#vulcans in general are just cool man
Note
Hello stranger, I saw you asking about gen v supe names so I come bearing offerings:
For Marie, the best I've heard so far is Heartstring (which I think would work especially well if we're imagining vought's influence, and trying to push Marie as the new Starlight) I also like Heartstopper and Queen of Hearts, but I think those lean more towards villain names
For Emma, she could keep Cricket, but I like the idea of her picking something to do with her giant form, so: Giantess, or Colossa, or Titania
For Jordan, (now realistically vought would chew them up and give them the most cliche, cringy name possible, but ignoring that) my personal favorite is Pulse or Pulsar.
For Cate, I've seen Push as a good option, but I also like Siren, Whisper, or Piper (as in like the pied piper)
For Andre, I hate to say it but I think he'd just take up Polaris. Though I also think Magneta, (I know it sounds like magneto but TB universe doesn't know that) or Steel would work, I could also see Vulcan (the Roman god of metal) being cool but that might be too niche. (Metallo would be my first choice but it's been used sadly)
For Sam, tbh Sam's powers are pretty stock, so he could probably pick anything he wants. I could see him taking up something that follows the same format as his brother, so: _____ boy (ironically the first choice that I think would come to Sam's mind is superboy, but that is of course off limits, though personally, I'd find it hilarious) maybe Ultra Boy or Power Boy, or the Strong Man (who am I kidding these are all terrible, I've got nothing for Sam... Super Sam?)
Really though when you look at naming conventions (both in the boys and in superhero tradition overall) a lot of heroes' names don't have a ton to do with their powers and are either: highly generic (Superman, Mr. Fantastic, Captain Marvel, Wondee Woman etc) or have to do with a gimic that isn't necessarily related to their powers, so there's actually quite a bit of wiggle room, to just pick whatever sounds good.
Omggg these are great, I wanted to write an au set in the near future, where the cast had their superhero names so thank you for this if you would kindly allow me to steal these names for that purpose 👀👀
Heartstring is so good, it fits Marie so perfectly I gasped because yes exactly. I was thinking Emma should have a name change to kind of symbolise her regaining her autonomy from her mother with how she was forced to portray herself, I'm feeling Titania tbh. I really really like Pulse for Jordan simple effective love love love. Siren for Cate is insane cause not only does it encompass the nature of her powers but it also speaks to how she's used them, how she's lulled her friends into a false sense of security then caused them harm (wiped their memories) like yesssssssss. Ugh this is such a good listttt. Andre I think would change his name from the one he'd inherit from his dad, I was workshopping something like Silver Bandit, Heavy Metal or Ironclad (already in marvel lmao fml) or Steel Knight to pay homage to his rebel without a cause energy. I wanted just Steele but that's already a version of superman I think, John Irons I believe holds that mantle. I think even just Ultra would work as a name for Sam. Or maybe just The Boy like how Kimiko's The Female idk.
Thank you this is so helpful!!!!!
#gen v#gen v amazon#gen v spoilers#marie moreau#jordan li#the boys#cate dunlap#andre anderson#emma meyer#sam riordan
35 notes
·
View notes
Note
tell me more abt ikyn and his bf <3 ✨️
I honestly didn't expect you guys to be this interested in my boys but I'm so happy you are!! Here's some more detailed background info on them lol
-Ikyn was raised by his mother, Zheng Huiyin, a pirate from Shanghai. She was raised on Earth, but she ended up leaving the planet at around 16 and traveling the galaxy. She'll trade or barter with basically anyone, and along the way, she ends up getting pregnant by an Andorian man she had a fling with. She was fairly determined to keep the baby, though, so she did all the necessary things to have her little hybrid, and that's how Ikyn happened! They traveled the galaxy together for most of his life, and while there were certainly a few more dangerous instances (hence his scars) he was generally kept safe. He joined Starfleet at 19 as a science officer and his specialty is astrophysics. Ikyn is a generally very charismatic, charming man; he makes friends easily and has the potential to manipulate what he wants out of people if need be. Generally, though, he is a moral person, or Chaotic Good at the least. He saw Savyn one day not talking to anyone while he ate his lunch and was just like "cool that ones mine" and they've been inseparable ever since <<3
-Savyn was raised in a very large, very traditional family on Vulcan. He is the youngest of five siblings and grew up with strict emotional control. He was fairly sheltered by his parents, who were both noble philosophers of very high rank. Their family was quite old and quite wealthy-- but Savyn wanted more out of life. After joining the Vulcan Science Academy early, graduating with a medical degree, then slipping off surprisingly unnoticed to study medicine on Earth in the UK (hence his very slight British accent when he speaks English). He joined Starfleet at 18 and is currently working his way up to being CMO. He's quiet and somewhat awkward, but he's still a very kind and highly empathetic person. He loves his bf very much <<3
Their dynamic is basically
Ikyn: Hey, he asked for no pickles.
Savyn, crying, eating his sandwhich anyways: no it's fine
Ikyn: babe you're allergic to cucumbers
Savyn, his throat actively closing: no shut up it's fine
Ikyn: how the fuck are you a licensed medical professional
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
My Spones Master Fic Rec List
A List of Spones Fics I Recommend
Just Once by StellarLibraryLady
Chapters: 1/1
Words: 1,000
Tags: Bickering, Fluff and Angst, First Kiss, beginning relationship, Friends to Lovers, Pining Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Public Display of Affection
Summary: Just once McCoy would like to get the best of Spock. Just once McCoy would like to be the winner of one of their skirmishes. But what would that take, especially since Spock can generally reduce McCoy down into an irate, sputtering mess with just a few words.
And McCoy would like to do more, much more, than just argue with Spock. But it seems like they cannot progress any further than where they are.
Showdown by StellarLibraryLady
Chapters: 1/1
Words: 1,000
Tags: Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining, First Kiss, Sexual Tension, Smug Kirk, Valentine's Day
Summary: McCoy has decided that it's showdown time between him and Spock. He wants to know just why Spock has been acting so strangely toward him.
Raining man by Spockats
Chapters: 1/1
Words: 3,877
Tags: Domestic Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Comfort
Summary: Bones misses the rain when he's up in space; Spock melds with him so he can feel it again.
Why Do Fools Fall in Love by nerdytardis
Chapters: 1/1
Words: 2,415
Tags: Alternative Universe - Human, Alternative Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Making Put, Fluffy Ending
Summary: After getting caught in the rain, Leonard is forced to confront his growing feelings for his best friend.
illumine thine eyes by sciencebluefeelings
Chapters: 4/4
Words: 20,951
Tags: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Sex Education, Pon Farr, Mind Meld, Starfleet Academy, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: When Leonard Horatio McCoy turns two, he and his father move to Vulcan, where Leonard befriends another child his age called Spock.
Show Me How to Love You by Akan_Abrun
Chapters: 18/18
Words: 40,246
Tags: Vulcan Bond, Drunk Sex, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Post Into Darkness
Summary: After a drunken night to celebrate their five year mission, Spock wakes up in Leonard McCoy's bed. Leonard remembers nothing, but Spock eventually reveals to him that an accidental bond was formed because of their shenanigans. Now, Leonard ain't no gay man flyin' into the arms of some hobgoblin- he'd make the Vulcan suffer.
Vulcans are Cool by catty_the_spy
Chapters: 1/1
Words: 886
Tags: Fluff, Kid!fic
Summary: Joanna loses her way, meets Sarek, and gets a snack.
Stars Beneath His Skin by ElloPoppet
Chapters: 3/3
Words: 6,900
Tags: Slow Burn, Tattoos, Pining, Fluff and Angst
Summary: On the white piece of paper was a smattering of small, black dots. McCoy turned the paper, in search of a pattern or alignment of some kind but not finding even a trace. The dots appeared to be drawn at random or rather, McCoy noticed as he squinted, printed. He looked up at where Spock was standing over him and returned a cocked eyebrow of his own.
“If you need help cracking some kind of code, this isn’t exactly my specialty, genius.
Rather than banter back, Spock responded immediately and smoothly. “It is not a code. That is the alignment of stars that would have been visible in the night sky from Earth should one have been standing at the coordinates where my Mother was born at the moment of the occurrence.” Silence blanketed the room, McCoy not having a goddamn clue how to respond to that. Luckily, Spock wasn’t finished.
“I wish to memorialize her with what most races would call a tattoo, and I would like your help with the matter.”
#star trek#leonard mccoy#aos#spones#spock#star trek tos#star trek aos#tos#fanfic#rec list#fanfic rec list#ao3#archive of my own
43 notes
·
View notes
Text
Top 3 Star Trek The Next Generation alien races
By Ames
Now that we’ve reminisced over our favorite minor characters and favorite villains from The Next Generation, A Star to Steer her By is rounding off our cruise on the Enterprise-D by thinking about our favorite alien races from the series. We did it before for The Original Series and found some deeply fascinating and outrageously campy aliens to highlight then, so what kind of aliens does one pick for The Next Generation? There are way more episodes to choose from and the aliens are more than just humans in a flashy jumpsuit, so let’s see them strut their stuff.
Sure, we see some of the staples that were introduced in the days of Kirk. The Klingons and Romulans both get significantly more development in culture in this slightly more modern show, and the occasional Vulcan still looks down their nose at you. But some of the best Trek races get their starts here in TNG and you’ll see those ones are going to fill our favorites lists. Check them all out below and listen to our discussion on this week’s podcast episode (discussion at 1:14:06) for all the extraterrestrial chatter. We sought out new lifeforms, and boy did we find ‘em!
[images © CBS/Paramount]
Ames – More machine now than man
Borg
Exocomps
Bynars
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a good robot any day, whether they want to kill all humans, just develop their own agency, or just open a can. TNG introduces the Borg and it’s one of the best things they ever did, with impacts across other series galore. Plus they just look rad. We also meet the cute little Exocomps who have gained their own kind of sapience and who we’ll see more of in Lower Decks, wink wink. And finally the cybernetically enhanced Bynars are just too cool a concept to pass up, especially when they turn out to be benevolent in the end! Beep boop!
—
Jake – Allow me to introduce myself
Exocomps
Tamarians
Bajorans
Jake’s three top races just want to be respected as much as anyone else; you just need to put in a little extra effort to understand them. The Exocomps are making an appearance because of just how interesting it was discussing when a creature has rights like the rest of us. Sokath! His eyes uncovered! It was also worthwhile watching Picard learn how to communicate with Tamarians like Captain Dathon. And the whole Bajoran plight starts out so interesting when we meet Ensign Ro and ascertain what it means to wear that earring.
—
Chris – Power moves
Betazoids
Q Continuum
Satarrans
You’ve got to respect a race that rolls in and just takes charge whether they’re supposed to or not. We see it in the honest-to-a-fault Betazoids who always know what’s up because they can literally read your mind. We see it, of course, in the Q Continuum, our pick for most powerful species, for whom the whole galaxy is their table to put their feet up on. And we may only get a glimpse of it from the mysterious Satarrans in “Conundrum,” but their plan to infiltrate the Enterprise crew with an undercover MacDuff nearly gets another race destroyed!
—
Caitlin – Gimme a B!
Bajorans
Betazoids
Benzites
Any ABC book about Star Trek (and I’ve bought one before) is highly unfair to all of our favorite alien species who begin with B because there are just too many good ones! At least Caitlin has three opportunities to namedrop some great B species, from the Bajorans who get started off so well developed already in The Next Gen, to the Betazoids whose empathic powers help us all to remember to look inward once in a while, to the Benzites who had some of the best makeup and breathing apparatuses we get to see in Trek!
—
That’s it for our visit to The Next Generation for now! Back to full time assignment on the Voyager, where we’re still boldly going through the Delta Quadrant over on SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also read our minds over on Facebook and Twitter, and if you meet a species beginning with a B, consider befriending them immediately! Odds are good that they’ll be cool.
#star trek#star trek podcast#podcast#Star Trek TNG#the next generation#alien races#Aliens#Q continuum#betazoids#bynars#benzites#borg#klingons#mintakans#tamarians#bajorans#crystalline entity#satarrans#exocomps
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Willow’s Peak ~ PROLOGUE
{Intended for readers 18+} Minors DNI
Content Warnings: non-con/dub-con, forced marriage, drug use, fluff, angst, smut: eventual sadism & bdsm, punishment, oral (f/m receiving), creampie kink, breeding kink, size kink, obsession, abuse, exhibitionism, innocence kink, degradation **If you don’t like, don’t read**
Summary: The four heirs of the Gaia Coven were each tasked to find their mate in the Willow’s Wood colonies and marry them in order to secure the legacy of their coven. Prue Russell was one of the four chosen for marriage, chosen by Lord Frederic, a man who seemed to hold many secrets behind his tightly closed lips. Will Prue learn to love the man she has been forced to marry or will his darkest parts scare her into the arms of another…
Masterlist
Word Count: 460
The grand mountains shed their caps of snow as the sun cast down rays of warmth, signaling the coming of Spring. The season of new beginnings and rebirth, a most appropriate season for the ceremony taking place deep in the lush forest. Thick ribbons of smoke winded through the branches of the towering trees before ascending to the skies carrying the odor of burning sage. The high priestess waves the bundle of burning sage above her head, chanting into the pit of fire in the center of the large gathering.
Everyone regarded the female elder with high reverence, each taking the position of kneeling in her presence. She sang out, “Adferte nobis felicitatem heredibus nostris…” She repeated this chant, backed by the crackling of the roaring flame.
She reared her head back, arms extending as she felt the presence of a strong power. A thunderous roar emanated from the skies, and just as everyone peered up, cool rain started to pour down upon them, reducing the fire to steam and smoke. She opened her eyes, revealing silver orbs that looked down amongst the coven. “The goddess Gaia is most pleased with the new heirs,” she declared, silver eyes blazing wide. “Rise, all of you.”
The assembly did as they were told, rising from their positions to stand before the high priestess as the ceremony commenced. The heirs of the Gaia coven stood before the exalted elder. The entire coven was gathered for a custom known as prophecy sighting- each year, one rising heir from each of the four families would be officially inducted into the coven and receive a vision from the goddess, revealing their destined mate. As decreed by coven law, only upon uniting with their mates could the heirs fully receive their inheritance.
The four families are made up of sorcerers, each family possessing power over an element of nature. The Cybele family comes first in the coven hierarchy. They are regarded as royal leaders as they are allegedly direct descendants of Gaia herself. Their gifts allow them to wield power over earth in all its forms. As rulers of multiple settlements throughout the land, the other three families were regarded as lords and ladies of the coven. The Neptunus family can control water, the Vulcan family can harness fire, and the Aurae family can wield air. With elemental magic as a formidable weapon, the coven had been conquering settlements and acquiring land for generations.
Now it is time for the new heirs to ascend to their titles and find their mates. The four stood shoulder to shoulder as follows: Prince Joseph Cybele, Lord Frederic Neptunus, Lady Megara Vulcan, and Lord Augustine Aurae. Each was set to inherit Willow’s Peak and the colonies of mere mortals below it.
#my writing#dark!fic#writers on tumblr#smutwarning#dark!romance#smut#innocence#original story#interracial romance#forbidden love#period drama#tom hiddleston#andrew garfield#aaron taylor johnson
7 notes
·
View notes
Text
I posted 21,227 times in 2022
That's 5,091 more posts than 2021!
174 posts created (1%)
21,053 posts reblogged (99%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@wabblebees
@absentlyabbie
@mandaloriandy
@theunofficiallibrarian
@aniseandspearmint
I tagged 1,803 of my posts in 2022
#pretty - 188 posts
#art - 159 posts
#star wars - 82 posts
#dc - 36 posts
#meta - 30 posts
#that's my wife - 28 posts
#star trek - 28 posts
#tags tags tags - 24 posts
#fashion - 22 posts
#anyway - 20 posts
Longest Tag: 140 characters
#play stupid games (allow the corporate surveillance state into your home) win stupid prizes (unsuable tech you made essential to your life a
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
alright all the irl people who know anything about this actually LIKE the man so this is the only place i can say it, but
harry styles gets on my nerves. the REASON he gets on my nerves is that he gives off the vibe of like—he’s like the human embodiment of being gay but not queer. i don’t think he’s even gay (he may be, he may not, i don’t even really care) but that’s what it feels like to me. it’s like the essence of the thing people are upset about, with pride being commercialized and becoming hollow and meaningless.
oh! i know. seeing harry styles speak (or sing. or apparently do some fashion icon thing) and people get excited about it, is like watching other queer gay people go up to the amazon booth at the pride festival excited for free swag and thinking its cool that amazon is here. that’s what its like.
60 notes - Posted September 7, 2022
#4
youtube
“Because the unavoidable truth here is that the system is already rigged. And its rigged in a way that has allowed a party without popular support to drastically reshape an entire branch of government for the foreseeable future by appealing almost exclusively to white voters in some of the least populous regions in the country. That is not a mandate, and its not democracy. It’s a fucking travesty!
“We are at the end of a generational battle, and the heartbreaking thing is, we lost.
“And that hurts. It’s going to hurt for a long time, for a lot of people, in ways that could take a while to fully comprehend. But the next battle has to start right now; and it will be long—we didn’t get here overnight, and we won’t get out of here overnight. But we must be willing to fight tirelessly and with every tool and tactic at our disposal.”
As always, John Oliver says it better than I ever could. This is his episode from just after Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, which was the point of no return on the path to overturning Roe v. Wade. We were always going to end up here, but got does the knife still hurt slipping into your gut, even if you saw it coming.
77 notes - Posted June 24, 2022
#3
to be honest i feel like both AOS canon and aos fandom don’t treat the vulcan genocide in the first movie with enough gravity. like. 80-90% of the time people don’t even call it what it is, let alone focus on what the effects would be on the remaining vulcans. we actually spend way more time talking about tarsus iv as a fandom than nero’s destruction of vulcan. and the more I write for AOS the more that wigs me out a bit.
the WHOLE PLANET is GONE. SIX BILLION PEOPLE were MURDERED in a matter of HOURS. it’s mass death on the largest scale in what I assume is recorded federation history. we could uh. dwell on that. a bit more. there’s probably something there worth talking about.
78 notes - Posted January 23, 2022
#2
next steps re: lizzy biting the big one
starting with india, kenya, pakistan, grenada, or cyprus, countries begin to leave the commonwealth
liz truss tries to do some diplomacy about it and it doesn’t work
charles the third of his name or what the fuck ever tries to do some diplomacy about it, says something BREATHTAKINGLY RACIST and actively makes it worse. countries start leaving even faster.
australia peaces out
scotland announces a new independence vote before the end of the year
wales, not to be outdone, announces an independence vote before the end of the MONTH
canada peaces out
someone starts a conspiracy theory on tiktok that liz truss had the queen poisoned just after their official meeting
Ireland announces the affirmative results of the reunification vote it held while you motherfuckers were distracted via the Sinn Féin twitter. britain pulls a spain circa 2017 and tries to prevent it
king charles III dies of a heart attack from stress, smh guys he just wanted to live out the remainder of his life in peace while directly profiting from the imperial and colonial violence of his mother ancestors, he wasn’t expecting to actually have to WORK for it
king arthur returns, sword in hand, to reclaim his rightful place as king. the tories, desperate at this point for some kind of miracle, let him do it.
his first act as king is to demand the abolition of the british monarchy, because “strange women lying in ponds and distributing swords is no basis for a system of government”
someone calls a vote of no confidence in liz truss. she fails it (in large part due to the conspiracy theory), they hold an election
Christopher eccleston becomes the prime minister
242 notes - Posted September 8, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
ao3 crashing just as i try to click through to the last chapter of the fic i stayed up all night to finish is just fucking typical
2,347 notes - Posted June 6, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
#tumblr2022#year in review#my 2022 tumblr year in review#your tumblr year in review#my most reblogged aka <3<3<3#Youtube
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Strange New Worlds S1E01 Reaction
I have many many emotions about this episode so I’m going to dump as many of them as I can here. Spoilers under the cut.
I loved the premise! The idea of finding a civilization that seemed ready for first contact and then realizing that the warp signature was actually a bomb was intriguing, and I think they executed the plot quite well. The Prime Directive or “General Order 1″ being thrown out the window was classic trek, but still enjoyable to watch. There was much less Una in this than I expected, considering the episode was focused around finding her, but we did learn a lot about the crew which was fun. I liked pretty much all of them, and surprisingly, even Chapel, which was something I was worried about. I thought she was kind of annoying in the original, but she’s fun and has a real personality here.
All of the women were great! That’s something I’ve come to expect (it’s 2022) but I still find myself surprised at it sometimes. I adored the back and forth between La’an and Spock, and I kind of want them to continue sniping at each other for the next few episodes. La’an’s backstory is promising although I do think it was a little shoehorned in near the end. She’s a complex, exciting character and I’m looking forward to learning more about her. Chapel, as I mentioned earlier, was fun and exciting and about what I expected from the trailer. I loved that she wasn’t a sexist caricature like in the original. M’Benga was ADORABLE and I’m excited to see more of their interactions. I loved that he called her her favorite (she’s very lovable so I get it). Uhura was also adorable (and SO young) and I loved everything she said/did, outside of the very awkward and unnecessary “cool” near the end. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her interactions both with Chapel and Spock. I also can’t wait to hear her sing.
T’Pring surprised me. I was prepared to loathe her (I was not a fan of her in the original although she was one of the more nuanced female characters) but I thought she was a good match for Spock. I still don't like them together but they’re tolerable. I loved when they started kissing and the man behind them told them to get a room in a very Vulcan way. I do think there need to be more Vulcan kisses. This characterization of T’Pring fits in quite well with the little we learned about her in TOS so I’m less worried about them fucking her up. I also understand some of the reproach or anger she has for Spock in TOS better here (I, too, might want a different husband if the one I had kept fucking abandoning me to go to space). They fit in a lot of characterization in the few minutes they gave her. I also thought it was interesting that she knew Captain Pike by name, considering Kirk didn’t even know Spock HAD a wife, although it’s clear that Pike’s relationship with Spock is very different than Kirk’s relationship with him. Speaking of Kirk.
I was a little bit annoyed when they brought him up near the beginning of the episode (I didn’t expect the real Kirk obv, but I hated it when Disco teased Spock for seven episodes too. Either bring them in or don’t, stop baiting for nostalgia points) and although it was kind of funny, I didn’t like the inclusion of Sam Kirk. Although I am still interested in Spock’s interactions with him, because he seemed Very unimpressed by Sam and his ugly little pencil mustache.
Ortegas was as I expected (All pilots are lesbians) although I hope to learn more about her in the upcoming episodes. I don’t blame them for not going too into detail with her this episode considering the ensemble cast they have.
Transporter Kyle was very cute! I felt bad for him when Ortegas told him to make the transporters work like that. One of these days, I want the engineering people to pull the opposite of Scotty (So Jet Reno) and just go “No, wtf, I can’t and won’t do that. You’re dumb and that’s not how physics works.” But it’s fun to see them perform miracles as well.
Speaking of transporter miracles, genetics experiments and Spock’s half-human biology, I don’t understand how Starfleet can be so against Eugenics yet authorize painful genome alteration. I guess because it’s temporary it’s fine?? but that was still a little sus. Spock’s deadpan “The pain is unbearable” and following agonized scream, confused the fuck out of everyone in the room was super funny and almost made that inconsistency worth it.
It is a good solution for fitting in with alien civilizations, even if it doesn’t gel with canon. I don’t care all that much about consistency anyway, as long as the story is good, which is very much is in SNW.
The ending was great and very Pike and very Star Trek, but the use of the 1/6/21 riots as a followup to a civil war/world war 3 was an Interesting choice. Not my favorite, because I do think it kinda goes against the whole message of hope/peace but it was a choice. and I guess political commentary is a pretty vital part of star trek.
This is getting pretty long so I’m just going to end with two of my favorite quotes.
Pretty much everything Una said was beautiful. Her speech at the beginning was BEAUTIFUL and definitely set the tone for the rest of the show. “First contact is just a dream. Until one day, it isn’t,” was perfect and I really really hope we get to live through that one day too. Unlikely, but I can hope.
“We can't make them care about the stars. That's not our job” was also Una and it made me feel Many Things. Maybe it IS our job, maybe if we focused more on caring about the stars, we really would have fewer wars and cooler technologies but what do I know. I’m also pretty biased considering my soon-to-be profession.
Overall, this episode was amazing! It was beautiful visually, musically, and had great characters I can’t wait to learn more about. I think this might even become my favorite Star Trek series out of the new ones.
If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading, hope my rambling was somewhat coherent. Hope you enjoyed the episode as well!
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
New Fiction 2022 - December
The Chimes at Midnight by Geoff Trowbridge (2008)
It takes its time to get to the meat until there’s more to chew on in the latter half. Most of these TOS alternate histories were mildly interesting but this one is a cut above.
A Gutted World by Keith R.A. DeCandido (2008)
"What if the Cardassians discovered the Bajoran Wormhole?" This is the question that got me reading all these Myriad Universes novellas in the first place, but because I’m me and a completionist, I couldn’t just skip past the others in the series to get here. I come to Star Trek expanded universe stuff with a DS9 first approach so I was keen to read how the author spun out this alternate history in which the Dominion gets their foothold in the alpha quadrant if they met the Cardassians first. It had a little too much TNG cast for my taste (especially since those characters dominate so many of these stories), but it’s a worthy DS9 tale.
Brave New World by Chris Roberson (2008)
Now we get to a whole lot of Data, so more of TNG. The courtroom stuff doesn’t hit the same way in these stories as it does in the TV episodes, and then all the implications of androids woven into the fabric of the galaxy is strangely not that compelling.
The Embrace of Cold Architects by David R. George III (2010)
Another Data-heavy story. I think these novellas introduce interesting directions with how the Federation will absolutely exploit artificial beings if they have the slightest excuse, but this particular one needed to be its own novel. It ends just as things get interesting.
The Tears of Eridanus by Steve Mollmann & Michael Schuster (2010)
A TOS story that deviates from the prime universe thousands of years before the era we know. It revels in an alternate history in which the Andorians made first contact with Earth, and the Vulcans and Romulans never parted ways.
The Last Generation by Andrew Steven Harris, Gordon Purcell, Bob Almond, Terry Pallot, Mario Boon, John Hunt, Robbie Robbins, Chris Mowry, Neil Uyetake, Andy Schmidt, Scott Dunbier, Justin Eisinger, Mariah Huehner, Bill Tortolini (2009)
I could’ve done without Data and the TNG cast at the center of things (again), but it’s cool to see Sulu flying around being a badass in his Excelsior ship. All these TNG tales feels like the higher-ups asking “Ey, where’s my TNG (money)? I gotta have my TNG (money)!”
Strange World dir. Don Hall (2022)
I loved it, but then I’m a sucker for perilous adventure tales across strange new lands.
Violent Night dir. Tommy Wirkola (2022)
Die Hard meets Home Alone with a blend of Bad Santa and maybe God of War?
Empire of Light dir. Sam Mendes (2022)
I was there for it all the way. Sometimes I remember I’m a normie-ass man but that part that feels like I’m a distant weirdo never goes away, and this movie’s for that guy.
Demon Wind dir. Charles Philip Moore (1990)
I watched this movie within a video game along with its MST3K-style commentary at 2 AM with my youngest brother and what a thing to do and write down.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio dir. Guillermo del Toro (2022)
I mean, of course it’s great. I haven’t read the original story and it sounds like this hews closer to that than the popular perception from Disney’s takes.
Babylon dir. Damien Chazelle (2022)
This could've been dry but instead it’s constantly running at full charge, and even when we slow down to the granular level of filmmaking commentary it’s still a high pressure romp.
Jack and Jill dir. Dennis Dugan (2011)
Eh, I suppose the most impressive thing here is that Sandler sells the idea that’s he's own twin sister to the point that you consider them separate people.
The Whale dir. Darren Aronofsky (2022)
This had the potential to be bleak but instead it’s just genuinely hopeful. The performances come across a little too staged, as does the whole movie I suppose, so it’s no surprise to learn than this was originally a stage play.
The Outer Limits - "The Sandkings" (1995)
Here we go! I’d been thinking about watching the entire 1995 reboot of The Outer Limits and it’s everything I could’ve hoped for. All the 90s actors I remember from Saturday afternoon sci-fi TV, dated effects and production techniques, stories about man’s reach exceeding his grasp. This first episode even features three generations of the Bridges acting clan. The thing about intelligent alien bugs isn’t so compelling, but the overall production makes up for it.
The Outer Limits - "Vanishing Act" (1996)
I was looking for an episode that features New Year’s Day and found this story about a man who time jumps forward by ten years every time he falls asleep. It’s a sci-fi sort of twist on It’s a Wonderful Life and very reminiscent of something you’d see on Star Trek.
Tales from the Crypt - "And All Through the House" (1989)
And since I plan to also watch Tales from the Crypt after TOL, I skipped over to this story about a bad Santa stalking a bad mom.
The Outer Limits - "Valerie 23" (1995)
Here’s a reminder not to fuck around with robots. Don’t do it! Especially not if they’re hot! There’ll more fucked up robot tales in the seasons ahead...
The Outer Limits - "Blood Brothers" (1995)
We get a few stories here about rich assholes trying to live forever. This one does also present an interesting idea: what if we could all be cured of all ailments and live twice as long in the process? What happens when no one’s dying and the population count explodes? In any case, that’s more thought than what goes into the episode’s story. It’s mostly about a rich guy jumping the gun on proper medical testing and getting screwed as he should.
The Outer Limits - "The Second Soul" (1995)
Oh man, I was definitely on the paranoid side of this story as the events unfold. It was nice to get one of these where it isn’t a bleak or worst case ending.
The Outer Limits - "White Light Fever" (1995)
Another rich asshole who literally wants to live forever. And that’s it. Spoiler: he doesn’t get to.
Don't Hug Me I'm Scared - Series 2 (2022)
I wanna love this because I loved the original web series, but binging a bunch of TV-length episodes just felt like too much of it. I liked them when they were shorter and spaced out more. Binger beware, I know.
#new fiction#2022#fiction#don't hug me i'm scared#dhmis#the outer limits#tales from the crypt#the whale#darren aronofsky#jack and jill#dennis dugan#babylon#damien chazelle#guillermo del toro's pinocchio#Guillermo Del Toro#demon wind#charles philip moore#empire of light#sam mendes#violent night#tommy wirkola#strange world#don hall#star trek#myriad universes#Geoff Trowbridge#Keith R.A. DeCandido#Chris Roberson#David R. George III#Steve Mollmann
1 note
·
View note
Text
Star Trektrospective:Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country
Next on the Trek reviews is Star Trek VI ......Which is my second favorite/perhaps most favorite Trek movie
Plot :PEace seems to be on the horizon between the Federation and the Klingons ,which Kirk(William Shatner) is uneasy about ,however when high ranking Klingon official ,Chancelor Gorkon (David Warner) is assassinated ,and Kirk and McCoy (DeForest Kelley ) are accused by General Chang (Christopher Plummer ) it is up to Spock(Leonard Nimoy ) and the Enterprise crew to find the true identity of the assassins
So this movie is great .Its basically a political thriller just in space.It is very tense with some good twists and turns.I also like that the film has multiple villains,with a twist villains and a traditional scenery chewing heavy who is our main focus
The direction in this film is great ,by returning director Nicholas Myer .The film had to cut costs (Using a lot of sets from The Next Generation and models from previous films ) but yet its one of the most cinematic looking Trek movie,with an excellent use of shadows ,and there is also some brilliant editing
Now this is a very political film by design.Yes there is the obvious allegory about the fall of the Soviet Union ,which I think works,the Klingons were originally stand ins for the Russians(Before becoming Viking Samurai in later iterations ) and frankly I dont think allegory must always be subtle ,and it makes for a good story.The other political aspect is just the main thrust of the story....It is about changing times and really the fear of change ,as well as prejudice .A thing I really like about the film is while the villains are definately preguidced ....So are most of our heroes ,especially Kirk,and they must grow ,they have to accept change .Plus I just like that our heroes ARENT paragons ,they have all too human flaws they must overcome ,which is refreshing after last movie,where Kirk is right all the damn time
Lets dive into the cast .....And where do I start .This film is loaded with great performances from W Morgan Shepherd as a Klingon warden,Kurtwood Smith bringing strength to the Federation President , Michael Dorn gets a fun small role as the grandfather of his character Worf from The Next Generation and Deep Space 9,and even a cameo by Christain Slater (Also have to point out in some versions of the film Rene Auberjunois has a role too,but not in the DVD version I watched for this review.I only bring him up cause a few years later he would really make his mark in Trek as Odo in Deep Space 9 ).
So before we get into the really important characters.....I need to discuss a character who doesnt quite work for me :Valeris .She is a Vulcan protégé to Spock and yeah she is a stand in for Saavik ,but they couldnt get Kirstie Alie and no one asked Robin Curtis ,so they made up this new character .Now she is not a bad character ,she is played by Kim Catrall who is a very talented performer ......But the fact she is clearly supposed to be Saavik,mixed with her place in the story ,combined with the fact she doesnt feel that Vulcan ,I dunno she doesnt work for me .
As for the rest of the new characters they are all great :Rosanna DeSoto brings a strength to Gorkons daughter Azetbur ,and Iman is wonderful as the shapeshifting inmate Martia .David Warners casting as Gorkon is inspired ,for Warner is most well known for playing villains,and one would assume a Klingon (The big bad guys of early Trek ) played by Warner would be a villain....And yet Warner brings a warmth and wisdom to Gorkon ,making it clear he is a good man with noble asperations,tragically assassinated for his views ,Warner is so great in this role I wish he was in the movie more .
Now lets get to our villain ,the General Chang played by Christopher Plummer ,who is an utter delight . One it is really cool to see an actor as great as Christopher Plummer in a role like this,adding a bit of gravitas and intensity to this Klingon Warrior who has his own agenda ......While also clearly having a ball . There are moments where he is legit menacing ,but other times where he is just gobbling up scenery ,especially during the climax .Added awesomeness : The role was written for Plummer ,a well respected Shakesperian Actor (PRobabbly most notable for his protrayal of Hamlet ) ,so Nicholas Meyer made Chang a Shakespeare fanboy ,so we get Christopher Plummer as a Klingon SCREAMING Shakespeare qoutes mid battle and it is glorious .He's just a really awesome bad guy and one of my favorite Trek villains.I honestly wish he was in the film more
As for returning characters we get Mark Lenard being awesome as always as Spocks father Sarek ,John Shuck reprises his role as the Klingon Ambassador from Star Trek 4 bringing a hammy flare to it ,and the always amazing Brock Peters is excellent as Admiral Cartwright ,also from 4 ,with an expanded role in the story,though I wish he had a bigger role in the story . Also without giving away plot stuff , I should not Peter role is a direct refrance to his performance in To Kill A Mockingbird
As for the Enterprise crew.....This is the best use of them .SCotty,Chekov ,Sulu and Uhura all get a chance to shine (With Chekovs big moment being friggin hilarious ) and they all are working together to solve the mystery .Hell Scotty and Sulu help save the day near the end.I especially like the fact SULU IS A CAPTAIN NOW ,THATS JUST AWESOME
The core trio are great ,with Bones having some great moments (I especially like him cracking a joke that makes the Klingons laugh during his trial ). Shatner gives a phenomenal performance ,with one bit of bold acting that is actually kind of chilling and he has an amazing arc through the film .However I think this is Leonard Nimoys best performance in the movies,as this is really the end of Spocks arc that has spand well 25 years,he has gotten to the point he is not afraid to embrace his human side ,he really takes charge in this film ,and there is a powerful moment where Spock actually briefly shows his anger
So I do have one scene I dont like though in the movie where the heroes do something....Dubious.Now I dont mind the heroes doing something dubious ,but this specific thing is VERY unfcomfortable and feels like a line .I dunno it doesnt work for me
If I have any other gripes....I'm not a fan of the alien makeup ,they just dont look that good .....However the acting is good,the plot is good the effects are good ,it looks good ,the music is good,its overall a good movie
Also I must admit due to it being the final adventure with the TOS crew,and with the final scene combined with the way the credits are handled.....I get a little choked up watching this one
Overall I love this movie,I think it is a truly great movie ,and up there with Wrath of Khan
@ariel-seagull-wings @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @amalthea9
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Cosmos Boys - Part 2
4.9k words
“A C-Major hello to all listeners, and a good time of the day, wherever you are listening from! Welcome back to Sound of Creation, the show where I, Cygnus Vulcan, talk about everything musical going on in our Galaxy. Thank you for tuning in on this very special day. Yes listeners, it is special indeed: The galaxy’s favourite band is celebrating their five-year anniversary!
If you didn’t already know, on this exact date, five years ago, the Cosmos Boys played their first ever gig. Despite controversies and hateful voices from relentless, well, haters, the Quintet are one, if not the most successful band the Wheel of Fortune has ever seen. They have just brought out their third album and are touring the galaxy right now! This month I wanted to dedicate the show to reflect on the Cosmos Boys’ history, to reminisce about the good old times and be excited about our future.
It was one fateful night, more than five years ago, when only seventy-year-old Palean student Kriz Gaozzo had an idea. An idea that would change the galactic music industry forever. He had just learned about the popular boy groups of Cessia 4’s twenty-first century and became obsessed immediately. He convinced fellow student Florian Miadove from Traxa to join his multispecies band, which at the time just included himself. The two dedicated students of Modern Music at the University of Wranlamin hung up adverts all over their solar system, and soon Unit XVRC, a supersized insecdroid also known as Xevric, joined their little group as back-up vocalist with a built-in synthesiser. The fourth member of the group, whose real name is still unknown, but has been called Nebby by pretty much everyone who knows him, showed up to a rehearsal one day and started harmonising with the group.
‘A terrifying way to audition, really,’ stated Gaozzo in a later interview, ‘but a really cool guy all in all.’
Fifth member of the band was to be a human called Greg Wallace, who left only a week before their first gig – what an asshole! But, luckily they found their actual fifth member at the very bar they were to perform in. Zoe Ganov was having a drink at the now famous Once, located in the Craicarro System, when Kriz Gaozzo and his boys convinced her to join – despite having no real skills or interests relating to music.
‘They were a couple of funny guys,’ said Ganov in a previous interview with Wheel of Fortune FM, ‘so I figured, eh, I don’t have anything better to do.’
And so the Cosmos Boys were together in their final lineup. Their first ever gig at the Once was small, but a success. Only three months later they signed with Gravitational Waves Records and started playing all over the Craicarro system. Six months into their local success, they came out with their first album: Party Planet shaped their image as a fun, up-beat Pop band with hits like Big Bang, Boys’ Night Out and Matter Or Time. They expanded that image into a slightly more personal, romantic direction with their second album GEX. To this day, no one knows what the title stands for – my favourite theory is ‘Gay Extraterrestial Xenophiles’ though. It has a ring to it.
However, what the album stood for musically is very clear. Experimental synth mixed with strong vocals from Gaozzo and lyric genius from Miadove really propelled the Cosmos Boys onto a galactic level. They changed labels and were now signed with Singularity. But, with great success comes great controversy, as I am sure someone has said at some point.
The biggest was probably around the Not-A-Real-Boy allegations, claiming that member Zoe Ganov was a woman and therefore not allowed in a boy band. These allegations kicked off a huge discussion about gender, sexism and boy bands in general.
‘Not allowing a woman to be in a boy band is simply sexist!” said womens’ rights activists.
‘But it’s a BOY band,’ said others.
Lead man Kriz Gaozzo helped to quiet down the discourse by releasing a statement via this very radio station.
‘Just because Zoe is a woman doesn’t mean she can’t be a boy! What is a “boy” anyway? Get out with your ancient categories to hold up your ancient societies. This is music! We don’t give a flying f#ck.’
I personally think he was really cool for that.
After the public’s failed attempt to bully Zoe Ganov out of the band, a different member brought the famous five to sway. A video of Xevric after the SUNBIRTH tour two years ago went viral. He seemed to be drunk, or in his case, his nerves stunned by one overall harmless virus download too many.
‘Idiotsss, all of them,’ he could be heard screeching. ‘Talentlesss, unimaginative, pretentiousss idiotssss! Krizzz Gaozzzo you arrogant f#ck! Party Planet wasss a terrible title! What doessss GEX even mean? What doess it MEAN?’
Fans speculated that there was more going on underneath, that Xevric was either the mastermind behind the Cosmos Boys or just an annoying little critter trying to bring down frontman Kriz Gaozzo. These rumours were again killed by Gaozzo, saying that ‘It was a rough night, and things hadn’t been going great. But we’re still together, you guys. We are still together.’ Xevric did not release a statement, but stayed in the band, so we can safely assume that he agreed.
To cover more recent news, there were some – and that is a wild understatement – some rumours about two band members dating. Now, if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past year, you should know who I’m talking about. But even if that is the case, the claims that Florian Miadove and Nebby were in fact a couple should’ve reached you at this point. It would have to be a really big rock for you not to know about this.
Little looks across the stage, a slight pink glowing whenever they were together, dubious romantic lyrics, all these signs have been collected as evidence for Florian’s and Nebby’s supposed relationship.
‘We’re not dating, okay?’ stated Miadove in an interview, to which Nebby hummed, and Miadove giggled. Gaozzo and Ganov could be seen grinning and trying to hold in a laugh respectively.
But arising from those turbulent years, the Cosmos Boys have just brought out their third album Twin Suns, in which each of the members reflect on their years before fame, coming back to their roots, while maintaining an up-beat mood and their fun synth sound. Ganov seems to have brought a harmonica with her, to be heard on some of the new songs. No one knows where it comes from. But it sure does sound great! Especially in their latest single, Brother, where it underscores Gaozzo’s vocals beautifully. To finish today’s episode, I would like to put this wonderful single on. Get tickets for their Tour Of Fortune now, everywhere you can buy tickets. This was Cygnus Vulcan with Sound of Creation, I’ll be back next month. Enjoy Brother!”
~
Two platinum albums, one Zichurus award and official recognition by the Wranlamin Culture Committee and still they couldn’t get separate hotel rooms.
Zoe could hear all the other guys’ breathing. Well, Florian’s and Kriz’ – Xevric hummed quietly as he recharged, and Nebby made no sound at all. She’d never been the biggest fan of sleepovers, but the tours had really put a strain on her. She missed quiet nights in her Tonner, blackness and stars above her whenever she opened her eyes. And silence. She’d never realised how much she appreciated silence until she’d joined a band. Maybe no one really could. She turned in her bed as silently as she could, when the bed above her creaked.
“Zoe?” whispered Kriz. She sighed innerly.
“Kriz?”
“Are you awake?”
“No, I’m just pretending.”
“I can’t sleep. I’m so nervous.” Zoe frowned. Stages were the last thing Kriz was afraid of. “Why?” There was some rustling. She thought about Xevric, and Florian and Nebby. Maybe she knew why.
“I’m scared they’ll mess up the show.” She had been right. Withholding a sigh, she turned to face the bottom of the bed above her, trying to stare hard enough so Kriz would notice.
“You know Xevric can dance with three broken legs. Remember that gig in Kryx? He could do the entire choreo at once if he wanted.” Something like a scoff sounded from above.
“Yeah, if he wanted.”
“He’s always like that, Kriz.” She sighed. “He’ll do the show and then come around and sneer at us. What’re you gonna do? You can’t throw him out. He’s too good.” A short silence.
“I don’t know if it’ll be like that tomorrow… he’s been saying some shit. You know he loves the attention. He would totally pull something off on stage.” You would too, thought Zoe.
“He won’t.” Kriz didn’t seem to listen.
“And then there’s Flo and Neb. Syrinx, I can’t stand to be in a room with them. They make everything so awkward.”
“Not on stage though.”
“Absolutely on stage. Haven’t you noticed? Nebby sometimes just doesn’t harmonise on Flo’s parts. And Flo just keeps crossing Neb’s path, trying to make him evaporate. They’re behaving like fucking children!” Zoe covered her face with her hands. These kinds of talks weren’t unusual, but Kriz had never been so stubborn.
“No one else has noticed so far.”
“But they will, Zoe. They will.”
“Aren’t you taking this a bit too seriously?” Zoe could hear Kriz shifting in his bed, and then saw his head sticking over the edge. His three eyes glowed faintly in the dark, widened in offence.
“I’m taking this too seriously? Zoe, this is my job! Our job!”
“Okay, okay,” whispered Zoe, “don’t wake the others.” Kriz’ eyelids drooped and he sighed. He looked tired.
“Zoe, this is my dream. I’ve wanted to be a singer since I was six years old. My parents sent me to a piano teacher when I was eight. I love the stage, the music vibrating through my bones, being a part of the art itself. I feel like… The universe is unfolding inside me when I sing, Zoe. This is my life. I don’t have anything but this.” Zoe wished she could’ve seen his expression, or that he could’ve seen hers. She smiled sympathetically nonetheless.
“We’ll be fine. We always have been. We’re going to rock that show tomorrow, okay?”
Kriz’ head disappeared and she heard the bed creaking as he lay down again.
“Okay.”
~
The dressing room was much bigger than any they’d ever been in, and still they’d managed to make a complete mess. A third of Xevric’s costume, discarded last minute, hung over one of the chairs, a second was covered in empty make-up containers, Zoe was occupying the third. She tried to concentrate on her eyeliner as Xevric and Florian bustled around the room, learning steps, yelling at the air and each other, Nebby evaporating an rematerialising every second, changing colours. She was trying to draw a wing with shaky fingers as Xevric bumped into her chair.
“Fuck!” There was a purple smudge under her eye. “Watch out!” she called while trying to remove it, which only made it bigger. She looked like she’d been in a serious fight. She pulled a grimace. Five years should’ve really improved her make-up skills by now.
“Flo? I have a little crisis on my hands. Well, on my face.” She saw Flo turn around in the mirror, stress mixing with resignation on his face. Some of his scales had started to fade in colour. She’d caught him repainting them a few weeks ago. As he came over and tried to fix her face, his expression softened.
“You idiot,” he said.
“Thanks.” Flo finished her make-up and looked around the room.
“Have you seen Kriz?” Zoe shook her head.
“I could go check on him. Probably in the bathroom, you know…” Florian nodded. He knew.
The bathroom was just down the corridor. She saw the light was on through the little gap between door and floor. It was flickering. She knocked gently.
“Hey, Kriz, you in there? Can I come in?” No answer. “I’m coming in, ok?” She tried the handle. It was locked. She tried it a second time. She wouldn’t be Zoe Ganov if a simple bathroom door wouldn’t succumb to her will. The lock clicked and she pushed open the door only slightly. She peered inside, and her eyes widened. The lamps were out, the flickering light coming from seven candles placed in a triangle on the floor. They were connected by lines of white powder. Inside the triangle, Kriz sat, wearing a red robe glistening in the candlelight. His eyes were closed and he was half humming, half mumbling in a language Zoe didn’t understand.
“Uh, Kriz?” she said softly. Kriz ignored her. Or he couldn’t hear her. She had expected to find him crying, or panicking, and she could’ve dealt with that. Not this. What even was this?
Kriz raised his voice, his words becoming more articulate. Zoe didn’t understand their exact meaning, but she got the feeling that these words weren’t meant to be understood by anyone but gods and beings older than the universe itself, lurking below the floorboards of the perceivable world. The words infused her with a certain horror, which crept into her flesh and made her bones tremble and glued her tongue to the roof of her mouth. She tried to move. She couldn’t.
As she was trying to gain back control over her body, a black cloud appeared in the bathroom just above Kriz. A red glow pulsated in its centre and it grew bigger slowly, steadily. Tendrils of darkness shot out and brushed over the candle flames, touching Kriz. He didn’t flinch.
A hum now drowned out his chanting, a deep and bone-trembling hum, making Zoe’s hand shake on the door handle and her teeth vibrate in her mouth. And when the cloud started speaking, she was plunged into the very darkness of whatever there had been before the Big Bang, before anything had existed, the very same darkness that would return after the last thing had ceased to exist. The deafening silence of nothing yet created, of everything dead at last. She was shivering in the darkness, of fear, of hatred, of all-enclosing cold.
In that darkness, she saw Kriz, naked, sleeping. A bright light was birthed from his chest. It floated up into the darkness. Kriz’ body grew grey and thin, skin stretching over his sharp bones. She wanted to close her eyes but found she had no control over them. Maybe she didn’t even have eyes. She wanted to run to Kriz, but felt herself floating away from him, away and up, towards a different light…
Zoe ripped her hand away from the doorknob and started back to the dressing room. The others paid her no attention.
“I think Kriz just sold his soul to the devil!” Three heads jerked in her direction. Nebby turned red. Florian’s expression fell. Xevric’s legs started twitching.
“What do you mean?” he asked. Zoe was still trembling, supporting herself on the nearest chair.
“I mean there was a candle-triangle and a glowing, black cloud, and I think I saw hell.” The door swung open once more and an ashen-faced Kriz stood in the frame. His eyes were widened in horror.
“Everything’s fine,” he said. The other four watched aghast as he hurried through the room, putting together his outfit.
“What have you done, Kriz?” asked Florian. Kriz was now standing in front of the mirror, doing his make-up.
“Saved our asses.” Zoe and Florian shared a concerned look.
“What was that cloud? What the fuck did I just see?” Kriz spun around.
“Nothing! You saw nothing, Zoe! That’s what we’ll all be!” She realised his eyes weren’t widened in horror, but in madness.
“Kriz…”
“Show’s in two! Get going!” Zoe looked at Florian, then Nebby, who was struggling to keep his humanoid form. Xevric was the first to follow Kriz out on stage. When Zoe heard the crowd cheering, and felt the lights blind her, she couldn’t shake off the memory of that deep darkness, and the silence before the beginning and at the end of all things.
~
The show went flawlessly. Florian didn’t cross Nebby’s path, Nebby sang all his parts and Xevric didn’t sabotage the band on stage. Maybe it was because they all watched Kriz in various stages of confusion and fear. But he was dancing and singing and spinning around, back to his old glamorous self, relishing the spotlight. He refused to talk about what had happened.
As the year passed, Kriz grew quieter. His yellow eyes turned glassy. He danced without passion, sung his songs without soul. He’d lost it, Zoe was sure. Florian started doing most of the work. Not that he hated it. Xevric grew more annoyed than he already was. No one was there to motivate Nebby, his relationship with Florian still icy.
Zoe caught Kriz staring at his reflection in shuttle windows, staying for hours upon hours in the bathroom. In the beginning he cried. She woke up to sobbing in the middle of the night, soothed him before shows when he wouldn’t leave the bathroom. One night he seemed out of his mind by fear. “What have I done, Zoe?” He sobbed. “I can’t hear the music! I can’t hear it!”
But eventually she had to watch him turn into a stranger. It was like he carried that silence she’d heard in the bathroom with him at all times. She tried talking to him then, but he rarely responded. Sometimes she just sat backstage with him in silence, laying a hand on his knee. She thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his lips sometimes. Sometimes, his eyes still sparked when they sang together.
~
Xevric was pacing the studio. It made a metallic clacking noise Zoe had never quite gotten used to. It was starting to irritate her.
“We’re boring, that’ss what we are!” Florian sighed deeply. Nebby flowed vaguely where his chair was, lights flickering erratically inside him.
“Three albumss, the exact ssame ssound! Lyrical depth, none! And you want to do another one like that?!” It wasn’t the first of these arguments, and Zoe knew it wouldn’t be the last. The past year had taken a great toll on them all. Not that they weren’t successful – if anything their fame had grown exponentially. They had played shows outside of the Wheel of Fortune and won a second Zichurus award. But Xevric was constantly nagging at them, Nebby participating randomly whenever he felt like it, Florian having to do all the work. Zoe tried her best to help, but as much as she loved music, she just wasn’t an artist. And there was no one who could compensate for the… absence of Kriz.
“It works, Xevric,” said Florian, a sigh in his voice. “Your experimental deep space sounds aren’t made for boy bands.” Xevric stopped pacing and stood upright, red eyes glaring.
“That’ss the problem! Boy bandss are a shit idea!” He looked ostentatiously at Kriz, who was sitting in an armchair away from them all, staring at his feet.
“You abssolute…” murmured Xevric and slid over to him. Kriz slowly lifted his head and looked Xevric in the eyes, expression blank.
“You do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I don’t care what happened in that bathroom you usselesss piece of meat!” He spun around, looking with wild red eyes at them all. To be fair, his eyes were always wild red. “Our music hass gone to shit! Our shows are soullesss! I’m doing everything I can to save this trainwreck of a band but you… You-” he looked at Florian, “are a fucking bootlicker. Oh, yess, Krizz, good idea! It workss, Xevric. The indusstry likess it that way. Fuck the damn indusstry, have a bit of imagination man!” He turned to Nebby. “And what even are you? Where did you come from? Hass anyone ever talked to you?” Nebby turned green, tendrils bursting out of his shape. “And Zzoe, what the fuck do you even contribute?” Zoe was more surprised than offended. She knew what Xevric thought about her, of course, but she’d never guessed he would say it some day, in front of everyone. Florian sat up in his chair, eyebrows raised, mouth agape. This was the most unnerved Zoe had ever seen him.
“What the fuck, Xevric? You are fucking annoying! You are just constantly trying to do your own thing with your weird ideas and apparently you think you’re the only fucking guy in this band! And Zoe is our friend, asshole! You’re the most arrogant person I’ve ever known!” Xevric scoffed and shrugged with a thousand clicks.
“Whatever. I’m better off on my own anyway. You are the most talentless, pretentious group of people I’ve ever met. I’m happy to finally be rid of you. Good riddance.” He dropped his body down on the floor and slithered out of the door, never to be seen again. Kriz’ dead eyes lingered on the gap through which he had left.
Nebby, now in the shape of a man again, was turning a deep blue.
“It’s okay, Nebby,” said Florian and slumped back into his chair. He sounded tired. “Go if you want to.” He did.
Florian now turned to Kriz, the two sitting almost on opposite sides of the studio. He sighed again. All his scales had turned grey this year.
“You were cool, Kriz,” he said. He stood up, slowly. He walked over to his former friend and fellow student. “Just sometimes a bit too much.” He remained in an awkward stance for a moment, and Zoe thought he would say something else. But he didn’t. He threw Zoe a look and jerked his head to the door. Zoe nodded. She got up, and Kriz turned his head to her. Did she catch a glimmer of despair in his eyes? She tried to speak, but there was something in her throat. She swallowed.
“Bye,” she just said. She tried to think of something else. What do you say to a stranger so familiar? “It was pretty cool. Sorry.” As she left with Florian, she felt Kriz’ dead stare bore into her back.
~
Zoe swished the caramel contents of her glass and took a sip. It tasted slightly more bitter than the usual Inthek Whiskey, and she pulled a grimace. There were downsides to developing a taste for drinks.
The soft synth music was drowned out by the many conversations filling the bar. A digital screen covered the window to the twin suns, showing the latest celebrity news. The twin suns shimmered with a green tinge through it. The Once had become somewhat of a tourist attraction in Wranlamin, the bar where the greatest band of the galaxy had begun their success story.
She tried to focus on a very specific pair of voices, emanating from the bar’s radio.
“Would you say that you are happy with your career?” asked the tinny voice of Cygnus Vulcan.
“That’s a tough one. I would definitely say I’m happy with where I’m at right now, I mean my team is amazing and I really get to realise my ideas… But the way here was certainly not always the best, or the happiest.” Florian’s voice was deeper than she remembered.
“Would you have wanted to stay with the Cosmos Boys, if that would’ve been possible?” There was a humming silence from the radio.
“No, I think. I think it was only a temporary project from the very start. Well, for everyone but Kriz, anyway.”
Zoe let the rest of the interview fade into the background. She had heard enough of them over the years. Florian and her had stayed in touch for a while, meeting up in bars all over the Wheel. She had seen him grow happier with each month, the Cosmos Boys’ fame propelling his solo projects into success. He really was a brilliant artist.
Xevric was having a less successful solo career, as far as she knew. He had struggled to find a label or even supporting musicians, but now he seemed to be a more or less happy part of a big fast food company’s marketing team. “Wow! This really oils my joints!” could be heard on every radio station for three months. Zoe had turned off her Tonner’s radio after the second ad.
She had very little knowledge of what Nebby was up to. There had been a headline of an unidentified sentient nebula being arrested for smuggling sanctioned goods, but she couldn’t be sure it was him. Maybe he had merged back into the nebula of his origin.
As for her, she’d pretty much returned to her usual life. She had made a few trips during her time with the Cosmos Boys even, so it wasn’t a big change. But there had been something, just below her heart, something sitting there and pressing down on her stomach. Martyn once asked about the break-up, but Zoe refused to talk. He let the topic drop. After she had stopped keeping in touch with Florian, the only reminder of her boy band days was the horrendous rhinestone belt she kept her gun in. She’d come to like it.
Tonight, it was glittering in the dimmed lights of the Once. She didn’t know why she kept coming. The quiet anonymity of the place had long since faded, and she felt truly alone here like in so many other places.
She threw a glance to the stage where a microphone and some loudspeakers were set up. She hadn’t caught the name of the performer, hadn’t really cared to read the posters outside anyway. One of the staff-members put an acoustic guitar next to the mic. Zoe closed her eyes and sighed internally. She really couldn’t stand a singer-songwriter tonight.
The rest of her bitter whiskey trickled down her throat as reserved applause rose up among the crowd. She looked to the stage again and almost choked on her drink.
Walking up the mic was none other than Kriz Gaozzo. Zoe waited for a reaction from the crowd; after all, most of the customers came because of its history. But they either didn’t recognise him or, like her, were unable to concentrate on a singular thought to express. She followed his every movement with her eyes.
His back was bent as he adjusted the microphone stand, then reached for the guitar and slung it over his shoulder. Every motion was accurate, minute, almost robotic. Kriz cleared his throat and looked up, his face illuminated by the dimmed spotlights. The light blue of his skin had faded to grey; his once yellow eyes were almost translucent, colourless. The one on his forehead was closed. Not clasped shut against the light, not like in sleep, but its lid entirely lifeless, drooping over the eye.
“Hello,” he said, and looked down again. There was no emotion in his clear voice, no life. He plucked a few chords on his guitar. He stopped for a moment, hesitating. Zoe didn’t know why. She wanted to know why.
“This is Divinity,” said Kriz and started singing. The song was an enigma. Zoe felt like she was on the cusp of understanding it with every line, but she could never quite grasp the lyrics. When she gave up on trying to comprehend his singing and just let the music flow into her ears, she began to truly understand. Emptiness. Infinity. The insignificance of the individual when faced with primordial powers. Immortality. Hell. As Kriz sang, she felt a cold creep back into her bones, a cold not too unfamiliar. She saw a darkness, and heard a silence between Kriz’ lines, a silence that preceded all sound and would outlast it.
She could not stop staring at his glassy eyes. Once they had been filled with so much life and passion. His voice, once full and emotional, now dead. He was more than a stranger; he was a ghost. Kriz’ eyes wandered through the room. Zoe knew you couldn’t see much against the spotlight, but she didn’t know if the laws of biology still applied to her former friend.
The notes of the song faded out, and Kriz locked eyes with her. Zoe’s heart skipped a beat. After a moment of paralysation, she tried to put all of the emotions she felt rioting inside her into her gaze. All of the remorse, anger, grief and regret she had never really addressed over the last few years, floating across the room to the ghost of a person she once knew. Her gaze was met with utter apathy. Her feelings fell into the deep well of Kriz’ glassy eyes, were swallowed by the soulless void of his dilated pupils.
Kriz’ eyes slid off her and he began singing a second song. Zoe felt empty.
She didn’t listen to his next song. She got up halfway through it, walked trance-like out of the bar and to her Tonner. She turned around one more time and looked at the neon sign atop the entrance. Once was glowing in a deep purple light. She supposed one thing had stayed true about this place.
You never met the same person twice.
#oh boy this is a long one#i girlbossed a bit too close to the sun with the length im sorry#anyway i REALLY like this#sorry for any emotional damage. you will not be compensated#my own writing#original writing#oc#scifi#creative writing#writblr#beginner writer#4
0 notes
Text
Ok, so Star Trek Discovery Season 2 episode 1 :
-general impression : I don’t know, maybe the show still needs to fonds it’s own pace. Some things are well done, some things just feel plain gratuitous, or non convincing
-it’s called brother, which I guess is a ref to Spock. It was bound to happen, since the show went on a « the only family on Vulcan that people know is Spock, let’s just use it ». So, very logical, as I believe I might have mentioned before, it was weird that didn’t really mention him in season 1, but it still feels like a cheap way of getting the viewer’s engagement.
-Very nice intro 😉 loved the « space. The final frontier » bit, the theme song is as good as ever. Love the costumes and decors and special effects 🤩 that scene where we finally meet the Enterprise have me chills 🤩
-now, in this ep we meet our new captain, captain Pike. Glad that they decided to expand on his character, actually. The man seems to actually care about his crew, which is a nice break from Lorca. Hoping this doesn’t turn into a dichotomy or manichean thing, however, on their command strategy, since we are seeing many differences between their styles. I guess the bit about a cage at the end was fan service? With any luck we won’t see too much foreshadowing of his future fate, and tough I thought it a nice little Easter egg. The part with the Enterprise « too far away to come back for the war » though… ugh 😑 And what the heck was that with the tour of introductions ? 😅😂 at least we know their names, now, which is better than nothing
-Saru being relegated to XO, well, he does have a lot of growing to do still, both as a character and as a commander. Not too much to say about him this episode, though, which means we’ll get more later
-Michael is still interesting, she does act like the future captain she’s bound to become, not a huge dev except for the part with Spock which I hope will be interesting and well developed. I do love her friendship with Tilly though ♥️
-Tilly, still adorable, happy she’s pursuing her dreams, and we see more of that relationship between her and Stamets (siblings?), love it anyway. Good dev on that part, how she tries to help him in little ways, and he seems to need to talk to her about Hugh. And that « this is the magic of maths! » 😂 I stan an adorkable ensign ! Loved that high five ✋ !
-Stamets, my beloved bean 😭♥️ the way he has to talk about Hugh (and to Tilly because Science Fam), I mean I knew he was going to break my heart 😭 I want Hugh back 😭 and I am asking once again : is there no therapist on that ship?!
-and now let’s start nitpicking because I’m a bitch :
-what the hell is it with Vulcan no longer being a desert planet ?
-what is this house? It looks like generic rich human minimalist house n. 12
-what is it with Sarek and Amanda’s relationship that feels completely off
-angel imagery. in space.
-they haven’t Harry Kim-ed Culber
-was it absolutely necessary to introduce a new science officer just to have him killed 10 minutes later during a completely unnecessary (though very cool) pod race ? And what was the point of that pod race?
-where is nr 1? 😭
Impatient for episode 2, though, intrigued to « discover » more, especially about Spock (hope they haven’t hurt him irreparably) and see more of Stamets (who is my official fav character, obviously) and Pike, because we had so little of him until now (yeah, I know Strange New Worlds is out, it that’s for after the fourth season of ST: DISC). Maybe we’ll also get to meet Nr 1 🤩. Wait and See is my verdict : they’re proposing different plot threads seeming to wipe completely the secondary characters we met in S1. Or I might just be too impatient 😅
#star trek discovery season 2 episode 1#Star Trek discovery#on my first watch people#now we shall see as scourge says#discovering discovery#just my opinion#which may not be yours and that’s ok#what is the official nickname for discovery btw
0 notes
Text
Little things from Star Trek Voyager that make me soft:
- Harry inviting Captain Janeway to Tom’s holobar for games and the way Janeway seems so touched at being included
- When Tom makes a cheesy joke at the helm and Janeway rolls with it while smirking at him knowingly (ex. “What if we set up a bicycle in the mess hall and pedal our way home?” “Now why didn’t I think of that.”)
- When the ship is traveling through the Void and Harry writes a concerto on his clarinet and Tuvok stops to listen to it because he knows Harry worked hard on it
- When Chakotay makes little jokes with Harry and chuckles to himself when Harry jokes back like a proud dad
- Tuvok and Seven bonding over how dumb they think humans are
- The way Janeway looks at Sam Wildman when Sam tells her she’s pregnant. Janeway is clearly sympathizing with her nervousness about having a baby in the Delta Quadrant but she congratulates her anyway because she knows Sam needs to feel supported in her decision.
- When Tuvok tells Neelix he isn’t completely inept during security training and Neelix treats that like the massive Vulcan compliment it is
- The achingly gentle way Janeway looks at all of her crew members when they’re going through a tough time
- How defensive Chakotay gets when any member of the crew questions the captain’s judgement
- At Janeway’s funeral in “Coda,” she manages to keep her emotions in check until Harry starts talking and then she cries
- The fact that Janeway cries like a real person. Like, her face scrunches up, her lip quivers. She’s not out here crying those fake-ass stoic tears that other fictional characters do. She’s crying for real.
- When Tom covers for Harry’s indiscretion because he knows how important Harry’s clean Starfleet record is to him
- The way Janeway hugs Kes during Elogium and sits to talk to her about puberty while gently stroking her hair and listening to her patiently
- The fact that there’s a pot of coffee ready in Janeway’s ready room all the time and you just know that Chakotay is using his own replicator rations for her
- In the wedding between duplicate Tom and B’Elanna when Chakotay walks B’Elanna down the isle and Janeway walks Tom down the aisle and they both look like the proudest parents to ever exist
- Chakotay and Neelix’s background friendship. You have to squint for it, but they have some funny little moments together that indicate an offscreen friendship that I wish we could have seen more of
- The fact that Janeway goes to visit almost everyone who gets admitted to sickbay
- Tom telling Harry that he will never forget Harry defending him in “The Chute” simply because he is Harry’s friend. Not because he had something Harry needed, or because Harry couldn’t survive without him, just because “this man is my friend.”
- When Janeway flat-out tells Harry that she thinks of him like a son and she’s proud of how he’s grown since coming on Voyager
- The way Tuvok just really, really loves his wife
- The fact that Janeway makes baby blankets for babies born on Voyager
- How absolutely into Captain Proton Harry and Tom get (and how into character Janeway gets when she plays Arachnia)
- Chakotay and Janeway exchanging looks when someone says something dumb, especially when it’s one of their officers and they just look amused/exasperated
- “Chakotay? Are you there?” “No, I left an hour ago!”
- Tom inviting Seven to play ping pong because he thought she might enjoy the math behind it
- The way that Janeway never writes Neelix off, even though he can be a pest sometimes. If he says he knows how to do something, she lets him take a whack at it. If he’s got a story to tell and there’s no immediate danger, she listens. When he’s clearly baiting her into a conversation where he can show off his knowledge of Earth history, she bites and encourages him to tell her more because she knows it’s important to him to know about the history of the cultures represented on the ship.
- The fact that Neelix tries to get to know the cultures represented on the ship, even when he gets it wrong sometimes. He has good intentions.
- The entirety of Neelix and Tuvok’s interactions during “Riddles.” I was a hot mess that entire episode.
- Janeway finding out Tuvok’s birthday, making him a cake, baiting him into thinking she was mad at him so she could do a dramatic reveal, and Tuvok blowing out the candle even though he thought the candle was dumb just because she’s his best friend and he loves her
- The way Chakotay turns into Hearteyes McGee every time Janeway puts her hands on her hips, cocks her brow, and tells off an enemy
- How excited the whole crew gets when they find a cool space anomaly that isn’t immediately threatening them
- The fact that Janeway does her best to allow her officers to pursue their interests. Like when Tom asks to build the Delta Flyer, she lets him because cool spaceships are his Thing. When they find that lost ship from the early Mars missions, she lets Chakotay lead the away mission because that’s his Thing. She lets B’Elanna and Harry make a ton of adjustments to the engines because it might help them get home faster, but also because that’s their Thing. She understands how frustrating it can be to be locked in a spaceship for years without a way to pursue your interests and hobbies outside of the holodeck so she does her best to let them do their Things when opportunities do arise.
- When Tom and Harry start a street brawl because they tried to play drunk tennis with some aliens and Janeway dresses them down for unbecoming conduct but then is like “.... so did you win?”
- The fact that both Harry and B’Elanna have fever dreams where they very clearly reveal that they see Janeway as a mother figure
- Seven of Nine and Naomi’s friendship and how pure it is and also how Seven always calls Naomi by her full name
- Also Neelix and Naomi’s friendship
- And the fact that Naomi is the Captain’s Assistant and Chakotay and Janeway send her back and forth between the two of them with messages because it makes her feel important
- I guess just Naomi Wildman in general
- Seven and The Doctor connecting over music
#Star Trek Voyager#i'm so soft about this show you guys#like really#the found family gets me every time#I love them all so much#Captain Janeway#Janeway#Chakotay#Harry Kim#The EMH#Kes#Tuvok#Seven of Nine#J/C#Janeway/Chakotay#Naomi Wildman#Neelix#Tom Paris#B'Elanna Torres#Mom and Dad Voyager#Star Trek
2K notes
·
View notes
Note
I don’t know where ive gotten it in my brain that Vulcans court by giving people beautiful rocks but my brain says they do
And I was like thinking of writing a fic where Bones found some cool rocks while on a planet and gives one to Spock and Spock is suddenly like
Yes this man wants to court me
And so he finds pretty rocks to give Bones
And just starts doing general nice stuff for him and Bones is like wtf is happening
Oh!!!!! If you have watched Beyond maybe you remembered the lil rock Spock gave Uhura?
But honestly that's such a cute idea!!!! And please anon omg, if you do write it please drop a link my way or tag me on it I'd love to read it!!!!!! 🥺🥺😭😭💖💖💖💖
#reply#anon#spones#PWEASE I love the idea of Bones seeing a rock and thinking#oh spock likes rocks i bet hed like this one
110 notes
·
View notes
Text
On “This Side of Paradise”
Watching the original Star Trek many decades after it aired, I cannot help but feel as though the conclusions I draw from certain lines, scenes, and even entire episodes must not be exactly as initially intended. Despite the caginess, both in canon and in external commentary, that Roddenberry and others employ in their discussions of the nature of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock’s relationship, and the subtext often burgeoning on text especially to a gay viewer, Spock’s perceived gayness extends beyond his ambiguous relationship with his Captain. Many of the cues that might cause a gay viewer to feel reflected by Spock come via the quirks of his Vulcan nature.
One episode which deals particularly with Spock’s internal conflict vis a vis his mixed heritage is “This Side of Paradise,” the 24th episode of the first season. Spock falls under the influence of alien spores that cause him to break down in what appears to be immense pain, before he confesses his love to a woman named Leila Kalomi, whose love for him had been unrequited for six years. Spock spends the majority of the episode under the influence of these spores, canoodling with Kalomi and giggling while hanging from a tree branch, until Kirk roughly snaps him out of it and the stoic science officer returns to himself. The spores appear to render their hosts relaxed, blissful, and dazed, an effect which can be undone through displays of strong negative emotion.
The most striking result of his time spent under the influence is the melancholy that seems to overtake him once the effect is broken. Once he has his bearings and realizes that Kirk has intentionally riled him so that the spores lose their hold, the first thing he says is:
SPOCK: The spores. They're gone. I don't belong anymore.
In the context of the episode, “belonging” is the eerie, almost cult-like description for one under the influence of the spores. Taken at face value, Spock’s comment is merely an observation that he is no longer being affected by them; Spock often makes somewhat banal comments seemingly for the benefit of the audience’s comprehension. However, this one seems to carry a double meaning. Consider Spock’s heritage: half-human and half-Vulcan, Spock constantly finds himself torn between two clashing cultures, truly “belonging” to neither. A substance that enables his full emotionality, effectively tipping the delicately balanced scales of his identity, provides a sort of relief. With the negation of its effects comes a return to the inner turmoil he experiences every moment of every day.
Spock felt like he belonged when he was able to feel and express romantic love for a woman. A simple reading of this might be that the ability to process emotion gave Spock a sense of belonging, but there is once again another, deeper analysis to be made. The assumption that gay couples would likely be commonplace by the 23rd century aside, the fact remains that the show was produced in the 1960s and there are no canon gay couples to be found. Therefore, it is possible to work within a metric where one might have a reason to remain closeted. If we approach Spock as a closeted gay man, then the female object of his affections becomes a key element in his feeling of “belonging.”
In typical Star Trek fashion, the exact effect produced by the spores is never elucidated. The implication seems to be that it provides some lowering of inhibitions and propensity for leisure. However, the spores could also be seen as pushing their hosts to pursue their ideal lives. Doctor McCoy gets notably more Southern, his accent thickening as he walks around singing the praises of the mint julep. It seems as though, while under the influence, he pursues things that remind him of the comforts of home.
Spock, however, has no such comforts. Instead, he becomes something he could never be: able to reciprocate the feelings of a beautiful young woman who has pined after him for years. Once the effect of the spores is broken, he must then break the news to her:
LEILA: I love you. I said that six years ago, and I can't seem to stop repeating myself. On Earth, you couldn't give anything of yourself. You couldn't even put your arms around me. We couldn't have anything together there. We couldn't have anything together anyplace else. We're happy here. [crying] I can't lose you now, Mister Spock. I can't.
SPOCK: I have a responsibility to this ship, to that man on the Bridge. I am what I am, Leila, and if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else's.
Spock’s response is cool, as we have come to expect from him, but notably more candid that most of his observations about his own experiences. He starts by claiming a responsibility to not only the Enterprise, but to Kirk himself. This could be a simple declaration of loyalty to his captain, as it would almost certainly appear to Kalomi, or an allusion to some repressed feelings that would only register to him. His next line, however, carries some serious weight. “I am what I am” refers to his Vulcan heritage, but as is often the case, it could also easily be in reference to his own homosexuality. Either way, he is explaining why he is incapable of loving Kalomi; the difference is whether he is incapable of love at all, or of love for a woman. His “self-made purgatory” is both his entrapment between his Vulcan and human halves, and his repression of his sexuality.
Spock rarely speaks about his mixed heritage and the internal conflict it causes him, just as he rarely speaks of his own emotions at all, but it takes its toll on him. Briefly finding relief from this conflict only makes the return to it that much more difficult, causing him to be even more terse than usual. Kirk even points out that Spock has been quiet about the experience:
KIRK: We haven't heard much from you about Omicron Ceti III, Mr. Spock.
SPOCK: I have little to say about it, Captain, except that for the first time in my life I was happy.
Spock has spent his entire life trying and failing to completely repress his human emotions in an attempt to become fully Vulcan. When he finally has the chance to experience them in full, he breaks down in pain at the wave of repressed emotions before he finally experiences untainted joy “for the first time.” However, that is not his authentic self either. Neither a logical Vulcan nor an emotional human, he is eternally trapped between worlds, and was only able to find joy in a brief and unattainable fantasy. He is so discontent with his own nature that he cannot be happy as he is.
To a closeted viewer, this final line of the episode, delivered as dryly as always, is heartbreaking. The first time in Spock’s life that he was happy was when he ignored an integral part of himself that brought him pain in order to live a moment of a life that he could never have. To those who have repressed their sexuality, convincing themselves that they felt attraction to those of another sex because it was what would make them belong, watching Spock find joy in this fantasy only to be crushed when he must return to reality is painfully familiar.
Analysis of Spock and Kirk’s relationship is generally sufficient to read them as a gay couple. When Spock is viewed in isolation, however, he still comes across as gay to many viewers. Spock’s innate perceived gayness relies not on his attraction to men, but on his repression of his true self and of the emotions that he cannot bring himself to face. While chalked up by the show to his half-Vulcan heritage, it still strikes a chord in a very human gay viewer.
#star trek#tos#this side of paradise#analysis#spock#gay spock#spirk#mine#yes this is a paper i wrote for fun
275 notes
·
View notes
Text
Character Spotlight: Beverly Crusher
By Ames
Paging Dr. Crusher to medbay. Dr. Crusher to medbay. We have a character spotlight procedure to perform, so get your medical scrubs on and refresh yourself on the hippocratic oath as A Star to Steer Her By reviews the vital signs of Dr. Beverly Crusher, The Next Generation’s Chief Medical Officer for six out of seven seasons of the show. Plus the movies (I guess?).
She may have taken a full season off, and you know what: it’s painfully obvious why. Her character probably gets less to do than Troi whom we recently discussed, and she more often than not defaults to just being the mother of the resident boy genius, which isn’t saying much. So what can we say about Bev? We definitely scraped together some moments to highlight, so read on below and listen to this week’s episode on the podcast (jump to 1:00:49 for Bev chat). Stat!
[Images © CBS/Paramount]
Best moments
Say no to drugs, kids
As we’ve said when covering doctors like McCoy and Pulaski, Starfleet CMOs are at their best when they put their patients before the Prime Directive. So when Crusher brilliantly figures out how the Ornarans are exploiting the Brekkians’ addiction to felicium in “Symbiosis,” she uses it to pressure Picard to intervene. His response wasn’t NEARLY enough, but Bev was 100% right.
Set phasers to BAMF
I love it when the doctors get to kick some ass in an action scene, and Crusher proves herself capable of absolutely owning enemies on occasion. Especially awesome is the scene in “Conspiracy” after the alien-possessed Admiral Quinn beats up Riker, throws Geordi through a door, and swings Worf around like a ragdoll, Bev just walks in and phasers him like it’s no big deal.
The longer we argue, the longer it’s going to take me to save them
In the middle of the terrorist attack in “The High Ground,” Crusher puts her foot down and puts her patients first, defying orders to stay with the injured casualties. And though the Federation’s position is to stay neutral (though they fail at this), Bev diagnoses the terrorists willingly and ably despite not agreeing with their insurgence against their government.
I’m here, Jean-Luc. I’m not going anywhere.
Though it’s pretty clear that Patrick Stewart and Mark Lenard steal the show in “Sarek,” we’ve got to give some commendation to Dr. Crusher as well. She’s the one who figures out that Sarek’s Bendii Syndrome is causing disturbances around the ship, even when the Vulcan party tries to conceal it, and her devotion to helping Picard through the mind meld is nothing short of beautiful.
Separating the man from the machine
Not only does Crusher get to go on the away team to the Borg Cube to find the captured Picard in “Best of Both Worlds” and proceed to shoot Borg drones like she’s swatting flies. But she also defies all odds and deprograms Locutus after they’ve rescued him and destroyed the Borg Cube. She’s so good, there’s nary a scratch on him for the rest of the series.
If there’s nothing wrong with me, maybe there’s something wrong with the universe
Pretty much everything Bev gets to do in “Remember Me” is stellar. It makes you realize that Crusher doesn’t get a lot of episodes that are deep character pieces like the other characters get to (even Troi, though those are mostly problematic). But “Remember Me” gets to show off the doctor’s shrewdness and problem-solving abilities in one of the most original episodes of the show!
Correction: Blown out
While her and Geordi’s subplot in “Disaster” is probably the most disconnected of the lot, it’s actually pretty impressive that Crusher is able to survive the decompressed cargo bay and get to the panel to repressurize everything. She knows exactly what to do to prepare for the absolutely lethal conditions inflicted on them, keeps her cool, and gets them both through it alive.
Then Deanna has to die
I’m not going to even pretend to understand how everything worked out in the end in “Man of the People,” but it was all thanks to Beverly Crusher. She figures out Alkar’s psychic vampire deal, risking everything by performing an autopsy against orders. But even better than that, she makes the batshit decision to kill Troi and then revive her to break the link, and even crazier: it works!
Someone in this morgue is a murderer!
Later the same season we have Crusher yet again performing an autopsy against the wishes of the deceased’s culture, but in “Suspicions,” there are consequences. Bev’s tenacity in sleuthing out Dr. Reyga’s murder, her flying into a damn sun to prove him right, and her killing the hell out of Jo’Brill make an otherwise forgettable episode into a great showcase for her character.
Let’s make flying into the sun a thing
And somehow, that’s not even the last time Bev flies into a sun using Dr. Reyga’s metaphasic shield technology! In “Descent,” she avoids a Borg attack by hiding in a sun’s corona, even while her security officer Barnaby (who’s played by the same actor as Jo’Bril; that can’t be just a coincidence!) is over her shoulder doubting her and tactical officer Taitt’s every decision.
You’re not Nana! Nana’s dead!
Okay, hear me out. Even though “Sub Rosa” is a notoriously bad episode of TNG and it even swept our worst of the series list (we’ll hear from it again in this blogpost in the Worst Moments section), there’s some stuff to love about Crusher in this episode. Watching her stand up to Ronin in the end when she’s figured it all out is some great work from Gates McFadden!
Please state the nature of the medical emergency
Finally, we get to the movies, which seem to mostly forget that Bev is a character sometimes, but we know the truth! Bev is a rockstar who saves her entire medical staff AND Lily Sloane in First Contact by thinking to have the Emergency Medical Hologram create a diversion while she leads everyone through all the various ducts like an absolute boss.
—
Worst moments
I haven’t the comfort of a husband
Another week, another mention of “The Naked Now,” which has come up in pretty much every character spotlight except Riker’s (maybe he should have gotten a mention for not getting space drunk). And for Beverly, it’s just another case of the female characters all getting horny for the various male characters in that tropey, sexist way the show had, and it’s just bullshit.
Get out of my mind
It’s not every day that someone on the Enterprise gets possessed by some entity or other. It’s more like every other day! So when Crusher gets possessed by the entity in “Lonely Among Us” and suddenly finds herself on the bridge with gaps in her memory, you’d think there would be some kind of protocol to submit yourself for examination, but she just goes back to work like an amateur!
Shut up again, Wesley
We gave Picard some guff about this in “Datalore” and we’re going to do the same for his mother later that same episode. Sure, we’re ALL thinking it at pretty much all times this first season of TNG, but Starfleet officers should not be saying “Shut up, Wesley” to their crewmembers on the bridge, especially when he’s just imparting important knowledge about Lore!
The future the AI bots want
I’ll always question Crusher’s leaping at the opportunity to assume Yuta is the woman from some impossibly old photo in “The Vengeance Factor” because the computer overlaid her face on top of it when they asked it to. Like we’ve never seen the same actor play different roles before. Call me faceblind, but I wouldn’t have even noticed the resemblance.
No wonder we retconned the Trill...
Probably the most questionable thing Crusher does is continue her relationship with Odan after his symbiont is put into Riker’s body in “The Host.” Odan gives her an out several times, but Bev decides to keep romancing him, which seems really squicky to us since Riker didn’t have the ability to consent to the happy couple using his body in… that way.
First, do no harm... by doing nothing at all
Cultural differences make the episode “Ethics” a very complicated one, since Worf refuses palliative care for his paralysis and would rather die. What’s a doctor to do in such a situation? How about make matters worse by ignoring every request of her patient, treating him like a human instead of a Klingon, and withholding the experimental procedure he’s requested?
This is a recipe of the Captain’s Aunt Adelle
In the very first aired episode of The Original Series, “The Man Trap,” we see McCoy taking a sleep aid of some kind to help him sleep. And it works! So when Riker is suffering from sleeplessness in “Schisms” and Crusher just prescribes a hot milk toddy instead of actual drugs, I just have to call bullshit. You’re a doctor, Bev, not a barista.
The lobes for business
Ugh, we’re not even on Deep Space Nine yet and I’m already fed up with oomox. I find it gross how often the women of these shows have to effectively demean themselves by giving a Ferengi oomox like Bev does to get information out of Solok in “Chain of Command.” Sometimes, I swear this show was written for sex-starved teenaged boys and no one else.
Put ze candle back!
While I gave Beverly some credit for defeating Ronin in the end in “Sub Rosa,” I also need to take her down a few pegs first for getting so infatuated with the guy in the first place! Sure, it’s some level of minor mind control, but she’s treating her crewmembers terribly, gushing at Deanna about her grandma’s erotic diaries, and quitting her job all for some guy who banged Nana. Gross, Bev! Real gross.
AITA, Enterprise edition
While we like to see our two medical crewmembers looking out for each other, Crusher’s devotion to Lt. Ogawa somehow leads her to accidentally spreading a rumor that Powell is cheating on her in “Lower Decks.” Ogawa tells her in confidence that she’s upset he canceled a recent date, and in the next scene Crusher is gabbing at the poker table about every time she saw him in the same room as another woman!
Captain, I believe the crew is de-evolving
While we could blame Reg Barclay for making the crew “de-evolve” in “Genesis,” it’s also on Dr. Crusher for elevating his T-cells in the first place. The rest of the episode is a mess that Bev can’t be at fault for because Worf knocked her out with his venom breath early on, but the initial outbreak could have been entirely avoided if the good doctor hadn’t gone tampering with his DNA.
Not that we care about such things in this day and age
Another quick repeat that we also brought up in the Troi spotlight, but wow, we must harp on how the writers seem to have no idea what else to do with their female characters. Dr. Crusher has about 20 lines in all of Insurrection and two of them are wasted talking about her and Deanna’s boobs just to titillate the men in the audience.
—
With this blogpost wrapped up, let’s blow out this candle for good. We’ve got more character spotlights on the way, with another Crusher to discuss next week, so make you’re following along! We’re also still flying along through Enterprise over on SoundCloud or wherever you pick up your podcast frequencies, maintaining our universe bubble over on Facebook and Twitter, and flying into a sun every chance we get!
#star trek#star trek podcast#podcast#crusher#the next generation#first contact#insurrection#symbiosis#conspiracy#the high ground#sarek#best of both worlds#remember me#disaster#man of the people#suspicions#descent#sub rosa#the naked now#lonely among us#datalore#the vengeance factor#the host#ethics#schisms#chain of command#lower decks#genesis#gates mcfadden#blazin bev
1 note
·
View note
Text
What I know about Star Trek as someone who has never consumed a single piece of Star Trek media in their life
Uhhh the main guy is the Captain and his name is either Jim or James Kirk. I don’t know which one it is. Fuck you.
Captain Kirk normally wears a yellow shirt but I think he’s like really bad at keeping it on apparently?
And also he is like a huge lady’s man who kisses every woman
Captain Kirk is played by William Shatner
And the big popular character that everyone loves is Spock. Spock is a Vulcan.
Vulcans are like space elves who are like, 95% smart and 5% emotions
Spock has feelings but they are like, ...super secret
And I guess Vulcans have green blood? Idk I’ve seen fanart on my dash where Spock seems to blush green
Vulcans are also not very into physical affection and I think holding hands to them is like....the same as making out or fucking
Spock....gay? Gay for Jim/James/whatever his name is?
Spock was played by Leonard Nimoy
Spock and Captain Kirk take turns almost dying and being sad for each other
Levar Burton from Reading Rainbow is there, and he has really cool sunglasses! His name is....I think Geordi? That’s like all I know about the character.
There’s a robot guy named Data and people really like him a lot
Do people ship Geordi and Data? I feel like they might. I don’t know.
George Takei plays a character named Sulu, who I think is also Japanese? Sulu likes guns I think? I really don’t know much about him but I think I saw a post mentioning that once
There’s also a guy named Scotty who I think is from Scotland. Very original. He beams people up. I don’t know if they mean like...a tractor beam??? Maybe????
And there’s a Russian guy named Chekov
I’m honestly surprised that these countries still exist this far into the future ngl. Like...you’re telling me that in the far future that Geography hardly changed?
There’s another character named Uhura and she and Captain Kirk had like, the very first scripted interracial kiss on television and it was like, a really really big deal in TV history
Star Trek in general I heard was very progressive for the time period? But ironically a lot of conservative dudes are into it. I think Star Trek and Star Wars are both similar in that a lot of men in their fandoms seem to have completely missed the point
Uhhh there’s another captain! His name is Picard I think, and he’s played by Sir Patrick Stewart, who is also the poop emoji from the emoji movie. Hs character is also a meme
There is a guy named Bones who I know absolutely nothing about
Oh and ummm...I think the color shirts that the characters wear signify their roles on the ship. I don’t know what the colors designate but I’m pretty sure that people in red shirts die the most often
There’s a species of aliens in the show called Klingons who kind of collectively look like Lordi from Eurovision
The show made like, its own actual constructed language for Klingons to speak. It’s like a real language that people can actually learn and honestly....that’s pretty cool? That’s an impressive level of commitment to the lore
Um, getting into the show’s actual plot, it takes place far far into the future, like at least a thousand years ahead? And in the future like, war doesn’t exist anymore and neither does like....disease or bigotry and all the bad things
Honestly though I’m not really sure what the conflicts the characters solve are in that case? I have no idea why they are in space or why they are on the ship, or how all the people with the red shirts end up dying
Ummm there are like, these little puffball things called tribbles and there are just too many of them. They flooded the entire ship. No idea what they are. Are they like, some kind of space animal? Do they multiply? Did they fuck a lot?
There was a mariachi band on their ship once. That was just a thing that happened.
Uhhh they do this thing with their hands. You know the thing. I tried to do it once and it’s hard and it just made my fingers hurt.
Their catchphrase is “live long and prosper”. Not sure of the significance
I know people are just going to tell me to watch the show because it’s good or whatever....but I’m gonna be honest with you and just say that it’s so long and I don’t have the level of commitment or motivation, or the time to do that.
#star trek#captain kirk#spock#uhura#geordi#data#chekov#scotty#bones#sulu#captain picard#i literally have no idea how to tag this
258 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
zoetgevooisde
Zoetgevooisde
fullhomo666
entering the town of twin peaks
roma-sera-giornale
Senza titolo
med20
Med 2.0 Redux