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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Your thoughts, please, Mr. Spock."

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

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

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

(dkjflsdjlkdjglk brb losing my mind again)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, this is what she eventually tells him:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aaand that's how she breaks up with him.

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

Anyway, this isn't the end.

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

Now, please appreciate The Motion Picture aesthetic:

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

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

Oh, damn.

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

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

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

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

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

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

*inhales deeply*

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

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

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

It's the same scene.

The same fucking scene.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh, whoops.

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

So. Um.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fascinating.

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

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

Captain Kirk and Captain Spock.

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

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

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

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

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

Partners. Of equal rank. Working together.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And then it has this:

dklsfjlskjflskjlksjlkdlkgjdlfgsnfjekniuwanf LISTEN, HOW--

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

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

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

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

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

---

Conclusions.

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

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

As a temporary girlfriend? Yes.

As a lifelong partner? No.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jim mentions Spock on his first date with a woman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, okay, that's all.

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

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

꧁ hello! ꧂

amy ᝰ ❧ scorpio sun and moon, she/they, grey-ace, 30s

i support liverpool f.c. and mostly write about domitrent on ao3.

i have a ph.d. in english literature, specializing in science fiction, but i really only write for fun these days.

other interests include: kate bush (queen of my heart), goth and post punk music/subculture, horror and sci-fi films, jane austen, mary shelley (i am always ready to bring frankenstein into any conversation), orphan black, star trek, studio ghibli, and more.

a masterlist of my fics and other scribblings are below the cut! a gentle reminder that i do not take requests for fics; however, headcanons are welcome and my askbox is open!

you can find most of my fics on archive of our own (ao3). some may be archive-locked (only viewable to users who are logged in on ao3). fics are sorted by type, ship/pairing, and then alphabetically listed within each category (for the most part). ratings are indicated in parentheses next to each title. if you are under the age of 18, please do not interact with any mature/explicit fics. full list of tags and any potential content warnings are available on ao3. masterlist to be updated periodically.

꧁DOMITRENT꧂ (dominik szoboszlai/trent alexander arnold)

dream come true (M, eventually E) 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔰 ➾ [work in progress]

→ Dominik, whose dreams of becoming a professional football player ended years ago due to injury, has dedicated himself to a new passion: physiotherapy. After moving to Liverpool to complete his studies, he meets Trent, a local lad whose dream of playing in the first team is about to come true. But what if, in meeting one another, their dreams become intertwined?

⟡ by chapter: chapter one: skull and bones | chapter two: skeletons and secrets | chapter three: start of something | chapter four: sweet as sugar | chapter five: stay with me | chapter six: stuck on you | chapter seven: suddenly everything changes

꧁HENDOLLANA꧂ (jordan henderson/adam lallana)

borne in red (E; dubcon) → In a world where men have been discovered to be infertile, the few men who are not sterile are forced into service of Captains and their Wives. Adam Lallana is one of these "studs," also known as Reds. He is also, dangerously, in love with men. Over a course of Ceremonies, he discovers that his Captain has a secret, and that his proclivities may be indeed similar to Adam's own desires…

A Hendollana AU based on Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale.

⟡ by chapter: chapter one: waiting | chapter two: discovering | chapter three: being | chapter four: waiting | chapter five: coda

꧁DOMITRENT꧂ (dominik szoboszlai/trent alexander arnold)

we lit the fire and it's burning bright (E) → After the Liverpool vs Manchester City game (where Trent scores the equaliser), Dom takes Trent back to his apartment and proceeds to take him apart with his hands and lips.

working on the riddle of your heart (E) → Dominik can’t stop thinking about Trent. Ever since pre-season training, he has been obsessed. God, Dominik wants to be possessed by Trent.

you're out there killing the game (E) → Trent gets his arse out for all to see, but Dom wants it to be just his.

꧁CARRAVILLE꧂ (jamie carragher/gary neville)

gary knows; or, gary the fool in liverpool (T) → Liverpool’s lost the league, and Gary’s lost his damn mind.

a christmas carraville (merry crimbo, ye big lug) (G) → God I love him, but my husband is an idiot, Jamie thinks. In which Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are married, but Gary doesn't know it yet.

champagne supernova (happy new year, ye tosser) (T) → It's New Year's Eve, and all Carra can think about is whether a certain Manc will kiss him at midnight. Maybe a little liquid courage will help light the way.

package deal (it's valentine's day, ye dimwit) (E) → Gary's got a Valentine’s date with an idiot.

꧁GERLONSO꧂ (steven gerrard/xabi alonso)

days of legends past (G) → "When you left, it broke my heart." Three vignettes related to various and sundry myths and legends.

꧁HENDOLLANA꧂ (jordan henderson/adam lallana)

fools in love (G; archive-locked) → aka, five times that other people noticed Jordan and Adam were dating before they did, and one time they finally realize that they’ve been a couple all along.

hounds of love (G; archive-locked) → Jordan's not sure what his soulmark will be yet, but what he does know is that he's terrified. A slow-burn soulmate AU.

merry to go 'round (G; archive-locked) → The lads buy a house together at the end of the 2026 World Cup campaign, and not a single one of their teammates (former teammates now) are surprised.

soft lad (E; archive-locked) → Five-hundred twenty-five thousand six-hundred minutes… it took a span of two pre-seasons for Hendo to realize that he was in love.

vignettes: tickertape (G; archive-locked) → After the trophy lift, Hendo searches for a tangible piece of memory…

vignettes: turf (G; archive-locked) → Lallana leaving LFC, but choosing a certain squad number for familiarity…

꧁OTHER SHIPS꧂

put myself on a pedestal - virgil van dijk/jarell quansah (E) → After the Union Saint-Gilloise match, Jarell says some things to the press that perhaps ought not to have been said. It's Virgil's job to educate him. But perhaps there are things that Virgil also ought not to say out loud… Then, Jarell comes over to his house one night after training, and Virgil finds a more effective way to stop Jarell from saying stupid things.

eu sou... - eric dier/dele alli (G; archive-locked) → Dele is um idiota but so is Eric. Pining ensues. footballers watch: eurovision 2019 - multi-ship (G; archive-locked) → What it says on the tin. [Pairings include: Carraville, Hendollana, Gerlonso, Deledier, and other random cameos.]

꧁GEN FICS꧂

klopp in the kop, forever - jürgen klopp (G) → Jürgen Klopp, the normal one, is about to live a normal life, for the first time in his life.

vignettes: takumi (G; archive-locked) → Second day at Anfield • Daemon!fic aka His Dark Materials/Football RPF

⟡ domitrent headcanon - who's naughtier, domi or trent?

⟡ domitrent headcanon - valentine's day

⟡ domitrent headcanon - who fell first

⟡ domitrent headcanon - dealing with injuries

⟡ domitrent headcanon - sex positions

⟡ domi and trent headcanons - fashion styles, shopping habits

⟡ domi, trent and jude headcanons - jealousy

⟡ trent and jude headcanons - food habits, sweet tooth

⟡ cheeky - domitrent

⟡ the prince and the scouser - domitrent

⟡ queen's gambit AU - domitrent

⟡ anfield is a cauldron - gen!fic

dividers created by @cafekitsune

Solar Opposites’ Valentine’s Day Special Delivers Alien Sex, Tiki Drinks, and a Sweet Surprise

Solar Opposites is back! After rolling out a strong season four amid Hollywood’s summer of strikes, the animated Hulu series has just dropped a Valentine’s Day special, in the tradition of its earlier Halloween and Christmas specials—while fans await season five later this year. Alex Winter on Innovative Horror Movies io9 got a chance to talk to executive producers Mike McMahan (Star Trek:…

View On WordPress

BI-KIRK CONFIRMED ??????!!!!!!

January 2021 Programming Highlights

Friday, Jan. 1

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior

Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures “There Goes Our Fun!/Don’t Wake the Baby!”

(8:30-9:00 a.m. EST)

“There Goes Our Fun!” – Mickey invites everyone to join him for Mickey Day at the amusement park.

“Don’t Wake the Baby!” – The Happy Helpers babysit the Matisses’ new baby boy, Ollie.

TV-Y

Friday, Jan. 8

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior

Mira, Royal Detective “The Case of the Missing Library Book/A Double Dosa Mystery”

(7:30-8:00 p.m. EST)

“The Case of the Missing Library Book” – Mira must find the missing library book that everyone wants to read.

“A Double Dosa Mystery” – When Sandeep’s dosa goes missing, Mira goes on a stakeout to discover who took it.

TV-Y

Friday, Jan. 15

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Puppy Dog Pals “New Year, New Bob/All for Show”

(10:30-11:00 a.m. EST)

“New Year, New Bob” – While in Hong Kong for the Chinese New Year, Bob’s homemade lantern for the Lantern Festival accidentally floats out his hotel window.

“All for Show” – Lollie is eager to win the top prize in the local dog show, so Bingo and Rolly go on a mission to help her complete her obstacle course training.

TV-Y

Saturday, Jan. 16

Original Series – Tentpole Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Chipocalypse Now”

(9:00-9:30 a.m. EST)

Chip Whistler tears down the buildings around the Greens’ house to build a new Wholesome Foods store.

*Paul Scheer (“Star Trek: Lower Decks “) and Andy Richter (“Conan”) guest star as Chip Whistler and Mayor Hansock, respectively.

TV-Y7

Friday, Jan. 22

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior

Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures “Donald’s Dilemma/The Royal-ympics!”

(6:00-6:30 p.m. EST)

“Donald’s Dilemma” – Donald’s day of doing chores is derailed when his Uncle Manny pays him a surprise visit.

*Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) guest stars as Uncle Manny.

“The Royal-ympics!” – Princess Olivia of Royalandia asks the Happy Helpers for help with the Royal-ympics.

*Madison Pettis (“Five Points”) guest stars as Princess Olivia.

TV-Y

Saturday, Jan. 23

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “‘Rent Control/Pool’s Gold”

(9:00-9:30 a.m. EST)

“‘Rent Control” – When Gloria’s parents visit, she ropes the Greens into escalating lies about her success.

*Amy Hill (“Magnum P.I.”) and Keone Young (“Star Wars Rebels”) guest star as Mr. and Mrs. Sato.

“Pool’s Gold” – Cricket goes on a quest to find the best pool in Big City.

TV-Y7

Friday, Jan. 29

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Puppy Dog Pals “My Bobby Valentine/Musical Mission Mishap”

(10:30-11:00 a.m. EST)

“My Bobby Valentine” – Ana is excited to give Bob his favorite candy for Valentine’s Day, but when every store is sold out, Bingo and Rolly must track down the special holiday treat.

“Musical Mission Mishap” – Bob surprises Ana by winning a walk-on role in “Pups: The Musical!”

TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior

Mira, Royal Detective “Mira’s Birthday Mystery/The Great Art Mystery”

(7:30-8:00 p.m. EST)

“Mira’s Birthday Mystery” – On Mira’s birthday, Queen Shanti asks her to solve a strange mystery.

“The Great Art Mystery” – When an anonymous painting appears, Mira searches for the artist so it can be entered in Priya’s art show.

*Brian George (“The Big Bang Theory”) guest stars as the art shop owner, Mr. Burman.

TV-Y

Saturday, Jan. 30

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Big Resolution/Winter Greens”

(9:00-9:30 a.m. EST)

“Big Resolution” – On New Year’s Eve, Cricket insists on helping Gloria complete her resolution of approaching her longtime crush, Kevin.

*Booboo Stewart (“Descendants” franchise) guest stars as Kevin.

“Winter Greens” – Cricket and Remy challenge Vasquez to a snowball fight, while Tilly creates a snowperson.

TV-Y7

i’m obsessed with the variant cover of Star Trek: Year Five’s Valentine’s Day special ngl

Star Trek: Year Five: Valentine’s Day Special

Star Trek Year Five Valentine’s Day Special

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

Next comic shipment is due here 13th February 2020 - keep an eye on the Cover Gallery page  https://blog.mk1.co.nz/COVERGALLERY   or Latest Comics collection http://www.mk1.co.nz/collections/latest-comics   for updates. 

 New to MK1 List

ALIENATED #1 (OF 6)  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC191231

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #39 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190863

ANGELA DELLA MORTE #4 (OF 4) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC191843

ASCENDER #9 (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190128

AT THE END OF YOUR TETHER TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/OCT191998

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #10 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190452

BATMAN PENNYWORTH RIP #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190410

BATMAN VS RAS AL GHUL #4 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/SEP190477

BATMANS GRAVE #5 (OF 12) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190450

BLOODSHOT (2019) #6 CVR A SHALVEY https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC191955

CATWOMAN #20 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190456

CLOCK #2 (OF 4) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190159

DAWN OF X TP VOL 01 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190962

DOCTOR MIRAGE TP VOL 01 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC191971

DOCTOR WHO 13TH SEASON TWO #2 CVR A TEMPLER https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC191895

DOLLAR COMICS BATMAN #567 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190547

DOLLAR COMICS GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190548

DOLLHOUSE FAMILY #4 (OF 6) (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190531

DR STRANGE #3 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190898

EXCALIBUR #7 DX https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190784

FLASH #88 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190460

FLASH GIANT #3 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190427

GOTHAM CITY MONSTERS #6 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190465

GREEN LANTERN SEASON 2 #1 (OF 12) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190417

GWEN STACY #1 (OF 5) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190842

HARLEY QUINN & BIRDS OF PREY #1 (OF 4) (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190420

HARLEY QUINN & POISON IVY #6 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190468

HARLEY QUINN AND THE GOTHAM GIRLS TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190545

HAWKEYE FREE FALL #3 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190897

HAWKMAN #21 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190471

IMMORTAL HULK #31 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190900

IRON MAN 2020 #2 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190816

JESSICA JONES BLIND SPOT #3 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190835

LADY MECHANIKA SANGRE #5 (OF 5) MAIN & MIX VAR CVRS https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/SEP191566

MARVEL ACTION AVENGERS TP BOOK 03 THE FEAR EATERS https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190738

MARVEL TALES WOLVERINE #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190768

MARVELS X #2 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190891

MOONSHINE #16 (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190178

MORBIUS #4 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190882

NEBULA #1 (OF 5) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190811

RAT QUEENS TP VOL 07 ONCE & FUTURE KING https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190116

REAVER TP VOL 01 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190062

RONIN ISLAND #10 CVR A MILONOGIANNIS https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC191249

RWBY #5 (OF 7) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190500

SHE-RA GN VOL 01 LEGEND OF FIRE PRINCESS https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC191729

SPACE BANDITS TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190064

SPIRITS GHOST RIDER MOTHER OF DEMONS #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190913

STAR TREK PICARD #2 (OF 3) 2ND PTG https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV198050

STAR TREK YEAR FIVE VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL JONES https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190648

STAR WARS DOCTOR APHRA TP VOL 07 ROGUES END https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190978

STAR WARS RISE KYLO REN #2 (OF 4) 2ND PTG SLINEY VAR https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV198822

STAR WARS RISE KYLO REN #3 (OF 4) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190971

STAR WARS TARGET VADER TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/OCT191128

SUPERMAN HEROES #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190417

SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN ALIEN REALITY #3 (OF 5) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190857

TALES FROM HARROW COUNTY DEATHS CHOIR #3 (OF 4) CVR A FRANQU https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190279

THOR #3 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190804

TRANSFORMERS 100 PAGE GIANT POWER PREDACONS (C: 1-0-0) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190605

TRANSFORMERS VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL (C: 1-0-0) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190656

TRUE BELIEVERS IRON MAN 2020 ALBERT & ELSIE-DEE #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190823

TRUE BELIEVERS IRON MAN 2020 ARNO STARK #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190822

VENOM #23 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190852

WOLVERINE BY CLAREMONT & MILLER #1 FACSIMILE EDITION https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190765

WONDER WOMAN #751 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190518

X-FORCE #7 DX https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190790

X-MEN #6 DX https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/NOV190812

YEAR OF THE RABBIT GN https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/OCT191825

ZATANNA AND THE HOUSE OF SECRETS TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/OCT190494

 Latest Comics web page - https://mark1.vendecommerce.com/collections/latest-comics - this page will be updated on new comic Thursday once the shipment arrives.. (currently showing comics received last week).   

 Monthly Preorder Forms

February 2020  https://blog.mk1.co.nz/FEB%202020

March 2020 https://blog.mk1.co.nz/march2020 (highlights post for March is here 

Next Week's Quick Picks - due 20th Feb 2020  

WOLVERINE #1 DX https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190753

MARVELS VOICES #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190832

2020 MACHINE MAN #1 (OF 2) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190826

ON THE STUMP #1  (IMAGE COMICS) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190065

PLUNGE #1 (OF 6) (MR) (HILL HOUSE COMICS) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190430

DCEASED UNKILLABLES #1 (OF 3) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190413

HELLBOY & BPRD RETURN OF EFFIE KOLB #1 (OF 2) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC190217

CRITICAL ROLE VOX MACHINA ORIGINS SERIES II #5 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/OCT190324

Full Schedule for 13th of Feb shipment is here    https://www.previewsworld.com/Article/239865-PREVIEWSworlds-New-Releases-For-2192020

CC Blogger - New Arrivals @ Collectors Corner : Wednesday 2/5/2020 Complete list of items shipping to the stores, some items may be limited in availability. If you see anything you want to purchase on the list and are not a subscription member at Collectors Corner, just contact us and let us know if you want an item held at the stores. email - [email protected] Subscription Membership & Free Membership Card : Collectors Corner's No Obligation (FREE) Membership Card or FREE (In Store) & ONLINE Subscription Membership saves you 10% Off ALL Bagged & Boarded Comic Book Back Issues, Board Games, Graphic Novels, Manga & Special Orders. Plus Never miss a comic again! Computerized and organized + you can add and cancel titles on your subscription list from home on your own time, or in the store when you pick up your comics at : Maryland's Coolest Stores! Since 2001. 3 Convenient Locations - CC PARKVILLE HQ 7911 Harford Rd Parkville, MD 21234 CC BALTIMORE - OUTPOST 403 North Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21201 CC BEL AIR - OUTPOST 17 N. Main St. Bel Air, MD 21014 www.collectorscornermd.com BOOM! STUDIOS Black Badge Volume 3 HC, $29.99 Buffy The Vampire Slayer #12 (Cover A Marc Aspinall), $3.99 Buffy The Vampire Slayer #12 (Cover B Kevin Wada Spotlight Variant), $3.99 Buffy The Vampire Slayer #12 (Cover C Vanesa R. Del Rey Hellmouth Connecting Variant), $3.99 Buffy The Vampire Slayer #12 (Cover D Ryan Inzana), $3.99 Buffy The Vampire Slayer #12 (Cover E Joe Quinones), AR Buffy The Vampire Slayer #12 (Cover F Miguel Mercado Kendra Variant), AR Giant Days Volume 12 TP, $14.99 Magicians #4 (Of 5)(Cover A Qistina Khalidah), $3.99 Magicians #4 (Of 5)(Cover B Alexa Sharpe), $3.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (Of 5)(Dan Mora 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $4.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (Of 5)(Goni Montes Green Helmet 2nd Printing Variant Cover), AR Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (Of 5)(Goni Montes Red Helmet 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $4.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 (Of 5)(Goni Montes 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Dan Mora), $3.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Goni Montes Leonardo Blue Helmet Variant), $3.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover C Goni Montes Raphael Blue Helmet Variant), $3.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover D Goni Montes Michelangelo Blue Helmet Variant), $3.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover E Goni Montes Donatello Blue Helmet Variant), $3.99 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover F Goni Montes), AR Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover G Lee Garbett), AR Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover H Lee Garbett Black & White Variant), AR Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 (Of 5)(Cover I Goni Montes Goni Montes One Per Store Variant), AR DARK HORSE COMICS Butcher Of Paris #3 (Of 5), $3.99 Crone #4 (Of 5), $3.99 Disney Frozen Adventures Snowy Stories TP, $10.99 Disney PIXAR The Incredibles 2 Slow Burn #1 (Of 3)(Cover A Jean-Claudio Vinci), $3.99 Disney PIXAR The Incredibles 2 Slow Burn #1 (Of 3)(Cover B Kawaii Creative Studios), $3.99 EC Archives Psychoanalysis HC, $39.99 Kill Whitey Donovan #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Jason Pearson), $3.99 Kill Whitey Donovan #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Natalie Barahona), $3.99 Legend Of Korra Ruins Of The Empire Part Three TP, $10.99 Orville Season 1.5 Volume 1 New Beginnings TP, $19.99 Plants Vs Zombies Volume 15 Better Homes And Guardens HC, $9.99 Predator Hunters III #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Brian Thies), $3.99 Predator Hunters III #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Andy Brase Glow In The Dark Variant), $4.99 DC COMICS Batman #88 (Cover A Tony S. Daniel), $3.99 Batman #88 (Cover B Francesco Mattina Card Stock Variant), AR Batman Arkham Viktor Zsasz TP, $19.99 Batman Giant #3, $4.99 Batman Tales Once Upon A Crime TP, $9.99 Books Of Magic Volume 2 Second Quarto TP, $16.99 Daphne Byrne #2 (Of 6)(Cover A Piotr Jablonski), $3.99 Daphne Byrne #2 (Of 6)(Cover B Dan Quintana), AR DC Crimes Of Passion #1, $9.99 Dollar Comics Batman #386, $1.00 Dollar Comics Batman Shadow Of The Bat #1, $1.00 Dreaming #18, $3.99 Flash Volume 11 The Greatest Trick Of All HC, $24.99 gen:LOCK #4 (Of 7), $3.99 Green Arrow Volume 8 The End Of The Road TP, $19.99 Green Lantern #1 (Facsimile Edition), $3.99 Harleen HC, $29.99 Harley Quinn #70 (Cover A Guillem March), $3.99 Harley Quinn #70 (Cover B Frank Cho), AR Harley Quinn Red White And Black By Joshua Middleton Statue, $90.00 High Level TP, $16.99 Joker Harley Criminal Sanity #3 (Of 9)(Cover A Francesco Mattina), $5.99 Joker Harley Criminal Sanity #3 (Of 9)(Cover B Mico Suayan), AR Justice League #40 (Cover A Bryan Hitch), $3.99 Justice League #40 (Cover B Arthur Adams Card Stock Variant), AR Justice League Odyssey #18 (Cover A Jose Ladronn), $3.99 Justice League Odyssey #18 (Cover B Skan), AR Justice League Of America The Wedding Of The Atom And Jean Loring HC, $69.99 Lois Lane #8 (Of 12)(Cover A Mike Perkins), $3.99 Lois Lane #8 (Of 12)(Cover B Kamome Shirahama), AR Martian Manhunter #12 (Of 12)(Cover A Riley Rossmo), $3.99 Martian Manhunter #12 (Of 12)(Cover B Joshua Middleton), AR Young Justice #13 (Cover A John Timms), $3.99 Young Justice #13 (Cover B Mike Grell), $3.99 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT Red Sonja #13 (Cover A Jae Lee), $3.99 Red Sonja #13 (Cover B Joseph Michael Linsner), $3.99 Red Sonja #13 (Cover C Bob Q), $3.99 Red Sonja #13 (Cover D Marc Laming), $3.99 Red Sonja #13 (Cover E Katy DeCobray Cosplay Variant), $3.99 Red Sonja #13 (Cover F Sanya Anwar Valentine Variant), $3.99 Red Sonja #13 (Cover G Roberto Castro Bonus Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover H Andrew Pepoy Seduction Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover I Roberto Castro Virgin Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover J Katy DeCobray Cosplay Virgin Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover K Jae Lee Black & White Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover L Jae Lee Tint Virgin Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover M Joseph Michael Linsner Tint Virgin Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover N Joseph Michael Linsner Black & White Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover O Jae Lee Alternate Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover P Jae Lee Alternate Virgin Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover Q Bob Q Virgin Variant), AR Red Sonja #13 (Cover R Andrew Pepoy Seduction Black & White Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover A Lucio Parillo), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover B Ben Oliver), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover C Buzz), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover D Ali Chappel Cosplay Variant), $3.99 Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover E Roberto Castro Bonus Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover F Ben Oliver Tint Virgin Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover G Buzz Virgin Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover H Lucio Parillo Black & White Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover I Stephen Segovia Black & White Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover J Ali Chappel Cosplay Virgin Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover K Ben Oliver Black & White Virgin Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover L Lucio Parillo Black & White Virgin Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover M Ben Oliver Black & White Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover N Ben Oliver Tinted Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover O David Mack Icon Variant), AR Vengeance Of Vampirella #5 (Cover P Billy Tucci Icon Variant), AR IDW PUBLISHING Disney Comics And Stories #10 (Cover A Daniela Vetro), $5.99 G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #270 (Cover A Robert Atkins), $3.99 G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #270 (Cover B Jamie Sullivan), $3.99 G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #270 (Cover C John Royle & Jagdish Kumar), AR GLOW Vs The Babyface #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Veronica Fish), $3.99 GLOW Vs The Babyface #4 (Of 4)(Cover B Nicole Goux), $3.99 GLOW Vs The Babyface #4 (Of 4)(Cover C Christine Nodet), AR My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Volume 18 TP, $17.99 Napoleon Dynamite #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Sara Richard), $3.99 Napoleon Dynamite #4 (Of 4)(Cover B Jeffrey Veregge), $3.99 Napoleon Dynamite #4 (Of 4)(Cover C Jorge Monlongo), AR Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 3 Sound Off TP, $9.99 Star Trek Year Five Volume 1 Odyssey's End TP, $19.99 Usagi Yojimbo #8 (Cover A Stan Sakai), $3.99 Why Did We Trust Him TP, $14.99 IMAGE COMICS After Realm Quarterly #1, $5.99 Birthright #41, $3.99 Copra #5, $3.99 Crowded #11 (Cover A Ro Stein/Ted Brandt/Triona Farrell), $3.99 Crowded #11 (Cover B Zoe Thorogood), $3.99 Die Volume 2 Split The Party TP, $16.99 Gideon Falls #21 (Cover A Andrea Sorrentino), $3.99 Gideon Falls #21 (Cover B Michael Walsh), $3.99 Isola #10 (Cover A Karl Kerschl), $3.99 Isola #10 (Cover B Becky Cloonan), $3.99 Manifest Destiny #41, $3.99 Marked #4 (Cover A Brian Haberlin & Geirrod Van Dyke), $3.99 Marked #4 (Cover B Brian Haberlin & Geirrod Van Dyke), $3.99 Nomen Omen #5 (Of 15)(Cover A Jacopo Camagni), $3.99 Nomen Omen #5 (Of 15)(Cover B Mahmud A. Asrar), $3.99 Nomen Omen #5 (Of 15)(Cover C Marco B. Bucci), $3.99 MARVEL COMICS Adventures Of X-Men Tooth And Claw TP, $9.99 Agents Of Atlas Pandemonium TP, $15.99 Ant-Man #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Eduard Petrovich), $3.99 Ant-Man #1 (Of 5)(Cover B Marcos Martin), AR Ant-Man #1 (Of 5)(Cover C John Tyler Christopher), AR Ant-Man #1 (Of 5)(Cover D Herb Trimpe Remastered Variant), AR Avengers #28 (Ed McGuinness 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Black Cat #9 (Cover A J. Scott Campbell), $3.99 Black Cat #9 (Cover B Carlos E. Gomez Gwen Stacy Variant), AR Black Panther Postcard Book HC, $19.99 Captain America The End #1 (Cover A Rahzzah), $4.99 Captain America The End #1 (Cover B Erik Larsen), AR Conan Battle For The Serpent Crown #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Mahmud A. Asrar), $3.99 Conan Battle For The Serpent Crown #1 (Of 5)(Cover B Luke Ross), AR Conan Battle For The Serpent Crown #1 (Of 5)(Cover C Tony Daniel), AR Conan Battle For The Serpent Crown #1 (Of 5)(Cover D John Buscema Hidden Gem Variant), AR Daredevil #17, $3.99 Dark Agnes #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Stephanie Hans), $3.99 Dark Agnes #1 (Of 5)(Cover B Becky Cloonan), AR Dark Agnes #1 (Of 5)(Cover C Alan Davis), AR Doctor Doom #5 (Cover A Tomm Coker), $3.99 Doctor Doom #5 (Cover B Belen Ortega Gwen Stacy Variant), AR Excalibur #4 (Mahmud A. Asrar 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Ghost-Spider Volume 1 Dog Days Are Over TP, $15.99 Hawkeye Freefall #1 (Otto Schmidt 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Immortal Hulk Great Power #1 (Cover A Jorge Molina), $4.99 Immortal Hulk Great Power #1 (Cover B Max Fiumara), AR Magnificent Ms. Marvel #12, $3.99 Marauders #5 (Russell Dauterman 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Marauders #7, $3.99 Marvel's Avengers Hulk #1 (Cover A Stonehouse), $3.99 Marvel's Avengers Hulk #1 (Cover B Ron Lim), AR Marvel's Avengers Hulk #1 (Cover C Pyeong Jun Park), AR Miles Morales Spider-Man #15 (Cover A Javi Garron), $3.99 Miles Morales Spider-Man #15 (Cover B Nick Bradshaw Gwen Stacy Variant), AR Old Man Quill Volume 2 Go Your Own Way TP, $17.99 Punisher Epic Collection Volume 5 Jigsaw Puzzle TP, $39.99 Savage Avengers #0 (Cover A Greg Smallwood), $4.99 Savage Avengers #0 (Cover B Philip Tan), AR Spider-Ham #1 (Of 5)(Will Robson 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Spider-Man And Venom Double Trouble #4 (Of 4), $3.99 Spider-Verse #5 (Of 6), $3.99 Star Wars Age Of Republic HC, $34.99 Star Wars Darth Vader #1 (Cover A In-Hyuk Lee), $4.99 Star Wars Darth Vader #1 (Cover B Raffaele Ienco), AR Star Wars Darth Vader #1 (Cover C Tony Daniel), AR Star Wars Darth Vader #1 (Cover D Michael Del Mundo), AR Star Wars Darth Vader #1 (Cover E Chris Sprouse Empire Strikes Back Variant), AR Star Wars Darth Vader #1 (Cover F Movie Variant), AR Strikeforce #6, $3.99 Sword Master #8, $3.99 Sword Master Volume 1 War Of The Ancients TP, $17.99 True Believers Iron Man 2020 Pepper Potts #1, $1.00 Venom #21 (Clayton Crain 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Venom By Donny Cates Volume 3 Absolute Carnage TP, $15.99 X-Men Fantastic Four #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Terry Dodson), $4.99 X-Men Fantastic Four #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Mark Brooks), AR X-Men Fantastic Four #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Javier Garron), AR X-Men Fantastic Four #1 (Of 4)(Cover D Chris Eliopoulos), AR X-Men Fantastic Four #1 (Of 4)(Cover E Meghan Hetrick Flower Variant), AR X-Men Fantastic Four #1 (Of 4)(Cover F TBD Hidden Gem Variant), AR X-Men Vs Apocalypse The Twelve Omnibus HC, $125.00 Yondu #5 (Of 5), $3.99 ONI PRESS Agretsuko #1 (Cover A CJ Cannon), $3.99 Agretsuko #1 (Cover B Troy Little), $3.99 Backtrack #1, $3.99 Kaijumax Season Five #2, $3.99 PS ARTBOOKS Pre-Code Classics Strange Suspense Stories Volume 3 HC, $45.99 Pre-Code Classics Strange Suspense Stories Volume 3 HC (Slipcase Edition), $55.99 Silver Age Classics Space Adventures Volume 2 HC, $45.99 Silver Age Classics Space Adventures Volume 2 HC (Slipcase Edition), $55.99 SCOUT COMICS Electric Black #4 (Cover A Rich Woodall), $3.99 Electric Black #4 (Cover B Rich Woodall Neon Variant), $6.99 Stabbity Bunny #9 (Cover A Dwayne Biddix), $3.99 Stabbity Bunny #9 (Cover B Dwayne Biddix), $3.99 Tart #1 (Nonstop Edition), $3.99 Wretches #3, $3.99 TITAN COMICS Adler #1 (Cover A Butch Guice), $3.99 Adler #1 (Cover B Paul McCaffrey), $3.99 Adler #1 (Cover C Victorian Homage Variant), $3.99 Adler #1 (Cover D Butch Guice Black & White Variant), $3.99 Bloodborne Volume 4 The Veil Torn Asunder TP, $16.99 Rivers Of London The Fey And The Furious #4 (Cover A Lenka Simeckova), $3.99 Shades Of Magic The Steel Prince And The Rebel Army #3 (Of 4)(Cover A Claudia Caranfa), $3.99 Sherlock A Scandal In Belgravia #3 (Cover A Alice X. Zhang), $4.99 Sherlock A Scandal In Belgravia #3 (Cover B Photo), $4.99 Sherlock A Scandal In Belgravia #3 (Cover C Jay), $4.99 Star Wars Insider #195 (Newsstand Edition), $9.99 Star Wars Insider #195 (Previews Exclusive Edition), $9.99 VAULT COMICS Money Shot #1 (Rebekah Isaacs 3rd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Money Shot #2 (Rebekah Isaacs 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Money Shot #3 (Rebekah Isaacs 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Money Shot #4, $3.99 VIZ MEDIA Ao Haru Ride Volume 9 GN (not verified by Diamond), $9.99 Blue Exorcist Volume 23 GN (not verified by Diamond), $9.99 Food Wars Shokugeki no Soma Volume 34 GN (not verified by Diamond), $9.99 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4 Diamond Is Unbreakable Volume 4 HC (not verified by Diamond), $19.99 Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 2 GN, $9.99 My Hero Academia Volume 23 GN, $9.99 My Hero Academia Smash Volume 3 GN, $9.99 Seraph Of The End Vampire Reign Volume 18 GN, $9.99 Shortcake Cake Volume 7 GN, $9.99 Takane And Hana Volume 13 GN, $9.99 Twin Star Exorcists Onmyoji Volume 17 GN, $9.99 We Never Learn Volume 8 GN, $9.99 Yona Of The Dawn Volume 22 GN, $9.99 ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT Red Agent Island Of Dr. Moreau #2 (Of 5)(Cover A Martin Coccolo), $3.99 Red Agent Island Of Dr. Moreau #2 (Of 5)(Cover B Igor Vitorino), $3.99 Red Agent Island Of Dr. Moreau #2 (Of 5)(Cover C Derlis Santacruz), $3.99 Red Agent Island Of Dr. Moreau #2 (Of 5)(Cover D Sheldon Goh), $3.99 Unbound #4 (Of 5)(Cover A Igor Vitorino), $3.99 Unbound #4 (Of 5)(Cover B Leonardo Colapietro), $3.99 Unbound #4 (Of 5)(Cover C Michael Dipascale), $3.99

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

[Part 2]

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

First of all, what is it about?

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

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

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

Do I recommend this comic issue?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, are you ready? Let's go!

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

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

NO.

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

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

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

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

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

Just a moment to appreciate sleeping Jim. Cute.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, okay, wait a minute.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Part 2!

WE’RE BACK!

Not that we ever left you.  That goes against our Code, the special, tireless dedication of us Mods to think up new and exciting ways to bring more McSpirk appreciation to the Star Trek fandom.  After the new year, we came together to reflect upon Fests of years past and also to plan for 2018.  The format of this challenge appears to be working well (can you believe we’re into our third year?!), but we are never opposed to changing up the status quo.

What’s New for the 2018 Fest

1. More fill types!  Though this challenge generally has an amazing number of contributions each year, we were a little sad to note a downward trend in artist participation.  To help encourage a rebound, we have expanded our fill set to include Fanvids, Moodboards, and Icon Sets.  In doing so we hope to delight prompters, creators, and followers alike by offering more varied content.

2. A new kind of challenge.  Oh yes, you read that correctly.  We feel we have exhausted the theme of Parents’ Day, and so Round Two will be... we don’t know yet!  But we can tell you it will not be what you’re used to.  We’re toying with ideas such as writer-artist pairings.  Stay tuned following Round One to learn more.

3. Round Three: McSpirk Day will be centered around Favorite Tropes.  We all have at least one!  Instead of scouring the archives for content to satisfy your trope craving, you’ll have the opportunity to have it filled here.  

4. Minimum requirements for fills.  They are, in no particular order:  -Fanfic, at least 1000 words -Fanart, at least 1 400x400 image -Fanmix, at least 5 songs and a cover image -Fanvid, at least 00:01:00 runtime -Moodboard, at least a 3x2 panel -Icon Set, at least 6 icons.

5. Mid-round Check-ins for Creators.  About 10-14 days after prompt assignments, we will message each Creator to see how things are going.  As circumstances often change without warning, this is the Creator’s opportunity to re-evaluate their commitment to submit their assigned fill.  Don’t doubt that we want maximum participation, but we also know how cruel Real Life can be.

What Is Not Changing

1. Rounds One, Three, Four, and Five will keep the same format.

2. Creators will still be required to sign up for each Round.

3. Unfilled Prompts will continue to be available as a bonus challenge between Rounds.

4. Creator Highlights will continue between Rounds, celebrating Creators who contribute routinely to this challenge.

5. Get to Know Your Mod isn’t done yet either!  Did you think you knew all there was to the Team behind the fest?  We have plenty more share with our followers, like our favorite headcanons.

6. As always, we want everyone to have fun!

The Final Announcement & Schedule

McSpirk Holiday Fest Team is looking to expand.  We will open up the application process for a new mod very soon.  If you love McSpirk and want to help out with this challenge, we very much appreciate and welcome your interest.

Schedule (specific dates are here)

Round One - Valentine’s Day (mid-Jan to mid-Feb) Round Two - To Be Announced (mid-May to mid-June) Round Three - Favorite Tropes (late-July to mid-Aug) Round Four - Halloween (month of October) Round Five - Winter Holidays (late-Nov to late-Dec)

If you made it this far down the post, thank you for supporting this blog.  And boost the signal if you can!

We look forward to another year of being part of the McSpirk fan community.

Your McSpirk Holiday Fest Team, KLMeri, Starfleetdicks, Movingplant, & Urbanspaceman

Star Trek: Year Five - Valentine's Day Special (IDW, 2020)

"Captains of Sea and War" - James T. Kirk tem tido muitas amantes durante sua missão entre as estrelas, mas desta vez ele pode ter encontrado seu par perfeito na capitã da Frota Estelar Laura Rhone. Esta edição especial de Paul Cornell (texto) e Christopher Jones (arte) levam o capitão Kirk onde ele jamais esteve.

Nunca espero muito destes one shots, mas este em particular me surpreendeu. Não é uma história primorosa, mas é até bem construída e seria um bom episódio da Série Clássica. É interessante ver Kirk, um eterno conquistador, do outro lado da equação. Paro por aqui para evitar spoilers. ★★★

Wednesday Wait Loss 148

Welcome to Wednesday Wait Loss. Please share what you’ve been working on!

First let me tell you what I've been up to

Mostly I’ve been enjoying the holiday and I hope you have too!

I had a big pattern sale in honor of Black Friday/Cyber Monday and I hope you took advantage of it!

Yesterday I recapped my November goals and listed my goals for December. It’s a long list as usual, and it includes the task of finishing up my daughter’s Star Trek quilt among other things. Jump over to my post and leave an encouraging comment if you like.

If you follow me on social media, then you know that yesterday I also announced my 24 Gifts of Christmas! Yep, I’ve corralled some great gift-making tutorials for you and I’ll be featuring the first 8 of them this Saturday. If you plan on making your gifts this year, be sure to drop by on Saturday to see my first set of suggestions.

Well that was my week!

Now let's see who made this week's feature

Last week I asked for Winter Holiday quilts (holidays from now until the end of March). Let’s look at those projects. Karen @ Quilts Etc. shared this sweet Santa embroidery.

Kathryn L shared her favorite Christmas quilt and it’s lovely! A lot of work went into this one. Thanks for sharing it Kathryn!

Gail @ Quilting Gail shared these fabrics, which were used to make a secret Christmas quilt for someone special. She can’t share the quilt just yet, but I hope she will share it with us soon.

Finally, Vicki @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting shared this lovely Valentine table runner. Valentine’s Day may not be cold where you live but it certainly is here. This runner though would warm anyone’s heart.

There were other link ups that although not holiday related, were still very special. Let me share those too.

First, Donnalee @ Donna Lee Q shared Dandelion Wishes, a UFO from April 2008 that is almost finished! Congratulations Donnalee for taking up an old UFO and turning it into a finish (well, very nearly finished).

Frederique @ Quilting Patchwork Applique also shared a long standing UFO, her Vega quilt, which she started 9 years ago! Frederique used spiral quilting to finish it. So lovely! Congratulations Frederique for finishing that old UFO. Happy dance!

Turid @ Den Syende Himmel loves to share cute little pin cushions she makes from scraps. Each one is wonderful, including this one which she made from selvages. I simply love it! I like the idea of saving special selvages and using them, but not in a quilt. That’s just too many tiny strips for me although I love the look. So maybe a pin cushion like this is in my future!

I know I’m sharing a lot this time but I simply couldn’t miss sharing the purse Celine @ Esprit Patch made! Oh my goodness it is gorgeous. And it’s a long UFO she has finally finished. Wow wow is all I can say. That and please make me one? <grin>

Congratulations ladies! Thanks especially to those of you who shared holiday quilts and projects.

Here's an I Was Featured badge for your blogs or to simply print out and wear with pride! Thank you for supporting my blog!

Time to link up!

Now it’s your turn to link up your works in progress and recently completed quilts! Here are some quick reminders about the linky party:

By linking up, you give me permission to grab a photo or two to share here on Wednesday Wait Loss.

This linky is all about encouragement, so please visit a few of the links and leave a comment.

If you’re uploading a photo from your phone/computer, leave a comment below that explains your project. And for the rest of us, please reply to a few of these comments leaving words of encouragement for a quick finish.

Please link back to my post somewhere in your blog post or use @inquiringquilter and #wedwaitloss to tag me in your Instagram/Flickr post.

If you link a photo from Facebook, please mention @InquiringQuilter and my Wednesday Wait Loss.

I’m not sure how to link up!

Need help? Click the Wednesday Wait Loss tab above to get step by step instructions on what to do. You can link up a blog post, a photo from Flickr, Instagram, or Facebook, or a photo direct from your cell phone provided it is low resolution.

If you are linking up from your phone or computer and not a blog post, you may be asked to leave a website address. If that happens, here are a few you can use.

example.com error.com fake.com

Don’t be frustrated! If you can’t get linked up even after reading the instructions on my Wednesday Wait Loss tab, simply send me your images via email and I’ll add them manually.

So who won the giveaway?

For the giveaway, you got two chances if you linked up a holiday quilt and one chance if you linked up any other quilt project. I assigned a number to each entry and then let Random.org do it’s thing. Up for grabs was a Bluebird Gathering panel from Benartex.

Congratulations Kathryn! I’ve emailed you and as soon as you let me know your postal address I’ll send you your prize.

The celebration continues this week with the final giveaway! Up for grabs are these five fat quarters from the Heaven Sent collection for Kanvas.

Link up a Winter holiday quilt—Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, New Years, Winter Solstice, or any holiday that occurs from now through the end of Winter (March 19th) and get two chances to win. Link up any other quilt project for once chance.

Disclaimer: No purchase necessary to win. Giveaway is open to legal residents in the contiguous US only that are 18+ years of age. Giveaway starts at 7:00 AM EST November 20th and ends at 11:59 PM EST on December 10th. One winner will be chosen each of the three weeks and will receive one of the three prizes. Odds of winning determined by number of eligible entries received. How to enter: Link up a photo of a quilty project to the linky below. Winner will be chosen by random.org on November 27th, December 4th, and December 11th, 2019 from all eligible entries and notified by email. If winner can not be reached via email or prize is unclaimed after three days, a new winner will be chosen by random.org. Winner is responsible for paying any taxes related to the prize. By entering this giveaway, you release Inquiring Quilter from any liability whatsoever. Void where prohibited by law.

When you link up, be sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if you win!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking to several fun quilty linky parties.

you might also like

Tell me..what have you been Working on this week?

Preview: Star Trek: Year Five Valentine's Day Special

Star Trek: Year Five Valentine's Day Special preview. James T. Kirk has had many loves during his mission among the stars, but this time he may have met his match in fellow Starfleet Captain Laura Rhone. #comics #comicbooks #StarTrek

Star Trek: Year Five Valentine’s Day Special

Paul Cornell (A/CA) Christopher Jones In Shops: Feb 12, 2020 SRP: $3.99

James T. Kirk has had many loves during his mission among the stars, but this time he may have met his match in fellow Starfleet Captain Laura Rhone. This special story by award-winning writer of prose, comics, and television Paul Cornell (Doctor Who) takes Captain Kirk to…

View On WordPress

Gifts for Lovers in the Death Throes of The American Republic

 Share a final candle-flicker of joy before the annihilation begins

Barry White: All-Time Greatest Hits / $4: Want to set the mood? Here's the soundtrack your evening needs. — Jason

Such romance. Much feelings. / $5: A Very Doge Valentine Card — Jason

Star Trek: The Original Series Adult Coloring Book / $10: If you are home alone, chances are you'll enjoy this TOS coloring book. — Jason

BookBook laptop covers / $80: Show your loved one that you love them, but don't want to look at their ugly laptop. One of the best looking and feeling laptop covers, BookBook protects your device from a drop. It looks enough like a book you may be able to keep your laptop in the seatback when traveling by air. — Jason

Key Knife / $12: A blade cleverly hidden in a key-shaped handle, which many report having successfully taken through TSA checkpoints — Cory

Unfuck Your Habitat / $13: Unfucker-in-chief Rachel Hoffman has distilled the Unfuck-your-habitat philosophy into a brilliant, breezy book — Cory

Latex Skull Bag / $75: Also available in black and pink, this glow-in-the-dark molded memento mori handbag features a spooky lining and an inside pocket — Cory

Giant Testes Door Knocker / $200: Are you meeting a romantic partner's family for the first time this Christmas and at a loss for a gift idea that will impress them with your suitability as a potential addition to the clan? Look no farther. — Cory

Defenders Mushroom Extract Blend / $35: Say it with shrooms! This is a high-quality Asian medicinal mushroom extract tonic, an exotic blend with purported adaptogenic properties. It may brighten up your brain and help you cope with stress. Chaga, Reishi, Shiitake, Maitake and Turkey Tail. — Xeni

Barefoot Dreams Bamboo wrap / $90: A soft and cozy feminine gift that looks amazing. Depending on the season, usually these are in the $80-$100 range on Amazon . With proper care, they stay fuzzy and fresh for a long time. — Xeni

Jasmine Absolute Essential Oil / $55: An uplifting, hopeful, and romantic scent. Beautiful as a pick me up, or an aphrodisiac. — Xeni

Crystal Ball / $13: Your loved one might need this to see into the future of our country. You may want to buy one for yourself. — Xeni

Lotte Lenya Sings Berlin Theatre Songs / $7: The great bittersweet voice songs of romance, hope, hedonism, and a reminder that life and love endure, even when dark clouds fill our skies — Xeni

Personalized End Grain Chopping Block / $190: This personally engraved chopping block is to die for! As you shall, in the brutal civil war portended by the election of Donald Trump. — Rob

Silver heart pill container pendant / $100: Compartment will fit 6 small antipsychotic pills comfortably.

The Womanizer: comes with a "100% orgasm guarantee": It's not a vibrator. It's a gadget that suckles the clitoris. Vanessa Marin, a licensed psychotherapist specializing in sex therapy, said it "induces powerful orgasms in a shockingly short amount of time." — Mark

Square, lightweight plastic flask from Stanley / $15: Sturdy, multicolored flasks that go around the world with you, perfect for a sneaky V-day cocktail with your sweetie (Previously) — Cory

Laser-cut birchwood landscape rings / $24: Beautiful landscape rings to mix and match from Britain—there are houses, trees and mountains (there's also an acrylic tsunami). Read more — Cory

Sex and Drugs: A Journey Beyond Limits / $25: A classic book of blissed-out altered consciousness by Boing Boing patron saint Robert Anton Wilson. — Mark

Flashing LED Heart Kit / $10: Solder up a special something for your loved one or, better yet, have a romantic maker date and do it yourselves. Ah, love just makes everything glow. — David

Diamond-Accent Pendant Necklace / $80: For those who just need to get the Valentine's Day situation dealt with immediately — Rob

Anatomical Heart Necklace / $48: Designed by Lost Apostle, the heart is white bronze, approximately 3/4" tap, and comes on a gunmetal chain. Also available as a ring! — David

Belgian Darts Set / $120: End grain basswood board, scoring rings separated by hydraulically inserted brass, and polished steel-tipped darts with birch wood barrels and shafts.— Rob

Pilot Vanishing Point retractible nib fountain pen / $140: I love my unique, never leaking Pilot/Namiki Vanishing Point. I have carried it for years and the pen writes as beautifully today as when I bought it. Read More — Jason

Full Body Spandex Lycra Suit / $40: Enjoy a close encounter of the 4th kind with your loved one!

Kawaii Heart Stickers / $5: Five bucks a sheet

Moleskine, Large / $16: For writing romantic slashfic

https://boingboing.net/2017/02/07/gifts-for-lovers-in-the-death.html