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your-name-is-jim · 9 months

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What a Kirk/Spock shipper sees in a Kirk/Female-Love-Interest story [PART 2/2]

Part 1 <- Please read Part 1 first. Part 2 won't make sense otherwise!

This panel is absolutely AMAZING and you all deserved to see it :D

So, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, Laura just proposed.

As you can see, Jim is panicking not sure what to answer, so the first thing he does is calling his two best friends. There are so many things going on here; I'll try to mention everything I care about!

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."

This is an important part of this comic: apparently, in this story Starfleet isn't encouraging relationships between officers with a different rank. I know it's sort of implied in canon too, but it's not always clear if it's actually against regulations or if it's fine when the ranks are close.

As a K/S shipper, this detail just gives me an in-universe reason why Jim and Spock aren't considering dating each other in this story: a commander can't probably have a relationship with a captain. I mean, we already know from canon TOS that Jim avoids relationships with the members of his crew, so this just adds a layer to a potential forbidden love story between them. Yeah, I know this isn't what this comic is trying to do, but what can I say? Fans don't stop shipping something just because they learn it's not allowed in-universe… if anything, they can find it more exciting! :D

"We could teach at the Academy. Mind you, she laughed at that idea."

Oh, wait. Jim actually talked to Laura about their possible future together! It looks like he's thinking about them as teachers at Starfleet Academy. Hmm… this sounds familiar:

2277 — Accepts appointment to Academy faculty, moves into San Francisco apartment

This is from Kirk's biography in Star Trek official website. Between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, Jim accepts a job at the Academy. We see it at the start of the second movie, after Saavik takes the Kobayashi Maru test.

Wait, who's the other teacher here? :D

Okay, okay, in that era Jim is an admiral and Spock is a captain, so their ranks are still different, but except for that… They both teach at the Academy. And it's literally what Jim proposed to his love interest Laura in the comic! With my Kirk/Spock goggles on, what I read in that panel is "If Laura and I got married, we could both do this thing that I'm totally going to do with Spock in the future." LOL

Did the comic creators notice the parallel? Probably not. However, we K/S shippers have special skills for finding accidental implications about our ship everywhere, so here it is :)

"Your thoughts, please, Mr. Spock."

I said I had a lot to say about that single panel, so of course I can't skip the last line! A human woman has just proposed to Jim, and what does Jim do? He asks for Spock's opinion. This says a lot about Jim and Spock's friendship, and it's very sweet on Jim's part, but it also makes me think about Jim's love life. What about Jim and Laura's romantic feelings for each other? Does Jim want to spend the rest of his life with her? Perhaps the reason they don't talk about it (not even with Bones!) is that it's implied that Jim loves her and she loves him, even if they never say it. However, I still think it's interesting that Jim's discussion on the matter is mostly "logical".

Anyway, I swear I won't post every single panel of this comic, but Spock's reply is an absolute gem you all must see:

"I AM SOMETHING OF AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT OF JAMES T. KIRK."

(dkjflsdjlkdjglk brb losing my mind again)

Ahem. Okay, Spock. Noted. Also, wow, nice make up. Did I say that the art in this comic is great? Good.

"I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I find interesting his use of "equal status" instead of the more specific "equal rank". Status makes me think less of their official position in Starfleet, and more of how two people actually see each other. It's not just about Laura and Jim being both captains; it's about them seeing each other as equals.

Anyway, Jim jokes about Bones and Spock finally agreeing about something, and the conversation continues.

Jim's best friends are both encouraging him to marry Laura. In this panel, I zoomed in on Bones because his words are especially interesting. Based on everything we've seen so far, it looks like having a romantic partner when you're in Starfleet is a pain in the ass in general in this comic; however, Bones is pointing out that for the first time, Jim has someone who really understands. Of course, that's because she's a Starfleet captain too.

About Spock, I won't share the entire conversation, but I just want to say that as a K/S shipper who likes to think Spock is secretly in love with Jim in this era, I find his dialogue where he's supporting Jim's relationship with Laura totally reasonable. It's important to remember that this comic takes place close to the end of the five-year mission. We know that Spock is going to run away after that, trying to erase all his emotions in Gol. So, in this specific part of his story, I find pretty in character that he'd tell Jim to find happiness with someone else. That's what he'd do, regardless of his own feelings.

So, Jim knows his two best friends think he should say "yes" to Laura. What happens next?

During a mission, Jim meets his ex Carol Marcus. She is surprised to find out that Jim is considering settling down. This is not completely related to this analysis, so I won't post it, but I found interesting that Carol knows about every single woman Jim dated before he became captain (the only one she doesn't name is Ruth), and she even says "And that woman in 1930, what was her name?" Just… how the hell does she know? LMAO

At least Jim hasn't told her about Miramanee and Rayna (well, technically he doesn't even remember the latter), but seriously, Carol does know a lot about Jim's private life, even if it's clear she doesn't want her or their son to be part of it. (Not really related to this plot, but in case you're confused about the timeline: David is a child in this era; however, he doesn't appear in this story.)

Anyway, this is what she eventually tells him:

So, I like to think that Carol is genuinely trying to help Jim here, because the spiteful ex girlfriend is another thing I don't really want to see in 2020. I want to think that the creators meant well; however, what happens in the story is that, despite Jim not seeing himself outside the captain's chair, and despite his best friends telling him to marry the captain that is just like him… Jim keeps thinking about Carol's words.

He knows from Starfleet that he's going to be promoted to admiral the moment he reaches Earth. What is interesting here is that Jim could refuse the promotion and be a captain with Laura. This is definitely a different situation from everything else I've seen before. It's obvious to anyone who has watched TOS movies that Jim is not happy as an admiral. He didn't really want to be one. He doesn't want to be one in this comic series either (you can see it explored in Star Trek: Year Five main story). However, thanks to The Motion Picture, we also know that he will accept promotion at the end of his five-year mission. This isn't a canon divergence story: the writers can't really change any major event, so they have to work with what canon offers.

What I find interesting is that in this 2020 comic, Jim finds himself in the opposite situation he is in Gene Roddenberry's The Motion Picture novelization from 1979. In Roddenberry's novel, it's mentioned briefly that Jim starts a relationship on Earth with a vice-admiral, a woman that was basically asked to use her charm to keep Jim grounded. Jim could refuse promotion, but he finds himself lost, without his ship, without Spock, and eventually without Bones. So he tries to convince himself that a life as an admiral with a perfect woman by his side will be good for him (it will not; Jim himself will realize a year later that his lover was an "Enterprise-surrogate").

Now, I understand trying to write something fresher and more modern in this Valentine's Day special, but I confess that I find a little hard to believe that Jim would accept a promotion as admiral if the alternative was keeping both a starship AND a wife. Also, let's not forget that Spock and Bones are both telling him to choose the married captain life. So, while I totally get from a writer's point of view that if you can't change canon, you have to work with what you have, I'm also not sure that Carol reminding Jim that he's always wanted to challenge himself is enough to make him doubt everything.

I guess I can sort of see that as part of a bigger problem: Jim knows he can't be a captain for life; during his first date with Laura, as we saw in Part 1 of my analysis, he talks about it.

"I've been thinking lately about whether I could ever stop being a Starfleet captain. Whether I could ever want to. A friend of mine talks about 'infinite diversity'. That applies to the Federation, too. But here I am, only built for one thing."

So, Jim knows he has probably avoided the subject for too long. Carol is forcing him to think about it. And, more implicitly, we could say Spock and his IDIC philosophy are also making him think, even if it's not what Spock would have expected. After all, Spock told Jim to marry Laura (in the comic), and he'll tell him that being a starship captain is his "first, best destiny" (in The Wrath of Khan).

Anyway, Jim eventually decides to meet Laura and talk to her about his personal concerns. First of all, we find out that the two of them haven't called each other for six weeks. Laura is still waiting for Jim's answer, and she didn't want to call him. If you ask me, their lack of communication is yet another a big clue that perhaps getting married is not a great idea.

Well, now Jim is at least trying to talk to her.

Aaand that's how she breaks up with him.

I'm not sure how to feel about this. I mean, in a sense, Jim doesn't say "I decided to be an admiral instead of marrying you", but Laura definitely sees it that way. I think he was genuinely looking for help, but that just proves that Laura isn't the right person for him. Why marrying someone you can't communicate with? They are such a great team as captains, but it looks like that doesn't apply to their relationship. I pointed out other clues in the previous parts, and now we got this. It's interesting to see that Jim in this comic can have a normal conversation about his future with Spock, Bones, and even Carol Marcus, but not with the person he's supposed to build a future with. Unless something changes between them, it can't work out.

Anyway, this isn't the end.

A year later, when Jim is an admiral on Earth, there's a sudden emergency. A miniature black hole appears out of the deep structure of the universe (don't blame me for the science, I'm literally quoting the comic LOL) and it's attracted to Earth gravity. Short story: they're all going to die, but fortunately the Drake (Laura's ship) can cause an anti-matter implosion that will shunt the black hole outside their reality. Unfortunately, that also means the Drake will have to go inside the black hole. Laura evacuates her crew and asks Admiral Kirk to give her the order to proceed. Reluctantly, Jim tells her that he knows she'll do it, and he gives the order.

Now, please appreciate The Motion Picture aesthetic:

Okay, I know I could have chosen a panel with Jim and Laura, since this is literally their love story, but I did say this analysis was going to be biased, so here is Laura with her two closest friends instead; they would never let her risk her life alone! <3 They are very obviously meant to be a parallel to what Spock and Bones are to Jim, which is very cute to see. Now, Laura, listen to me: I know the three of you have different ranks, but you may die in a few seconds… And I just think that the few times your friends appear in this comic, you have a lot of chemistry with them, sooo maybe you should forget about Jim and just smooch one of them, or both… just saying :)

Ahem. Anyway, after Laura and her girlfriends disappear into the void, there's another timeskip. This time it's 15 years.

Oh, damn.

I said in the premise of this analysis that one of the reasons I decided to read this comic despite shipping Kirk/Spock is that, in my headcanon, Kirk and Spock get together after The Motion Picture. Until this point, this comic hasn't really gone against my headcanon. I can genuinely believe that Jim had another girlfriend during his five-year mission; it's not a big deal. Unfortunately for me, this comic has its last part taking place around The Final Frontier era. Dammit.

Well, it's just one comic. I read until this point; it'd be illogical not to read until the end, right? Nah, it's not logic. It's human curiosity. I know I won't like it, but I still want to see it.

Also, if there's something that I really don't want to see in modern media anymore, is female characters dying just to make male characters suffer. I can accept that in TOS show because it was made in the 1960s, but even TOS movies got better about it! Characters like Saavik and Gillian can have their own lives without having to die for a man's pain. It's not a coincidence that the writers had to kill Spock to make Jim suffer. Without digressing too much, I just wanted to say that K/S bias aside, I went into this comic hoping to read something different from another dead woman for Jim. I'm very glad that, at least about this, the comic creators didn't disappoint me!

So, in this story, it's been 15 years since Laura's disappearance (actually, it should be more, but I'll try not to nitpick, despite being the trekkies' favorite hobby :D). Anyway, the one with the whales The Voyage Home happened, and Jim is not an admiral anymore. He's happy to have a starship again, but he hasn't stopped questioning his life decisions.

We can also see that, 15 years later, he's reading the book Laura liked.

HOLD IT! WAIT WAIT WAIT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??? WHAT THE--

*inhales deeply*

(Friendly reminder to myself that what is obvious to me may not be obvious to everyone else, so I need to explain. Fine. I'll try.)

The screenshots I posted are from The Wrath of Khan, right after Spock's funeral. What Jim is doing there is reading the end of the book that Spock gave him for his birthday. He's mourning Spock.

In the comic panel, Jim has a new pair of glasses, because it takes place a little later in the timeline. But, except for that…

It's the same scene.

The same fucking scene.

I mean, come on! I can't even post the "they're the same picture" meme, because it's not funny if they're literally the same picture! Even the bookmark is the same!

The comic creators literally took a canon scene about Jim reading Spock's book after Spock is gone, and they redrew it with Jim reading Laura's book after Laura is gone. In a Valentine's Day special. Where Laura is Jim's love interest. They made a romantic scene with Jim and a woman that was originally about Jim and Spock.

(Brb, I'm going to chew a pillow until I calm down.)

So. Well. If you wondered why I thought there was something about Kirk/Spock in this comic… you have your answer. Perhaps the artist didn't think anything about it. I certainly do.

And I guess someone could say, "But Jim is still reading Laura's book 15 years later! That's true love!" Why yes, he's not reading Spock's book 15 years later, because he didn't stay without Spock for 15 years; he risked everything and lost all the most important things in his life to save Spock's soul.

Anyway, back to the comic. Starfleet receives a signal from the edge of Federation space. It's the Drake. Laura and her friends are alive.

Jim and Laura have a reunion after a long separation. Since they're both captains now, Jim thinks they are given a second chance.

Oh, whoops.

It's her turn now. It looks like being away for 15 years has changed her (as you can expect, honestly), and she's now glad to become an admiral. In this comic, that means Jim can't marry her. So, this is how the story ends:

So. Um.

This isn't a bad ending, but I also wouldn't exactly call it a happy ending. It's certainly not a happily ever after story. I'd call it open, maybe hopeful? Honestly, pretty much what I'd expect from a love story between an original character and Jim, so I can't say the writing is disappointing about that.

On the other hand, I can't personally imagine middle-aged Jim being so eager to start a romance again with someone he hasn't seen in 15 years who broke up with him 16 years ago. Perhaps he felt guilty about Laura's disappearance because if he had married her, they would have been part of a colonization fleet somewhere else and the incident wouldn't have happened the same way? Maybe. Personally, I would have found more believable an ending where Jim asks her to have dinner together or go for a walk, and then something romantic happening as they get to know each other again. But I can see why the creators wanted to bring up the marriage proposal again, just to close the circle. The comic is just 32 pages, so they did what they could.

"Unless there's someone else." "Not so much. I've been really busy."

Busy with what? Oh, right: Spock's death, Spock's body on Genesis, Spock's rebirth on Vulcan, the time travel (okay, that one wasn't 100% Spock-related), Spock's brother… Honestly, just say there's been a lot of Spock in your life, Jim, because that's the truth :)

On a more serious note, I guess that dialogue could mean that Jim has someone, but "he's been too busy" to do anything serious with them. However, as a K/S monoshipper I don't really like the idea of Jim being in an open relationship with Spock, so Jim's character in the entire scene in the end is just a big NOPE for me. Sorry.

That said, I found very interesting that in a few panels they show very clearly the "captain" rank on Jim and Laura's shoulders, to point out that it's the same. They can't be together forever, but they can have fun for a few days as captains. Because of that, I went back to the start of the last timeskip, just to check out something:

Fascinating.

This is a pretty detailed panel, where you can see the ranks on the shoulders of Jim's friends; the colors of their pins are also pretty good, close to the ones in the movies… except for Spock's.

Oh, please. Did you really expect me not to pay attention to this? :)

Captain Kirk and Captain Spock.

And unlike Laura, this is what they are until the end! The end of a very long life! Generations? What's Generations? Spock will eventually become an ambassador, but that's just a different job. How did Spock himself put it earlier in this comic?

"I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk. And I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."

Did the comic creators just play themselves? I don't know, I'm quoting their own story here! LOL

And what about Jim's words from the same scene? :D

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."

Partners. Of equal rank. Working together.

That's literally what Kirk and Spock are since the end of The Voyage Home! Without an expiration date!

The comic creators made a big deal in their universe about relationships being better between two captains, and how good Jim and Laura may have been for each other if they had married as captains; and now they can't have their happily ever after because Laura is going to be an admiral… But even if the comic tries to hide it, we know there is a captain in Jim's life. And to make things better, Jim lost his admiral rank to bring him back. Listen, I'm a huge Old Married Kirk/Spock fan, so there's no way anything can make me forget that in the last TOS movies they're both captains. And there's no way I can forget that Jim risked his entire career (and everything else!) for Spock, and that's literally why he's not an admiral anymore.

This is almost ironic in this Valentine's Day comic. If it hadn't been for Spock, Jim would have still been an admiral, and he could have married Laura. Whoops. Too bad.

Speaking of admirals, I didn't notice it at first, but there's also something about this line Laura says in the last panel I posted…

"And don't you dare 'Admiral' me."

Ah, yes, a typical thing you tell someone you're planning to have sex with. Right, Laura? Agreed :)

Honestly, at this point I should just stop checking this comic, because I wonder if I'd just end up finding a Kirk/Spock version of every Kirk/Laura Rhone line LOL

By the way, I have other thoughts to share now that the story is over, but there's one more thing first. Do you remember the last panels of the comic? Middle-aged Jim and Laura kiss; END.

Okay. After that, the comic has a picture of the cover, with Jim and Laura kissing when they're younger.

And then it has this:

dklsfjlskjflskjlksjlkdlkgjdlfgsnfjekniuwanf LISTEN, HOW--

Just how am I even supposed to say anything that makes sense about this…??? I'm just… I can't…

Okay. So. We're talking about a Valentine's Day comic. It makes sense for it to include a cute Valentine card. I also get that Spock's iconic line has become so mainstream that it can be quoted out of context. And you can make parodies.

But… But… A Star Trek TOS fan can't really forget the original context of "I have been and always shall be your friend"? Someone could just not think about it, I guess… But, well, I know that at least I can't forget that this is literally Spock's line to Jim rewritten in a romantic Valentine's Day version. I can't possibly NOT think about it!

And I know it's very possible that the people who worked on the comic story weren't even aware of this extra, but the fact that I'm seeing this after reading about Jim Kirk's romance without happily ever after… Jim kisses a woman he can't stay with forever, and then there's Spock's "I have been and always shall be your Valentine". It's just so fucking funny. I can't. If I was feeling a little down after seeing middle-aged Jim wanting to marry Laura, now I'm laughing again. Thanks, Spock's silly Valentine card. I needed it! :D

Anyway, what did I say about this comic taking things originally created for Kirk and Spock's relationship and making them romantic when they're not about them? I can believe that sometimes it's a coincidence, but this card? Please… In a sense, this is the perfect ending.

---

Conclusions.

I started this comic with a question: in 2020, how do you write a story about TOS Kirk falling in love? I wanted to see this attempt. Overall, I think the creators did what they could. Laura is different from every other woman in Jim's life; they didn't kill her off, and they also didn't force a happy ending. I think they did a good job with the canon limitations they had, especially in 32 pages.

Do I believe that Laura could have been a good match for Jim in different circumstances?

As a temporary girlfriend? Yes.

As a lifelong partner? No.

Of course, I'm aware my answer is biased, but I can try to be a little more "logical" about it.

First of all, I think that the comic itself supports my interpretation: of course, like in every story, different people are going to see different things; however, as I already pointed out, Jim and Laura never say that they love each other, and before the marriage proposal their relationship is pretty casual.

In The Original Series, Jim isn't lucky when it comes to romance because the women he falls in love with can't really understand his nature as a space explorer. Sometimes they can, like in Carol's case, and that's why they break up with him. Laura is the opposite, because she's just like Jim. But here is the thing: I think Laura is too much like him.

What would have happened if Jim had accepted to marry her at the end of the five-year mission? They would have been both captains. On different ships, though. Sure, they could have been part of the same colonization fleet, as Jim says in the comic, and maybe it would have worked for a while. However, would they really have seen each other as much as Jim needs?

I don't know about Laura, but we see multiple times in canon that behind his mask as a starship captain, Jim is definitely more lonely than what someone may think.

First of all, don't get me wrong: in these screenshots from The Naked Time, Jim is single, so of course his attraction to Janice Rand is related to that. It's not the same situation he'd be in if he were married to Laura. Early in the series, he has thoughts about his yeoman exactly because he doesn't have anyone else. Contrary to his fame as a womanizer, TOS Jim in canon always has one woman at a time in his mind, never more.

So, why am I sharing those lines? To show that when Jim is always inside the Enterprise, he does feel lonely. He needs a romantic partner's physical touch. However, we also know that Jim does not want a relationship with one of his subordinates, so Janice Rand and the rest of his crew are off limits.

Laura is good for him because she's part of Starfleet, and not a subordinate. But is that really enough? From what I've seen in the comic, no. At the end of the day, it looks to me that Jim and Laura don't really know how to plan a future together. Perhaps it's because they're so similar, but they don't really think of themselves as a couple, especially Laura. There's Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Laura Rhone; they both love their ships, so they should get married? That's not how it works.

Their relationship is casual. Jim doesn't want to define it. Are they friends with benefits? Are they in an open relationship? Either way, when Laura decides to marry him, she asks around if Jim has someone else, and only after that she asks him. Jim, on the other hand, doesn't talk to her for six weeks after her proposal. He talks to Spock and Bones immediately, but not to her. He even talks to Carol first.

Then, when Jim finally tries to talk to her about his problems, she doesn't listen. Their lack of communication is the cause of their break up.

16 years later, what we see is even worse. It's obvious that Laura has just different priorities. Maybe it's because of what happened to her lost in space, but I'm not sure. If they had married at the end of the five-year mission, would have Laura always refused a promotion to admiral? Would she have tried to get a promotion with Jim? Based on what we see in this comic, it doesn't look likely to me.

Now, as I said, different people are going to see different things, so I'm sure that someone really invested in this romance can imagine that Jim and Laura are really meant to be, and they can get their happy ending after their retirement, or in other ways. However, I admit that Jim and Laura's huge communication issues make hard to me to picture a long happy relationship between them. They should both try to get better, but in those 32 pages there was no hint towards that direction.

There's another thing that makes really hard to find any love interest for Jim as a plausible "happily ever after" option: the stakes. I know that it's just a single comic, so the creators had to focus on a few things; however, I couldn't help but notice that Jim and Laura never really save each other from dangerous situations. They work together as a team, and Jim watches Laura disappearing into the void, but does he do anything about it? Does he try to reach her inside her ship before she disappears into the black hole? Does he try to bring her back from the void? No, he doesn't.

In TOS show and movies, Jim Kirk risks so much for his crew and his ship that a Star Trek fan can't believe that a new woman is the love of his life, unless Jim is willing to do for her everything he does for his friends. And honestly, after The Search for Spock… how can he even come close to do that?

And it's not just about Jim's actions. There's his language too. At the start of the third movie, Jim refers to Spock as "the noblest part of myself". What could he say about a love interest that is as deep as this?

Let's be honest here: the reason it's so hard to write a story about Jim Kirk's true love is that the real love story for him has already been written. You may not see it romantically, but Kirk and Spock's story is absolutely a love story. And when a character has someone he loves so deeply, it's not easy to convince the audience that he could have someone new to love as deeply. In Jim's case, the combination of his personality and his canon life makes it almost impossible.

Anyway, before I end up not so accidentally turning this analysis into a complete Kirk/Spock ship manifesto, I'm just going to mention one silly thing about the Valentine's Day comic. Please, don't take it too seriously, I'm half-joking :)

So, there are two kiss scenes in the story: one when Jim and Laura start to spend a lot of free time together, and one in the last panel. Well, I can't believe Jim isn't holding Laura's shoulders when he kisses her! That's just the basis of the way Jim kisses women! D:

Different Star Trek characters kiss in different ways; it fits their personalities. And because the rest of my TOS posts are probably too gay for these gifs, I'm dropping them as references here:

Sorry, but if Jim Kirk doesn't grab someone's shoulders before a kiss, it just kills my immersion! :P

Okay, a little more seriously: Jim doesn't always kiss women the same way; however, his "shoulder grab" is common enough that you definitely notice it if you pay attention. Because of that, I think it would have been nice to include it in the Valentine's Day comic.

After reading this comic, what kind of person would I consider perfect for Jim?

Well, my answer is obvious. However, I'll try to elaborate.

First of all, this story definitely convinced me even more that Jim can only be really happy with another Starfleet officer (or at least someone who's been deeply involved with Starfleet). He also needs someone who understands him as a space explorer, without trying to keep him grounded. And someone very smart, of course. These are all traits Laura has. But they're just the basis.

I don't think Jim needs someone in command of their own ship as a lifelong partner. As I said before, I can't really imagine it working out. Another starship captain would have their own goals and their own ambitions; that doesn't mean Jim shouldn't marry someone with specific plans for their own career, but I think these plans should keep the two of them close, not on different ships. Jim needs his partner physically at his side; if he could be happy in a long-distance relationship, I believe we would have seen at least one working out in canon. But it's never the case. Working on different starships from the same fleet would be a little better, but in my opinion not enough, unless it's for a short period of time.

And there's also the matter of his partner's personality. Jim is a natural leader; that's why he's so good at his job. I don't think he needs a similar kind of leader as romantic partner. This is just my personal opinion, but I believe they would just fight about everything they disagree about. I think he needs someone calmer in his life, not someone who'd encourage emotional outbursts.

More importantly, he absolutely needs someone he can communicate with. If he can't talk to his partner about everything important, they're not the right person for him. That doesn't mean they can't have disagreements or miscommunication issues, of course, but they shouldn't happen all the time, and Jim and his partner should be able to talk about them and make up.

In conclusion: someone at his side on his ship, smart, calm, trustworthy :)

Now, I know what some of you are thinking about: what about the "no relationships with subordinates" personal rule Jim has? How can Jim be in a relationship with Spock (or anyone else on the Enterprise) if he's everyone's superior officer? Well, first of all, I already said that after The Voyage Home, Jim and Spock are both captains. And before that… I think that Spock in the comic phrased it the right way. Jim can find his happiness with someone of "equal status". I think it's pretty clear, in my opinion, that Janice Rand and Spock aren't the same kind of subordinates to Jim. Just think about it: which members of the Enterprise call their captain "Jim"? Bones, Spock and (occasionally) Scotty. These are the three people I believe are "equals" in private to Jim, no matter their ranks when they're on duty. Because of that, a relationship between Jim and Spock could work pretty well.

By the way, another thing the Valentine's Day comic made me think about is that in TOS movies, Jim sort of does with Spock pretty much everything he does with Laura in this story. Not the same way, of course, but does it matter? Spock is his own person, he's not Jim's copy. That doesn't mean he can't indulge Jim, have fun himself… and try to stop Jim from doing dangerous things "for fun", as an old spouse would :)

Okay, perhaps throwing each other into the water doesn't count as dancing, but it's so much better :D

In conclusion, this is the way I can read the Valentine's Day comic as a Kirk/Spock shipper:

Jim mentions Spock on his first date with a woman.

Jim questions his life choices as he thinks about Spock and IDIC philosophy.

Jim does with Laura everything we see him doing in TOS show, except for playing chess (just the thing he does with Spock).

Jim says Laura and him are a good team in Starfleet because they had a lot of sex (is that true about other people he works well with??)

There haven't been many ladies or gentlemen in Jim's life because he's busy (not because he's not into men, apparently).

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together." Good for your future with Spock, Jim!

If Jim and Laura got married, they could both teach at Starfleet Academy, something Jim is totally going to do with Spock someday.

Mister "I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk" Spock.

Also, Mister "I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness" Spock, which is actual foreshadowing of his own future status with Jim.

Hey, look at Jim reading a book that reminds him of his lost love! I wonder where I've seen LITERALLY THE SAME PICTURE???

"Don't 'Admiral' me". This is totally not similar to what Jim tells Spock in The Voyage Home, of course.

Hey, we're both captains now! Just for a few days, but isn't that great? I wonder if anyone else is a captain now, and forever? :D

"I have been and always shall be your Valentine". Totally not a Kirk/Spock line, I don't know what you're talking about! :)

Okay, okay, that's all.

As a Kirk/Spock shipper, I won't deny that I'm a little jealous of this Valentine's Day special comic, because I wish we could get something with amazing art like this where Jim is in love with Spock. On the other hand, Star Trek: Year Five comic series has a few scenes about Jim & Spock's friendship that I really liked. Platonic, sure, but good enough for my K/S goggles!

Thank you so much for reading this post until the end! I hope you enjoyed my analysis! Live long and prosper!

#star trek analysis #star trek: year five #star trek: year five valentine's day special #star trek comics #james t. kirk #laura rhone #spirk #star trek tos #star trek the original series #k/s #kirk x spock #space husbands #my gifs

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oilujsederap · 2 years

Photo

Artiste - Laura C. @laura.c_esthetique, Modèle - Tara @Tara Capilongo (à Grignon, Rhone-Alpes, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgRMgHkj6eTboXTIyfVQWC0rZNUF1zgJP1-78g0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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chodhound · 2 years

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France day 6 - part 2

Left the hotel with a plan to go to the famous bridge. On Google maps the most direct route seemed to be via a nice little park - unbeknownst to me it was on the top of the rock that the palace de papes was built on and so it meant climbing about 200 steps in the 3 o'clock sun. Once at the top there was no clear way down so that was a fail. The wind was strong at the top - from the north - Mistral! Sufficiently exercised Laura decided to do some work in the hotel garden and I decided to try a different route to the bridge. Found it and did the tour - interesting without being unmissable. Carried on along the battlements/walls inside and out - found a cool little food market. Bought Laura some cherries but the lady in front in the cherry queue wanted to discuss her life story with the cherry seller - bought three different types of apricot - one to eat, one to make into jam and who knows! The queue behind me was epic and there were a number of Gallic shrugs and tuts. Walked to the Rhone again - quiet by the water - leathery man sunbathing - checked out the restaurant for the evening then back for another bath (it was a good bath)

Entrance to the restaurant...

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oosteven-universe · 4 years

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Star Trek Year Five Valentine’s Day Special

Star Trek Year Five Valentine's Day Special IDW Publishing 2020 Written by Paul Cornell Illustrated by Christopher Jones Coloured by Charlie Kirchoff Lettered by Neil Uyetake James T. Kirk has had many loves during his mission among the stars, but this time he may have met his match in fellow Starfleet Captain Laura Rhone. Ah Valentine's Day, the day made up by a greeting card company to sell product has turned into a multi-billion dollar business. For singles appreciation day I am very picky about what kind of stories I read and to be honest I have never really enjoy the romantic comedies, well unless it had Rock Hudson in them. Then there's James T. Kirk who is a notorious ladies man and I knew a Valentine's story with him was going to be interesting to say the least and so here we are and ya know what I was right. I enjoyed a heck of a lot more than I had thought I would and that is saying something because I love this crew, cast whichever way you wanna call it. The opening here is amazing and for once it is nice to see the reverse happening and yet how Bones knows him so very well. It is the little things like knowing when to go that we identify with these characters that allow us to simply sink back into their world. The writing is impeccable and the way that the story & plot development is utilised through the sequence of events unfolding as well as how the reader learns information is sensational. The flow to the events that we see and the personal history that's covered really has this weird, powerful impact on me as someone who grew up with all that we see. The character development is phenomenal. The regulars are who they are and it's easy to see them in the same way but a new “episode” as it were. The new characters are fantastic and it is nice to finally see someone who could give Kirk a run for his money. The pacing is superb as it takes us through the pages and unveils their journey together while helping create this really sensitive and emotional ebb & flow. Paul is a certified genius I believe and as you read this you'll understand why I say this as he adds moments that tie in the entire history that Kirk has and it's done so smoothly and seamlessly. I marvel at how large this all feels when it's only a standard length issue. First, I love Christopher and the work he does. I have been a fan a long time now and to see him take on Starfleet is damn impressive. His linework is beautiful and how we see the varying weights utilised to bring out the attention to detail that we see is fantastic. He's got one of those steady, strong and sure hands when it comes to his art and yet he can show that and great delicacy at the same time. He is able to bring out the emotions and feelings and get the reader to feel them as well and it's one of the aspects of his work that I really admire. That he understands how to utilise backgrounds and how they work within the composition in the panels to create depth perception, scale and that overall sense of size and scope is perfectly done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this masterful eye for storytelling. I am really enjoying the colour work as well. There are some really gorgeous colours being utilised and then to see the hues and tones within them create the shading, highlights and shadow work is superb. The creativity, imagination and the old school rendering of the ships and uniforms are mindbogglingly good. I am not sure what IDW was thinking because now I want more. I want to see the Drake's adventures with her female captain and first officers. I want to stay in the five year mission universe and let this creative team run rampant creating new adventures and boldly going where no woman has gone before. Seriously there needs to be an outcry for more of this and if there's not perhaps we will start one. This is like that feeling you get when you realise the animated series and the television merge into something bigger than either one alone.

#comic books #comic review #star trek #IDW Publishing #paul cornell #christopher jones #Charlie Kirchoff #neil uyetake

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anthemisnobilisetfetida · 5 years

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Theodor Fontane - Soirée littéraire internationale 📖

28.5.19 et 25.6.19

Ah le théâtre... Cette activité si drôle et si connectatrice ! Une fois encore, me voilà embarquée par la fièvre des planches dans un projet international. Cette fois-ci, thème imposé: c’est le 200ème anniversaire de la naissance de Theodor Fontane, un auteur allemand très connu et encore plus connu à Berlin, où il a vécu et à propos de qui il a écrit en long en large et en travers.

4 Étudiantes, 3 Nationalités 🇩🇪 🇨🇭 🇫🇷

Nous avons organisé deux soirées littéraires mélangeant théâtre, lecture, musique, ou encore peinture. En lisant et réécrivant des textes de Fontane, nous avons surtout ri, car c’est qu’il avait de l’humour l’écrivain! Et comme le public a lui aussi ri, je crois que nous avons réussi à transmettre son ironie critique.

Comme toujours, toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin et me laisse sur la faim de loup de recommencer année après année o:)

Mon poème préféré de la première soirée littéraire:

Berliner Landpartie

Ein Vergnügen eig`ner Art ist doch eine Wasserfahrt, und ein Vergnügen (frage nicht wie) ist eine Berliner Landpartie. Vorortszug mit einem Bremser, Droschke, Dampfschiff oder Kremser, Fahnen, rote, blaue, gelbe, das Vergnügen ist dasselbe, welches Bild schon unterweges, welche Fülle gold`nen Seges, gold`ner Sand in weitem Kreise, Bahndamm, Schienen und Geleise, Pfiff, Geklingel, Klapptrompete, lange, lange Spargelbeete, nicht mehr Köpfe, nicht mehr Sprossen, längst in Samen aufgeschossen, Staub und Qualm und Hochstrom ah, ah nun kommt`s, nun sind wir da.

Lange Reihen Tische, Tische,

neu gestrichen, welche Frische,

freilich etwas terpentinen, aber dafür welche Mienen, alles atmet tiefen Frieden, und zu stören diesen Frieden ist dem Platz hier heut beschieden. Kaffee! Kellner, drei Portionen, o wie lieblich, hier zu wohnen, o wie weht die Luft hier freier, und der Teich da und der Weiher und das liebe Schwanenhaus, Enten fahren ein und aus, still die Kegelkugeln liegen, dicht sich aneinander schmiegen, und das Sandfeld, daß sich`s verjüngt, eben wird es stark gedüngt, und der Luftzug drüber, drüber trägt die Luft zu uns herüber.

Und nun kommt der Kellner Töffel, dicke Tassen, Nickel-Löffel, einige dünn und vorwurfsfrei, andre noch mit etwas Ei. Drei Stück Zucker pro Person, und der Deckel klappert schon. Mokka, Java sind Nationen, die weit auf dem Monde wohnen, Mutter, rechnet, die zu sparen liebt, ob es was zu retten gibt. Laura möchte Wasserfahren doch mit aufgelösten Haaren, Hedwig mit den dünnen Ärmen, Hedwig möchte im Walde schwärmen, Hugo will den Wald genießen, Hermann nach der Scheibe schießen, Mutters Lippe zieht sich schief, ach, sie kennt den Schlußtarif, Vater hat ein Herz genommen, läßt sich einen Cognac kommen,

Vater winkt den Kellner her, zahlt ihm 15 Pfennig mehr, ein`Moment, wo Mutter nicht aufgepaßt, hat er glücklich erpasst. Unter Gähnen, Mückenmorden ist es endlich sieben geworden, Mutter macht sich schon bereit, Mann, ich denk, es ist nu Zeit, möchte gern noch länger bleiben, doch man muß nicht übertreiben, wenn am höchsten der Genuß, allemal man schließen muß, darin bin ich großgezogen und es hat mich nie betrogen. Alle haben Rückfahrtskarten, alle müssen deshalb warten, 9 Uhr geht der nächste Zug, 9 Uhr ist auch früh genug, 9 1/2 da landen sie, – war Berliner Landpartie.

Theodor Fontane

Mon poème préféré de la deuxième soirée littéraire :

Ein Ball in Paris (1851)

Paris hat Ball: hin durch der Gassen Enge Braust rasselnd der Karossen bunte Menge, Die Quai’s entlang, entlang die Tuillerien, Ein rastlos Jagen und Vorüberfliehn. Halloh, die Peitsche knallt, die Rosse dampfen, Schon dröhnt „La Grêve“ von ihrer Hufe Stampfen, Und jetzt ein kurzes „Halt!“ — hell glänzt das Ziel, Der prächtge Ballsaal des Hôtel de Ville.

Rings Fackelglanz; die Nacht ist lichter Tag, Betresste Diener springen an den Schlag, Leis knistert auf der steingehaunen Treppe Der Atlasschuh, es rauscht die Seidenschleppe, Der Mantel fällt, und jetzt in luftgem Shawl, Selbst luftig, schwebt die Schönheit in den Saal.

Drin wogt es schon; auf Klängen der Musik Wiegt sich der Glanz der neuen Republik: Die Abenteurer und die Schleppenträger, Die Vettern all und all die Stellenjäger (Auf deren Brust das Kreuz der Ehre blitzt, Weil nichts von Ehre drin im Herzen sitzt) All sind sie da, und leichter schwebt ihr Fuß, Trifft sie des Kaiserneffen flüchtger Gruß.

Der Kaiserneffe aber, klanglos hin Zieht heut der Töne Macht an seinem Sinn, Sein Aug' ist todt rings für den Blumenflor,

Nach einem Punkt nur blinzelt Er empor, Von wo herab im Purpur, goldgestickt, Des Kaisers Bild auf ihn herniederblickt.

Das Kaiserbild! traun in das Festgebraus Aus seinem goldnen Rahmen tritt's heraus, Ein tiefer Ernst umschattet sein Gesicht, Der Kronendurstge aber sieht es nicht, Er sieht nur wie der Goldreif blinkt und blitzt, Der auf der Stirne des Allmächtgen sitzt, Er sieht das Scepter nur der halben Welt, Das Jener spielend fast in Händen hält, Und zitternd nach des Glückes gleicher Huld, Ruft er sich selber zu: "Geduld, Geduld!"

So aber denken nicht die schlanken Schönen, Die leicht hin schweben auf den leichten Tönen, Mit Blüthen sind die Blühenden geschmückt, Wie wenn man Rosen noch auf Rosen drückt,

Und schier als wär' die Gabe zu genießen Selbst nur ein stundenkurzes Blüthensprießen, So jagt man hin, voll fieberhafter Hast, In ewger Furcht, die Stunde sei verpasst.

Ich tanze nicht; -- im Durst nach Luft und Frische Tret' ich seitab in eines Fensters Nische, Und hinter mir jetzt all den Saus und Braus, Blick' ich, aufathmend, in die Nacht hinaus. Die lagert draußen schwarz und schwer und dicht, Mit Eifersucht-umfinstertem Gesicht, Und in des Saales Glanz und Pracht und Schein, Starrt wie der Tod in's Leben sie herein.

Doch lauter immer wird das laute Treiben, Fest drück' die Stirn ich an die feuchten Scheiben,

Da ist es mir, als ob mein Ohr es träf': "Kennst Du den Platz da draus? kennst Du "La Greve"?

La Greve! wie kalt das Wort mich überlief, Und nächtge That vor meine Seele rief; La Greve! wo Haß nur, der nach Rache schnob, Der Freiheit Zerrbild aus der Taufe hob; La Greve! wo man von Menschenliebe schwur, Wenn mal auf mal das Beil herniederfuhr; La Greve! wo Blut aus so viel Quellen floß, Daß es -- ein Strom sich in den Strom ergoß.

Und mir im Rücken jetzt erbraust es wilder, Vor meinen Augen aber, Schattenbilder Der Greuel all, die ringsumher geschehn, Läßt mich die Nacht in ihrem Spiegel sehn.

Horch! Weiberstimmen durch die Lüfte kreischen; Da sind sie selbst; -- in Wollust zu zerfleischen, Hat ihres Fleisches Wollust sich verkehrt, -- Blut heißt jetzt was die Sinnlichkeit begehrt. Manch Eine trägt den Säugling an der Brust, Doch nirgends einer Mutter stille Lust; Mit aufgelöstem Haar, halbnackt die Leiber, So ziehn vorbei mir die Versailler Weiber.

Und jetzt, verhallt kaum ist ihr Schrei nach Brot, Da naht ein zweiter Zug, den führt der Tod, Er zieht als Mordgesell dem Zug vorauf, Und trägt zwei Stangen und zwei Köpfe drauf; Wild heulend folgen aus den Rhone-Landen Die Lyoneser- und Marseiller Banden, Siegtrunken noch vom Sturm der Tuilerien, Seh' ich die Blutgen mir vorüberziehn.

Vorbei, vorbei! jetzt aber Trommelklang So dumpf, so hohl, -- das ist ein Sterbegang; Schon um den Platz wie eine Eisenkette Legt sich der spitze Wald der Bayonnette, Und rasch, in Nacht herauf, steigt das Schaffott, Vom Volk umtanzt in widerlichem Spott. Zwei Männer schreiten herwärts; -- alles still, -- Es winkt des Priesters Hand, die segnen will, Und machtvoll jetzt, hertönt's aus dem Ge- wimmel: "Des heilgen Ludwig Sohn -- steig' auf gen Himmel!"

Ein Beilesblitz; -- -- mein Auge schließt sich bang; Da hinter mir aufschreckt mich Beckenklang, Und aus der Nische fort und ihrer Nacht, Tret' ich zurück jetzt in die Saalespracht.

Drin wogt es noch; auf Klängen der Musik Schwebt nach wie vor der Glanz der Republik, Noch immer senken taktvoll sich und steigen Die Walzerpaare nach dem Strich der Geigen; Noch immer aus des Contre-Tanzes Touren Erblühen Arabesken und Figuren, Und immer noch, rasch wie Gewitterhusch, Braust der Galopp her im Orchestre-Tusch.

Wohl! rings dasselbe Thun noch und Beginnen, Ich aber jetzt, mit nachtgeschärften Sinnen, Schau durch das Maskenwerk und seinen Schein, Tief in das Herz der Wirklichkeit hinein.

Sieh Jenen dort: es frömmelt sein Gesicht, Mir sagt's sein Aug', daß er von "Tugend" spricht; Sieh, wie so süß er seiner Dame lächelt, Und Kühlung ihr mit seinen Blumen fächelt,

Sieh hin, -- und denk dann an den Festeszug, Wo der Hyänenmensch auch Blumen trug.

Sieh jenen Zweiten dort: wie Dantons Brust Hebt sich die seine stolz und selbstbewußt; Ein jedes Härlein schwört auf diesem Haupt, Daß es an nichts, als an sich selber glaubt.

Und jenen Hagren sieh! wie, kündet nicht "La mort -- sans phrase!" dies steinerne Gesicht? Und Jenen sieh: vergiftet ist sein Blut, Pestbeule außen, drinnen Höllenglut; "Stirb an Dir selbst, Tyrann! zu rein für Dich Ist einer Corday keuscher Messerstich."

Genug! Du aber Fürst, deß Blicke eben Scheu wieder sich zum Wandbild dort erheben, Du Kaiserneffe, der im Herzen still Noch immer rechnet: ob's nicht werden will?

Und über sich und seine Welt vergißt, Daß rings die Welt ein drohnder Krater ist, -- Sag an, wenn jener Schreckenszeit Gestalten Bluthochzeit wieder in den Gassen halten, Bist Du's dann, der das losgelassne Thier Voll Ruh empfängt, des Sieges sicher schier, Und eh's in Blut sich voll und satt geschlürft, Das Fangseil rasch ihm über'n Nacken wirft, -- Bist Du's? -- Du schweigst; der Kaiser aber spricht Von seiner Wand herab: "er ist es nicht!"

Theodor Fontane

#theater #orbishumboldtianus #freundschaft #sprachen #literatur #200fontane #danke

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marshlandsheets · 5 years

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Transcribed list

Updated transcriptions list. A selection of these are available commercially as sheet music via: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/publishers/inner-marshland-sheet-music/3011676 And: https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/Search.aspx?query=inner%20marshland Those marked with an asterisk aren’t (yet) commercially available. Aphrodite's Child - Break* Art Bears - The Song of Investment Capital Overseas* Beady Belle - When My Anger Starts To Cry* Brian Protheroe - Fly Now Brian Protheroe - Pinball Broadcast - Papercuts Broadcast - Colour Me In Bryan Ferry - River of Salt* Caravan - If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You* Caravan - The Dog, The Dog, He's At It Again* Cardiacs - Dirty Boy* Carole King - It Might As Well Rain Until September - PVG Carole King - It Might As Well Rain Until September (full)* Chic - At Last I Am Free Chris Rainbow - Solid State Brain* Chris Rainbow - Solid State Brain (in C)* Chris Rainbow - Give Me What I Cry For* Cockney Rebel - Sebastian Cocteau Twins - Beatrix Colin Blunstone - Though You Are Far Away* Colin Blunstone - Wonderful* Curved Air - It Happened Today Dave Dulake - Sad Little No 1* Dave Dulake - Dorothy I'll* David Bowie - After All David Bowie - After All - band score* David Bowie - Dollar Days (band)* David Bowie - I Would Be Your Slave David Bowie - In the Heat of the Morning* David Bowie - I'm Deranged David Bowie - Let Me Sleep Beside You* David Bowie - Maid of Bond Street David Bowie - No Plan David Bowie - Silly Boy Blue* David Bowie - Slip Away David Bowie - Sons of the Silent Age David Bowie - Sunday David Bowie - The Buddha Of Suburbia David Bowie - Warszawa David Bowie - Warszawa - Bb David Gates - Clouds* David McWilliams - The Days of Pearly Spencer Dead Can Dance - The Carnival is Over Delia Derbyshire - Ziwzih Ziwzih OO OO OO OO* Duke Pearson - Cristo Redentor - SATB Duke Pearson - Cristo Redentor - piano reduction Earth and Fire - Storm and Thunder* Earth and Fire - Memories* Earth and Fire - Maybe Tomorrow Maybe Tonight* Earth and Fire - Affliction* Edwin Astley - Randall and Hopkirk theme - Cm* Edwin Astley - Randall and Hopkirk theme* Egg - A Visit to Newport Hospital (part 1)* Elizabete Balcus - Tourist* Everything But The Girl - Each and Every One Everything But The Girl - Fascination Faust - Flashback Caruso Flake Girl - The Flake Song* Fleetwood Mac - Man of the World Fun Boy Three - Tunnel of Love Gil Scott Heron - Lady Day and John Coltrane Goldfrapp - Laurel* Goldfrapp - Laurel (in Am)* Goldfrapp - Lovely Head* Goldfrapp - Clowns* Goldfrapp - Clay* Goldfrapp - Annabel* Hank Levine Orchestra - Image (part 1)* Hatfield and the North - Calyx* Hatfield and the North - Fitter Stoke Has a Bath Hatfield and the North - Share It Hot Chip - White Wine and Fried Chicken Jackson 5 - Lookin' Through the Windows Japan - Ghosts (in Am)* Jimmy Webb (Glen Campbell version) - Wichita Lineman John Barry - The Human Jungle* John Greaves - Kew. Rhone Joni Mitchell - Chinese Café - Unchained Melody* Kate Bush - And Dream of Sheep Kayak - Wintertime Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone - Sea Lady - lead sheet* Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone, John Taylor - Sea Lady* King Crimson - Epitaph King Crimson, The Unthanks - Starless Koop - Waltz for Koop Laura Marling - Don't Pass Me By Lindsay Cooper - As She Breathes* Lindsay Cooper - They're Moving In* Lost Crowns - Dandy Doesn't Know* Manfred Mann's Earthband - Joybringer* Molvaer/Endresen - Merciful Momus - Endarkenment Momus - The Thief Neil Innes - How Sweet To Be An Idiot* New Musik - This World Of Water News from Babel - Anno Mirabilis* News from Babel - Anno Mirabilis (lead sheet)* Nick Nicely - Hilly Fields - band score* Nick Nicely - Hilly Fields* Nirvana - Rainbow Chaser PFM - Celebration* Peter Gosling - Peace* Pink Floyd - Cirrus Minor* Pink Floyd - Julia Dream* Pink Floyd - Paintbox* Propaganda - Duel Python Lee Jackson - In a Broken Dream Robert Wyatt - Free Will And Testament Robert Wyatt - Lullaby for Hamza* Robert Wyatt - Lullaby for Hamza (lead sheet)* Robert Wyatt, Matching Mole - O Caroline* Ronnie Dyson - When You Get Right Down To It* Seventh Wave - Loved By You (band score)* Seventh Wave - Loved By You* Scritti Politti - Absolute Simon Dupree & The Big Sound - Kites* Simon Dupree & The Big Sound - Kites - band score* Slapp Happy, Henry Cow - Desperate Straights* Soft Machine - Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening* Soft Machine - Moon in June - part 1* Soft Machine - Hibou Anemone and Bear - part 1* Soft Machine - Facelift* Soft Machine - Hibou Anemone and Bear - part 3* Soft Machine - Pig* Spencer Davis Group - Magpie* Stan Tracey - Starless And Bible Black* Stereolab - Wow and Flutter Stereolab - Ping Pong Stick in the Wheel - Over Again* Stick in the Wheel - Follow Them True* Talk Talk - Life s What You Make It The Associates - Breakfast* The Dials - That Was The Future* The Isley Brothers - The Highways of My Life (Am) The Isley Brothers - The Highways of My Life The Korgis - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime* The Lemon Twigs - How Lucky Am I? The Plan - Pier Party Nerves* The Rutles - Doubleback Alley The Stranglers - Duchess The Unthanks - Flutter* The Unthanks - Starless (King Crimson cover) The Zombies - Brief Candles* The Zombies - Care of Cell 44 Thomas Dolby - Weightless* Traffic - Hole in My Shoe Tuppenny Bunters - Geigerkali (in D)* Tuppenny Bunters - Spiral* Tuppenny Bunters - Boppy Nan* Tuppenny Bunters - Geigerkali* Van Der Graaf Generator - Killer Van Der Graaf Generator - Theme One (full) Van Der Graaf Generator - Refugees (full)* Van Der Graaf Generator - Refugees Van Der Graaf Generator - Darkness Van Der Graaf Generator, Peter Hammill - House With No Door Vanishing Twin - Telescope Virginia Astley - Love's A Lonely Place To Be* Weekend - The View From Her Room* White Noise - Firebird X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents* Yazoo - Winter Kills Young Marble Giants - NITA*

#sheetmusic transcription #sheet music #sheet music plus #score #sheetmusic #transcription

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your-name-is-jim · 9 months

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What a Kirk/Spock shipper sees in a Kirk/Female-Love-Interest story [PART 1/2]

[Part 2]

This is a pretty long post in two parts, so I hope you'll find it interesting. Don't worry, I shared a lot of pictures too! :)

First of all, what is it about?

An analysis about a 32-pages comic published in 2020 by IDW Publishing. More specifically, I'm talking about the Valentine's Day special from the comics series Star Trek: Year Five that I recommended here. The title of this story is Captains of Sea and War, and this is the official summary:

"James T. Kirk has had many loves during his mission among the stars, but this time he may have met his match in fellow Starfleet Captain Laura Rhone."

As I said in my review of Star Trek: Year Five, this Valentine's Day special is not linked to anything else in the main comics series. That means it can be read alone or, on the contrary, it can be skipped if you're only interested in the series (where Kirk doesn't have love interests, by the way).

Do I recommend this comic issue?

It depends on your preference! Just like the rest of Star Trek: Year Five series, the art is great and so is the characterization, at least most of the times. Jim is written as a romantic book lover and definitely not as a womanizer. However, if you only ship Kirk/Spock or you're not into Kirk romance with women in general, I believe you should avoid wasting your time and money. Just read my analysis if you're curious! :)

Why am I talking about this? And why as a Kirk/Spock shipper?

Good question. The short answer is that I read this comic and I have a lot of thoughts about it.

The long answer is that I love TOS Kirk and I'm interested in him as a character, romantic scenarios included. Since Kirk/Spock is my OTP, I can't suddenly take my slash goggles off, so I already knew before reading this comic that I'm not exactly the target audience and nothing is ever going to convince me that Spock isn't The One for Kirk. However, it was an interesting reading in multiple ways, so I'd like to say why!

I want to be 100% clear about my Kirk/Spock preference because even if I will try to talk objectively about the comic to a certain degree, this analysis is biased; if you don't like Kirk/Spock, this is NOT the post for you. That said, you may not see the point in a K/S shipper writing an analysis about a romance between Kirk and a female character, but… well, unless someday they'll release official Kirk/Spock comics, this is all we have.

There are two reasons why I read this story despite being pretty much a monoshipper when it comes to Kirk:

I had already read the main comics series and I liked it a lot, so I wanted to give this special a try.

I thought it was probably going to be okay, because in my headcanon Kirk and Spock don't actually get together until The Motion Picture. Kirk has a lot of love interests before that movie, so adding another one doesn't really bother me. It turned out (as I'll mention later) that I wasn't completely right about the era, but I take Star Trek comics as "extras", so I just ignore what I don't like.

Note: this analysis contains SPOILERS from the entire Valentine's Day special.

However, it does not contain spoilers from the main Star Trek: Year Five comics series. So, if you're planning to read that one, you're safe here! Just avoid this post if you don't want spoilers about the Valentine's Day issue.

Okay, are you ready? Let's go!

So, Jim is on shore leave with Bones. As you can see, the moment a pretty woman gets close to them, Bones leaves, because he's a great friend :)

We already know from the summary that the woman who talks to Jim is Captain Laura Rhone. Now, I'm already going to stop here to take a moment to at least appreciate the creators' effort: as someone interested in fictional writing, I must admit that creating a Valentine's Day special in 2020 about James T. Kirk finding love is an extremely hard task, to put it mildly. Seriously, if it can't be Spock (or the Enterprise :P), how the hell do you even do it? Are you going to give Jim another woman-of-the-week who's going to die? Another blond white woman? Another woman who forces him to choose between her and his ship? Or, on the contrary, a woman who'll choose for him and break up because she knows he wants the Enterprise?

NO.

Star Trek TOS was made in the 1960s, but we're in the 2020s now. Fans are tired to see always the same tropes with female love interests, and some of those tropes are just very outdated. So what does this comic do? Well, first of all, fixing what didn't work in Turnabout Intruder. Oh, let me get this straight: overall, I like Turnabout Intruder. I love the canon bodyswap, and I lost count of how many times I quoted "You are closer to the Captain than anyone in the universe" in my Kirk/Spock fan-fictions. However, there's no way that in the 2020s we're going to believe that a positive future means this:

In the Valentine's Day comic, Janice Lester still exists (she's mentioned once in a dialogue), but since Laura Rhone is a very good Starfleet captain around the same time, I believe we're now supposed to think that Janice was one crazy person who was never going to become a captain because of her personality and behavior, not because she's a woman. This is actually how I've always liked to mentally re-write this part of Turnabout Intruder in my head, because that's how I want to imagine it.

Anyway, back to the comic. Captain Laura Rhone is on shore leave too; she recognizes Captain James T. Kirk and she decides to introduce herself to him. She's very straightforward about her interest in him, so we immediately see that part of her personality.

Of course, the two captains can't enjoy their shore leave until the end. I'm posting this part to appreciate Bones in his beach clothes and Laura's very loyal Andorian officer who slips ("Laura! I mean, Ma'am!") when she sees her Captain in danger and oh whoops now I ship them. She doesn't remind me of anyone, I don't know what you're talking about.

Anyway, wrong ship. I'm obviously not following what the story is trying to tell me, because this is what happens next:

Just a moment to appreciate sleeping Jim. Cute.

So, after that night together, Jim and Laura don't see each other for 6 months. They meet again when the Drake, Laura's starship, has a battle against a group of space pirates and the Enterprise intervenes without consulting Laura first. Laura and Jim have a slight fight about that, but Jim apologizes, and it ends with them in bed again.

After that, because Jim is a romantic man, not a womanizer, and thank goodness the creators of this comic know, Jim asks Laura on a date. As they're walking together on a planet, Laura points out that they're doing things in the wrong order. Jim's reply is rather interesting: he asks her if they need to know what they're doing, and if there has to be a shape or a meaning to it. It's the first sign that even if they're both obviously attracted to each other, Jim is unsure about the kind of relationship he wants with her. When I think about his previous experiences, I believe it makes sense. He may be a romantic at heart, but he suffered so much for love that I can see why he's trying to be careful. There's also another reason, more related to the time this story takes place, which is a few months before the end of Jim's five-year mission. We see it here:

Ah, yes, a typical first date conversation: what Spock talks about. Well done, Jim. Saying "a friend of mine" doesn't make it less obvious; I did my Star Trek homework and I know you're quoting the basis of Vulcan philosophy to her :D

(Of course, now I won't stop imagining Jim casually mentioning Spock during every single date he has with someone… That would explain why his love stories never last…)

On a serious note, as I was working on this analysis I realized something extremely interesting about the context of Jim's lines. Jim is mentioning IDIC when he's questioning his future as a starship captain. He remembers that Spock talks about Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, but Jim can only do one job. However, what will Spock tell him someday, right next to an IDIC flag?

Now, I don't know if the people who worked on the Valentine's Day comic really thought about this, but I think it's still, well, fascinating that Jim is using Spock's words to think about his own future, but he's following the wrong direction. I believe it's also worth pointing out that Spock will tell Jim that commanding a starship is his "first, best destiny" years after finding his own place in the universe. On the contrary, during the time this comic takes place, Spock is busy with his own inner distress.

Anyway, that's enough Spock for now. Back to Jim's first date with Laura…

So, I started this analysis with a question: how the hell do you write a love story with TOS Kirk in 2020? This is the way this comic tries to answer: you create a female character just like him.

Okay, they look cute together. Laura loves being a starship captain! She loves reading! And dancing! And climbing!

Wait, wait, wait. I appreciate the inclusion of Jim Kirk's canon hobbies. I really do! But aren't we forgetting one?

This is interesting. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this makes me think that they didn't want Laura to have something in common with Spock. Spock is the character who plays chess the most in TOS, so I can see why the creators of the comic didn't want the readers to think about Spock instead of thinking about Jim's girlfriend. That would be too bad, huh? :)

There's also horseback riding missing, but that doesn't appear until the movies, so even if I personally believe that a farm boy like Jim learned how to ride horses when he was young, I can see why they skipped it in this comic. It's also mostly associated to another love interest (Antonia from Generations), but if this is the reason they didn't want to show Jim and Laura riding a horse, I'm just going to think even more that the lack of chess is suspicious, and they're counting Spock as one of the "girlfriends".

On the other hand, since horseback riding is associated to starship captains in TOS and TNG (I don't know about the other Star Trek TV series because I haven't watched them yet), I think it would have been a good idea to have one panel with Jim and Laura riding.

That said, if I had to make a guess about the real reason the comic doesn't show horses… I'm a doctor writer, not an artist, but I believe that drawing horses can be a pain in the ass, so in this comic they just didn't bother haha

Anyway, back to the plot! As I said, Jim and Laura's personalities are very alike. Of course, that doesn't mean they're perfect for each other, but I admit that this premise made me curious when I read this comic. Let's find out if it works out!

I'm posting this picture because of the book Laura is holding: first of all, this is where the title of this story, Captains of Sea and War, comes from. But it's also important to remember the book. You'll see why in Part 2. :)

So, two months later, Jim and Laura trust each other as captains without even talking:

We see Laura's other friend, probably her first officer, trying to warn her, just as Spock does on the Enterprise. I'm taking a little moment to appreciate "Noted, adored, and ignored, Commander", because it's really sweet. Imagine Jim telling this to Spock :D

So, the captains are right, and everything is good, because…

Okay, okay, wait a minute.

Apparently, one of the good things of this relationship is that Jim and Laura make a good team together. They don't even need to communicate to understand each other during a mission. Now… I don't even need to put my K/S goggles on to say that Jim and Spock are canonically one of the best teams in Starfleet, if not The best team. You don't need to ship them to know how many times they understand each other without words in the series, how many times they make plans and just know what the other will do, how many times Spock hears/sees someone that should be Jim and just knows something is wrong, and so on. Of course, as a Kirk/Spock shipper, reading in a Valentine's Day special that making a good team is good for Jim's love life makes me happy!

"Yep. All that sex didn't go to waste."

Jim. Jim. Are you saying that you and Laura are a good team in Starfleet because you had a lot of sex? I'm not even going to say what this makes me think as a K/S shipper… Did I say that Kirk and Spock are the best team? :D

Okay, okay, maybe it's not the same. Because Spock is a man, and Jim isn't attracted to men… right?

Ahem. I lost my mind when I read this for the first time, and I'm going to lose it again.

"There don't seem to have been many ladies in your life. Gentlemen, either." "Well, I've been busy."

Now, let's be honest here: Laura's lines didn't have to be phrased that way. We know Jim likes women, so even nowadays nobody would bat an eye at "there don't seem to have been many ladies in your life"; and if you're the writer of a very heterosexual comic who wants to avoid K/S shippers like me thinking "hehehe, because Jim has a man in his life", you can still write something neutral like "there don't seem to have been many lovers/romantic partners in your life". Or just a generic "it looks like you haven't been on many dates lately".

Laura mentioning "gentlemen" explicitly can make some readers think that men are an actual option for Jim. (Me, I'm "some readers".) Sure, it's not a confirmation, but Jim doesn't deny it. He just says he's been busy. There is room for interpretation in multiple directions, but even if I put my personal preference aside, I think it's important to remember something: in context, in this part of the story, Laura knows Jim. We've seen in a previous panel that they've done a lot of things together. Laura is not a stranger who may say "you don't have a girlfriend… or a boyfriend" because they don't know Jim. Personally, I think it's very likely that Laura asks about ladies and then adds gentlemen because she knows Jim is bisexual with a preference on women. It fits my headcanon for him. (Of course, he can be into anyone, not just men and women, and he has a preference for women because hasn't tried dating Spock yet :D)

Anyway, the other thing that panel points out is that neither captain would give up on their own starship. Well, that's fair.

Okay, okay, I'll be serious: Jim sacrifices the Enterprise in The Search for Spock during an emergency. Of course, it's definitely not a coincidence in the narrative that said emergency happens because Jim is looking for Spock's body. However, we all know how much Jim loves the Enterprise and how bad he feels without a starship, so it's only fair that in normal circumstances, he shouldn't be forced to give up on his "silver lady".

Laura understands that they're the same, so...

This is another thing I appreciated! Who cares about gender norms, a woman can propose to James T. Kirk! :D

Now, just as I said about the "gentlemen" line, it's important to think about the context of this proposal. When the two of them are drinking together, Laura says "I've been asking around about you". That means Jim and Laura's relationship is still casual, to the point that she could have expected him to have flings with other people too. Honestly, this is just my opinion, but I'm not even sure I'd call it exactly an open relationship, because that would still imply a relationship in the first place. I'm mostly referring to the fact that Laura has been asking around about Jim's love life instead of just, you know, asking him? I believe that if they trusted each other and were in an open romantic relationship, either they wouldn't care about each other's partners or they would just talk about it. Since Laura wants to marry Jim and have an exclusive relationship with him, it makes sense for her to bring up Jim's love life. However, I can't really help side-eyeing that "I've been asking around".

Am I reading too much into this? It's possible, but this is another clue about their dynamic that I'll mention later in the story.

Sooo, Laura asks Jim to marry him. What does Jim answer?

Unfortunately, I reached Tumblr limitations of the number of pictures I can share, so… you'll find out in Part 2!

If you're reading my analysis for the Kirk/Spock shipper's point of view, I especially recommend the second half, because that's where things get more interesting! :D

I hope you enjoyed the first part of this analysis! Thank you for reading until the end! See you soon!

Part 2!

#star trek analysis #star trek: year five #star trek comics #star trek: year five valentine's day special #james t. kirk #laura rhone #spirk #star trek the original series #star trek tos #k/s #kirk x spock #my gifs #well except for 'Captain Kirk is climbing a mountain' lol #the other gifs are mine

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