#— e. chekov | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

onemuseleft · 7 days ago

Note

Can I ask for some Star Trek book recs?

Absolutely!

Disclaimer: I'm not familiar with the more recent ones, so I can't give any recommendations there.

Also Disclaimer: I know I've left out a few classics and fan-faves, but if I went on any longer I'd just be telling Anon to read all of them.

Ongoing Disclaimer: Some of these are classics and enduring stories... and some of these are dumb fun that I really loved. You're just going to have to arrest me.

Star Trek: TOS

The Price of the Phoenix and The Fate of The Phoenix are like... not good exactly but if you're into Kirk and Spock at all you really should read them. Mostly just so you know when people mention them, but also because no one believes me when I tell them how completely over the top gay they are and how apparently no one called them on it at any point before they were publised.

The New Voyages and the New Voyages 2 are anthologies and both have some really fun short stories in them.

Enterprise by Vonda MacIntyre

Spock's World by Diane Duane - this is just classic, if you're into TOS or Spock at all, you should read this one. It's very good too, Diane Duane is extremely good and her ST:TOS novels are extremely true to the characterization.

My Enemy, My Ally by Diane Duane - I cannot recommend this one strongly enough holy shit just read it even if you aren't super into TOS. I read this as a little kid and it was the first "adult" Star Trek book I had read and it blew my tiny mind. Also the story is just so good, and it has a lot of great moments with the supporting cast, and some phenomenal original characters.

The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah is one of my favorites of all time. I still own a copy and have replaced it several times. Excellent Kirk & Spock interactions, a good plot, and interesting supporting characters. She also wrote The Idic Epidemic which is another good one set on Vulcan.

Windows on a Lost World by V. E. Mitchell - this one had a lot of Chekov, who was my favorite after Spock ^_^

Memory Prime by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Shell Game by Melissa Crandall - this is another one I still own and reread to this day. Also lots of Chekov ^_^

Ice Trap, Death Count and Firestorm by LA Graf - they tend to write about Chekov, Sulu and Uhura and I really enjoy the friendship between them. Also they liked to really put Chekov through the wringer and I was all about that.

The Great Starship Race by Diane Carey

There are The Lost Years books, which take place between the TV show and the first movie which explain everyone's new ranks and what they've been up to.

Prime Directive by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Best Destiny by Diane Carey

The Janus Gate books by LA Graf - I loved the shit out of these

Star Trek: TNG

Q-In-Law by Peter David - everything else aside, this one is hysterical

Q-Squared by Peter David - ditto

I, Q by Peter David and John de Lancie - saaaame

Requiem by Michael Jan Friedman and Kevin Ryan

Foreign Foes by David Galanter

Imzadi by Peter David - if you were into Riker and Troi at all this is a must-read. And even if you weren't it's a great book that contributed a ton to the backstory/lore of their relationship

ST: DS9

I remember really liking the Millennium series by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens but I cannot for the life of me remember what happened in it aside from the fact that it was about an alternate universe so take that as you will.

Fallen Heroes by Dafydd ab Hugh was my jam for a while there, I read it to pieces.

I also really liked the Mirror Universe books, but that's about when I stopped reading.

I never read any novels for Voyager or the newer series so this is where I have to give up.

There are so many other good ones that didn't get mentioned - anything by AC Crispin, for example, and Brad Ferguson wrote a really good one about Kirk's Admiral days.

7 notes · View notes

bookworm-with-coffee · 1 year ago

Text

Thanks so, so much for the tag, @horsewithaface !! ❤❤

Here they are, peeps;

Row 1: Eleventh Doctor - Doctor Who (Series 5, 6 and 7), Shay Patrick Cormac - Assassin's Creed Rogue, Pavel Chekov - Star Trek (AOS 2009)

Row 2: Obi Wan Kenobi (Padawan era) - Star Wars (Episode I: The Phantom Menace), Faramir - Lord of the Rings, Haytham E. Kenway - Assassin's Creed III and Rogue

Row 3: Liam O'Brien - Assassin's Creed Rogue, Kili - The Hobbit, Newt Scamander - Fantastic Beasts Series

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Tagging 9 random moots ❤;

@6lostgirl6 @fizzyxcustard @deadlymistletoe @lostinthecityofangelsanddreams @thewitchkingiscool-ace @local-pirate-king @evenstaredits @demigoddessqueens @m4plebunny

#tag games

45 notes · View notes

dr-futbol-blog · 7 months ago

Text

The Defiant One, Pt. 8

So, Brendan tells McKay that he has noticed something has changed in the other man. And it's not just that McKay is braver (harking back to the comment about girlish fear earlier might indicate that Dr. Gaul had believed him something of a coward previously), wanting to get in on the action. Brendan names Sheppard as the motivation for McKay's behaviour, for this change in him. He notes that it's wanting to help Sheppard and being unable that's agitating him, making him antsy.

McKay admits to no such thing. What is noticeable is that despite wanting to be with Sheppard so badly that a man who is for all intents and purposes dying a painful death before him can even tell, McKay still does exactly what he was told by Sheppard. He even tells Brendan: "You heard the man. We're staying right here."

And not only are they staying put, he's putting the gun into Brendan's hand like Sheppard told him to. Of course he doesn't think twice about it because it would never have occurred to him not to follow Sheppard's instructions -- which he even echoes to Brendan (picking up mannerisms is, once more, a classic sign of attraction; he also probably finds reassurance from doing something he thinks the Major would have done): "Take this, but don't shoot at anything until I tell you to, OK?" Brendan, of course, was starting to have other ideas.

Elsewhere, Sheppard is having a snack break:

It gives him time to think, obviously. Gives him a little bit of strength. It reminds us of the existence of Chekov's glowy bugs that play a role in the resolution of the episode. But is he hungry?

McKay has pointed out that he's hypoglycemic and needs regular sustenance. We have seen him wolf down power bars previously (and, again, this scene would be much more striking if it followed 38 Minutes directly). But we haven't seen him put anything in his mouth beyond the chapstick at the start of the episode. So, either McKay has completely forgotten that he's hungry or even supposed to be eating (and we're even reminded of this when he tells Brendan: "All you need is a good meal, a pot of tea, and to stop talking!"), or Sheppard -- being that he is unlikely to be more hungry than McKay -- is doing this for some other reason. One such reason being that it reminds him of McKay and brings the other man a little bit closer to him now that he told him to stay off the radio. Because he misses McKay. And this occupies both his hand and his mouth so that he doesn't reach for the radio like he wants to be doing.

This is reinforced by the appearance of the space bugs. They are attracted by the smell of their food, like he reassured McKay earlier. They are letting him be if he lets them be(e), like he gently pointed out before. (Also noticeable that Sheppard's strategic evaluation of the situation was on point when he was thinking rationally, and in contrast he got everything wrong when he rushed out to follow the wraith because his mind wasn't on the task, his mind was occupied with trying to escape his feelings).

Pictured: John Sheppard and his feelings

The glowy bugs are after his food so he throws them a piece and very quickly chews up the rest of the power bar. This is probably indicative of what his life has been like; not having time or space to enjoy or even taste food (and the show uses food as symbolism frequently), just consuming it perfunctorily, getting by with the bare minimum needed to survive. He does not get to enjoy things and, we later learn, this is entirely of his own choosing. This also is a way for him to punish himself. But for McKay, this is his favourite food. Sheppard has watched him wolf down these bars with gusto. The thing he's used to whip himself with is actually something that can be enjoyed; and this, too, is something that he admires in McKay.

Sheppard tries another strategy: the lure the wraith away with a distraction to get the jumper. Nothing he attempts seems to work because Rodney was right: this is a formidable adversary. Taking it on is dangerous, and taking it on alone is a fool's quest.

McKay seems to be getting more and more agitated, thinking this exact thing:

McKay: You're right -- I should go out there. Gaul: I didn't say you should -- I said you wanted to. McKay: Because I should. Gaul: No you shouldn't. But don't let me stop you. If you really think that you can help the Major by going out...

The choice that he is faced with is staying with an old friend or going out and helping someone that has become more than a friend to him in a very short time. That's his entire dilemma. Again, you can call them brothers or best buddies or what ever you want. That's the exact plot of the episode. He's conflicted by his duty to stay put and do the compassionate thing against his desire to go and do the courageous thing:

McKay: I can't leave you here. Gaul: Yes you can. What difference does it make? You and I both know I'm not gonna make it. McKay: Stop being so dramatic. You're getting stronger by the minute. Gaul: I've never felt so weak. McKay: Then stop talking. Gaul: I'm dying, Rodney. I can feel it. McKay: Stop it! Gaul: I'm not getting better, I'm getting worse. He left me with just enough life so that you'd have to watch me die.

If Sheppard was eating a power bar to remind himself of McKay earlier, McKay keeps Sheppard close to him by adopting his mannerisms. He tells Brendan "As you were," a military dismissal. Sure, he's been around military personnel for a good long while but we were reminded just a few episodes ago through Weir's description of him (in Home) that he is not exactly fond of the military. He's not doing or saying these things because he's suddenly adapting to a military context. He's saying them to keep Sheppard close to him when he can't physically be with him at this moment.

Out in the open, the wraith is saying some pretty interesting things: "Do you think I'm a fool, Major Sheppard? There's nowhere for you to go on this world. Let me upon you. I will savour the taste of your defiance. The days on this planet are long, but the nights are cold. Sooner or later, I will have you."

Oh, the wraith wants him. To suck the life out of him, obviously. But it is a desire. If McKay allowed himself to even think this, he might have similar sentiments. But most of all, I find in this an echo of Sheppard's own feelings. Beckoning him. Let yourself feel these feelings, don't repress these emotions for your new companion-friend-whatever because sooner or later, they are going to overwhelm you. Savour the taste, let yourself feel things. You can't hide from your own damned self, not on this world, not in Antarctica, not in another galaxy.

The wraith is also explicitly telling him things he wanted to hear from McKay, earlier. About the length of the day on this planet, confirm his suspicion that the nights are cold. But possibly there are other things in here that Sheppard has wanted to hear, as well.

Both Sheppard and McKay are fighting a battle, and the battle is both internal and external. And they both have with them a voice (Sheppard has the wraith, McKay has Brendan) that is tempting them by telling them exactly what they want to hear. But it's not who they want to be hearing it from. If only they weren't forced to maintain the radio silence between them.

Continued in Pt. 9

#stargate atlantis #sga #sga meta #john sheppard #sheppard is bi #rodney mckay #rodney is gay #ep. the defiant one #ep. 38 minutes #ep. home

15 notes · View notes

electronickingdomfox · 9 months ago

Text

"Mutiny on the Enterprise" review

Novel from 1983 by Robert E. Vardeman (author as well of "The Klingon Gambit"). A short novel, written in the style of one of the episodes. It won't blow your mind, but it's fairly entertaining. Actually, it's better if you haven't read previously "The Klingon Gambit", as otherwise, the similarities in structure between both novels are too much: Kirk loses control of his crew due to alien influences (here because they become mutinous, there because they became capricious) and then has a planetside adventure. Again, Kirk is among the few able to resist the brainwashing, because of his unwavering loyalty to his duty. Though in this occasion, he's joined by Spock (thanks to his Vulcan control) and McCoy (thanks to his power of... grumpiness? I don't really know why McCoy can resist so well against this all-powerful influence, but he's very angry for most of the novel). Anyway, I found this one better than Vardeman's previous attempt.

There are some returning characters from "The Klingon Gambit", most notably, Chief McDonel: a female, even tougher version of Scotty, and a nice departure from the average female character in these novels. The main "villain" (though that definition doesn't really apply to her) has some interesting, well-conceived powers. And the alien life forms that Kirk encounters in the planet are pretty imaginative, and at the same time believable. As for the main trio, Kirk is the most developed character. And you can feel his mounting frustration against a situation quickly spiralling out of control. On the other hand, I think that Spock and McCoy are way too hostile towards each other. Kirk spends a good amount of time chastising them for their constant fights. Though some of their bickering is actually funny.

Spoilers under the cut:

The Enterprise has to bring three ambassadors to mediate in the conflict between planets Ammdon and Jurnamoria. And as usual, one of the ambassadors is a complete jerk (why does the Federation always choose the most unpleasant persons to negotiate?). However, en route to Ammdon, Kirk rescues an alien woman from a derelict ship and brings her aboard.

Kirk soon notices the powerful influence of this woman, called Lorelei, on him and others. Something about the way she speaks, and even her appearance, has a compelling effect on everyone who listens to her. Little by little, disaffection grows among the crew towards their current mission. Everyone seems convinced that, far from bringing peace between the two planets, the Enterprise's arrival will precipitate war. Even Sulu, Uhura, Scotty and Chekov start sabotaging the mission. And Kirk finds himself almost alone, with only Spock and McCoy still obeying his orders.

Everything points out to Lorelei as the instigator of the mutiny. Her species is completely devoted to peace and non-violent solutions. And she, as a Speaker of her race, has the ability to modulate her voice and adapt her discourse to the listener, for maximum effect. Since she's sure that the ambassadors will fail to bring peace, she convinced everyone aboard to hamper the mission. No matter how much Kirk insists that his intentions are also peaceful, she won't believe him. In this way, Lorelei is a good foil for Kirk: both have ultimately the same goal of achieving peace, but Kirk's conviction that a show of force is sometimes necessary against those that desire war, makes their positions irreconcillable.

On top of that, the warp engines, which were already in need of repairs, finally break completely, and the Enterprise is left stranded. Actually, it's heavily implied that it was Scotty himself who sabotaged the engines, in order to follow Lorelei's wishes. Fortunately, they discover a nearby planet, which seems enough technologically advanced to provide repairs. Spock and McCoy beam down to negotiate for the needed materials, but they notice something disquieting about the inhabitants. Neither the humanoids, nor any living creature there, seem capable of communication. And the entire planet reacts against any disturbance. When Spock tries to communicate with one of the aliens through a mind-meld, they're imprisoned. The ambassadors follow suit, when they beam down without authorization.

Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk loses his little authority left when he orders to shoot phasers, to destroy the prison that holds Spock, McCoy and the others (remember, no violence). So the crew maroons him on the planet for being such a bad boy. Down there, Kirk starts realizing what's going on with that place: the entire planet is actually a gigantic living thing, while the apparent creatures are like cells of a body, perfectly synchronized (that's why they don't need the usual ways of communication). Their presence, thus, is understood as something like a cancer, that the planet tries to get rid of. So Kirk approaches the prison, careful to not disturb a single thing, and avoiding tentacles on his way. Since everything is organic, Kirk brings McCoy a hypo to anesthetize... the prison itself. And they're set free. Meanwhile, a redshirt has died in a surprisingly gruesome way, and the ambassadors are also killed for upsetting the planet.

In the final part, Kirk, Spock and McCoy have to fight a battle against the whole crew to regain control of the ship. First, they hijack the shuttle that Lorelei uses to bring repair materials aboard (she's so convincing, that she talked the planet into collaboration). And after that, Kirk makes his way through the hostile ship, for a final confrontation against Lorelei. Once she's imprisoned, her effect over the crew starts diminishing. And Scotty finally gets to repair the damn engines, so the Enterprise can proceed towards Ammdon. Ironically, Lorelei was right all along, and the ship's arrival prompts Ammdon to declare war on Jurnamoria, thinking that the Federation will support them in battle. With all ambassadors dead, what will Kirk do to convince those two, stubborn leaders of the benefits of peace? What will he do indeed, hmmm...? I think the solution is pretty obvious, right?

Spirk Meter: 0/10*. None that I've noticed.

There's perhaps some timid McKirk. McCoy reaches for Kirk's arm in a couple of dangerous situations. And when Lorelei tries to regain the ship, she does so by telling Kirk that "Your Dr. McCoy has been imprisoned". She tries to beam him back to the planet, alone, which makes Kirk abandon the bridge, that he just won back with so much effort, and run to his rescue.

As for Spones, this is McCoy's observation to Kirk, about the two planetary leaders once they've reconciled:

"You're starting to sound like Spock. Those two are in love. Imagine, hating one another for so long, and now, who knows?"

"Yes, Doctor, who knows."

Well, who else has spent the entire novel fighting, and obsessing about every single thing the other says or does...? The irony seems lost to McCoy.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

#star trek tos #star trek novels #novel review #mckirk #spones

13 notes · View notes

thekingofwinterblog · 7 months ago

Note

Also the whole "flooding the world thing" - I think its a copout too for Oda to remove any complexity - now even some badguys must simply fight for the good side, cause yeah, nobody wants to drown.

There isn't any ambiguity over marines, like "the goverment may be bad, but it atleast stops anarchy from taking over" - no, now the goverment literally wants to destroy the world, so even Black Beard is the lesser evil, cause supposedly he just wants to rule it not destroy it in a black hole, but maybe thats gonna get revealed too lol.

I actually disagree with this, because this has been foreshadowed for a long time, and the set up for a massive escalation has been building up as the series and our understanding of the World's history has been revealed... But there was definitly a massive change at some pount, am im pretty sure I can pin point what it was.

But to set the stage...

There is one, single canon One Piece Movie. Strong World, written by Oda as Luffy's final adventure before everything went down at sabaody, amazon lily, impel Down, and Marineford.

But there was going to be a second canon movie.

One Piece Film Z was made with the idea of it being canon from day one in mind... Only for Oda to realize there was so many continuity mistakes within the movie in relation to the film, that he wqs forced to scrap it as being in continuity with the manga.

However, the important thing is not that it wqs scrapped as canon, but what Oda wrote as it's plot and how it relates to Imu's eventual plan.

The plot of Z, is that the former Marine Admiral Z is planning on ending the Golden Age of Piracy...

By using a super weapon called the Dyna stones to cause a volcanic chain reaction that would lay the New world beneath the waves(Something that an eagle eyed viewer might realize means all the islands in the new world is part of one, continious chain of tectonic activity, suggesting it was all one continent).

Sound familiar? That's right, this was Oda foreshadowing the eventual big endgame of the series by showing a villain plan something similar, just on a smaller scale.

Also, It's not really focused on before the very end, because this is very much a movie about the Straw-Hats vs Z, but the marines are NOT onboard with this plan at all, even if they would wipe out Kaido, Big Mom, Shanks and Blackbeard by doing it.

The reward is not worth the cost.

Again, Oda puts the reality that for how bad the marines can and are through the series, there are moral lines that even they, even Akainu himself wont cross.

I have a lot of critiques of Oda as a writer, but one thing I cannot complain is just how thouroughly he plans things out and hints at events to come. How well he does that as a norm, just makes the times when he fails look so much more jarring by comparison.

Then of course there is Noah. The giant, giant Ship that was the big unfired chekov's gun from Fiahman isles, made as a response to the reality that the side of the great Kingdom had lost the war, and now had to prepare for the contigency plan.

We have no idea what Joyboy's original plan was, or what he wrote on that apology to his friend/lover/ally Poseidon, but she and her people presumably built this ship as a result, and the reason for it was that Joy Boy and his side must have feared that the endpoint of everything was that the entire world would end up being flooded as a result of them losing the war.

Similarily, Wano, the only other country that we know fought on the side of Joy Boy and his allies, erected enormous walls around itself, which charqcters in story thinks are for defence, but when you have the full picture, it's obvious these were made in preparation of what they must havr thought would be coming soon, a total sinking of the entire world.

Another Chekov's gun that is as of yet unfired is Iceburg's plan to turn Water Seven into a floating Island. Ehich was treated as an interesting solution to a problem at hand, but when you realize where this story would ultimately end up heading, it's actual endgame purpose becomes clear, as one of the island's that are going to survive the comi g sinking, just so happens to be the same one where Pluton was originally built.

Just in time for the Thousand Sunny to fullfill it's purpose of reaching Laugh Tale and the Straw-Hats needing to level the playing field for Blackbeard's coming aquisition of Pluton.

Now with all of this in mind, it's pretty clear that Oda has been planning this endgame for a very, very long time.

So with that in mind, what was the shift i was talking about at the start?

Well, from a story perspective, the eventual flooding of the world was always One Piece's endgame.

But from an in universe perspective, i dont believe at all, that this was what Imu and the Gorosei was going to be about all along.

Rather what i think was the original plan, was that though Joy Boy somehow foresaw this as the future that would take place when he was "Reborn", what actually was going to be the case, was that the plan to just sink the world and be done with it was going to be the result of massive escalation from the World Government's perspective.

From a historical perspective, Imu has been the unchallenged leader of the world for a long, long time.

During that time, there was very little need, or motivation for Mariejois to flood the world... Why would they even consider such a course of action?

Well, if you pay attention to how we were introduced to these concepts back in Water Seven and Enies Lobby, there starts to form a picture.

Originally the stance of the WG going to any and all lengths to keep the very existence of the void century and the ancient weapons a secret was ironclad.

It was the way of things for centuries.

But then something happened. Something so monumental that they changed from trying to keep them buried, to try to revive them and harness their power for their own ends.

That something was 2. Things.

The great Pirate Era, and rise of the Yonko.

The greatest and most dangerous Pirate in history(So far) was Rocks, a man who tried to upend the entire world order, but at the end of the day, after his death his entire crew fell apart, and his ambitions and legacy died with him.

What really changed, was Roger, and the 4 Pirates who followed after him as the rulers of the next age.

Roger lit the world aflame in the great Golden Age of Piracy, and over the course of two decades, the World Govenrment's grip over the world began to disintegrate in the face of the rise of countless new pirates who took to the seas.

And of course, there was the other problem. The Yonko.

This is a fact that the Five Elder's immortality makes somewhat easy to miss, but not a single one of them, nor the Admirals, are on the same level of power as the Yonko.

Other than the Boar one, Luffy has so far beaten around the Gorosei lime ragdolls with little difficulty, and as we saw with both Luffy's manhandling of Kizaru, and a heavily wounded witebeard, who's age and illness made him unable to use his Haki to it's fullest potential still taking down Akainu in two hits, the Yonko are at a level of Pkwer that the World Government simply has nothing to bring to bear to realistically challenge them.

One, single exception might be Imu, as we don't have a good idea of how powerful the Monarch actually is, but Imu's capacity to actually be able to go out into the world is rather limited given how important total silence is on the very existence of such a figure.

And worse, while Rocks was a figure who's existence could be covered up, the Yonko weren't just pirates. They set themselves up as monarchs of their own, the inheritors of Roger as the rulers of the seas.

So influential was they they the world government couldn't directly challenge them, they couldn't wipe the knowledge of them from history, and they in general just had to tolerate their prescence and the risk that any one of them might go to Laugh Tale and find Roger's treasure.

So with that in mind, they tried(and eventually succeeded to some degree) to ressurect the ancient great weapons of old, to do with the great powers that brought ruin to the world, what their military power could not.

With this in mind, the logical conclusion is to assume that the plan to just sink the world beneath the seas would just be the next escalation.

That something being Luffy's awakening his devil fruit, The Ancient enemy of Poseidon coming back into the picture, and... Blackbeard.

I honestly dont know why he's so important in this situation(It would make way more sense if this happened AFTER he obtained Pluton), but im guessing that the fact he possesses the devil fruit the world government has labled as continuing the power of the Devil Himself has something to do with it.

So with this in mind, it makes way more sense that the final endgame of just "Flood everything and let god sort them out" was originally planned to be a direct escalation of the rising challenges Imu faces.

Just wipe the board clean, rather than risking the pieces doing to us what we did to the great kingdom.

Im honestly not sure WHY it changed to "This was always the plan.", but if i had to guess, Oda's original plan for this was that it was going to be Luffy's awakening that would serve as the final straw figuratively speaking, where Imu would finally reveal themselves and declare that play time was, figuratively over.

However if that was the chain of events, then Luffy's rise to Yonko would be an unambigiously bad thing, that would color the entire end of Wano in a rather grim light.

Rather than a hopefull beginning, it would instead be the final hours of the old age, before the events that took place there brought about the apokolypse.

There would be no way to spin that as a good ending in any way... And if there is anything that marrs Oda's writing more than anything else, it's his horrific fear of letting a story or arc end on a full on downer ending(The only exception to that ever being Marineford).

#one piece #meta #imu #world government #monkey d luffy #ancient weapons #questions and answers #escalation #film z

10 notes · View notes