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ichayalovesyou · 2 years

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The Spock We Know From TOS Is Grief Incarnate

You ever think about how the reason Spock is so disdainful of emotions and his humanity in general is probably because he’s grieving?

He’s hurting, a lot. Within the span of less than a decade he:

Loses his sense of linear time and almost his sanity, institutionalizing himself after his first five year mission on Enterprise.

Loses Michael, who was his first and strongest link to human friendship and familial love (aside from his mother). Due to circumstances beyond his control. His visions, his needing Michael, indirectly leads her to fulfilling her destiny, and being forced to leave him behind.

Has a falling out with T’Pring, because she feels he does not value their relationship or his Vulcan heritage enough. Which he internalizes as not being Vulcan enough period. A confirmation of what he already believed.

Has a falling out with Chapel, because she’s in love with the humanity in him which he has come to resent, and cannot be what she wants/thinks him to be. He is not human enough among humans. A confirmation of what he already believed.

He loses Chris, his captain, his best male role model (cuz he’s not getting that from Sarek and his only brother has been in rehab most of his life). Pike, who accepts him as he is and cares about him. Who sacrifices himself because he knows for a fact Spock will go on to do greater things. In doing so, also ends up parting ways with Spock.

He spends 90% of his young adulthood losing people.

Spock’s Vulcan ties reject him, and every human he has ever loved enough to reach out for so far has seriously hurt and/or been hurt by him.

He associates emotion with his humanity (even though Vulcans do feel), and his humanity with the humans that have touched his life.

It hurts to love, love is a human emotion, the logical solution is to further reject my humanity and connection with humans so that I do not feel this pain again.

“I am a Vulcan, there is no pain.”

Is it a wonder that he’s so disdainful of humanity by the time we see in in TOS? Not just from human vs Vulcan prejudices (because damn they hostile to each other constantly), but because being condescending and rude and aloof keeps people from reaching out to him or finding him approachable. If you think about it, that persona, the one we don’t see formed yet in SNW, is a deliberate product of all of that.

Logically, if you don’t want friends, if you don’t want the inevitable pain that love causes, the most direct course of action is to project a persona that people don’t want to be friends with. Evidence suggests that bad things happen to the people who accept him as he is. The last thing he wants is to be loved and to be hurt by another human, another person, right now. Not after what happened to Michael, to Hemmer, to Chris.

You know the two people aboard who immediately see through that and start chipping away at the ice from the moment they meet him?

Jim and Bones

“Listen closely little brother, this is the last advice I’ll ever be able to give you. Find the person that seems farthest from you, reach for them.”

He gets along with Kirk so incredibly, reality bendingly well. It scares Spock! He keeps trying to avoid it but Jim has him pinned and isn’t going to let him go. “When I feel friendship for you I am ashamed” goes beyond the inherent embarrassment of a Vulcan feeling an emotion, it’s the shame of getting attached and believing whole heartedly that it will end in suffering. So much so that he leaves and attempts Kolinahr rather than chance that bond deepening further! Which ultimately fails because, while Chris and Michael both loved and needed Spock, not nearly the same way, the same soul wrenching intensity, that Jim needs him. It’s the stuff that myth is made from.

And Bones, like the saw for which he’s nicknamed, makes it his business to cut through Spock’s bullshit. He forces Spock to acknowledge his humanity, that well of love and of pain and loneliness, where Spock would otherwise deny it. Bones sees through the Vulcan-isms that Spock is hiding behind and sees the truth, a truth so obvious to him and foreign to Spock that it actively pisses him off. Bones confronts, challenges, goads, dares Spock to feel. Bones accuses Spock of being so far gone he can’t feel, just to make Spock prove him wrong. He knows what he’s doing and it’s working. Which is what makes them as inseparable as Jim and Spock, rather than two coworkers who hurl casual insults to each other. Bones KNOWS him, and in his own way needs him for the same confrontational nature he dishes out.

Neither of them could get Spock to heal on their own. Jim isn’t confrontational enough, and Bones is too prickly. Which is one of the many, many reasons the Triumvirate is such a powerful trio.

Love is going to hurt, it always does, but the love is always, always more important than the pain of losing it. Where Nyota’s character arc begins, is where Spock’s ends.

Like Hemmer says

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celestialvoyeur · 4 months

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💛💙SPIRK FIC REC💙💛

'A Voice in the Dark’ is one of my favourite fics by @thetimetostrikeislater. It’s an amazing novel length AOS AU fic in which the Enterprise, under the command of Captain Pike and First Officer Spock, respond to a distress signal from the USS Star Marker. They find a single survivor, Lt Kirk, in a lifepod. The only problem…the lifepod is trapped in a pocket of nul-space and they have no way to retrieve him. While they work on a solution they keep an open comm channel to Jim so someone can talk to him and help keep him sane. Since the comm unit needed to be jury-rigged through Spock’s personal computer in his quarters (there’s a sensible reason in the story), the task most often falls to him and they start getting to know one another. This is a stunning story with a great plot! 🥰

#star trek #spirk #spock #james t kirk #k/s #kirk/spock #k/s fanfic #fan fiction #fanfic #fan fic rec #aos spirk

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whovianwatchingstartrek · 5 months

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A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 113 - Followers of the Red Angel

Star Trek: Discovery - Season 2 Episode 2 - New Eden

Sorry it's been a few days, haven't had time to watch because my Partner's been sick, and I've been looking after him. He's doing better now, so I'm back!

We open this episode with Michael showing Pike the audio recording that Spock left behind at the end of last episode. It's very clear that these signals are related to whatever visions Spock has been having. Apparently, Spock has also been booked into a psychiatric facility, through his own choice.

Discussion about Spock are interrupted however by another Signal appearing. It is extremely far away though, hundreds of year's at Discovery's Top Speed. Pike give's the order to reactivate the Spore Drive. Paul Stamets here is great, I love how the episode is cutting through his grief and his philosophy over life, death and how it relates to him seeing Hugh in the Spore network.

Meanwhile on the bridge, we meet a mystery: There are humans on this planet! Humans who have apparently been here since before the Earth Achieved Warp capabilities. Enterprise did a similar episode, and it was a fun excuse for a western, so that immediately got my hopes up to see if we were gonna Genre shift here too, which we didn't particularly, but this pre-industrial world was still a fun setting

Apparently, these humans arrival on this planet happened during Earth's WW3, which a bit about in Enterprise, but ENT never really went into detail about WW3, so I'm hoping this is a chance to explore that. Unfortunately that didn't pan out. I am still hoping information about WW3 is something we'll get eventually, it seems like a pretty big part of Star Trek Earth's history to leave entirely vague.

We get a little bit of debate between Pike and Michael's different perspectives on what the signals are, Michael taking a more hardline Scientific approach, where as Pike takes a more philosophical approach, assuming these Red Angel signals are some kind of really advanced species and modifies the Sufficiently Advance Technology adage to apply to deities. Kinda reminded me T'Pol's and Archer's "The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible" conversations in a way. I find Pike brining up the idea of a god interesting, Enterprise did briefly touch on Religion, but from experience would the first time anything like that has been brought up in relation to a crew member, and I'm curious to see how that's explored.

Over in the hanger bay, Sylvia is working on her Dark matter project, I love her enthusiasm, and just devotion to use it to make a new Spore navigation system so Paul can retire. She's perfect. Unfortunately, it goes wrong and she's knocked unconscious. I love Saru's little speech about how she needs to not overwork herself.

Discovery sends down a ground crew to the planet, and they explore it's church, which apparently has amalgamated a lot Earth's religions together. The worldbuilding of their society is actually really interesting. Apparently, these humans were taken here by Spock's Red Angel, Michael of course wants a more rational explanation, but isn't getting one. We do find out a Soldier's camera recorded this transfer. Our team ask to take shelter in the town's church, as a ruse to find this Camera, but meanwhile on the bridge, one of the planet's radioactive rings is about to collapse and cause the planet's extinction. Saru gives the order to start the rescue of the planet's populace.

Unaware of the impending disaster, we then a little debate between Pike and Michael about whether or not these humans should be reintegrated into Earth Society or if they should be left to develop on their own. They're discovered though, and they're tech is taken so that their captors can prove they're from earth. From here on out, the ground crew get to do some pretty clever low tech solutions to problems, which I loved.

In Medbay, Sylvia starts thinking through a plan to pull the debris away from the planet using the Dark Matter Meteor, and it works! Our ground crew get their tech back, and are extracted back to Enterprise while maintaining their cover. We're then left with a reveal that Sylvia has been seeing a ghost!

Pike returns to the planet to trade a power cell for the Soldier's helmet cam, to find out more info on the Red Angels, and after repairing it aboard discovery, we see that the angel is indeed real, however the feed cuts out shortly after it appears.

I really liked this episode, and I'm loving the build up of the mystery around whatever the Red Angels are, and the various moral and philosophical debates here great. Sylvia Tilly as always was a highlight

#whovian watching star trek #star trek #star trek Discovery #Star Trek DIS #Star Trek DISCO #ST DIS #ST DISCO #DIS #st: disco #DISCO #st: discovery #Discovery #ST: DIS

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atopfourthwall · 10 months

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Final modern Trek question then I’ll be good: What’re your honest thoughts and feelings on Strange New Worlds Season 1? Pros and cons, how it differs from Discovery and what it does either better or worse? The direction and writing, and if you feel it’s a step in the right path for current Trek shows? I watched it and I personally loved it, but I’m so curious to know what you think.

It is MOSTLY good. Its biggest strength is standalone episodes but compelling character arcs, which was the right call to make. We don't need a mysterious space hole or whatever to keep us invested week after week - just have a story with a beginning, middle, and end - do Star Trek stuff like meet new, weird, alien races and find interesting solutions to problems. The characters can change and advance and we can learn new things about them that influence how we next see them. The characters are just generally likeable and PROFESSIONAL. Professional is really the watchword I should keep bringing up - one of the reasons why I'm so uninterested in watching Lower Decks is because I continually see in gifs a bunch of BOZOS. Morons in command, morons doing the gruntwork. Oh, sure, I don't doubt they do their jobs and live and etc., etc., but nothing about them screams "These are people I would want to trust with exploring the galaxy." I see fanboys and people who shouldn't be anywhere near a phaser, much less the big chair. One of the episodes that many wouldn't put on their highest-ranking list of episodes for season 1 of Strange New Worlds is "Ghosts of Illyria." But it's entirely my jam - the stuff I want out of Star Trek. An interesting sci-fi mystery, character revelations, professionals doing their best to solve the problem, raising some interesting moral questions that will have to be revisited down the road, etc. For many it's just kind of "meh," but for me it made me want to watch more of it again after a long absence after watching the first two episodes. I want to see smart people being smart and solving problems. That's reductive, I know, but it's what gets me every time when watching. Now, as for the cons... well, ironically with that word the big problem is CONTINUITY. There are NUMEROUS continuity issues with this series, not the least of which being T'Pring - Spock's fiancé. There is no reason she should be such a significant part of the show. Everything that we saw in Amok Time seemed to suggest they were not close, had not seen each other in a long time, and the attitude T'Pring had in that is at odds with how she's portrayed as so loyal and dedicated to Spock in SNW. And given her reasons for breaking off her engagement in Amok Time, unless they REALLY openly contradict it with, I don't know, some kind of big betrayal or emotional fallout with Spock, I have a hard time believing that she'd break it off with him there. Don't get me wrong - the bodyswap episode was still good, but the problem again comes down to "I do not see a reasonable way for these two to no longer be together for Amok Time." The show focuses too much on old characters and not enough on new ones. I've already seen Spock's character development in TOS and the movies. I don't need MORE of it here, especially whenever they bring up Discovery. I don't need to see Pike's dilemma about his future - I know what's going to happen there. Uhura is a fine character... but I've seen her already. Give me more of everybody else - journeys for them, arcs for them, change for them. Killing Hemmer was dumb. Killing him while turning the Gorn into xenomorphs was dumber. Having the Gorn at all is dumb given we were pretty sure their first contact with the Federation was Arena in TOS. You could have invented a new baddie and gotten the same effect. Hell, it would have been better since one of the points of Arena is that we judged the Gorn as being aggressive, evil, and monstrous partially because of their appearance... but here comes SNW to be like "Oh, yeah, they are the absolute friggin' WORST. Unimaginably monstrous and horrible." Stop making all the uniform variants try to match with Discovery's stupid uniforms.

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weerd1 · 8 months

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All right, I feel it’s time to dig into my new comfort show, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Let me say up front, I love this show, so if you’re looking for someone who’s been watching Star Trek since the ‘70s to gripe about new Trek, you won’t find it here. Is this show perfect? Of course not. Is it Deep Space Nine good? Not yet, but I see potential. Episode by episode look and a long chat after the break! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

What it DOES feel like is TOS. From the variety of genres used to tell stories, to some downright weird plot points, to some remarkable social commentary, this really feels like what would happen if they just made TOS now. I lament a bit that we have 10-episode seasons instead of enough in a season to allow for some MORE variety the way TOS had more than 25 episodes a season.

So how about visual continuity?

This show looks like the way I would see this universe when I read novels or played the RPG: effects have caught up with the way I brain painted the Blish adaptations or those early novels. It works for me.

What about character continuity?

Barring the fact the show has canonized the idea that even the “Prime” timeline can shift a bit due to the influences of time travel across the universes (which I love), I think the nuances this show brings do nothing but enhance my understanding of TOS. The Spock/Chapel moments now on TOS? Christine now asking Spock, “have you ever been in love?” in the episode “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” becomes a bit of gut punch! What does it mean to her when he begins to lose control due to Ponn Farr? Does she think he might be reverting back to the Spock of a decade before who chanced to unleash emotion?

Visually and character-wise, we have not changes but expansion. Honestly, most of these perceived “changes” reminds me of Gene Roddenberry taking the opportunity to enhance the Klingons when he had the budget in The Motion Picture. Did he care that the Klingons weren’t bumpy? Did he care to come up with a solution? He didn’t: He was a creator who now had more tools to work with. SNW does that.

My sole complaint, which honestly stretches across many modern shows, Trek and otherwise is about language. TOS and its progeny up until Enterprise used a more stolid, slang-free method of writing which to me added to the timeless nature of the show. When characters in modern Trek use modern vernacular it ties the episodes for me more to the present rather than allowing me to suspend my disbelief that this is the future. This is just my personal preference, and is certainly not something that torpedoes my love for the show or characters.

So, if you’re still with me, let’s get into the nitty gritty, each episode rated from 1 to 5 LLAPs. 🖖

SEASON ONE

“Strange New Worlds” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

After DISCO S2 gave us a Pike which made Spock’s actions in “The Menagerie” entirely plausible, we pick up here with him knowing his destiny and he’s having to work on that. As it plays out, we get some great explorations of what Star Trek and Starfleet within the universe is about. We also get a pretty pointed commentary on our present and what allowing politicians to appeal to and encourage the baser, xenophobic impulses of their constituencies leads to. Solid start, solid introduction of return and new characters, and wow is this show gorgeous.

“Children of the Comet” 🖖🖖🖖

A solid episode which feels a little long in places. However, showing Sam Kirk is this universe’s Guy Fleegman is terrific, and we get some great Uhura moments. Also, fly, Erica, fly!

“Ghosts of Illyria” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

About as TOS as you can get! Crewmembers trapped on a planet below as danger approaches, a strange disease threatening the crew. Plus, a couple of good character revelations that start threads which will continue well into Season 2.

“Memento Mori” 🖖🖖🖖✌️(That’s a half)

The beginnings of expanding on the Gorn while giving us more background on La’an Noonien Singh (whom I originally was none to happy that she was Khan’s descendant, but S2 really uses that beautifully). She’s a terrific character and this episode helps us know why. Also- see my comment above about making the Klingons “more” because you have the opportunity as SNW picks up the way ENT showed us the Gorn were more than just a slow moving dino allegory and kicks it into high gear.

“Spock Amok” 🖖🖖🖖

A very fun episode which continues to show us that TOS’s T’Pring was more than just a diabolical woman who dared mess with our heroes. Have greatly appreciated what they have done with her. Also, Enterprise Bingo!

“Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” 🖖🖖🖖✌️

Credit here first of all for a very TOS title. Then a TNG style morality play, but one that does not end happily. Dig it.

“The Serene Squall” 🖖🖖✌️

The Orion pirate captain and Pike’s mutiny was a little too…well silly for me. However, Captain Angel and the Sybok name drop, plus Christine being badass? All in there. Also, this sets up some Spock/Chapel stuff for S2 and I dig all of that.

“The Elysian Kingdom” 🖖🖖✌️

Again fun, and a neat way to deal with M’Benga’s daughter storyline. A bit indulgent in places, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves so much, and we get Christina Chong’s dog Runa. VERY TOS when it all comes down to it. Bonus points for the DS9 reference.

“All Those Who Wander” 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Oh- the Gorn are warp capable Xenomorphs. How HORRIFYING. Also, some real stakes as we lose Hemmer, and Spock really starts his S2 arc here.

“A Quality of Mercy” 🖖🖖🖖🖖✌️

Terrific method of tying in some more TOS to contextualize the show, a modernized TWOK uniform, and a new Captain Kirk. I didn’t walk out convinced by Paul Wesley’s Kirk, but he wins me over early in S2. My real complain here is Ortegas falling into the role of the bigoted Styles from “Balance of Terror.” Did NOT seem like her style. Kudos to a bit of a cliffhanger, even if it does feel a little tacked on to the episode. Also, they missed a bet not having James Frain (DISCO’s Sarek) playing the Romulan Commander.

(Also, the show misses a bet not having Rebecca Romijn or Jess Bush voice the computer.)

Overall S1 is a solid start that ties itself plenty to what has gone before, without resorting to simple, overwrought nostalgia baiting to tell a story. Like some other recent Star Trek.

SEASON TWO

"The Broken Circle" 🖖🖖🖖🖖

Spock stealing the Enterprise on a semi regular basis is now in my canon, and I am grateful. Pelia, I am convinced, is actually Carol Kane’s character from “Taxi.” M’Benga rolling out the stimulants didn’t make a lot of sense to me on my first viewing, but in context with the season, this is actually setting up a really interesting—and dark—bit of character development.

“Ad Aspera per Aspera” 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

This. This is Star Trek. ‘Nuff said. (Ok, also, THOSE DRESS UNIFORMS!)

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow “ 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Here, HERE Paul Wesley’s Kirk wins me over, even if it is an alternate version. Earning money (and apparently a lot given the remarkably nice apartment they stay in) by playing CHESS, recognizing that La’an’s universe should stay because Sam’s alive, the slow seduction…yup, that’s Jim Kirk. Plus, This episode acknowledges that time is fluid, referencing how TOS tells us the Eugenics Wars SHOULD have been in 1992, but it keeps shifting. Elegant solution that opens so many doors to future stories. Also, baby KHAAAAAAAANNN!

“Among the Lotus Eaters” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

Nice callbacks to “The Cage,” yes. But this episode BELONGS to Erica Ortegas. “My name is Erica Ortegas and I👏🏻fly👏🏻the👏🏻ship!” And let’s add “thread the needle” to awesome starship tricks, shall we? Erica makes this good episode great.

“Charades” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

Vulcan shenanigans are back with a fully human Spock, and indeed, this one is funny. Ethan Peck’s comedy chops are great here, especially with Sam Kirk’s mess. Anson Mount delivers in the funny department too as Pike serves up Vulcan food. Very poignant stuff here for Christine though, and though I was initially, “oh no,” continuity-wise, I really ended up liking what this MEANS to what we saw on TOS.

“Lost in Translation” 🖖🖖🖖

A bit cliche, but a good Uhura episode, and though it seems like they're trying a little TOO hard to bring Kirk in, the Lt. Kirk/Ensign Uhura dynamic here is really good. The Jim/Sam thing also something I enjoyed. What makes this episode for me though is when Uhur figures out what's going on, Pike trusts her. Blows up a whole-ass mining station on the word of one Ensign. Go, Nyota!

"Those Old Scientists" 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Just perfect. From the seemless merger of Lower Decks animated characters, to the meta commentary about "oddly specific references" and people talking "really slowly and quietly" this just works. Also ENT love! Uhura and Ortegas geeking out over Sato and Mayweather just made my day. So much fun, nothing could wipe the smile from my face! (Spoiler alert: The next episode will gut me.)

"Under the Cloak of War" 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Holy crap. You thought DS9 played around with questionable moral decisions in a war setting, SNW here shows us they're not afraid to travel into Moore/Behr's space and take a whirl. The weirdness with M'Benga pays off here, and as a veteran myself they way this episode delves into our inability to provide the emotional context to what war does to us to someone without the same frame of reference? Fantastic. I was pretty uptight for most of this episode, because I felt it. I cried in places, was made uncomfortable in places, and what a set of reveals for both Christine and of course M'Benga as we see those flashbacks.

"Subspace Rhapsody"🖖🖖🖖

I WANT to give this one another LLAP, as I love musicals, and I love the fact they were bold enough to do one. The cast pulls off their numbers wonderfully, there's some great moments, especially between Jim and La'an (HE'S BACK???), and they conceit that makes this work is though a hair silly, pretty consistent with Trek and it's quantum/multiversal/anomaly episodes of times past. The only thing that doesn't work for me are the songs themselves. A couple are OK, but they just didn't stick with me. And I made sure I watched a couple of times, just to see if it was my mood. I can't help but compare this to Buffy The Vampire Slayer's "Once More With Feeling" though, and there are three songs from that I keep on my permanent playlist, and can sing pretty much the whole ep verbatim. This didn't make me want to do that; I just really enjoyed it. I wanted to love it. (Shout out though to the "Once More With Feeling" Easter Egg.)

"Hegemony" 🖖🖖🖖🖖

As soon as they gave Captain Batel a first name in the musical, I got worried, and sure enough these Gorn bring that to fruition. She's not dead yet, but she's in trouble, and this is a tight action episode. I appreciate that this new young Montgomery Scott is a) played by a Scot, and b) something of a mix between the Doohan and Pegg versions of the character. My only fear now is we have this cliffhanger, and between the writer's strike and modern TV's general refusal to follow seasonal schedules, we may be in for a far worse wait than the summer of 1990 left us with William Riker's "Fire."

So that's my take. Yes, there are missteps, or things that don't QUITE work, but if I want to compare this to the glory days of 90s Trek, we're only 20 episodes in, and already having a great time when TNG, DS9, and VOY all took at least a season or two of 24 episodes each to find their way. Sure, classic Trek all but hit it out of the gate, but again, we don't have but slightly more than 2/3 of their first season of episodes. We’re 20 episodes in and the worst ones are JUST good, there hasn’t been a bad one yet. SNW has found a way to be a prequel without suffering from their audience’s foreknowledge, and fit themselves firmly into Trek lore without just relying on playing Trek Trivia Madlibs to write their scripts (though Kirk KEEPS showing up!). I'm a little worried as I was really digging on DISCO for the first two seasons as well, and season 3 was a huge disappointment to me. Let's hope whenever we get back to this, they keep up the good work. I am more than ready to again boldly go.

#star trek #star trek strange new worlds #strange new worlds spoilers

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damnredthing · 2 years

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A lot of ramblings – SNW S1E06

This post – naturally – contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episode yet and do not want to read spoilers, please do not read any further.

This is not an episode review but rather just a bunch of ramblings which I’ve tried to at least sort a little bit into categories.

Season 1 – Episode 6 – Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach

Okay, there is so much to say about this episode. SO MUCH. I don’t even know where to start, ugh.

I have so much to say that this is going to be long, apologies. Also, apologies for me being even more scatterbrained than usual and being a grammar kamikaze. My mind is constantly wandering elsewhere these days and I have trouble to concentrate. I hope I still make sense to you.

Heart pain

This episode really left my heart in a lot of pain. Until the very last second, I hoped Pike could rescue the boy (who didn’t even get a name!). Especially when Pike went into berserk mode and clobbered the guards to get free from them, I cheered for him and expected a heartwarming rescue scene, followed by a heated discussion or an emergency beam out because Una and Spock somehow found a way to bypass the barrier.

But no! They did kill the kid! Okay, the boy didn’t die, but he will die, and he cannot be disconnected from the wires anymore. The moment Pike was knocked out I screamed, and I mean literally. I was even throwing a little tantrum. This felt so much like Hell on Wheels.

HoW-spoiler warning!

There are so many characters in HoW who die, some of them horribly, who Cullen cannot safe. And there were also situations when I fully expected him to rescue the person just in time, but then they died anyways.

This episode was just like that. And that it was a kid that had to die makes my stomach turn. Did you also see all the other wires in the background? Just how many kids did they have plugged in at the same time? Ugh!!!!

It is no wonder Pike was disgusted with Alora when he came to. Her comparison with kids suffering in the Federation was a weak excuse. There might be kids who suffer in the Federation, but not to such a degree that they have their lives sucked out of them in constant bodily suffering!

And they tried to find another solution for centuries? Give me a break. How about just colonizing another planet? I am sure the Federation would have gladly helped with that, without even demanding Majalan to join them.

Pike’s inner demons - continued

Pike talking about his fate to Alora came out of the blue for me. At first, I felt it didn’t fit into the scene at all. Sure, I get it why the writers added it here, just so that Alora has another very convincing argument to keep the man for herself, if not now then maybe in 10 years.

But then I watched the episode again (yes I am that masochistic!), and my opinion about Alora changed. When I watched the episode the first time, I thought she was manipulating and playing Pike from the moment she appeared on the transporter platform. But when I watched it the second time, I realized her feelings towards Pike are genuine and she truly believes in the ways of her people. If she was anything like this 10 years ago when Lieutenant Pike met her, I can see why he confided his fate to her.

Around Alora Pike felt like he could let go and just enjoy life for a moment. He felt safe around her. There was trust (that was unintentionally betrayed… why unintentionally I explain later). He didn’t in the slightest assume Alora would be capable of doing anything bad, neither to him nor to anyone else.

Pike only has confided to people he trusts: Admiral Cornwell (a longtime friend AND counselor), Una and Spock. And now also Alora.

I think he also told her about his fate to be fair to her right from the start. By telling her, he let her know they have no future together.

What surprised me was how fast he came up with this. Sure, by now I got it that he carries his feelings on his sleeves, but it came out so unstrained and direct that it baffled me a bit. But then when the scene ended and he was holding up his hand for Alora, and she took it, I think at that moment he really considered whether Alora maybe was THE right woman for him. I think at that moment he really considered staying with her, or at least returning to her after his accident. Maybe that’s why he opened up to her, to see how she’d react, whether her love was real or whether she’d turn away from him if she knew what drama was coming and that he wouldn’t look as dashing anymore.

Or maybe it was just a moment of melancholia and it just spurt out of him. If you have nothing to lose anymore and your future is written, what purpose would it have to keep it a secret? Why would it matter if people knew or not? And also, does it really matter anymore what people think about you?

I’ve read criticisms that Pike tells too many people about his fate and that it makes him look a bit wimpy. But that to me is a stereotypical perception of masculinity. Always stay strong, never show your feelings yadda yadda. SNW already established that Pike is not like that. I think it is healthy to free your mind and thoughts and get it out of your system. It’s not like he’s telling strangers about it (in detail, yes I do remember episode 1), or people he just barely knows. He confides in people he trusts and considers friends. And it’s good that he does that because I’d hate for him getting eaten alive from the inside because he just keeps it all for himself.

What the fuck were the doctors thinking?

Okay, warning. This is going to contain a rant because it really makes me angry.

But first of all, how much did Pike see (or experience) through the time crystal? We know that he saw a lot more than we did in Discovery – Through the Valley of Shadows. He told Spock in episode 1 that he experienced the entire time, every agonizing second of it. He knows what will cause the accident and how it will affect his body. He knows the names of all cadets he’s going to save. And now he told Alora that Federation medicine is insufficient to help him. So how far does his vision go?

It seems it goes as far as his time in the rehab center on Starbase 11, because at that time Pike was already in the chair and had gotten treatment, but before Spock took him from the base. If Pike knows there isn’t a cure, at least none that is known to the Federation, one can assume that the doctors told him that on Starbase 11.

Here is where my rant starts. WHY IN THE FUCKING HELL did the doctors not let him die when his time was up? Why did they have to give him an artificial heart to prolong his suffering?

I am not ableist here (or it’s not my intention if people understand it as such). He already HAD DIED or would have when his heart stopped working which is why they gave him an artificial one. More so, they put him in a chair with lung support. Without the chair, he’d likely die. If Federation medicine had nothing else to offer to help him ease his constant pain (and he will feel constant pain from how I understood Pike) and free his mind, what exactly was the purpose to bring him back from the dead?

I don’t know how it is in other countries nowadays, but over here where I live you have the last say if you want your life prolonged with artificial help or not. Why can other people make this decision for you in the future and force you to live in constant pain and suffering without having the means to really, REALLY help you?

I always hoped the writers would explain why Pike was put in a chair that only could do beeping sounds for yes and no. I hoped they would come up with a story that this was just a provisional chair they could create relatively fast to give him a minimum level of conversation, and a more advanced version was in the making that would grant him the ability to speak using a mind reading device or some such.

I always hoped they would explain why the doctors kept Pike alive. I hoped they would explain that it was just a minor step of many for Pike’s recovery and many more would follow. That the process of the delta radiation poisoning would have to come to a halt first before the doctors could start to work on proper aids and scar removal surgeries.

The fact that Spock came in the way and brought Pike to Talos IV doesn’t even mean this process has to stop. I don’t see why a medical delegation shouldn’t visit Pike on Talos IV after he lived a while there in the Talosian illusion. It would give the doctors the time to find a cure, or proper aids. They could work on quality and not rush things. Pike would then get the choice to stay on Talos IV with Vina or return to Earth with her. At least he could leave Talos IV again if he wanted, if only for a trip, and wouldn’t be exiled anymore.

When Pike told Alora that the Federation has no means to help him, it sounded so final and it shattered my hope that the series (or maybe a movie after the series ended) would develop Pike’s story further after he was brought to Talos IV. I said it a couple of times already. To me the Menagerie is not a happy end, just a compromise which is dependent on the goodwill of the Talosians.

Some people are too good for this world (or rather universe)

Pike is such a person, which this episode showed clearly to me. I am reluctant to call Pike naive for not seeing Alora’s true intentions and for having been manipulated by her.

Whenever I tell a person he or she is too good for this world, it is a mix of a compliment because they are amazing, caring, wonderful people, but also a warning, because they are in great danger of being taken advantage of.

Pike always assumes in the good in people. He can only be convinced otherwise if a person actually acts in a bad way. When he met Alora 10 years ago, he sure as hell had no idea about her society and how they kept their cities floating. She was probably very much the same towards him as she was in the episode: Gentle, caring, alluring, loving, flirting. We don’t know how much time they spent together when he was Lieutenant, but judging from the trust he has in her, it was probably some time. Although, I understand they did not have a love affair back then. But they probably already shared stories of their lives back then.

So, when she showed up again, there was no reason for Pike to think she would play or betray him. He trusted her, even confided his future fate to her. He felt comfortable around her and wanted nothing but her well-being. Was he blinded? Yes, but he wasn’t completely blind. When Uhura and La’an told him about the colony being originated of Majalan people, Pike did question Alora during the ascension ceremony about it. He didn’t press her to answer the question at that moment though, probably out of respect for the ongoing ceremony and because all the time the boy did play along with the whole ceremony willingly. When he asked Alora in the throne room how one child could save the entire civilization, it was too late.

The fact that he didn’t realize the guards at his sides were there for him, to keep him from interfering, also shows how he is unsuspecting of people. That in fact was maybe naive. If I had been in the same situations and I had 2 armed guards flanking me, all my alarm bells would go off.

The trailer was maybe too revealing for the audience in this case, because we as audience knew what was coming. Maybe not exactly how it happened, but that the boy was to be sacrificed somehow. But from Pike’s point of view, how could he know that?

The boy’s biological father missed his chance to put his cards on the table. Probably because he noticed right away how Alora had such a huge influence on Pike that he feared he couldn’t confide in the Captain. But he could have talked to La’an or Una instead. Yes, he did talk to Una, but WAY WAY too late.

The boy himself did not ask even once for help or to be relieved of his duty (which turned out to be a sacrifice). He even begged Pike on the Enterprise to be brought to the surface, so the ascension could start. Even down in the throne room, he still agreed to give himself freely.

Alora appeared to Pike as being in danger herself from separatists. I don’t think she played him knowingly. She truly believes in the ways of her people, and she truly fell in love with Pike and hoped to convince him to stay. In the end she didn’t understand how he cannot see things as she does, she was shattered when she saw how disgusted he was.

But all in all, she did manipulate Pike, knowingly or not. And that was also because Pike was too unsuspecting of her, the guards and yes, also the boy.

The betrayal

When I watched the trailer, I already had the feeling this episode would break Pike’s heart. And it did. Not only did he have to watch 2 kids being sacrificed, which must have been like a dagger right through his heart, but he also learned in a shocking way that the woman he just shared very intimate moments with is a leading figure in this scheme.

Pike’s disgust was very visible when he woke up on the bed after he was knocked out by the guard. He just barely came to and the first thing he sees is Alora smiling down on him. His reaction was so swift, he tried to get away from her as fast as he could. He was probably also creeped the hell out (I know I was!). Not only was he carried and laid on the same bed he and Alora were intimate in before, but Alora was also watching him the whole time. When I saw that I was literally shivering with disgust, ugh how creepy!

In the following argument with Alora he was always so close to losing it. I could see the helplessness in his eyes and the realization that he brought the kid back down on the planet to be sacrificed. This was a very hard lesson for Pike. I am curious to see whether this will change him and make him more suspicious of people.

Are the writers hinting at an addiction?

We have seen in I think 3 episodes how Pike is drinking Saurian Brandy. I don’t think at that time Starfleet already discovered synthehol, so I think it is real alcohol. He also drank Brandy in Discovery. So far it didn’t bother me at all. It always appeared to me like he was just enjoying a drink after his shift. Nothing wrong with that.

But the way it was shown in the last episode felt like they put an extra emphasis on it this time around. The scene could have just ended with Pike looking out of the window or looking at the coin and then tossing it in the recycler or anything like that. But it ended with the camera zooming out, so the half empty bottle became visible, and then showing Pike drinking a glass. To me it felt like they are hinting at Pike losing his control over his alcohol consumption and it might even lead to an addiction.

It's very possible that I am imagining things here though, as alcohol addiction is a very sensitive topic in my family, but I cannot shake the feeling off.

The elephant in the room

Yes, I do have eyes in my head! Yes, I did see THE bed scene and yes, I also noticed how amazing and fit Pike looked. I already noticed in Doctor Strange 2 that Anson was in excellent shape at the time of shooting, and I was pleased to see he was also for SNW. 😇

(WTF, are those arms even real?)

I wouldn’t like him any less if he wasn’t tho (as I am sure most here wouldn’t). I am also still a huge fan of Russell Crowe for example, I don’t care for the weight, really. Awesome people are awesome because they are awesome, not because they have a specific weight or are fit. 😛

However, I must say kudos to Anson for staying so fit, and I mean that in all honesty! His workout plan must be very ambitious. Combine that with the insane shooting hours each day and a little baby at home and I cannot say enough how impressed I am that he doesn’t fall asleep in the middle of his lines (I must say he does look tired in some scenes though, and I heard stories about him falling asleep on set when he’s given the chance).

I’ve already read and seen a lot of posts about THAT scene on Tumblr and all the discussions that just had to come from that. I am sure the writers giggle when they write such scripts because they just KNOW what they kick off in the fanfiction world. 😂

I am not sure I should get myself on the slippery slope of discussing Pike’s sexual orientation and preferences, but I am beginning to get an idea in my head. But I keep that for myself… for now.

The entire route that led to the bed scene was initiated by Alora. She is the one who took matters in her hands and flirted with Pike to the point where she jump kissed him and flat out asked him to stay with her overnight. If she hadn’t done that, I think nothing would have happened except some friendly, maybe even a little bit flirty hanging around each other.

The whole after sex scene felt very gentle and soft, and as a woman I must admit I felt like the scene was tended towards my desires and likes. I can at least speak for myself that I like to see a guy being soft every now and then and allowing the woman to take the lead. This doesn’t emasculate a guy at all. It also shows how much trust Pike has in Alora, and how much he sees women as equals. I actually think Pike sees everyone as equal, which is why he doesn’t force a situation. The after sex scene could very well be the other way around with Alora snuggling up in Pike’s lap, and that would have been just as fine. It just so happened it was the other way round this time, and that is no big deal for him. I have to admit I love that.

In yo face!

Here is a message to all the people who whine that Star Trek is too woke and that the white guy is always the baddie or weakling.

The guard with the broken coin was a white guy. He was neither weak nor the baddie. He was a separatist who opposed using kids as batteries and who fought the selfish civilization of Majalan.

So there, your theory stinks.

*drops mic*

Some Randoms

Finally we got a Pike centered episode! (sorry for being a bit salty here, but his screentime in some episodes were just meh)

Minor nitpick, but how did Una beam Pike up so fast? She had no idea what was going on planet side. And if she noticed that the barrier was removed, she would have called Pike already long ago, or beam him up when she didn’t get an answer. Or beam a team down to look for him. But she beamed Pike up almost instantly after he called her through his communicator.

No Robert April and again no Hemmer. 😕

I guess Captain Batel is a friend with benefits, which makes sense. When she left in episode 1, she told Pike she hopes she won’t see him when she returns in one month, meaning she hopes he overcomes his crisis and goes back to his own ship. A relationship between two Starfleet Captains is very difficult to maintain I suppose. Both are married to their ships and duties, both know the risks, both might not return. If Pike had retired, it might have worked out. But not if both remain on duty. So, I guess I am fine with this.

I still hope Pike won’t turn into a second (or first?) Kirk as in fooling around with too many women. I get it that he needs some relief, too. He’s not a monk. The issue is that with just 10 episodes per season, you cannot squeeze in too many affairs without turning Pike a bit into a slut (there, I said it!). I think I’d rather have him in a relationship on the enterprise with someone than having him sleep around. We’re just 6 episodes into season 1 and he already had 2 different sex partners. Dayum!

Also, where is Vina? 🤔

The guards were sloppy. They vowed to protect the first servant. But when they were in the chamber guarding Pike, the two guards weren’t able to restrain him. Pike got himself loose and would have gotten to the boy if not for the last guard who was pretty much the last line of defense (at least that guard wasn’t sloppy). I am glad it worked out this way though in a weird, twisted way which requires some explanation. I hate it when in the movies or tv shows people are being restrained in a way that it is so obvious for the audience that the captive can escape, but for some weird reason (bad writing, bad acting, low budget maybe so the director doesn’t want to do another take) they don’t and instead act all helpless as if the restraints were inescapable *big groan here*. For example, every normal person would wiggle out of sloppy tied rope, especially when the knot is at mouth’s reach. When I saw how the guards were holding Pike, I was facepalming inwardly because it looked like Pike could wiggle himself out easily. To my surprise he did just that! This pays into the kind of realism I prefer in productions and I really appreciated that.

Okay here is a funny one, but I noticed that Anson’s stunt double is a little bit too slim, especially around the shoulders. I can clearly see when it’s Anson and when it’s his stunt double. 🤭

Why was Pike not bruised when he came to in Alora’s chamber? He got a hefty blow in his face with the lance weapon. My guess is that Alora’s words were true, that the least she wanted was for him to be hurt. So, I guess his wound was treated while he was still unconscious, and with the Majalan’s medicine being that advanced, the healing was done within minutes, if not seconds. It would also explain how Pike could get up so fast without falling flat on his nose from nausea.

Also, Pike can take a beating! Notice how he didn’t pass out right away? He was still there for a moment. After that blow that’s quite an impressive thick skull material!

My OCD was going apeshit when I saw Alora’s headdress not being exactly centred…

On a funny side note, I wait for the first fanfiction story that has the following lines “What did you do to that boy?” – “The last thing I wanted to do is hurt you.” – “So, I am your prisoner now?” – “YES!” 🤭😈

I know I keep repeating myself, but Anson’s acting was amazing. The repertoire of facial expressions he can pull off is stunning. When he asks Alora whether the boy will suffer and she answers with yes, the sheer hurt and horror in his expression was heart wrecking.

#strange new worlds spoilers #snw spoilers #christopher pike #anson mount #lindy booth #this was a crass episode #which was hard to watch #it was still well made don't get me wrong #but it was just so heartbreaking #and for the protocol: I love Anson's hair!#but I still laughed at all the hair memes on Twitter 🤣#oh and Anson is one naughty fish 😋#(I accidently posted this on my other blog because I'm stupid... gah!)

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therealnotta · 1 year

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Long post about how my weird nightmares work under the cut lol

So I used to have, like, wicked bad nightmares. Bad bad. Could hardly sleep at night. At some point, little me realized that nightmares aren't really bad; they're your subconscious going "Hey! Hey!! What if this happened?! What would we do?" The reason they keep coming back is because good ol' subconscious is still worried about it. This made nightmares much less scary. All I really needed to do was find the answer. In this completely improbable situation, what would be the solution? How would it be okay? Once I found the solution, the nightmare was "fixed." Usually, I didn't have a problem with it ever again. Teeth falling out? Cool, you fill a cup with milk and put the tooth in. What if there's no cup? Find another container. What if there's no milk? Fill the cup with spit. What if no one will take us to an emergency dentist? You have a few hours to put the tooth back in, and we can find an Uber in that time, subconscious. It's okay. Don't be worried about our teeth falling out. And that fixed it!! Recurring nightmare, gone.

Now, if it's a fantastical problem, I can usually find a fantastical fix. Subconscious isn't worried about Freddy Fazbear eating my face in real life, because I've explained what fiction is and that it's impossible for Freddy to eat my face, they just want to know like... what if he WAS real? Well, if he was real, I'd just talk to the kid causing the problems and explain I'm not a serial killer. Or I'd melt into the walls and run away. Anything's possible!

Super popular thing I do is becoming vaguely omnipotent. Subconscious hates it when I do that and actively tries to stop it because it's "cheating." If it's a real-problem nightmare, then it just doesn't work. I can't fly if I'm in an exam! That's not helping in this conversation! But if it's fantastical? Oh, this is MY dream. I'm not going to let anyone stop me.

Example here is this one wild dream I had that stuck with me ever since, and is the reason I made this post to begin with.

Started off normal. I was on the Enterprise, explaining to Spock that I was born in 1999. Guys, he hated it. Absolutely hated it. I remembered Vulcans have super strength, so it was me pointedly looking at Pike through a window and hoping he noticed. He did, I escaped, and as Pike was talking to me about how weird that was, we discovered some disease had broken out on the ship that caused high levels of aggression. Uh oh!

And then the dream demon came.

The dream demon was a small child with an axe. Their fashion sense? Maximalist and impeccable. They were determined to kill me, and were coming charging down the hallway, so I warned Pike to just let me handle this and then promptly started running.

Ran through the halls of the Enterprise a bit, when I found an opening to the next dream (Almost ran past it! They're very subtle, more flickers of something new tahn anything else) and saw my chance. Ran on in, decided to try out parkour in the swampy area. Decided that this was MY dream. I get to make the rules.

Failed at parkour, miserably, and turned this into the dream demon's nightmare.

Once it was the dream demon's nightmare, it was.... excessively. Horrific. Not for me, but I felt bad for this kid. They were masculine-presenting now (they were okay with that part) and being confronted by their mother and uncle. Apparently, their father was a top dream demon and had died in this nightmare, leaving them to be in charge. I remember how stressed the idea made them, and how it was a custom for the skull of the dead demon to be kept and maintained, so they just... had their father's skull. Very creepy. They were pretty much terrified. I was watching this through a window, which didn't help.

Guys, dream demon hated that.

Dream shifts, and I'm in an underground bunker with the resistance. Not any one in particular, just a generic resistance, getting briefed on our progress and where we're going next. I'm pretty bored. Look over, and there's dream demon again. They're wearing the most fun dress this time, and I'm a little jealous. It's awkward, because they don't notice me at first, and then come at me at full spead.

And then was promptly stopped by another dream demon. This one looked vaguely like that giant vampire lady everyone was obsessed with, and she catches this kid by their collar and picks them up. Apparently, they were just a dream demon in training and were clearly doing a poor job of it. I ask the lady if she's cool with me leaving, she doesn't have a problem with it, I just waltz on out to the next dream.

I'm in a forest. It's okay, but there's a dense fog around me. Not great.

The dream demon kid is back.

They regain control and start chasing me through the forest. I bargain that we should get to take breaks in the clearing, because running gets old, so we'd have this awkward little break every once in awhile, but I was always far enough ahead and it was fine. They were unhappy with it, but so be it.

And then? They actually got me??

I remember feeling the axe embedded in my back. One thing I hate about my nightmares is that I do feel it when I get hurt; it's a cold, burning pain that doesn't go away. I hate it, and I turned around, grabbed this kid, and started telling them off for it, how it's fine to chase me or whatever but actually hurting me is rude, and I threw them into their next nightmare.

They were standing on a stage in front of countless dream demons, and I was in the crowd, watching. The murmurings around me told me that this kid wasn't living up to their expectations, that their father was a better leader, that they weren't menacing enough, weren't accepting enough. All I remember is this kid up there going. "Hey! Hey, it's not all that bad! I mean, I even let those ADHD kids in!"

It made me laugh so hard that I woke up, and I never saw that kid again. Hope they're doing well being the leader of the dream demons though!

#dreams #nightmare #dream demon #they were the coolest genderfluid dream demon but man #it was a pretty wild experience lol

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starryeyes2000 · 3 years

Text

An Unexpected Love - Part 5

Part 4 | Part 6

Second story in the Very Long Distance series.

Pairing: Christopher Pike x OC

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Can there be a future for an Earth-based civilian and a Starfleet Captain?

ooooo

“As anticipated, Ms. Delano will be released from quarantine today,” Phil reports as part of his daily briefing with Chris.

“You mean Lilly?”

Phil’s eyes narrow slightly; he hesitates then decides to let it go. “Yes.”

“Any relapses when the ship went to warp eight last night?”

“Not even a tremor.”

“Permanent effects?” Chris asks.

“None. She’ll be more than usually susceptible to minor illnesses like colds for the next three months while her immune system fully rebounds, we’ll augment her immunizations as a precaution before Bob’s team beams down to N’shara for treaty negotiations. But that is nothing to worry about.”

Chris nods, his expression is briefly downcast with a creased brow, a slight tick in the corner of his mouth, and a faraway look. Phil notices but dismisses it as his imagination when Chris’ face quickly morphs to imperturbable Captain. “Anything else?”

“A robust game of Parrises Squares left one of Spock’s new crop of computer scientists with a sprained back. I released him to quarters this morning but he’s off duty for the next three days. Otherwise it was a quiet night in Medical. Oh, Bob and Sarah are calling in that rain check for dinner. But I assume Sarah has already cornered you?”

“No. Not yet. Ah … I … I have … plans.”

Phil harumphs. “Completing crew evaluations and reviewing maintenance schedules are not real plans. You need a little human to human interaction and are dining with me, Bob, and Sarah tonight. Any protests and I will log it as an order from your CMO.”

ooooo

“Alright everyone, that’s a wrap. We’ll touch base again later this week,” Bob ends the meeting. “Lilly, stay behind please.” Once the others file out, he motions to the chair at his side. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. A little tired.”

“Keep it light for the rest of the week. If more time for preparation is needed when we arrive at N’shara, so be it.” He chuckles. “I see by your expression you understand arguing is pointless.”

Lilly dips her head in acquiescence. “Very well. I surrender gracefully. I really am OK.”

“Yes, but with your brother off-planet it falls to me to look after you. I don’t understand why there is no one special and permanent in your life. If not for Sarah, I’d be camping on your doorstep.”

“There are not enough Bobs to go around,” Lilly replies with a fond smile. “Perhaps, if I am fortunate, one will find his way to my doorstep.”

“Ah, that reminds me, Sarah is expecting you for dinner tonight in our quarters. 7:00 pm.”

“That is kind … I … I have … plans.”

Bob shakes his head. “Curling up with a pot of tea and a boring book are not plans. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

ooooo

“For heaven’s sake, what is the matter with you? You are acting like a teenager getting ready for her first date,” Lilly mutters to herself. Every piece of clothing she brought on this trip was tossed on her bed. Nothing looked or felt right. She went through the pile again pronouncing judgement before discarding, “Too dressy, too revealing why did you even bring that, too casual, wrong color under these lights, too clingy, too lawyery, oh good grief …”

After Bob’s insistence, a conversation with Chris revealed they both were invited to dinner with the Aprils. Chris’ solution was simple. “Afterwards we’ll have a nightcap and push our original plans forward one day.” She could picture his slight smile and sideways glance when he added quietly in a husky tone of voice, “When I’m going to make you forget all your other lovers.”

Deciding on dark pants, a soft white cotton shirt with French cuffs, and high-heeled, ankle strap closed toed sandals for a bit of sexiness, she asks out loud before leaving her quarters, “How in the hell am I supposed to not spend the entire evening watching and appreciating his every movement?”

ooooo

“Tell me again, dear, why you invited Mark to dinner as well when your, our, intention is paving the way for Chris and Lilly to get together?” Bob asks for a second time. “You know Mark is attracted to Lilly.”

Sarah walks through from the bedroom area. “Really, at times I despair of you. And question how one of the prides of Starfleet, a highly decorated officer, can be so … so … what is the word I am looking for?”

“Baffled? Befuddled?”

“Simple,” Sarah pronounces.

“Perhaps that is because my gender tends to deal in a straightforward manner rather than subterfuge,” Bob retorts in a tone of mock superiority.

“Un-huh. Which is why you need us to get things done,” Sarah informs him. “Basic rules of attraction my dear. A man’s desire for a woman is stoked when he senses competition. And I will make it up to Mark, I have other plans for him … hmmm, he really does work too hard and a little diversion while we are on board Enterprise wouldn’t be amiss … now that’s an intriguing possibility …”

“Sarah …” Bob starts in a firm tone.

“What? Oh, just thinking out loud.” Sarah says innocently while moving to stand in front of her husband. She straightens his collar. “How do I look?”

He takes his hand in hers and raises it to his lips. “More beautiful than the day I first laid eyes on you.”

Her emerald-colored eyes sparkle with pleasure and she favors Bob with a beaming smile full of affection before reminding, “Make sure Chris sits across from Lilly and Mark sits beside her.”

ooooo

Chris tunes out Bob and Phil’s conversation while he watches Mark subtlety maneuvering Lilly into a corner of the room. Lilly nods as Mark talks; Chris begins to wonder how close she and Bob’s chief of staff are. As if reading his mind, Lilly flashes Chris what she believes is a discrete smile and shakes her head almost imperceptibly. He relaxes a bit, but his annoyance remains, and he thinks, every time I try to get close to Lilly, Mark is there before me, greeting her first when she arrived, fetching her a glass of wine, wrangling a private conversation with her.

And true to the evening’s pattern, Mark is holding her chair out when they sit down to eat and then claims the open space at her side. Swallowing a huff, Chris takes a chair on the opposite side of the table.

“Mark is the youngest chief of staff in the ambassadorial corp,” Sarah remarks. “And one of the best.”

Lilly chuckles, “It’s like herding cats, but Mark manages to keep us on task and mostly on time.” She steals a peek at Chris.

“And Lilly is one of the most promising attorneys assigned to the Federation Council,” Mark brags. “She’ll be general counsel one day.”

Chris flashes Lilly a ghost smile, one so quick and faint she believes it is imagined. “I am one of a couple of hundred,” Lilly reminds all at the table.

Mark raises his glass, turns to Lilly, and says in a collegial tone which belies the seductive hints in his smile, “We are so pleased you are well once again.”

“Here, here,” the others chime in with their glasses raised.

Chris is last to join the chorus. Narrowing his eyes at the man who wants to be competition, even if it is unknowingly, Chris weighs his options and decides, Let it go. There is no need to mark your territory.

As if guessing Chris’ thoughts, Lilly’s cheeks pink and she discretely moves a hand over her mouth hiding her reaction. The others at the table label this as shyness after Mark’s toast. She tilts her head and murmurs, “Thank you.”

Mark fixes Chris with his laser focus and says in a pleasant complimentary voice, “Captain, this is an impressive ship. I understand now why it is one of the prides of the fleet. Running it must consume all your available time and attention and then some.”

Maybe not unknowingly after all, Chris thinks before replying, “I have a lot of help.” Chris returns Mark’s steady gaze. “Enterprise is technologically advanced; my crew is impressive. It is the people who are important. They are the difference.”

“Of course, my apologies,” Mark replies with sincerity.

Sarah abruptly changes the subject. “I’m sure Lilly wants to see the bridge. You should give her a tour Chris. She is most likely unaware you have served on Enterprise longer than anyone else.”

Lilly quickly points out, “That’s not necessary. I’m certain the Captain has other, more important tasks.” She risks flashing him a brief sympathetic smile.

“Yes, he’s been on board since its maiden voyage, starting as my first officer then serving as its Captain,” Bob adds helpfully. “I’ll tell you the story of how I convinced him to accept the post …”

Chris clears his throat and interrupts, “Definitely not. Not tonight. And it would be my pleasure to give Ms. Delano a tour of the bridge. Tomorrow morning? 10:00am?”

Sara shoots her husband a triumphant look.

Lilly replies, “Yes, thank you.”

Mark is quick to interject, “May I join that tour as well?”

“Of course,” Chris agrees graciously.

Bob stares at his wife’s sudden head movements in his and Mark’s direction. “Sarah, darling is there a problem? You are jerking your neck.”

She rolls her eyes heavenward. “No dear, I was working out a bit of stiffness. And I was going to remind you about that call tomorrow with the Federation Council subcommittee. For you and Mark.”

“I don’t remember seeing that on the schedule,” Mark says with a confused expression as he pulls out his miniPADD and scrolls through the messages.

Bob looks equally perplexed.

Phil adds softly in an effort to help, “Bob, perhaps you arranged it yourself and forgot to tell Mark?”

“Perhaps …”

“Should I sit in as well?” Lilly inquires.

“No dear, Bob said it is a budget meeting,” Sarah answers for her husband.

Catching on, Lilly pinches the bridge of her nose and mouths ‘sorry’ to Chris. Before she can protest to Sarah and the others, Chris shakes his head at her.

Phil leans in and has a quiet conversation with Bob who then bellows out, “OH … right … I see. Yes, I remember now. Tomorrow, 9:45 a.m. via subspace link.”

Sarah beams. “Well then, that’s all nicely settled. Chris, I hear Mr. Spock is standing in as temporary XO while Una is on leave.”

“Yes, he is quite earnest and on top of everything,” Phil answers. His gaze is drawn again and again to Mark who is good looking in a subtle classical way.

“Yes, there is little left for me to do,” Chris adds and then realizes he has walked straight into Sarah’s trap.

“Perfect. This run to N’shara is an excellent chance for a little shipboard R&R. It’s just what the doctors ordered,” Sarah replies with a grin.

“And before you protest, your CMO concurs,” Phil adds with a stern expression.

OK, I’ll deal with that later, Chris firmly decides not realizing he has already lost control of the situation.

As the evening ends and the others depart, Sarah puts the pieces together. Chris and Lilly glancing at each other when believing no one is looking, they deliberately avoiding those gestures otherwise. Both communicating silently across the table. Both smiling at the same time as if sharing a private joke or memory. Lilly brushing a hand across Chris’ arm when she walked past, He placing his hand on the small of her back when they left. Sarah gleefully thinks, Sometimes the gods actually are on the ball and get it right. Chris and Lilly already have an intimate rapport. But is it chaste friendship; or … further along? Well, even deities need an assist now and then.

She turns to Phil and her husband. “Boys, stage one is complete. Strategy session tomorrow at breakfast.”

ooooo

Once inside her quarters, Lilly turns to Chris and apologizes. “I’m so sorry. I think Sarah and Bob are trying to fix us up.”

He steps closer and loosens her hair from its ponytail, letting the tresses cascade through his fingers as they fall to her shoulders. “My CMO is on it as well. But as we are already ‘fixed-up’ it doesn’t matter.”

“I never would have slept with you if I were involved with someone,” Lilly’s words came out in a rush.

Chris shushes her with a kiss. “I know.”

“Mark really is a good guy, but I don’t go out with coworkers, and I think he is more attracted to …”

“It doesn’t matter,” Chris assures as he trails kisses down her throat. He sighs and steps back. No, tomorrow.

“Don’t stop,” Lilly encourages as she runs her hands down his chest.

He cups her chin in his hand and tilts her head up gazing into her eyes. “Tomorrow. Now you need rest. After all, it’s only your first day out of quarantine.” He takes her hand in his. “I’ll tuck you in.”

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cicaklah · 3 years

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It hurts me to say this...

But Star Trek Discovery season 3 is a fucking mess. It's a mess that I am seriously struggling to be enthusiastic about watching. Its not the setting, its not the acting, its not even the characters really, although it is, but its because the writing has taken a tumble off the deep end. No one writing this show has an idea what they are doing. And none of them seem to give a shit. Disco is struggling with something that was a problem in Picard too - there being too many characters and too many plot threads. This is something that was coming since the show decided not to have a conventional cast and have the command crew be non-main characters. However, it ends up with a severe epidemic of idiot ballitis.

The command structure of the Disco makes no sense, and it never has. But now it makes even less sense, and it gave up a great opportunity to fix it, to promote some people to main characters, to build an ensemble cast that didn’t feel disparate, to have that found family vibes. They did none of it. They did the same thing they do EVERY SEASON, which is introduce some new characters and bloat the cast further. There’s no time for characterisation, there’s no time for anything, we’ve got HUGE OVERWHELMING MYSTERIES TO SOLVE!!!

Some characters have lost their entire personality, thinking specifically of Stamets here, but also Tilly... and then who other than Michael and Saru are there who is an original character who got actual screentime and development? Georgiou’s gone now, Culber probably should have stayed dead lbr, and the whole bridge crew are attractive ascended extras. As usual, Disco does what it does badly, introducing YET MORE new characters to join the ranks of the underused (Book, who is baffled to be there other than to be sexy and handsome and have a good cat) or there to advance the plot at great expense (Adira, who is better than everyone despite being a literal child and its not being used to highlight how out of time the characters are. But we get so far, an A plot and 2 B plots detailing Adira's backstory, which boils down to 'Trills aren't supposed to be in human bodies whoops' aka, a plot TNG did far more efficiently 30 years ago. Oh and as of episode ten, just saying nothing) I quipped in my post about the first episode that the plot was going to be climate change until they forget about it, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. Instead, the plot seems to be THE BURN but also THE MUSIC but also THE FEDERATION MIGHT BE EVIL and now THE MIRROR UNIVERSE, but not the plot thread that was dangled by David Cronenberg about how the Terran empire fell after Spock gave them feelings, but a two parter of (enjoyable) overacting in old costumes that takes another 2 episodes away from THE BURN/THE MUSIC/THE FEDERATION and sets up a spinoff series that will likely actually be far better than it should be, because Disco isn’t allowed to be the flagship show, it must be the seed tray for the other ideas everyone would rather spend time on.

There are so many other things I have HATED this season (Gabrielle becoming a Romulan murder nun oh god the fLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE) but really the main, overriding, all consuming problem I have is with Saru. It’s such a good setup! Finally the captain, but obviously unprepared, with a crew who aren't cohesive, are traumatised, and a computer that somehow has a personality. He throws a dinner that ends badly. He takes the advice of a sentient computer and scores a win. Even though control happened 5 minutes ago, he is fine with this. Even though he has always had problems with fear and then now the absence of it, he now absolutely has no qualms about any of this. They're stranded in the future and need to find Starfleet, but it takes about a week and then they do. The starfleet of the future is kinda mean and very overstretched, but they have the solution to their problems! Future Starfleet is breaking a thousand laws and they’re now a dirty secret...so they future up the disco, but don’t give them new uniforms or use them, or seize their dilithium for their ships, nah, they just....do nothing. He appoints Burnham as his 2IC, who then immediately soft mutinies against him so he fires her. He then appoints a 23 year old ensign (Burnham's best friend, protege and literal roommate) as his 2IC. No one has a problem with this. LITERALLY NO ONE HAS A PROBLEM WITH THIS. Not Stamets. Not Burnham. Not Detmer. Not anyone. Including, somehow, the future starfleet admiral?? Was I the only one who watched the 5 or so TNG/DS9 episodes where they hammered home the 'Being a captain takes a lot of experience' peg, into the 'prodigies are bad' hole??? SEE: Red Squad, Valiant, Wesley fucking Crusher??? So you've got an unprepared rookie captain, who by his own original character arc never got the captain training he wanted. He got a year being 2IC to Lorca, then a year of being co-captain with Pike, during which he went through a significant trauma and he and Pike weren’t exactly sharing captaining tips by the fire. He's visibly, obviously struggling...apart from the show doesn't think so. The writing doesn't think so. Am I supposed to be having a sense of dread about this? Have they all been possessed by brain worms? The ones that are the cousins of the Trill in the beta canon novels perhaps??? (drink)

He’s now obsessed with some dead Kelpien scientist even though admiral underused says that as far as he knows Kelpia is fine and a member of the federation, but instead of having an episode where Saru gets them to jump there, he just does...other dodgy, stupid, bullshit that feels incoherent, feels wrong, but no one but me seems to care. The writers don’t. Just, when Lorca was our morally dubious captain, we were supposed to think there was something hinky because the other characters responded to him. Saru hated him. Stamets hated him. Culber hated him. Cornwall was aghast at him. We're ten episodes into this season and we're in the past in the mirror universe I assumed at the behest of a Q but is actually some TOS proto-Q bullshit and I am JUST VERY TIRED AND ANGRY THAT THIS IS ALL HAPPENING.

The first episode of this season was SO STRONG. There were some GREAT ideas. Since then, Disco has become what its critics have said it was and it breaks my fucking heart.

#star trek discovery #star trek disco s3 #star trek disco #this rant has been building for weeks #I still have a lot of feelings #but the plotting of this show is so lazy in the worst way

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serceleste · 4 years

Text

star trek: tos season 1

I’ve been rewatching Star Trek: The Original Series instead of starting anything new (of course) and I have some thoughts about season 1! I love this show. Here are some random things I love.

1. Kirk and Spock wordlessly communicating. They’re in love, okay.

2. In ‘The Naked Time’, everything is falling apart, the bridge is in chaos, Kirk loses his temper, Uhura loses her temper. Then Uhura takes a breath, and she is immediately back in ultra professional mode, damn whatever she’s actually thinking and feeling. And Kirk immediately apologizes. It’s amazing.

3. I appreciate random shirtless Kirk. And that time Sulu was randomly shirtless and attacking people with a sword. (The look on the two dudes’ faces when he is brandishing his sword at them in the corridor is PRICELESS.)

4. The unicorn dog. Fave.

5. Spock playing the ka’athyra, and then Uhura sings with him, and she’s totally good-naturedly poking fun at him the whole time, and Spock accepts it with such good humor and he has no feelings my ass.

6. Obviously Kirk’s shirt tearing all the damn time, sometimes with no plausible reason. My favorite is when McCoy just rips the shoulder open to jab him with a hypo on the bridge.

7. There’s some pretty nice work done in the pilot establishing that Kirk and Mitchell have a long history and a deep friendship, and that makes what happens in the episode so much more tragic. I also love Spock’s easy acceptance of Kirk wanting the record to state that Mitchell (and Dehner) died in the line of duty.

8. Uhura competently taking over other positions on the bridge at a word from Kirk. The implication that all members of the bridge crew/senior staff have their specialties but learned all necessary functions in case of emergency is really nice. (I’ve noticed Sulu taking over navigation sometimes, too, and Scotty’s taken the helm at least once, and Kirk himself operates various positions.)

9. One of my favorite things about Star Trek is its optimism, and also the enduring sense of hopefulness and compassion it and the characters embody. In ‘Charlie X’, even after all the shit he did to them, you can see that they are nevertheless moved by Charlie’s genuine terror and Kirk tries to come up with a different solution that will help him. Or in ‘The Corbomite Maneuver’, after the alien has threatened to destroy them, and he puts out the distress call, Kirk’s response is still to help.

10. Kirk is in love with the Enterprise and the show doesn’t even try to be coy about it, it just comes right out and says so. Multiple times. <3

11. It’s clearly a product of its time and some things are... not great, but I love that it tries, and it honestly wants to portray a future where everyone is treated the same and things like race and gender don’t matter, even if it isn’t quite there in the execution of it. (Yeoman Rand in particular gets some wince-worthy moments in the first season, unfortunately.)

12. Evil!Kirk wears eyeliner, because of course he does. LMAO.

13. The green shirt! I love Kirk’s green shirt. (Actually I love the TOS uniforms in general. Best Trek uniforms, fight me.)

14. McCoy and Spock making fun of each other. <3

15. The number of times Scotty tells Kirk he needs hours/days to fix/accomplish something and Kirk is like ‘you have ten minutes’ and Scotty is just like ‘...fuck, okay’.

16. In ‘What Are Little Girls Made Of?’ Kirk sabotages his android by thinking negatively about Spock because THAT’S the thing he knows will make it clear something’s wrong. OMG. And then Spock makes fun of him for using an unsophisticated insult. Hearteyes.

17. Every time Spock calls Kirk Jim. Also, every time Kirk calls McCoy Bones.

18. Their food is hilarious, it always just looks like little colorful blocks. And their idea of futuristic fashion is completely ridiculous and also the best.

19. Kirk is so charming, but it’s so genuine, which is I think why it’s so devastating. When he’s looking at people, and smiling at them, you know he really genuinely gives a shit, and actually cares about them, and tbh I think I’d do anything he asked if he looked at me like that, lol.

20. McCoy is a gift. He’s so grumpy! And he calls everyone out on their shit, especially Kirk, and he’d never say so but he cares so goddamn much.

21. I just ship Kirk/Spock so fucking hard, OMG. Every time they interact I’m just like YESSSSSS THEY’RE FUCKING IN LOVE DAMN.

22. “Fascinating.” <33333 Oh! And the eyebrow raise! Especially when he does it at Kirk. Or McCoy.

23. Kirk’s absolute faith in Spock at the beginning of ‘The Menagerie’. It’s a bit heartbreaking, considering. And the moment you can see Spock choose Pike over Kirk, at the end of Part 1, stabs me right in the heart. And when Kirk agrees that Spock is guilty during the “trial”. (Also I love that they found a way to use the rejected pilot and turn it into what’s really a compelling pair of episodes.)

24. ‘Balance of Terror’ is so good. It’s just a battle of wills between Kirk and the Romulan commander, with how difficult the pressure of command can be for Kirk, and that look into racism with the navigator who distrusts Spock.

25. McCoy and Spock having a battle of wills over Spock needing/not needing medical attention and raising their eyebrows at each other. Love. I understand the Spock/McCoy shipping. (Speaking of, in ‘Operation Annihilate’ when McCoy doesn’t want Kirk to tell Spock he said he was the best first officer in the fleet but Spock overhears and says thank you, McCoy’s face, lmao.)

26. When they find Kirk’s brother dead in ‘Operation Annihilate’ Spock actually attempts to offer comfort!!! Also Kirk holds Spock a couple of times in that ep, it’s great.

27. Every time Spock gets offended because they’ve accused him of having a human emotion or reaction. <3333

28. I think ‘City on the Edge of Forever’ works not just because it’s a truly compelling question of not holding one life, no matter how dear, over the lives of millions, but because Edith herself is genuinely lovely. You can see the tragedy in the death of a woman like her, and the soft romance between her and Kirk is beautiful.

29. And even in the midst of what’s easily one of the strongest (if not the strongest) of Kirk’s relationships on the show, you get Edith saying that she can see that where Spock belongs is by Kirk’s side. My heart.

30. The Gorn. Come on. Iconic.

31. As compassionate as Kirk is I also love the moments that remind you that part of the reason he’s such a good captain is that he’s ruthless when he needs to be. He will make the hard decisions firmly and surely and he won’t let his crew know if he’s internally struggling with them.

32. Kirk’s fighting style!! He’s just throwing himself at people and hitting them with his ass and clinging onto their backs and I LOVE IT.

33. In 'Court Martial’, I think Kirk’s lawyer ex might wear a female dress uniform for the only time ever on the show (certainly the only time in the first season). All the times when the dudes are wearing them, the women are all still wearing their regular duty uniforms. It’s sort of hilarious to me that the men’s look so fancy but hers is just a slightly different collar and a longer skirt, lol.

34. When Spock mindmelds with the Horta in ‘Devil in the Dark’! It’s so sad, and I think that’s the first time we really get a look into what it means for Spock to meld, to share so deeply with another being.

35. I’m into how Kirk looks in that old-fashioned suit in ‘The Return of the Archons’ but definitely nothing beats him and Spock in short tunics and tights in ‘Errand of Mercy’. Plus Spock gets a half-cape!

36. ‘The Conscience of the King’, responsible for so much woobie Kirk backstory, even in AOS fic where it’s not even canon, lol.

37. McCoy strolling out with those women at the end of ‘Shore Leave’, all “well I am on shore leave”, lmao.

38. Of course McCoy’s iconic declarations of ‘I’m a doctor, not a ‘insert occupation here’.

39. The computer programmed to seductively purr at Kirk is hilarious.

40. The origin of the redshirt. Classic.

#star trek: tos #james t. kirk #spock #kirk x spock #leonard mccoy #nyota uhura #hikaru sulu #montgomery scott #spock x mccoy

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trek-tracks · 5 years

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Hello i love your blog soo much!! I just finished to read your fics recommendations. And everyone of it were so good and well written i can't even start describing it!!?? I almost had a heart attack half way through them 💛 I wanna ask you if you can give us more suggestions. You 👏have 👏such 👏a 👏good 👏taste.

All right. So. Sorry to leave this unanswered for like three weeks, but I had many thoughts to think on it! Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog; they mean a lot. So much, that I’ll destroy any pretense on Tumblr that I don’t read fan fiction, just for you. See what I do for you? :)

If anyone reads my blog at all, I think I’m pretty clearly biased toward Bones (“What?! No way!” says everyone, extremely sarcastically), so all these fics are Bones-centric. Sorry, that’s just what you’re going to get with me, but if you like my blog, chances are you have a soft spot for Bones as well.

I think you have already seen my post where I recommended, along with Equilibrium (#1 and still champion) and everything else PSW has written for TOS, some other gen TOS fics with Triumvirate feels, but here they are again for everyone else:

Hope, Logic and Other Wastes of Time by pantswarrior (the return of Xenopolycythemia, with fantastic characterization)

Watching the Watcher by stillwaters01 (and everything else by her as well): Great for Bones and Chapel, very medically detailed, hugely introspective.

Mudd in Your Eye and The Vestorian Quandary by Avirra (who also has some excellent series work; these have really interesting plots and Bones badassery)

Now, here are some more recommendations. This is by no means a comprehensive list of everything, only my thoughts at the current moment. One writer I was going to recommend deleted everything from AO3, alas. I might add on to it later, as I am absolutely sure I’ve forgotten things. To try to narrow this down, I’m going to try to steer clear of complete AUs. Mostly.

As is my wont, I am also largely going to recommend non-explicit or only briefly-explicit stuff, as I try to keep this blog on the PG side. I can’t remember all the details about everything, so check the tags before you decide to read, and make the decision that’s best for you.

Gen TOS recommendations:

Through a Mirror Darkly by GenuineSnoof is new; it’s a TOS/AOS crossover with Prime Spock and Bones (both Boneses, in different times) dealing with the Mirror, Mirror mind meld.

Other Gen stuff dealing with the Mirror, Mirror mind meld includes

Memories From A Past Not My Own by PSW

Of Mirrors by EmRose92

Bad Luck and Broken Soul by @apathetic-revenant

The Wicked and Divine by Danzinora Switch (also try by this writer: Peace and Long Life, where Spock and McCoy accidentally transport themselves to Vulcan’s far past; Silence is Key, McCoy vs. Romulans; and Project Memory, one of few worthwhile codas to Spock’s Brain)

ThatSassyCaptain writes some good stuff. Weight is a nice shortish character study off some canon episodes. The Dog Days Are Most Certainly Not Over features McCoy and giant doglike creatures. It’s very silly, and very enjoyable. Also, its sequel just happened to update yesterday for the first time in something like a year.

I remember KCS being a good writer. Try Watching the Watchman, but look around at other stuff, too.

Incubation by Swiss Army Knife: Bones comes back from City on the Edge of Forever with smallpox and has to find a cure before he and everyone on the ship dies. Kirk is a jerk (okay, he’s still traumatized over Edith, but still). Spock is awesome. #ProtectHim

icarus_chained writes some great short character studies.

There are some very long works by Mary R. and Lynn S., which are older pieces but luckily online; try Unspoken Truths, which deals with The Enterprise Incident, and Betrayed (So. Much. Angst. So much. This one is really well-written, but also a really hard read.)

I haven’t read The Dorian Solution in a long time (it’s novel-length, as I remember), but it’s a very interesting premise: McCoy and Kirk accidentally partake in a planet’s ritual that allows one person to take on all the other person’s subsequent injuries. Guess who gets the short end of the stick on this one?)

Imperfections by Amatara: Canon expansion: episode/movie scene additions from The Man Trap to Generations. Fantastic characterizations and UGH MY HEART at that ending.

Gen AOS recommendations:

anonymous - The One Who Is Fire. Bones screws up a First Contact by being emotional. Gets whumped. Much action; much angst. Very Triumvirate. Just on this side of overwrought, but very satisfying and full of the feels.

rustingroses - That Which We Find In Others. Spock and Bones. Earthquake. Trapped. Long talk. Fascinating.

Hollow Earth by beamirang (yes, another xenopolycythemia fic. Whatever. Everyone bands together to find a cure. Many feels.)

Aini_NuFire - Do No Harm: Short adventure with more Bones badassery

Now, various slash-type-things.

TOS/Both TOS and AOS

@klmeri is the reigning champion of McSpirk fic, is all-around stellar, and has even written a couple of stories based on my overly-detailed prompts: Grave or Gone and In Winter Snow Angels Sacrifice. My favourite, though, is Younger than Stars, which has a great, conspiracy-filled plot, and feels aplenty. But just read starting anywhere, honestly. Read them all.

TheRev - Lovely writing. Spones. Try This Must Be the Place (AOS with Spock Prime/McCoy Prime; you will cry) or Nothing By Halves (TOS)

Eddaic - The Wind Here Sings: TOS Spones. Canon-adjacent. Very poetic.

AOS

I’ve already recommended @fireinmywoods’ sneaky, intricately-plotted and swoonworthy Palimpsest and other writing (McKirk), but for comprehensiveness’ sake, here she is as well (she’s also one of my favourite humans on Tumblr). Sometimes explicit.

Mardia - Fortunate Son: AU where Kirk wasn’t on Tarsus IV, but Bones was, as a 19-year-old doctor under the supervision of Dr. Philomena Boyce. The writing on this one is phenomenal, and the use of interwoven flashbacks with the present is stunning. Even explains why Kirk and McCoy’s eye colours switch in AOS. This is a must-read. One sex scene; can be skipped. McKirk.

laughter_now writes some great stuff. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder is also a must-read. So much suspense, featuring Bones being a righteous self-sacrificing badass and awesome doctor. For sheer h/c angst and suspense with a happy ending and a description of drowning that literally made my lungs hurt in sympathy, go for Hold on Tight, I’ll Hold My Breath. McKirk.

Zauzat’s Honourable Enemies is also a must; it has one of the most satisfyingly-crafted plot resolutions I’ve seen in fic. Everything from the beginning pays off at the end. Everything. It’s pretty much movie-ready, except it’s Spones, and I think Beyond is about the Sponesiest they’d ever be willing to go. https://archiveofourown.org/works/225404/chapters/341313

PrairieDawn’s A Matter of Trust strung me out for the past 24 agonizing weeks, but just finished; lucky you. Spones AU with Kirk and McCoy on a medical ship captained by Pike. Joanna was injured in the Vengeance incident and has telepathy issues. Spock is a healer. Makes good use of the Operation: Annihilate! premise. Crisp, evocative, compelling writing.

JoulesMer does a bunch of effective McKirk stuff with Pike and Boyce. Try The Red Wheelbarrow, Xenopolycythemia, or S.O.S. Great for angst and feels and happiness, romance and self-sacrificing idiots. Some stuff is rather explicit.

Gammadolphin is another very entertaining writer who does a lot of McKirk/McSpirk and AUs. It’s all pretty worthwhile, even the incomplete ones. Try A Wish in the Dark for a Bulletproof Heart (similar premise to The Dorian Solution, actually). Also has a range of stuff from non-explicit to explicit.

The Time and Space Are Not Conditions By Which We Live Series by ijen: McSpirky mission moments.

…okay, I’m going to cut it here for my own sanity. Aren’t you sorry you asked?

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werewolves-are-real · 5 years

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Would you be okay with sharing a snippet? I an so curious as to what you are working on!

Sorry I took so long to answer! I’ve mostly been working on Star Trek fics right now - a lot of Star Trek fics - and unless otherwise stated I assume most people are asking about Temeraire, lol.

So, I included both types!

Temeraire:

This is from a fic where Laurence gains wings + a tail + scales, due to the all-powerful Celestial Dragon Magic. It’s a thing, which I entirely made up. (The whole covert just kinda conspires to hide him from the rest of Britain)

________________

“What the hell are you doing?” Someone laughs. “What, are you stuck?”

“I am trying not to wake Captain Laurence,” Dulcia complains. “Do not laugh at me.”

“What? Oh – that is Laurence. Why, he is more like a dragon every day,” Chenery says, amused.

“Well, he is a dragon,” says Dulcia.

“I suppose so. Come on, now – I told you we need measurements for your new harness. You are getting far too fat.”

“That means I am healthy,” Dulcia sniffs. “And Messoria tells me it is rude to call females fat.”

“No has ever accused me of being polite.”

They leave.

Maximus is still snoring. Laurence blinks up and realizes it's grown late; he often sleeps outside at night, but for the life of him he can't remember why he chose to take a nap in the Regal Copper's clearing, rather than his own rooms. Messoria still seems to be asleep, but Laurence pushes away her wing and decides to return to Temeraire.

He feels vaguely guilty, and it's not hard to determine why.

'More like a dragon every day,' Chenery said. Is it true? Laurence still feels like himself. But then, a few months ago he probably wouldn't have joined a pile of dragons for a midday rest, so perhaps there's some merit to the observation.

Temeraire, when he explains his concerns, is unfazed.

“Well, I suppose you act a little different,” he says. “But I do not think that is a bad thing or a good thing. You are still the same in every way that matters.”

This is not reassuring. “Different in what ways?”

“Well, for one you sleep out with me more often,” Temeraire notes. “Which can only be good. And also your scent is a little different, so the cows are afraid of you now.”

“That is not quite what I meant, my dear.”

Temeraire stretches his wings. “You worry far too much, Laurence. You are different than when we met, but so am I. Even Granby has gotten much nicer, and cadet Roland has learned to clean my scales better than she used to. Everyone changes. As long as you do not change in a bad way, I do not see the problem. And I cannot imagine you doing anything evil, after all.”

The simple logic makes Laurence smile a little. And, oddly, he does feel better. “I suppose that is all true,” he agrees. “But...”

He is not just worried to find himself changing. He wonders if he is still transforming – becoming other, something less than human not just in body, but in mind.

Yet, looking at Temeraire's expectant eyes, he can't voice the thought. Dragons do not think like humans, perhaps – but even a few months has taught Laurence that they are no less unique, and their opinions no less worthy.

It is a thought he must consider more. Laurence shakes his head. “My dear,” he says. “I am sorry. You are entirely right; perhaps I have worried for nothing.”

“You always do,” Temeraire sniffs. “You ought to discuss your problems with me sooner, Laurence; you can be very silly about these things.”

__________________

Star Trek:

section of a continuation for “Identity,” where Spock has been given a physically feminine body after a transporter accident, and prefers to stay that way.

__________________

Over the years, Spock has found that it can be helpful to seek out certain crewmates for advice regarding the emotional undercurrents of confusing situations. In her early years at the academy she often sought this advice from Cadet Elisa Ryland, who she met through a number of astrophysics courses. Ryland had a quiet, rational demeanor that struck her as almost Vulcan, and she was often able and willing to explain issues of human sociology without any accompanying embarrassment. Spock still corresponds with her, although the current Lieutenant-Commander Ryland is not a sentimental woman.

Later Captain Pike became something of a mentor to Spock, who found the older officer full of useful command wisdom. In recent years Jim has been her closest confidante in all matters.

But she cannot approach Jim regarding an issue that does, after all, include him. Which is how Spock finds herself standing before Doctor McCoy's quarters, carefully weighing her options.

At last she buzzes at the door. McCoy is openly surprised to see her. “You need something?” he asks. Spock has only visited his quarters six times in the past several years.

Seven times, now. “I am here regarding a personal matter,” Spock says.

McCoy raises his eyebrows but immediately stands aside. “Well, take a seat.”

Spock politely accepts a glass of water; she is unsure if this is a rare deference to Vulcan tradition, or merely one of McCoy's own ingrained social niceties.

“Now,” McCoy drawls when he's resumed his own seat. “You're welcome any time, Spock, but you don't exactly make a habit of dropping in. What's this about?”

Spock considers how to phrase the matter.

“The captain is trying to seduce me,” she declares, and subsequently watches as McCoy chokes on his drink.

“I take it back,” McCoy tells her a minute later, wiping liquid from his chin. “You are never welcome here again. Goddammit.”

Ignoring this hyberbole, Spock continues. “I would seek your advice in this matter. In different circumstances I would not necessarily object to the captain's intentions, but I consider his motivations suspect.”

“Not opposed - oh, god,” McCoy says. “Spock, if you're going to tell me you're in love with Jim, I really need a drink first. A good shot of bourbon or five.”

“I am not 'in love' with the captain,” Spock snaps. “On Vulcan it is typical for partners to be chosen on the basis of mental compatibility. After Jim, Uhura or Sulu would also be excellent mates.” McCoy chokes again. “But I recognize that humans require a different type of connection. I fully intend to find a Vulcan husband.”

McCoy still looks a bit dazed. “Husband?” he echoes. Spock isn't sure why everyone is so preoccupied with the sex of her hypothetical mate. The doctor shakes his head, as though drawing himself from a daze. “Right, okay. First of all, Sulu would be thrilled to date you – male or female versions – and I ain't saying anything else on that.” Spock raises an eyebrow. “Second – I can't say I'm really surprised. Just to, uh, clarify – Jim never flirted with you before?”

“No, Doctor. Surely you have realized he has no interest in men.”

“Yeah, that's obvious,” McCoy agrees. “Despite the rumors. But you're... well, you're not a man. And you're so damn pretty it's a waste, if you won't slap me for saying it.”

Spock ignores the latter comment. “The point remains,” she says, “That Jim never possessed such interest before. I can only presume that he is acting on lust, which I find distinctly uncomfortable.”

“I'm distinctly uncomfortable,” McCoy mutters.

Spock stiffens. “If you do not wish to discuss this subject, Doctor...”

McCoy waves his hand through the air before she can finish. “Hell, Spock, I ain't sending you away. And you're right – Jim's being a dog, and you deserve to be mad about it. But there ain't any easy solution, except to give him an earful and tell him to shape up.”

“I see,” Spock says. “That seems insufficient. I have rarely known the captain to make personal errors.”

“Oh, we all make mistakes when we stop thinking with our brains.”

Spock tilts her head. She is genuinely unfamiliar with this idiom. “With what else would he think, Doctor?”

Oddly, McCoy reddens. “Nevermind that,” he coughs. “Listen. Just talk to him. That's all you can do.”

“I do not see how that will discourage his... interest.”

“Well, no. I don't think anyone's invented a way to stop men looking at women. But you Vulcans think action is more important than feelings – and even us humans can control ourselves that much.”

A fair assessment. Still: “I would not expect you to advocate emotional suppression, Doctor.”

“There's a difference between making yourself a computer and refusing to be an animal. The first is masochism – the second is just good manners.”

“Very well,” Spock concedes. Though she would never say so, it's somehow reassuring that McCoy doesn't seek to blame her for the captain's attentions. Spock knows that many people over the years – men and women – have found her attractive, though usually it was only the challenge – the exotic nature of Vulcan romance – that appealed to them. Somehow those pursuits never bothered her like this. “I will speak to him tomorrow. Though based on Jim's persistence in past encounters I am unsure if his behavior will change.”

“Jim ain't like that, Spock – you tell him 'no' and he'll back off. And if he doesn't,” McCoy adds darkly, “I'll have a talk with him.”

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carrietrekkie · 5 years

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Through the grapevine.

Hello together!

This one cames to my mind today, while I was waiting for my shuttle(car) to be fixed. A little one shot about some crew members of the Enterprise during their weekly breakfast.

Something funny for the weekend! I hope you like it and leave me a little fb. Also let me know, if you want to read more about the four in here!

@bold-brave-courageous @allthetrek @reeselivesforeverinmyheart

Meet our four gosippy people:

Yeoman Ensign Connor McAdams Lieutenant Lanissa th`Zhinnat, engineer, Andorian Lieutenant Barian Lanos, science officer, xeno-anthropology, Betazoid. Ensign Samantha Winter, Nurse

The Enterprise mess hall was well attended, as every morning at breakfast time, a wild jumble of the fatigued members of the gamma shift, hectic officers of the alpha shift, anxious to be late, and the rest of the crew with free time or flexible service. At one of the tables in the corner, with the best view across the room, sat a sworn group of officers, their eyes wandering through the room as they enjoyed their weekly ritual that had established more and more over the last mission. "Can you believe this is the last time?" Connor McAdams, Pike's Yeoman leaned back in his chair. "After mentioning it for the third time, yes, we can believe it." He was followed by a long sigh. "And you're acting as if it's the end of the world." "Let him Lanissa." Barian Lanos, the senior of the group, punched the Andorian lightly. "Not everyone is such a sentimental sissie like you." She tapped something in the PADD that just barely fit between the cups and plates. "Or he." "Well, I too, think it's sad." Samantha Winter, the youngest at the table, took her cup. "And you're just so grumpy because you know it's your fault." "Yes, exactly!" Enthusiastic, finally to find someone on his side, Connor got back into the conversation. "The three of us will still be there on the next mission, but you have decided that you want to go back to Andor."

"Connor!" Lanissa went up in her chair. "Oh crap." He pinched his lips. "Sorry, that was really no intention." "You go back to Andor?" "I thought that was a joke."

Stunned, the two new initiates stared at their friend. With an Andorian curse seemingly too special for the Universal Translator, Lanissa sank back in her chair, looking at her friends in turn, before explaining herself. "Yes, I'm going back to Andor. I submitted my resignation to Captain Pike and he approved it. " "Oh yes, that pretty much spoiled his mood." Connor glanced at her. "You leave Starfleet ?! You ... "Sam put down her cup before it was slipping out of her fingers. "You throw up?" "I'm not chucking! I will accept the offer of the Technical University and train engineers and mechanics." "Lanissa." Barian put a hand on her arm. "That cannot really be the solution?" It was a few months ago when an outside mission involving Lanissa went terribly wrong. She had been captured, tortured, and when the rescue team finally found her, she was more dead than alive. It had Dr. Boyd's full skill and countless hours of therapy with Counselor Hanson needed to make her reasonably fit for service. Lanissa's first act was to hand over her departure from Starfleet to Captain Pike. "I cannot do this anymore. Every time there's a bit of wobbling in the engine room, a noise somewhere that I cannot assign right away, or people looking for a away mission, I panic, cannot sleep, and prefer to crawl under my bed. I know, I'll hang you, but it just will not work anymore. " Barain and Samantha stared at her, then she took a swing and slammed Connor against the forearm. "Ouch, hey, what should that?" "You knew that and say nothing!" She glared at him evilly. "We could have stopped her, change her!" "Are you crazy? I'm glad if Pike didn´t find out I was blabbering!" "Oh, such a nonsense! You just didn´t dare! "

"Sam, stop it." Lanissa looked at her. "It would not have worked." She nodded to McAdams. "Connor tried it so many times that I wanted to break his nose because he was so annoying." Now she smiled at her friends. "I'm not gone, I'm just going back to my family, we will see us again. I'm happy with my decision, could you please too. " That had sat and after she had all been silent for a moment, they nodded and decided to enjoy their breakfast. If Lanissa left them on Earth, there would be enough tears to flow.

"Have you seen Spock's new look?" Samantha tipped some milk into her coffee. "Yeah and I think it fits him really good." Lanissa stroked her chin. "Looks daring." "I'm sorry I have to disappoint the ladies, but the beard is off." That brought Connor two sad looks. "Yesterday he came without to the bridge." "Great and I didn´t take a picture." "Well, now you can all thank me." Barain pulled up the PADD and called up the photo folder of the Enterprise Crew, a colorful collection of photos and videos which the crew had collected during their time on board. "And here it is." He grinned at the women. "Ahh, that's a nice picture." Samantha marked it. "That's on the wall in the bar." "He delete it faster than you can upload it." Connor shook his head slightly. "Not even Spock can crack that code, trust me." The Betazoid smiled conspiratorially. "There is a god somewhere." "Did you hear that from T'Pal?" Barain glanced around, making sure that the Vulcan was not around. "No, what?" Connor looked at him while Samantha already smiled widely. "She accidentally opened the wrong valve in botany last week and gotten a huge load of nitrous oxide." He chuckled a little. "That was the weirdest half hour I've ever experienced!" "You're pestering us?!" Lanissa's eyes widened, her antennas jiggling in amusement. "She laughed?" "Like a little kid!" The Betazoid lowered his voice. "And not only that, she was really happy." "The poor mouse has been hiding in our quarters for three days." It was a stroke of fortune for her to share quarters with T'Pal. "Does she know you call her that?" Connor waved to someone shortly before he turned back to the conversation. "Of course, and I'm sure one day her eyebrow she pulls up will slip under her hairline." “What did Louvier say when you told him you were leaving?"

"He was crying." Lanissa placed her arms on the table and rested her head on her hands. "He almost got me to stay." "Oh, the chief is just smooching right?" All eyes suddenly rested on the Betazoid. "If you could hear your thoughts, people." He shook his head. "I mean that in an honest and innocent way. With Louvier, you always know what you have, he is sincere and has his heart on his tongue." "Yes, that's right." Lanissa smiled. "I think I'll miss him a lot." "If one can fix it, then Louvier!" "Ah Sam, I would be careful with that, the new one could almost surpass him." "Whom do you mean?" Barain started stabbing the fruit in his bowl. "He has such a typical earthen name." "Montgomery Scott." Connor raised his hand. "The captain personally requested him." "Well wow, it smells like trouble in paradise." "He's fresh from the Academy until he can reach Louvier, some stars will bless the time." "Oh hey, is that her?" Lanissa interrupted the men and pointed to the door. A brunette woman in a blue uniform had just entered the room. "Whom?" Connor looked unobtrusively over his shoulder, then grinned. "Yes, that´s her." Three days had passed since their rendezvous with the Discovery and the return of Captain Pike to the Enterprise. He had brought someone besides Spock, and since then the rumor mill has seethed. Despite their size and crew, everyone knew everyone on this ship. Rumors spread faster than an infectious disease, and when someone appeared as abrupt as this woman, it quickly became the topic of conversation. "I bet she's sleeping with him." Three pairs of eyes stared at Lanissa. "What? " "How can you be so insensitive!" Samantha waved to Cathrin when she saw her. "Oh please, you probably don´t want to tell me that you did not have that thought yet! I bet even every crew member with a spark of sexual desire in the body had that thought before. " "Oh please not again." Connor nudged Lanissa. "I'm so done with this conversation." "Spoilsport." The Andorian sighed exaggerated dreamy, then squinted conspicuously inconspicuous in Connors direction.

"Why are you looking at me like this?" The Yeoman tried to hide behind his coffee mug. "Because you know everything about Pike!" "I don´t do that! Nothing at all private and certainly not about that topic! " "Gosh, you're a lousy liar." Barian laughed. "And you should not spit in my head!" "Connor, I don´t need to look into your thoughts for that." An unfathomable smile on his face. "What do you know?" Sighing, he put down his cup, then waved them all a little to him and they leaned toward him. "The Federation can be happy that none of us is part of the intelligence service, that looks so suspicious that even a blind Dorian would recognize it." "Sam." Connor looked at her. "All right, but you have to swear to me that you keep that for yourself." He waited until everyone nodded and Lanissa's antennae signaled to him that they had understood. "Last night he sent me to the infirmary. He had to cancel theire date because there was another thing I could not mention, intervening. "

"Ha, I knew it!" Lanissa jumped up. "They sleep together!" "How can you be so unromantic!" Barain shook his head. "Think I'm crazy, but there's more between the two." "Now comes this lethargic Betazoid ramblings." The Andorian rolled her eyes. "How did your society actually manage to reach the warp age? If you've been busy with your feelings all day? " "Just like you, just that we have not hit each other's heads!" "Man, how will I miss that." Connor chuckled a little. "Well, I'd like to hear what Barian has to say." Samantha tried to sound as casual as possible, but she didn´t really succeed, but he did her the favor. "Did you ever see them together? That's so incredibly cute. He's so anxious for her, worried and in love head over heels, I tell you! Both are!" "Don´t you violate one or the other policy?" "Not really, that their feelings are so present, I cannot do anything." "Yes that's right, that's not really hard to tell." "Is she talking about him?" Lanissa turned to the nurse. "With me?" "Ever." "Not really." Samantha thought for a moment. "Once she eradicates his first name when she talked with Dr. Boyd, but that's it. " "How is she?" Connor began to collect the dishes.

"Nice, attentive." She went to help him. "She is great! No comparison to the low-flying hedgehoppers we usually get from the academy. Boyd is quite ravished about her. " "Boyd is thrilled by everyone." Barain stood up too. "Except for the Talosians, even he didn´t like them." “Is there anyone who liked them?" Lanissa, however, remained sitting, but collected the remaining crumbs. "Personally, I find it very nice for him to find someone who means something to him. That he has something different than this ship and his crew. "Connor realized how everyone looked at him and shrugged. "What?" "You're such a softie, you know that?" The Andorian now rose as well, picking up remaining cups and plates and bringing them back to the counter. "Do you like that?" He shrugged his eyebrows, whereupon she, embarrassed, as Samantha and Barain found, laughed. The Betazoid leaned over to the nurse, but she raised her hand and interrupted it before he could say anything. "No." She shook herself slightly. "I don´t even want to imagine that." "The horror." He chuckled stupidly, then put his arm around her. "You still have me."

"Cathrin!" Sam shook off her arm and beamed at her colleague. "Sam, good morning! Hello everybody!" Merry, but also a bit uncertain, she smiled in the round. She was a little pale and a few deep rings under her eyes. "Night Shift?" Sam smiled sympathetically. "Yes, my first." She stubbornly stifled a yawn. "It gets better. It's best to lie down right away and wake up around noon, so it'll be easier. " "Thanks, I'll try it right away." Then she looked at everyone. "It was a pleasure." Then she disappeared again and she was not yet right around the corner, the four put their heads together.

"Connor, which shift has Pike?"

"Alpha." He looked at the clock. "And he should turn up for breakfast right now."

As if they had received an order, the four of them hurried to the door, and thanks to the still unbroken stream of hungry crew members, it was not suspicious that they stopped and looked after Cathrin.

"Guys, that's kind of wrong." Samantha looked around as if she was afraid to get caught.

"Come on, we're just checking a few theories." Barain punched her. "If that makes you nervous, what do you do when you're sent on an external mission?"

"Keep your mouth shut."

"God, finally have a date, that we have this behind us."

"Lanissa!"

"Psst." Connor pointed to the front, if he knew anything, then Captain Pike's morning ritual. "And there he is."

The turbolift in front of Cathrin opend up and spit out the still drowsily commanding officer of the Enterprise. Even from where they stood, they could see the two of them beaming, exchanging a few words with each other, and like Pike, as Cathrin walked past him into the elevator, put a hand behind het back, and her turning around to him looking directly into his eyes. She nudged him with her finger against his nose, he reached for her hand, held it for a moment before Cathrin disappeared backwards in the elevator and their fingers parted.

"Yeah okay, that was really cute." Lanissa found her again stared at by her friends. "What is? You are not satisfied with anything! "

"And that surprises you because?" Barain grinned at them before they all adopt a little attitude as the captain came to them.

"Good morning!" He nodded to them all and they returned the greeting. "Connor, I hope it's just a coincidence that you're here."

"Sorry Sir." The Yeoman grinned crookedly. "You have ten minutes, then a conference call with Admiral Shanoba is already waiting for you."

Pike's answer was a deep breath, then he said goodbye to his crew members and went for breakfast.

"He desperately needs a girlfriend." Samantha looked at him, then at her friends. "But that's beyond our salary and I'm late."

"Wait, I'll come with you, I'll have to pick up some more samples at the infirmary." Barain joined her and Connor also said goodbye to prevent Captain Pike from sneaking away.

Lanissa stayed behind, watching her friends for a moment, sighing softly, then heading for the engine room.

Oh yes, she would miss them all.

Masterlist

#star trek discovery #star trek discovery fan fiction #u.s.s. enterprise #captain chris pike #captain christopher pike #chris pike #pike #captain pike x oc #star trek discovery oc

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impendingfascination · 5 years

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Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow In A Slow Lead To The Finale For Star Trek Discovery

For an episode that sets up potentially one of the biggest battles we’ve seen in ‘Star Trek’ save some of the final battles from ‘Deep Space Nine’, we sure do spend a lot of time saying goodbye. That is mostly what this episode is in fact. It says so right in the title. Of course, for a crew about to go in to a battle they think to be incredibly difficult if not impossible, it makes sense that you might want to say how you feel about being separated from a loved one before that battle begins. It would just have more impact if the audience also believed that this set of people would never see each other again, but that is a lot to ask when you consider a third season is on its way.

All of that considered still doesn’t take away from the impact of all the crew of ‘Discovery’ deciding to stay on board the ship despite it’s doomed mission. Well, not doomed exactly, but future unknown. There are some questions in that mix that we may or may not get answers to before the end of the season, like: will Culber and Stamets ever get back together? Is Jet Reno now going to join the Discovery’s crew? And, perhaps the biggest question of the moment, how will Spock get back to the correct timeline if he does go with them into the future. It’s his decision to stay and help his half-sister that leaves me the most unsure about what was going to happen in the conclusion of this season. Had he just gone back to the Enterprise, I would have thrown all my money on the Discovery crew ending up stuck in Picard’s timeline. It would have solved the canon issues and allowed for easy shared universe stories. Now I’m not so certain because you can’t have Spock in that timeline. Though, I guess he could stay for a few years. The character does appear to age between ‘The Cage’ and ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’ so who knows what happens that we haven’t seen.

It’s nice to see another throw back to the ‘Short Trek’ episodes. Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, last seen in ‘Runaway’, returns to help the crew sort out how to use the time crystal. I am guessing that ‘Calypso’ will get a nod next week by showing the ship arrive at where we find it in that episode, which I suppose is further proof that there won’t be a 24th century solution to this season. It is interesting though that, at least as of the end of this episode, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po is still onboard Discovery. Will she be travelling to the future as well? Might she be the key to getting the Discovery crew back to the current timeline?

The reveal of the bridge of the Enterprise points out one of my biggest disappointments of the season thus far - the under use of Number One and Rebecca Romijn. Why go to the trouble of casting the part and landing a well known actress to play her if you are only going to give her a few scant appearances? I still am holding out some hope for a possible ‘Enterprise’ spin off that would further detail the adventures that this crew of Pike, Number One, and Spock have before Pike’s accident and the arrival of Kirk. That would be tough though as the writers already have a struggle with continuity. We’ll see next week how they plan to lineup what we’ve seen so far against what we know from years of watching.

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sports-and-fandoms · 5 years

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*SPOILERS* Star Trek Discovery Season 2, episode 1: Brother*SPOILERS*

Hello guys! Yes, I am indeed still alive. I apologize for not having posted in a long, long time. How long has it been? A year? It’s been rough and just an all round bitch. But, we’re not going to dwell on that any more. As it is customary for my blog and since Star Trek: Disco has just premiered season 2, I am going to be posting reviews again. As I have mentioned up above, SPOILERS UP AHEAD!

Star Trek Discovery, oh, how I have missed you! My God, tonight’s episode was so good! Ahhhhhhhhh

-I SQUEALED WHEN THE ENTERPRISE CAME ON SCREEN!!!!!! NOT EVEN ASHAMED TO ADMIT IT.

-TILLY MY SWEET, PRECIOUS BABY! I LOVE HER! Some of her best moments, tonight. “Math Rules!” “Comms!” Tilly rambling for 5 minutes straight while the bridge crew watches on, highly amused! Her whole “it’s funny saying pinky to a Captain” moment! Oh, the pinky scene was hilarious! “I don’t want you to go.” :(

-Paul Stamets. God. Damn. You. I love him. I do. But seeing him suffer KILLS. ME. So, here’s what I’m gonna say. GIVE. PAUL. HIS. HUGH BACK.

GIVE US OUR SPACE HUSBANDS BACK!

Also, how dare you, Star Trek disco writers? Who the hell gave you the right to play with my emotions like that? Stamets was listening to opera and he gets it now! I stg I almost cried.

After seeing him so sad at the start of the episode, seeing him light up when Tilly brought in a FREAKING ASTEROID on board the Discovery was EVERYTHING. He needs to be happy!

-Saru is so amazing. I love how sassy he is! Oh my Lord! Ya know the scene when he felt someone’s death coming? And the guy on the bridge just stared at him and he was like “Are you really surprised?” LMAO

-Pike. I love Christopher Pike. I always have. He is so much like Jim Kirk in this, it’s unbelievable. So reckless and would do anything for his crew. He went on the rescue mission. He also tried to find a solution that would defy all odds. We all know where Jim Kirk learned that from. Lol I love how he almost gave poor Tilly a heart attack. I love everything about Chris Pike!

-Still in love with Burnham. SLAY, QUEEN! SLAY!! I especially loved the shade she threw at the Enterprise crew (Pike, blue shirt dude that got himself killed coz he didn’t listen and underestimated Michael, Red shirt girl that listened and survived). So when they beam on the Disco, they’re all talking and stuff then Pike mentions the new uniforms and Michael is like “I saw. Colourful.” LOVE. IT.

-One moment to appreciate the elevator scene. How simple yet so entertaining.I loved it. The banter. I loved how everyone just greeted the guy and Michael was like “hey dude! sup?” and making conversation. Then he sneezed on blue shirt dude and Pike blessed him. I love how simple yet so Star Trek and funny this scene was.

-Another thing to appreciate. The importance of loyalty towards Starfleet and all its officers. I love Michael’s “leave no man behind” thinking. Again, very Star Trek. Family bond was, again, very important in this episode. It’s really the “throw all caution to wind and complete a certain mission and maybe do some science on the way” kinda episode. Which is so Star Trek. This is spot on, in my opinion.

-Sarek and Michael’s relationship. She called him father. Also, Sarek actually admitted to something sentimental. He, for just a second, was vulnerable and open. He admitted to finding Amanda reading Alice in Wonderland soothing. I love it!

-Wilson Cruz (the actor that plays Hugh Culber) tweeted that this episode was all about love. I agree with him. It was. And for the love of all that is holy, he better be back! I can’t see Paul being sad anymore. My heart can’t take it!

-I am really loving where this season is seeming to head. I like the story concept and I feel like it has a lot of potential. Also, I really love the involvement of Spock in this. I feel like this season could potentially be very, very good! I also loved the small tidbits about Michael and Spock’s relationship.

My predictions and what I am looking forward to:

-Lorca is definitely coming back. It’s all in the fortune, baby. He’s coming back, and he’s gonna either kick some ass or get his ass kicked. Again. Those that have read my previous reviews know that I love Gabriel Lorca. I love Jason Isaacs. A lot. So you can imagine just how excited I am.

-They’re gonna bring back Hugh. Ok, so this is less of a prediction more of a “do it or else” kinda thing. Seriously, disco writers. BRING HIM BACK.

-We all saw the Ash/Michael scene. So that’s something to look forward to.

-WHAT WAS THAT THING THAT ATTACKED TILLY??? SHE BETTER BE OKAY.

-Philippa Georgiou is gonna be back! And she joined section 31, so that’s really interesting.

-I wanna see more of Sarek and Michael.

-More of Saru being a Captain.

---------------------------------------------

Alright, that’s all for tonight, folks! I’ll be back next week lol Until then, if any of you wants to talk more about this episode, message me! I would love to talk about theories and discuss certain scenes in tonight’s episode! Looking forward to talking to you guys!

#star trek #Star Trek Discovery #star trek disco spoilers #star trek discovery spoilers #Star Trek Disco #michael burnham #Christopher pike #captain pike #saru #sylvia tilly #paul stamets #Hugh Culber

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