty dating?

- “Admit it. We’re lost!” “All right, we’re lost. But we’re making good time.” Didn’t know I needed Sulu and Chekov to go hiking together but I do

- “Yes uh- yes, we’ve been caught in a blizzard.” *Chekov starts blowing into the microphone* god I love them. He just went with it!

- Bones ringing the triangle out of spite and love

- The husbands sitting down and eating beans. Why would they make star trek about literally anything else

- Coming back strong with the extra wh sound (it was in the last movie when McCoy said whales)

- The trivia panel is telling me that one of the goofs is Kirk calling Tennessee whiskey bourbon and it looks like something Spock would write

- McCoy laughing and talking about Spock’s Vulcan metabolism and Spock indulging by saying he’s also half human and McCoy responding with “well it certainly doesn’t show” to which he knows Spock’ll take as a compliment. Yes I do need old married mcspirk.

- “You know, you two could drive a man to drink.” Then Kirk with all the innocence and nonchalance in the world says, “me? What did I do?” “What did you do? You really piss me off, Jim.”

- McCoy is lecturing Kirk cause he can’t take anymore of his almost dying bullshit

- “I knew I wouldn’t die because the two of you were with me.” “I do not understand.” “I’ve always known I’ll die alone.” I’m about to cry because this is true. He dies in a distant future without either of them. Thinking about it they all somewhat die alone. Maybe Spock was there for McCoy but we never see his death. And Spock dies in an alternate past :(((

- “It’s a mystery to me what draws us together…Other people have families.” “Other people, Bones, not us.” They are each other’s family.

- SPOCK ROASTING A MARSHMALLOW (not sure why they call it a ‘marsh melon’)

- This is the silliest thing they could have possibly put in a movie (this is like a comfort fic but a movie and I am so here for it)

- “God, I liked him better before he died.” McCoy is getting nasty and Kirk is now like ‘well time to sleep’

- “Life is not a dream.” “Go to sleep, Spock.”

- Why is the head Klingons outfit so cunty. Why’re the Klingons so silly?

- They caught Spock in his jammies

- “Well gentlemen, it seems shore leave has been cancelled.” They can’t go on ONE DATE

- Why’re they huddled together on the ship like that?

- “‘All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.’” “Melville.” “John Masefield.” “Are you sure about that?” “I am well versed in the classics, Doctor.” “Then how come you don’t know Row, Row, Row Your Boat?” Spock makes the most frowny and tired face imaginable. I think McCoy was justified in biting back there cause imagine you wake up, get in a shuttle, and then get corrected. All I’m saying is Spock was being a bit of a know it all (wouldn’t have him any other way)

- “*laughs* I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happier.” McCoy is so jolly in this one

- The yeoman with Kirk’s jacket is played by Shatner’s daughter

- HE ACTUALLY HAS A SHIRT THAT SAYS ‘go climb a rock.’ omg

- That fucking outfit oh my goodness

- “What’s the matter, Jim?” “I miss my old chair.” And then it switches to Spock who’s going :[

- Love how the Klingons all know who Kirk is. Like he’s THAT important

- Aww Kirk can’t write his diary :((

- Their silhouettes are so cute (34:06) (also they look like how aliens coming out of a spaceship look, I just think that’s neat)

- McCoy has to turn on the lights like, ‘stop sulking in the damn dark.’

- “Imagine that, a passionate Vulcan.” What McCoy? You want Spock to be more passionate?

- “This is Captain Pavel Chekov speaking.” He’s so silly for that. But also it’s probably best he doesn’t say ‘acting captain’ as that would arouse suspicion cause as everyone knows the captain is always the first to go on dangerous away missions

- What’s going on? Why is Uhura dancing ? What.

- What. Was. That. Scene. Why.

- “Spock.” “Yes, captain?” “Be one with the horse.” “Yes, captain.” Oookay

- “Hold your horse, captain.” Good one.

- Spock just. He just nerve pinched that horse.

- Spock does not know how to deal with seeing his estranged brother again (yeah I was spoiled) so, “you are under arrest for seventeen violations of the neutral zone treaty.” Is what he went with

- Sybok complimented and then winked at Kirk HE IS TAKEN

- “We’re going to forego the tractor beam and fly her in manually.” “Manually?” “How often have you done this?” “Actually it’s my first attempt.” Personally wouldn’t trust anyone else to attempt that other than Sulu. He is THAT bitch (/pos)

- EXPLOSION!!!!! CRASHHHH

- whooo space stuff! Sorry the photon torpedo just missing as the enterprise went into warp was cool

- Spock’s got a gun!

- McCoy comes out of the ship and is so confused and looks to Spock and Kirk

- Ohhh no. Sybok is gonna do his thingy magic thing to Sulu and Uhura with Scotty watching ‘em from above

- “What you have done is betray every man on this ship.” “Worse. I have betrayed you. I do not expect you to forgive me.” “Forgive you? I ought to knock you on your goddamn ass.” “If you think it would help.” “You want me to hold him, Jim?” “You stay out of this. Why, Spock? Why?” Lots to think about in this dialogue. But I think McCoy offering to hold Spock is him going ‘Jim you’re overreacting can’t you see he’s already remorseful?’ I could be misreading but if you understand it as the idea of McCoy holding him down is so redundant because Spock is strong enough to get out of his grasp easily but probably wouldn’t resist in this moment then it’s just like aughhhhhh

- Also Kirk asking Spock to shoot someone is bad enough. But the fact that it was his brother…

- Kirk is in disbelief. He didn’t know his own husband has a brother (half brother technically. Same Spock same.)

- “Stop it, Jim! Spock could no more kill his own brother than he could kill you. If you want to punish him for what he’s done, why don’t you throw him in the brig? Besides, we’ve got bigger problems to deal with.” Bones not only defending Spock, but also getting them back on track

- Apparently both Gene Roddenberry and William Shatner didn’t like that Sybok was Spock’s brother. Roddenberry didn’t think that Sarek would have a child with another woman (I kinda agree but also Pon Farr would’ve made him become engaged to a Vulcan before he met Amanda, so it’s not completely unthinkable). And Shatner didn’t like it cause it was too much like ‘a soap opera plot line’ but they went with it so that Spock’s actions made sense with the way he acted towards Sybok. I personally like that Spock has siblings he never told anyone about. It’s funny.

- lmao this time Kirk gets to stand on top of Spock to reach something (See patterns of force)

- Spock talking about himself in the third person because he doesn’t want to admit that he couldn’t get out of the brig

- “The bond between these three is strong, difficult to penetrate. This will be quite a challenge.” IT’S CAUSE THEY’RE MARRIED

- It’s funny that- canonically - Sybok can sense a really strong bond between them

- Kirk and McCoy’s ass I mean- oh look it’s Spock. With rocket boots!

- Spock holding onto Kirk and McCoy for their dear lives

- “I believe I overshot the mark by one level.” “Nobody’s perfect.” McCoy keeps saying this to Spock and I think it’s healing. Also flirting.

- They’re lit really nicely

- McCoy is NOT having this “Sounds like brainwashing to me.” You’re so right, back OFF Sybok

- (drawable moment 1:08:17)

- “Your pain is the deepest of all. I can feel it. Can’t you?” OH WAIT WE GET TO SEE MCCOYS PAIN WHAT

- I have no words for this scene. Holy Shit.

- Forced therapy

- Oh they all get to see each others pain cause they’re connected

- Spock gets to see his own birth… why. What.

- young Sarek 😧😳😳😳

- “So human.” YOU FUCKED THE HUMAN SAREK. God he’s such a bitch.

- SPOCK FOR THE WIN!! He’s not leaving

- MCCOYS STAYING WITH HIS HUSBANDS!!! YEAH LETS GOOO! (Personally I don’t think McCoy would go with Sybok at all, but I wasn’t sure what the writers were gonna do and I was scared they would make him leave)

- I know we’ve moved on from this but maybe Sarek saying that Spock was human was like saying ‘he’s got your eyes’ like comparing Spock to Amanda in appreciation. We’ll never know but it’s still a bitchass thing to say.

- Kirk has a plaque with ‘To boldly go where no man has gone before’ what a nerd

- They’re really hot in their uniforms

- hi god

- Kirk wants to ID god. Fair enough.

- There’s McCoy in the corner. Losing his religion

- “I doubt a God who inflicts pain for his own pleasure.” YEAH McCoy’s not standing for this shit

- Oh so Sybok wasn’t the enemy. Yeah that’s a good ending for his character. Saying bye to sock and asking for forgiveness

- “Beam up Spock and Dr. McCoy now.” “Now, just a damn minute-” Kirk said that so fast so that his husbands couldn’t argue with him

- “I am a foolish old man.” “Damn you, sir. You will try.” Spock ain’t fucking around. Also he picked up a couple of words from McCoy

- “I thought I was going to die.” “Not possible, you were never alone.” Throw me out an airlock I need some air

- SORRY the immediate moment after that was SO MUCH WORSE “Please, captain. Not in front of the Klingons.” THEY WERE ABOUT TO MAKE OUT SLOPPY

- “Cosmic thoughts, gentlemen?” “We were speculating. Is god really out there?” They were having a nice quiet conversation and it’s a shame they didn’t show it :(

- KIRK TALKING ABOUT SAM??? Oh no he was implying it was Spock

- this ending- I’m not okay.

Unfortunately I really enjoyed this one. William Shatner made a movie that was so shippy and was oblivious to it the entire time.

I know it took a really long time for me to post this one because I wanted to watch undiscovered country first, I haven’t watched it yet but I felt I needed to finally edit and post this one. I hope you enjoyed my silly little thoughts.

Star trekking across the universe. Get that stuck in your head.

Masterpost

[cdr2002]

I find curious that mirror!Dukat didn't appear in the series, I dare to imagine that he would be more noble and celibate, lol, I went too far, sorry xd........is he?!

I tend to not go the “Opposite Day” approach with mirror universe personas because despite that common preconception, that’s not really how the actual episodes pan out. While some individuals are wildly different (Brunt, Worf, Bashir), others are clearly fundamentally the same person in certain crucial personality traits, tendencies, or beliefs (O’Brien, Jadzia, Quark, Rom, Tuvok, Garak) altered by different circumstances, sometimes greatly, leading to them being hardened, but still having a familiar spark deep in there somewhere (Sisko, Ezri, even Kira)

Thusly, I don’t think Mirror Dukat would necessarily be a good guy, he’d still be raised in a deeply fascist society, one arguably even more arrogant about itself than the prime Cardassian Union due to the Alliance’s victory over the Terran Empire. One where enslaving others is normalized and omnipresent, the occupation of Bajor in essence occurring across dozens of worlds.

If one wanted to do the hero route you can say he was exposed to so much cruelty it became overwhelming and he had to get away from it. The Alliance villains we get I have my own headcanons for how they turned out.

My theories are that Worf was raised to think that all of this was correct and the way things should be, simply indoctrinated. Garak was indoctrinated to, but he’s gotten a point where he feels trapped in this system and wants to move up in station to get out somehow. I’ve always seen Mirror Garak as a peak into how miserable Prime Garak would’ve actually ended up if he wasn’t exiled. Kira I think is reeling from trauma incurred during the Terran occupation of Bajor and acts in cruelty out of revenge, this trauma also manifesting in her need for control of her situation at all times and refusal to be vulnerable, even with people she loves like Sisko, Ezri or her prime counterpart (even when she wants to be)

Dukat likewise would likely have been indoctrinated as well, and as mentioned above something could’ve snapped him out of it, or he could’ve reveled in the Alliance’s fascism and become an embodiment of their ways. We sort of see the approach in the mirror universe novels, where he eventually becomes the head of state of the Cardassian half of the Alliance, “Supreme Legate Dukat”, without the Dominion needing to install him like in the prime universe, suggesting his political cunning might be greater than that of prime Dukat.

Thematically, as the Intendant is in some ways like prime Dukat, Mirror Dukat could share some attributes with prime Kira. Maybe he’s more loyal to the Cardassian state and more selfless, somewhat like Damar, but also with an independent streak for how things should be done, again like Kira, which leads to him potentially pursuing power for the above approach.

Regarding his sex life… I think his fetish for Bajorans could end up still manifesting, though he would be able to marry Tora Naprem publicly rather than with shame, except from the most purist of Cardassians. I prefer to imagine he simply doesn’t encounter Kira Meru at all in the mirror universe. Everything we see of the Intendant has me believing her parents likely died when she was young.

If the appeal is his own power and dominance in the situation, he could I guess end up developing a fetishistic view of Terrans or Vulcans instead. Not my favorite thing to think about.

The mirror universe has always had an element of humor to it, so honestly I don’t mind the celibate idea as just a funny reversal, both of prime Dukat and of the mirror universe itself, where characters are thought to be hornier (even if not by much in some cases)

Circling back to the Bajorans and the post I made headcanoning him as a political rival to Kira, if this Dukat is a true blue patriot of the Cardassian state, he wants Cardassia to be more powerful. In the aforementioned novels this manifests in chafing against the Klingon Empire’s relatively stronger position in the Alliance, and it could also manifest in him disliking the idea of allowing “weaker” peoples to become Alliance members and wanting to simply occupy and control Bajor rather than welcome them as allies. Maybe the Klingons are the ones who pushed for the Bajorans to join because they saw them as fellow warriors who had endured Terran oppression, since based on Discovery the mirror Klingons likely would’ve had to do a lot to reclaim their empire. The Cardassians could be less interested in this, particularly Dukat (he may be old enough to remember when Bajor was brought into the Alliance)

But the Intendant, for all her evil, still values Bajor’s independence as much as prime Kira, and pushes back, enforcing her planet’s boundaries

I think that’s enough of a ramble lol, I hope this was interesting

[fhannehii]

Recently I came up with an idea to add something to Vulcan's story-

namely, the presence of D-stroy, who can persecute (revenge etc.) Vulcan, in order to kill him or turn him to his side... the purpose is unknown, and Vulcan is not stupid and has no intention of believing a single word he says.

Close-ups

At the beginning I would like to say that D-stroy in my au has a slightly different past, just like D-structcs.

No one is born as a villain, you can become one at a given moment in life, D-stroy in this case was similar to Vulcan (mostly but not entirely, he still had his own character) he helped others, sometimes even sacrificing his life, but no one he didn't appreciate it etc. everyone was afraid of both brothers, even if it was obvious that they had no evil intentions, they still accused them of evil, so over time they both changed

and everything got worse until their father brainwashed them, then D-stroy became what it is now, D-structcs the same.

Also the D brothers' family had some kind of drama with Vulcan's family soooo.... D-stroy obviously wants to maintain the dignity and honor of the family or something so he wants to get rid of the last link, i.e. Vulcan ;-;

saying first of all that no one really appreciates his heroism and sacrifice, that everyone he has helped so far is still afraid of him (which is actually kind of true) and that he will end up just like him, realizing that it all makes no sense blah blah blah.

Like it or not, Vulcan stands his ground and won't change his mind,he still wants to help.

I'm sorry if there's no consistency here or something, I'm not good at arranging things like this, I hope you understand what I mean.

[trekmupf]

a.k.a. she's craving that mineral 🧂

Pro:

We meet our crew for the first time and everyone has a little moment, including Yeoman Rand

Kirk calling McCoy plum! them being shown as good friends from the get go!

But also establishes them as professionals when duty comes first (often signaled by use of formal titles oppossed to Jim / Bones)

The whole botany scene is sweet, just simple everyday stuff we don't get to see much later on

First form of McCoy's famous „He's dead, Jim“ line (just „Dead, Jim“ here)

Spock being in sickbay and in the captains chair!

Also Vulcan green blood introduced

Two McCoys at the same time is my dream; Also McCoys quarters and him out of uniform (black shirt)!

„Nancy“ looking according to each man's expectations (McCoys old love, Kirk sees his friends ex according to age, Darnless latest conquest)

Horror-Sci-Fi vibes in the beginning and during the „hunt“ on the ship, especially with the soundtrack

The creature looks great! Unsure if the sad face was intentional but it really underlines the problematic situation

Con:

Inconsistencies due to early filming days / the show hasn't figured itself out yet: OOC behaviour (Spock at times, Spock & Uhura convo is a bit off, McCoy murdering the creature)

Politics not yet "Star trek" : the truth serum (consent? Especially compared to much darker situations later on), the way they speak about the creature and the fact that they kill it

It takes ages to „reveal“ the murderer

bc of that there's not really time to go into the ethics of the situation (killing the last of its kind) or into McCoys loss

also just, the solution instead of murder would've been salt. That's a bit. dumb.

Sadly due to weekly writing Bones trauma (killing a creature that looks like the woman he loved) won't be readressed again

Great moment: The way they talk about the buffalo being extinct as a sad metaphor for the situation, and it's actually kind of lovely that that's no longer true

Counter: None

Summary: Creature feature with some old style bodysnatcher / horrorvibes and good introductary characterwork, especially Kirk/McCoy Next Episode - All TOS Reviews

[sunshineastro]

ok i know. i know the overlap between these fandoms is just me and nobody else but can we talk about how well wangxian would fit into a star trek au? AOS or TOS.

wwx as jim, obviously; everyone sees him as a flirt and picks up on his charisma, but ignores the actual intelligence hiding beneath. there’s a billion rumors floating around about who he’s slept with and when, and exactly none of them are true. oh, and he appreciates good alcohol.

lwj as spock, for equally obvious reasons; ungodly levels of autism, to start. everyone thinking he doesn’t have emotions, but really he just feels them differently than everyone else. quietly really fond of small fuzzy animals. kind of the opposite of above- people recognise that he’s smart, but not that he can read a social situation accurately.

they play chess together every night. they bicker in front of ‘the kids’ but are really always on the same page when it comes down to it. them having sex on the ground in public somewhere is really integral to their survival and also to the plot.

the forehead ribbon even translates really well to the idea of a vulcan kiss, where wwx forces lwj to shake his hand or something on their first meeting and doesn’t realise how personal something like that is.

the nie are klingon. the jins are romulan. i will not elaborate on this part.

[swimmingwolf59]

omfg how long has this been sitting in my drafts??? At least four months LMAO because I baked these from the star trek cookbook for my friends for the winter holidays!

First was the Ha Rageel (Vulcan carrot loaf) - I loved how moist this loaf was!! Probably could've used a bit more sugar, and it did fall apart in transport lol, but otherwise I thought it was good!

It also has one of my favorite captions from the cookbook: "It has never ceased to amuse Doctor McCoy that Mister Spock, with all his logical training, cannot consider Ha Rageel a close equivalent to Tufeen Hushani. Actually, to the logical Vulcan mind, a ceremonial wedding cake is quite unrelated to an "everyday" dessert loaf. It is quite true that they contain many of the same ingredients and have a somewhat similar taste. But this no more makes them related than the same number of eyes and legs makes first cousins of horses and dogs. To a cook the difference is also important. Preparing the wedding cake requires time, attention and care to avoid a minor disaster; with Ha Rageel you can hardly go wrong."

Yes this was the inspiration for my fic. I mean, how can you tell me McCoy has teased Spock about the carrot loaf being similar to the wedding cake and NOT expect me to write a fic about it.

Also sorry McCoy, but after making both, they are WAY different, and the wedding cake is better imo 🤣

I also made Criniti, Romulan spice cookies! These turned out sooooooo yummy, will definitely be making them again!

They also have a fun legend for the caption in the cookbook: "The name for these cookies comes from an ancient Romulan legend. The story is about how the Romulan herding wolves came to be domesticated.

"Once there was a long, hard winter, and the tribe of the boy Kalyb was short on furs. The boy was already a good hunter, but not yet old enough to go with the men. The men had caught all the meat they needed, and the tribe had stored seeds, honey, nuts, and dried fruit. But still they needed furs, or they would freeze.

"One morning Kalyb chanced on a sleeping Canis crinitus with a magnificent pelt and was about to kill it. The animal pleaded for its life and offered the following bargain. If Kalyb's tribe would prepare his favorite treat for him and his clan, they would help the boy's tribe catch all the woolly, sheep-like mountain creatures they needed.

The boy's tribe prepared cakes from seeds, dried fruits, nuts and honey and left them where the Criniti could find them. The next day, the cakes were gone, and before long, Kalyb heard a great commotion. The Criniti were sweeping down from the hills driving the woolly animals before them. Kalyb's tribe killed many of them and had enough furs to keep themselves warm all winter. Kalyb's people learned more about the habits and needs of the Criniti, and between them figured out how to keep a supply of the woolly sheep-like animals on hand for meat and fur.

"Romulans still use fruit and nut cakes for training their animals. They also make delicious spiced cookies using many of the same ingredients as rewards for their children. On certain feast days it is even proper for adults to be seen eating them."

Idk if this is based on anything in real life? Cool either way tho! Also I want a pet wolf LMAO

[indignantlemur]

what is your headcanon on the first agreement the andorians made with the Vulcans and what do you think it was that conflicted with the andorians interests?

Oooh, this is a good one! Also, hello! <3

So, to set the stage:

Based on inference and observation I think we can say that Andorians and Vulcans are at a similar stage, technologically speaking, during ST: ENT. Something about that makes me think that theirs isn't a case of Andorians being uplifted by Vulcans the way Humans were, but more of a parallel development sort of thing. (In fact, I'd wager Vulcans took the approach they did with Humans because of their experiences with Andorians.)

Historically speaking, Andorians had their first contact with Orions, which did not endear them to the idea of friendly aliens. In fact, that whole debacle nearly ended in a planetary invasion and the widescale enslavement of Andoria and was only thwarted at great cost. After that culture shock, Andorians approached relations with other aliens expecting everything to be either transactional or predatory, and they were largely determined to get the better half of the deal regardless of which it ended up being.

Vulcans, meanwhile, were understandably wary of a highly militant species which, to their observations, had a long history of paranoia and xenophobia and highly territorial behaviours. For my headcanons, at least, Vulcans went into their first contact with Andorians hopeful to establish friendly relations but realistically expecting Andorians to try to control the dynamic to their benefit. Thus, when the Vulcans opted to withhold certain technologies which they felt the Andorians would misuse or turn against Vulcan and its people, it only confirmed to the Andorians that the Vulcans were not only hiding something but actively planning to keep Andorians inferior to Vulcans despite what their diplomats promised.

A Territorial Compromise was established between Vulcan and Andoria when it became apparent that the two species would not be forming a firm alliance.

From there, relations fell through very quickly.

While it could have been any kind of agreement or accord that ultimately sent the whole thing tumbling down like a house of cards, I personally like to think it had something to do with the borders between Vulcan and Andorian space.

For my headcanon, because I like to tie my lore into the canon lore as much as possible, it was the establishment of the Weytahn colony that sparked the whole conflict.

While Vulcans have a different remembrance of the events that led up to the occupation of what they would call Paan Mokar, the Andorians actually did want to launch an experiment with terraforming technology on a small, out of the way planetoid to see if it was a viable approach to colonization. It's entirely possible that they chose Weytahn because it was small and relatively worthless in terms of resources, and thus not a huge loss of the project failed. True, it was close to the border they shared with Vulcans, but even the Vulcans had no interest in Weytahn and it was within Andorian space according to the Territorial Compromise. Besides, if the colony was successful, well, it would be in a prime location to guard against Vulcan incursions into Andorian space, which certainly made the location appealing - and naturally any Andorian colony needs to be defensible and able to protect itself. History had taught the Andorians to expect conflict, after all. Installing military equipment and planetary defenses was perfectly reasonable.

The Vulcans meanwhile, were determined to find a logical reason for the otherwise senseless placement of such a colony. In particular, they were mindful of the Andorians' aggressive and paranoid tendencies and through that lens they concluded that the only value the planetoid had was as a possible launch site for military operations. Its location would be ideal for covert military operations especially, given its proximity to Vulcan. Vulcan authorities requested (read: demanded) to inspect the colony, to determine that it was not in fact a military operation under the guise of colonization.

The Andorians took this request exceptionally poorly. Vulcan and Andoria had already hashed out the Territorial Compromise - it was a done deal, already bought and paid for. Vulcans had no right to go about inspecting Andorian colonies, if that was even what they actually planned to do once they had boots on the ground. The very suggestion was offensive, and it gave the impression that the Vulcans believed they had some kind of superiority over Andorians, that they could come and go as they pleased and inspect whatever they liked. Meanwhile, the more the Andorians refused, the more suspicious the Vulcans became. The more suspicious the Vulcans were, the more offended and angry the Andorians became. The angrier the Andorians were, the more certain the Vulcans were that they were right, that Weytahn was a military outpost.

Weytahn was overtaken (though that's not the word the Vulcans use) and the colonists were removed from the planetoid by force.

In the end, things were said, threats were made, and the lines of communication broke down spectacularly. What followed was roughly a century of aggression and conflict which always stopped just short of all out war, but only barely. A treaty (the Vulcan-Andorian Treaty of 2097) was made in an attempt to stall further conflicts over Weytahn/Paan Mokar, but ultimately the treaty was regarded as worth less than what it was written on by both sides by the time ST: ENT rolled around.

[muirmarie]

mcspirk harvest?

This is for my hayride prompt for my mcspirk bingo card! I started this ages ago, and then decided that I wanted to wait until late Sept/October to finish it, since it felt seasonal!

Also because I got super out in the weeds on harvest festival practices and the history of this place, when it was supposed to be literally just a fun harvest festival lmao. So.

The actual summary of this is going to be very short probably, because this is all background in a way, even though it really isn't, but this is what it's about:

The Enterprise is sent to a solar system where Federation agriculture scientists have, for the last decade, been working with the four inhabited planets (and the one uninhabited planet that they're using as a base) to improve agricultural practices, and to also help crossbreed different crops between the planets. The planets have a pretty ugly history between them that they're working to get past, and this initiative is one of the ways they're attempting to do that. Two of the planets are in the Federation, the other two are not, and none of them have a great love for the Federation.

But eight years ago, the scientists - those from those four planets, but also the Federation scientists from all their own planets, too - began talking about harvest festivals - something most cultures have (or at least had at some point in their history) - and they ended up creating a yearly harvest festival on the uninhabited planet, full of different traditions all mixed up together.

This year, the Enterprise is asked to be a visible but unofficial Starfleet/Federation presence. No uniforms, but Starfleet wants them on the ground. Dr. Annie [last name], an old flame of Jim's, who followed her mother into the diplomatic core and then threw it away to chase her true passion, agriculture, is one of the head scientists.

It's also the first ~shore leave the trio have gone on since they got together. That's right, this is established relationship lmao, which I know I don't usually do!

Themes of gratitude and community, and I don't think they're going to actually talk about it, but references to The Thing the trio just went through, that almost broke them, but instead finally made them put their cards on the table and got them together. If I do it right (no promises), it should all tie together.

Also, like. they go on a hay ride at some point. As that is, in fact, the prompt 🙃

[snippet under the read more because i rambled too long sorry]

_____________

“Do you know why I asked for you, Jim?”

“Besides the chance for you to make moves on my Chief Engineer?”

“Scotty's just a bonus,” Annie laughs. “I don't know that I've ever met anyone who likes people as much as you do. And I know you. I knew you would've surrounded yourself with the same type of good people.”

“I don't like people,” Leonard says, and gestures with his thumb at Spock, “and he's a Vulcan, he doesn't like anything.”

Spock' mouth quirks slightly, and he inclines his head a little in agreement.

“I hope you understand how long Jim and I go back, and that I don't mean this is an insult when I say it,” Annie says, and Jim preemptively winces. “The three of you like each other so much it makes you look stupid.”

Spock raises an eyebrow, but Leonard chuckles, and leans into Spock's side, and somehow it doesn't seem important enough to say anything at all.

[thewomancallednova]

The Neutral Zone

Oki first things first

was this the first instance of a/b story structure in a trek episode? Because all the season 1 TNG episodes had just the one story and I can't think of any TOS episode off the top of my head that had a/b structure either.

Although this case is interesting, because the stories still very much intersect and share the same main characters, as opposed to later example where part of the cast is doing the main plot and we had to think of something fun to do for the others

I'd assume no one writing this episode thought of it as something with an a and a b plot, and more of an episode about time-displaced humans viewing a (slightly terrifying) Enterprise mission from that displaced point of view. And that kinda naturally results in an a/b story structure

but uh yeah, this was really good, mostly

while the romulan story was pretty paper thin (since the episode is primarily concerned with the time displaced people), what we actually got of the Romulans was amazing. The build-up was great and entirely worth it, Worf's initial refusal to hail them was great, casting the future Gul Dukat as the Romulan commander was an excellent decision, the music is so mysterious and threatening (TNG music my beloved<3<3<3), "We are back" literally chills you guys, "Matters more urgent caused our absence" is such a fucking fascinating tease of an explanation for the Romulan isolanionism (that will never be followed up on...) and really puts the Romulans in a position far above the Federation. Like they just had more important shit to deal with. (see also "We have indeed been negligent. But no more"). Like 10/10 on presentation and the fucking starship. the fucking. d'deridex. warbird. I always loved that design, but fuck me does it look hella intimidating in this episode specifically. The Enterprise is already a pretty huge ship by my standards (TOS girlie) and having it practically eclipsed by that fucking Warbird? And when the last original Romulan ship design we've seen was the Balance of Terror bird of prey? A fine design for sure, but not as frightening as that monstrosity. saving the romulans for the finale was honestly such a genius move on tng's part and now the romulans are 3/3 for amazing episodes (uh, I'm not counting the deadly years as a romulan episode sorry)

I also really liked that the Romulans figured it wasn't the Federation. "Once we realised the level of destruction we knew it could not have been you" is another great line, I love that these villains aren't here to paint the federation as the bad guy

Okay so the redesign. I think TNG is trying to make itself more new-viewer friendly by moving the Romulans away from their TOS-shtick of being exiled, war-like Vulcans. Hence why we only got one line about their relation and it was "they are related to the Vulcans". Which is kind of like saying that I am related to my mother. Technically true, but kind of an understatement. And I guess the added brow ridges are there to additionally emphasise that. At least we'll never have to worry about a "Romulan posing as a Vulcan plot" ever now!

oh no!

anyway, so the main attraction of the episode: The time-displaced 20th century humans.

I think combining these two plots was brilliant. Under normal circumstances having a few 20th century humans on-board would have been fine, if a bit annoying, but on such a high-stakes mission the crew really has to balance not panicking their guests, while also not fucking up the mission. And while this switching between the plots felt frankly a bit anxious to me watching it (after 25 blissful episodes of only A stories) it added wonderfully to the mood that the episode is going for.

That said, Picard's attutide towards them felt a bit strange to me. Like I get wanting them dealt with because he has to do an important mission. That's fine. But categorically objecting to reviving them, when that is clearly what they would have wanted (because they froze themselves) and it's medically possible seems callous. I wonder if his extremist views of the prime directive have contorted his view of humanity into like a distinct "civilised" and "barbaric" phase, and that now confronted with three people from the "barbaric" phase, he'd rather refuse to interfere with them, than letting them live, even though they are literally him.

okay, now that i got my obligatory, "Picard sucks" paragraph out of the way, i find the assertion that tv died kinda strange. Like I get it's part of the whole "the future is so different" aspect and of course the social critique of the 20th century aspect (although Trek has done that much better at many other points), but I just don't think that we'd ever stop having "humans expressing themselves while filmed and distributed to other people", as long as the technology is there. Sure, maybe tv won't exist in it's current linear form, but surely something else like streaming or youtube or whatever their successors will be would still exist in the 24th century.

and yeah, future Trek will use the holodeck in kind of a tv-ish way, but apart from the fact that they're very different ways of engaging with experiences, TNG season 1 is also firmly in the camp that the holodeck is a recent invention, that everyone is in awe of, so there'd still have to be some immediate predecessor, that people would still be aware of.

But yeah, the intersections of the guests slowly becoming more aware of the danger that the ship is in is really well done, and the scene were Ralph enters the bridge during the confrontation with the Romulans is just perfect. We're so used to the competent bridge officers shouting and receiving orders in stresfull situations, that Ralph witnissing it without any context makes for an almost scary experience of it.

[monsterblogging]

Pacific Rim: Ascension is pretty good, actually

So yeah, Pacific Rim: Ascension is a prequel novel to Pacific Rim: Uprising, and based on that you might think it wouldn't be that great. But IMO, it's very much worth reading for a number of reasons.

The author was clearly very familiarized with the lore developed for PR1, and actually integrates a lot of it into the story in a way that gives it a sense of depth, reality, and drama that Uprising and The Black lack. Characters are also generally written well (and Hermann is written so wonderfully well), and Vik and Jinhai's backstories are, in my opinion, extremely engaging. And if you're one of the people disappointed that the Kaidonovskys and Cherno Alpha didn't get more screentime, you are absolutely in for a treat.

For the lore-oriented fans, the author's clear attention to detail means this book is actually a fairly reliable source on what was originally developed for PR1, including Jaeger details and character histories. It does include at least one piece of outdated data (Romeo Blue having three legs), and the story claims that drift compatibility is something you either have or don't have (something we know isn't true from Beacham's posts), but there's no reason to dispute, say, Vulcan Specter having a drill weapon or Shaolin Rogue having an extra-aquatic design.

The book also gives us lots of wonderfully bizarre kaiju. The somewhat frequent mentions of tentacles (forbidden by del Toro) suggests that these are based on very concepts, or were invented by the author himself. Either way, they are absolutely great monster designs. If anything, some of the things these monsters have going on make the movie's kaiju look a little boring.

That said, it's not perfect. Hermann's cane is never mentioned at all, and - well, the rest of the issues are spoilers, so I'll put them under a cut.

We learn that some people have apparently been using Pons technology to implant programming into people's minds - a detail which ultimately has no relevance on the plot, and feels weirdly edgy for Pacific Rim. And I know it's a common trope in sci-fi, but its proximity to right wing conspiracy theory bullshit makes it... not exactly my favorite trope. I don't know whether its presence in sci-fi is really super problematic, but in real life belief in this kind of thing has been used to basically justify witch hunting. Like, I understand the dramatic value here, but at the same time, people still living today were put on trial and even sent to jail based on belief that this was a real thing. Like I'm not going to tell you that this is an Objectively Bad Trope, but it's definitely a trope with a lot of terrible baggage.

The story also gives an explanation for how it was worked out that kaiju blood explodes when exposed to rare earth minerals, and it's pretty ridiculous. Supposedly a kaiju's blood rained down on a microchip factory, and the factory exploded. Accepting this detail means accepting that nobody's phones, laptop computers, or other electronic devices never came into contact with kaiju blood splatter or mist, and that kaiju blood never splattered into a damaged conn-pod. This is the kind of thing that should have been observed fairly early in the kaiju war, not several years in.

Also the PPDC in this book apparently just classifies information for No Real Reason, like the fact that a particularly violent kaiju cult tried to destroy the world. Like you'd think that this would be the kind of thing they'd want to broadcast, for reasons of "hey look how awful our political enemies are."

Also lol the fact that PPDC records pilots' drift memories and just peek into them is creepy. Like it doesn't exactly make Mako Mori look good when we learn she's been invading cadets' privacy like this, ya know?

But yeah like, I think it's definitely worth a read. The book shows a lot of imagination and makes good use of Pacific Rim's worldbuilding. Even if you don't like Uprising, you'll probably still find something to enjoy about it.