#Tos' “Journey to Babel” as well

[null-doesnothing]

"hey you doing alright?" no actually I'm thinking about Sarek again

[anghraine]

I was thinking about "Journey to Babel" for whatever reason, and about how I find Sarek and Amanda super intriguing both as Spock's parents and as a couple.

Like, before watching, I had the vague fandom-osmosis impression that Sarek is Spock's shitty, judgmental father who actually does care about him deep (deep) down and will come through in a pinch, but not much more than that. I'd gathered that his emotional world mostly revolves around being crazy about his wife while refusing to admit he has feelings about anything (and everyone sees through this).

I also had a vague fandom-osmosis impression that Amanda is the normal, supportive, emotionally healthy parent to Sarek's distant, disapproving one and that it's not entirely clear why she even stays with this asshole except some vague "well, she loves him, I guess."

But upon watching the actual episode, I was quite surprised by Amanda—not at first, when she does seem more or less as reported, but later, as the stakes rise and we end up with Spock anxious about Kirk's health (because he got stabbed nearly to death) and insistently upholding his responsibility to take up Kirk's role, while Amanda is anxious about Sarek's health (because he's nearly dead of a congenital problem) and insistently trying to use whatever influence she can bring to bear to save him (the parallel signifying nothing, I'm sure). And the way these collide is kind of heartbreaking, because "Journey to Babel" is entirely clear that her reason for staying with Sarek is not that she's vaguely loving but that she's every bit as insane about him as he is about her.

When she hits Spock for not risking his own life and that of hundreds of other people on board to donate a ton of blood to Sarek in an experimental procedure that may or may not even work and tells him she'll hate him forever if he doesn't do it, I was like... I mean, I get that it's a tough moment for her, yes. But also, what the fuck. This is your son, ma'am.

I don't hate her for this, to be clear. I was just surprised that Spock is such an obviously secondary priority to both of his parents rather than Amanda being The Normal One. Amanda has never been normal about Sarek a day in her life!

And ... I mean, Spock himself has repeatedly jeopardized the lives of everyone on the Enterprise for slim chances of somehow saving Kirk, well past the point when even McCoy was telling him to stop. Oh, and Spock led a different outside chance of saving Kirk that failed and left the Enterprise with only impulse power, and Spock's response was to keep going towards Kirk's location on impulse power and spend the 58 days it took him to get there barely eating or sleeping.

So, like, yes, I don't get the feeling that Sarek or Amanda are particularly good parents, though they love Spock in their very different ways. But I do kind of respect them for being the only TOS couple who I genuinely feel are absolutely unhinged about each other in the same way as Spock and Kirk. As far as TOS is concerned, I'd love to be a fly on the wall at their family gatherings.

[electronickingdomfox]

USS Enterprise decks

Updated part 1 here

Updated part 2 here

This post got me thinking about the actual location inside the ship of several areas. Sure, there are many blueprints and reference books that have published complete and detailed layouts of the Enterprise. But ultimately, they're interpretations of different authors, filling in the blanks, and they often disagree with each other.

So this is a list of the bare minimum of facts. All the deck locations that can be gleaned from TOS episodes. Beyond that, it's up to anyone's imagination.

*Feel free to make additions or corrections to this post. This is only in reference to the original ship as seen in the series, not taking into account the refit ship from the movies, or alterations/retcons introduced in later series.

Saucer section (primary hull)

Most locations seen in the series belong to this section (as deduced from the curved corridors). The first version of the Writer's Guide tell us it has 20 decks. The later edition (season 2 onwards) reduced the decks to 11.

Deck 1

-Bridge: Obvious from a simple inspection of the ship's exterior. And also confirmed by the Writer's Guide to be in this deck.

Deck 2

-The Romulan Commander's "guest" quarters: Spock tells the turbolift to bring them to this deck, before leaving her in detention, in "The Enterprise Incident". I don't think we ever see other location said to be here (maybe she got the whole deck for herself; lucky!).

Deck 3

-Recreation room 6: Rand offers Charlie to come here, in "Charlie X".

-Recreation room 3: Spock says Bele is chasing Lokai in front of this place, in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield".

-Crewmen's lounge: Same as above.

Deck 4

-Environmental control: Scotty says power's been shut down here, in "The Ultimate Computer".

-Living quarters: Kirk confirms this, in "The Ultimate Computer".

Deck 5

-Sickbay: Kirk brings Spock to this deck after ordering him to report to sickbay, in "Amok Time". He does the same with Elaan of Troyius. Strangely enough, most blueprints place sickbay in deck 7 instead.

-Kirk's quarters: Confirmed in "Journey to Babel", which also shows the cabin number (3F 121). The same number was first seen in "The Conscience of the King", but without specifying the deck.

-Recreation room 3: Spock says Bele is chasing Lokai in front of this place, in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". May be a script error, since a moment ago he had said this place was in deck 3.

-Transporter room: As Lokai seems to run directly here, we may assume it's also in deck 5 (though there are probably many more transporter rooms throughout the ship).

Deck 6

-Briefing room: Sargon calls McCoy from here, in "Return to Tomorrow". May be the same briefing room from other episodes.

-Guest rooms: Bele and Lokai are assigned quarters here, in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield".

-Living quarters: Kirk confirms this, in "The Ultimate Computer".

Deck 8

-Auxiliary control: The android Norman hijacks the controls here, in "I, Mudd".

-Evaluation laboratory: Seen on a plaque, in "And the Children Shall Lead". Kirk and Spock arrived on this deck in search for Auxiliary control, so it should be in deck 8 as well.

Deck 12

-Janice Rand's quarters: In "The Enemy Within", after seeing Rand attacked by evil Kirk, a crewman reports they're in deck 12. The number of her cabin is also visible (3C 46).

-Kirk's quarters: In very early episodes ("Mudd's Women" and "The Enemy Within"), Kirk's quarters were here, instead of in deck 5. Since the number of saucer decks was reduced to 11 in season 2, the change makes sense.

Deck 14

-Transporter room: In "Dagger of the Mind", Dr. Van Gelder is locked in this deck, after arriving inside a cargo box.

-Personnel Director office: Seen on a plaque during Van Gelder's escape.

-Science Library: Same as above.

Unknown deck

These are some locations, likely from the saucer section, but with unspecified deck. There are plenty of such examples, so this isn't an exhaustive list.

-Impulse engines: The Writer's Guide confirms that the impulse engines are in the primary hull, in case of saucer separation. I think the impulse engines are only seen in "The Doomsday Machine", when Scotty is working aboard the identical Constellation. Though they look just as a reused set from Engineering.

-Spock's quarters: The cabin number is seen in "Amok Time" (3F 125). Possibly, it's in deck 5 near Kirk's quarters, considering the similar numbering.

-McCoy's quarters: Only seen in "The Man Trap" (I think), which also shows the number (3F 127). Again, it's probably near Kirk and Spock's cabins.

-Mudd's quarters: The number is barely legible, but looks like 3F 125, in "Mudd's Women". This happens to be the same as Spock's cabin. The likely explanation is that they didn't have a design for Spock's quarters so early in the series. The fun explanation is that they evicted Spock just to make room for Mudd.

-Uhura's quarters: Seen in "The Tholian Web", and adapted for Elaan in "Elaan of Troyius".

-Scotty's quarters: Seen in "By Any Other Name".

-Life Science Section - Botany Department: Seen in "The Man Trap".

-Gymnasium: Seen in "Charlie X".

-Officer's mess: Seen in "Space Seed".

-Botanical garden: Seen in "Is There in Truth No Beauty?".

-Briefing room: Different from the usual briefing room, it's seen in "Space Seed" when they decide Khan's fate.

-Biochemistry lab: Seen in "The Deadly Years".

Since I've reached the picture limit, the continuation with the Engineering hull sets will be in another post, here.

[kcscribbler]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

Aw, thank you so much @justabigoldnerd! I feel weird about self-reccing, but I don't think I've ever actually thought much about my favorites, so. This should be fun.

In no particular order, and taken only from stories currently posted to AO3:

Loki Series

Ready or Not

Summary: In which the waiting is over, and the war begins.

Oddly enough, the last two chapters of this arc are my favorite of all the 150K+ words in the Storyteller series. It was difficult to say goodbye to this series, because I poured a lot of love into it, but I told the story I wanted to tell, and I love where it ended. (Chaptered)

Star Trek: Alternate Original Series

2. What's in a Name, Chapter Six

Summary: Five times Nyota Uhura called Jim Kirk something other than Captain, and one time he was glad to return the favor.

Chapter Six is set many years after the events of Star Trek: Beyond, focusing on what a potential movie-era in the AOS might look like. I wanted something with the bittersweet vibe of the TOS movie era, but more sweet than bitter, and I think I achieved that. It was also written during a period of upheaval in my own personal life, with a lot of uncertainty about facing the future, and I think that emotion transferred. (Oneshot)

3. The Captain's Log, Redacted, Chapter Five - Distress Signals (Shields Up, Red Alert)

Summary: Or, The Ongoing Saga of "Well That's Not Going in the Report."

Chapter Five is definitely an unashamed demonstration of the Found Family trope, which to me is the defining feature of all my AOS fic. I was very pleased with how this one turned out. (Oneshot)

Star Trek: The Original Series

4. A Night in Sickbay

Summary: Or, The One With the Nightmares Added scene after the curtain falls on Journey to Babel.

I've written a lot of missing scenes from the series, but this one's always been a personal favorite. I think the older I get, the more I enjoy the quiet, gentle stories as much as the more dramatic ones. (Oneshot)

Star Trek: The Original Series & Sherlock Holmes (ACD Canon)

5. However Improbable

Summary: "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Captain Spock, ST:VI; original quote Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four. Two universes, two worlds, one link threatening to destroy them both.

Yes, I wrote a novel-length crossover between two very unlikely universes, many years ago as a just-for-fun NaNoWriMo exercise. Yes, it's ridiculous and niche. Yes, it's still probably my favorite story I've ever written. (Longfic)

[raisinchallah]

you know vulcan lore is actually straight up one of the weirdest things in star trek because well thats spocks culture so everyones fucking obsessed with it but theres actually been very little movement in like the intervening years between tos and enterprise because the other shows consciously avoided vulcans to try and differentiate themselves so like every tiny piece of info from the movies journey to babel and amok time got strung into things they were literally never intended to be like why are the ceremonial weapons from amok time used as regular soldier weapons in enterprise why is it assumed every single vulcan gets betrothed in childhood and thats not like fancy wealthy ambassador family trying to make sure his half human son is seen and accepted into their society and craziest thing actually is well nowhere in amok time is it stated pon farr happens every 7 years thats a throwaway line in the cloud minders from season 3 where spocks trying to turn a woman down where he says its every 7 years its meant more as a metaphorical you know u repress so much eventually it all comes out or puberty or like family bonds complicated very midcentury sexual repression type shit that is not really intended in episode to you know have all this other lore where we have to all sit around and think about how often spock must fuck or die now that line from the cloudminders got taken as canon its referenced in the motion picture novelization it became hardcore vulcan lore but i would actually say is kind of at odds with the intentions of amok time but here it is and now tuvok must have mind sex with his holo wife and thats life i guess but literally so many other random one off comments and lore in other episodes are never mentioned again people just cared very very deeply about having sex with spock

[blogquantumreality]

Suggested ST: TOS Episodes to Watch

If you really don't want to go through all of the original series' episodes, here are fifteen I would suggest watching to get the big picture of the major aspects of TOS that feed into TNG, DS9 and so forth:

"Where No Man Has Gone Before" - as the pilot, this is self-explanatory. It shows us many of the major characters who we'll see over and over through the series, and shows how they react to a new phenomenon that threatens the mental stability of two crew members.

"Balance of Terror" - introduces the Romulans, one of two principal antagonist powers in the TOS era and which still has a sizable rivalry with the Federation in TNG/DS9.

"The Menagerie, Pt. I/II" - along with the original pilot "The Cage", this two-parter is noteworthy for giving us a look into the Enterprise's past when it was commanded by Captain Christopher Pike. It also establishes one of the few crimes for which the Federation has imposed a death penalty.

"Space Seed" - introduces Khan Noonien Singh and establishes one of the major cataclysmic wars of Trek's 20th century, the Eugenics Wars, with Khan as one of the principal instigators.

"Errand of Mercy" - introduces the Klingon Empire as the second of two principal antagonist powers in the TOS era, and also introduces the Organians who impose an armistice between the Klingons and the Federation, promising that one day they would come to see each other as allies.

"Metamorphosis" - introduces Zefram Cochrane, the inventor of the warp drive which is the foundation upon which TOS era spacefaring rests upon.

"The City on the Edge of Forever" - for sheer feels this episode cannot be matched. We meet Edith Keeler, a woman who strikes a chord with Kirk beyond friendship, and see the potential cost of accidentally changing history.

"Mirror, Mirror" - here, we see an alternate universe in which a different set of conditions took hold, especially on Earth. In this universe, humanity's darker traits are admired and upheld, leading to the Federation morphing into an aggressively expansionist empire that brooks no opposition. Noteworthy for the way it explores the differences and similarities between mirror and canon Kirk as well as mirror and canon Spock.

"Amok Time" - this episode gives us an in-depth look at Spock, some of his life story, and the planet Vulcan and its customs.

"Journey to Babel" - introduces Spock's parents :P

"Patterns of Force" - rather topical in today's world, it is an interesting exploration of how any fascist movement inevitably drives towards extremism and only heroic efforts can usually stop one once it has taken hold.

"The Trouble with Tribbles" - tribbles. 'nuff said. :P

"The Paradise Syndrome" - introduces the Preservers, which serve as a canonically convenient way to explain the wide variety of similar biospheres on many planets as well as the tendency for human or human derived cultures to show up in places known to not be warp-capable. It can also tie into TNG's "The Chase".

"Day of the Dove" - introduces the last in the trio of Kor ("Errand"), Koloth ("Tribbles") and Kang, and gives more perspective on TOS-era Klingon perceptions of the Federation.

"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" - somewhat anvilicious as an allegory for the arbitrariness and futility of racism.

Honorable mentions include "The Savage Curtain", which introduces (Kirk's idea of) Kahless the Unforgettable, as well as "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" and "Assignment: Earth" as a loosely connected pair of 1960s Earth centered episodes in which unintentional interference by the Enterprise could cause severe temporal issues.

[bearsinpotatosacks]

I'm thinking that TOS Bones was either a surgeon (based on how he's shown doing surgery in a few episodes like Journey to Babel) or was a country doctor (which he says often) but was the type from such a rural town that he just knows everything. Need a vet? Dr McCoy. Need a paediatrician? Dr McCoy. Need literally anything but a GP/family medic? Well it's Dr McCoy or death buddy because it's a rural town and the nearest hospital is too far away even in the future. Just got the vibes that this is a rural mountain town, also this explains his accent because people from Georgia, or at least Atlanta, don't tend to have southern accents like Bones does. So either Bones had to adapt to Starfleet life or, because he's shown to not know Academy culture, he went through a sort of training program like OCS in the Navy (yes I'm using my Top Gun knowledge) which caught him up on other types of medicine necessary for the job.

For AOS Bones I don't think he was either of these, because I don't remember him talking about being a country doctor or seeing him in any particular surgical scenarios. What I can see him as is an A&E/ER doctor. He mentions doing emergency c-sections on pregnant gorn, and from what ER has taught me, being an ER resident while having a daughter and working wife can kill your marriage (Bones and Mark Greene's stories are kinda similar like that with their meeting wife early on, both having intense jobs and becoming bitter with her eventually cheating). Also, this would mean he was more accustomed to Starfleet life and instead of retraining in the Academy perhaps did a fellowship in Xenomedicine considering how much more diverse the AOS crew is than the TOS crew

[chillychive]

Random Lore Alert! (for my life series star trek au)

Scott had a brother. However, for reasons, his brother grew up in the mirror universe. Scott doesn't know he *has* a brother. This brother is known as Xornoth

Joel's parents met through the operation mentioned in the TOS episode Journey to Babel- his andorian mom defected and served as a DNA model for making surgically modified orions pass as andorian. She and Joel's Orion mom, an andorian scientist fell in love through that.

Shelby is a trill (no symbiote) who was raised by humans. Her name was given to her by her baby sister who couldn't pronounce her given name "Shubble". Originally- it was more like "Shebbie" but settled on Shelby.

Pearl loving to draw on the tablet like Spock does and Gem adores waking up/walking into Pearl’s art flying through the air. Their room is VERY full of plants, but in a somehow neat way?, and anyone who goes in there is just like *glitter bomb to the face*. (they are roommates)

Joel is the CMO, but everyone likes Nurse BigB more- mostly because he bakes things for his patients.

Etho and Joel are not exactly close but like each other a lot. Whereas he and bdubs were friends before etho became so well known, joel 100% knows who he is but refuses to treat him any different than just some guy. Etho really appreciates this. Theyre both weird about each other and its great.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Leonard McCoy

By Ames

We’re still boldly going through all the characters of The Original Series in A Star to Steer Her By’s latest blog collection, and this week the spotlight is on Dr. Leonard McCoy! We’re not even going to be at all objective about this one because Bones is the favorite TOS character of most of the hosts here at SSHB, so be prepared for us to gush about his curmudgeonly actions, witty one-liners, and constant back-and-forth with Spock.

It helps that DeForest Kelley brings so much more to the role than is on the page, so let’s dive in and discover what our favorite McCoy moments are, scrape the bottom of the barrel for some lesser moments, and generally fan all over the CMO of the starship Enterprise. Read on below and listen to this week’s banter on the podcast (discussion at 1:04:23) for more about this old country doctor. We hope you have a mint julep handy!

[Images © CBS/Paramount

Best Moments

Promoted too fast One of McCoy’s most highlighted facets is his obstinance, which is often played to hilarious effect. So when the ship is under threat from Balok’s Fesarius in “The Corbomite Maneuver,” it’s quite fitting that McCoy is stubborn enough to make what might be his last living action writing up Lt. Bailey just to spite Kirk for promoting him too fast. Now that’s no bluff!

Well, either choke me or cut my throat! Make up your mind! McCoy is at his most badass in “Space Seed” when his patient, Khan, has grabbed one of the good doctor’s handy wall knives and held him up. “It would be most effective if you would cut the carotid artery just under the left ear,” Bones says while his life is being threatened, and everyone watching this show goes “Daaaaaamn.”

Something called a mint julep. It’s a drink, Jim! Speaking of McCoy being a straight-up badass, when the subsonic transmitter is undoing the euphoric effects of the spores in “This Side of Paradise,” he straight up slugs the guy who dares imply that his job as a physician may have become obsolete on a planet with no disease. Without so much as dropping his drink! Grade-A badass right there.

My patients don't walk out in the middle of an operation Don’t forget that McCoy is a half decent doctor, especially considering most medical work in the future is waving a medical tricorder over people. But he proves his physician’s skills in “Journey to Babel” when he performs surgery on Sarek, transfusing a blood sample from a reluctant Spock and saving the ambassador’s life, all in the middle of a battle with Orions!

I’m trying to thank you… As we mentioned in the Spock spotlight post, the jail scene in “Bread and Circuses” is just stunning acting work from both Nimoy and Kelley. It’s such a short scene, but it’s got everything. And when McCoy ponders that Spock is afraid of living, afraid of showing his human half, afraid of feeling, they display in their acting that they’re both in the same emotional place and I love it.

A child could do it Like in “Journey to Babel,” Bones gets to prove his medical prowess in “Spock’s Brain,” even if it’s a little bit laughable overall. He does need help from the Teacher to give himself the temporary knowledge to reconnect Spock to his big Vulcan brain, but when that wears off, he keeps it together, and with a little help from his green-blooded friend, gets the job done.

Please give yourself every minute No wonder this episode was our favorite from TOS. What a great showcase for DeForest Kelley. His grappling with impending death in “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” is expertly played and beautifully explores how to measure a life’s happiness. McCoy’s romance with Natira is lovely and I heartily wish he didn’t have to leave her, though as I said in my review of Sawdust to Stardust, the novel Ex Machina revisits Yonada and is quite good!

I’ve been drafted There’s just something about Bones McCoy in The Motion Picture, standing on the transporter pad that he hates so much, grumbling at Kirk about getting drafted back into Starfleet, complaining like a cantankerous old coot about all the renovations made to his medical bay, all while wearing the most disco of civilian attire that is just plain charming.

I choose the danger While we found it a biiiit presumptuous for Spock to cram his katra into McCoy in The Wrath of Khan, it allows for some just plain great DeForest Kelley acting in The Search for Spock, so we can kinda forgive the violation. All movie long, McCoy gets to act like he’s mildly possessed by Spock, and then bravely face the fal-tor-pan ceremony that could be dangerous to humans. “Hell of a time to ask.”

What is this, the Dark Ages? While it could be seen as a blatant infringement of the Temporal Prime Directive to give a kidney pill to the woman on dialysis in The Voyage Home, you’ve just gotta love it when Starfleet doctors take matters into their own hands for the sake of a patient. Does the Hippocratic Oath trump the prime directive? Probably not, but McCoy is a hero to that woman regardless.

Not long after, they found a cure Sometimes Star Trek just doesn’t deserve DeForest Kelley, whose acting chops are frequently the best on the show, in our humble opinions. And the debated worst of the TOS films actually has some legitimately great McCoy moments – watching him euthanize his father only to learn a cure has been later found in The Final Frontier is such a moving scene that we really feel for.

Aside from a touch of arthritis… Only Leonard McCoy could get away with cracking a joke during his conspiracy trial prosecuted by relentless Klingons, as he does in The Undiscovered Country. And he even gets a couple of laughs out of the spectating Klingons in the audience, which may make up for getting convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Take that, Chang!

—

Worst Moments

I was thinking about the buffalo The very first introduction of McCoy in “The Man Trap” sees him doing some pretty irrational things. How is Plum’s mind so clouded that he can’t see Nancy for what she really is, especially when she’s literally sucking the salt out of the captain? And it’s an emotional scene, but I still can’t forgive McCoy for killing the M-113 creature, a sentient being and the last of its kind.

Don’t peek! Something rubbed us the wrong way about Bones’s flirting with yeoman Barrows in “Shore Leave.” Maybe it’s the age gap. Maybe it’s that they didn’t have a ton of chemistry. Maybe it’s that we ship him and Natira way more. Or maybe it’s that when she asks him not to watch her change, his response is “My dear girl, I am a doctor. When I peek, it’s in the line of duty.” Gross, doc.

Two drops of cordrazine can save a man's life Every so often, we really question Dr. McCoy’s doctoring skills and how his shenanigans wouldn’t fly in later series. And as much as it serves as the impetus for one of the best TOS episodes, being careless enough to inject oneself with a hundred times the normal dose of cordrazine in “The City on the Edge of Forever” – time ripples or not! – is just plain ineptitude.

You are out of line… sir. McCoy says in “The Doomsday Machine” that he hasn’t had time to run an examination on Decker to declare him medically or psychologically unfit to command. Well, why not, doctor?! If in “The Deadly Years,” we had time to hold a trial about Kirk being too senile to command, you surely have the authority to order the commodore to a checkup. You’re the CMO for chrissakes!

I’m a doctor, not an escalator Everything McCoy does on Capella IV in “Friday’s Child” is very strange to me. a) Why had McCoy been there when these people are still in primitive stages? b) Why didn’t McCoy TELL Grant that drawing his phaser would get him killed? c) What fetishist wrote the slap fight with the pregnant woman? This whole incident was just eyebrow raising, one of McCoy’s specialties!

A total resentment towards women See what I mean about Bones not understanding doctoring sometimes? A woman crewmember makes a mistake that bonks Scott on the noggin, so McCoy diagnoses Scott with misogyny in “Wolf in the Fold,” and prescribes a trip to a brothel. That was a thing that happened. What incel wrote this nonsense? Sometimes, Star Trek, your being written in the sixties really shows.

They reproduce bisexually Another weird medical gaff McCoy makes is stating that the tribbles reproduce bisexually in “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Someone on the writing team apparently had no idea what that word means and it resulted in making McCoy just sound incompetent. The tribbles reproduce asexually, and their being born pregnant is what Bones was trying to relay when he flubbed it hard.

I think I left it in Bela’s office Not only did McCoy NOT get to play dress up in gangster clothes like Kirk and Spock in “A Piece of the Action” (what a waste; he would have looked great!), but the button at the end of the episode reveals that he’s left his communicator on Sigma Iotia! Well. Go and get it, nincompoop! That’s cultural contamination! Beam it up! Amateurs, I swear to Okmyx.

…you pointed-eared hobgoblin! Most of our worst McCoy moments have been a bit tongue-in-cheek until now, but you do have to admit that McCoy’s constant stream of casual racism at Vulcans is absolutely problematic. And as much as we credit the beautiful jail scene in “Bread and Circuses” (as I already did above), it’s also the time that he called Spock a “pointed-eared hobgoblin” and that’s not okay. The rest of that scene is still great though.

Will I become like Chekov, doctor? Okay, doc, I know everyone’s going mildly nuts in “The Tholian Web” because of the space crazies, but Uhura’s claim that she saw the captain should have been taken seriously. It was a symptom no one else had displayed. You already knew Kirk was vanishing and reappearing. And later you take Scott seriously when he makes the same claim. Justice for Uhura!

They've lost confidence in you We mentioned this episode in our Spock coverage, but it bears repeating. Everything was out of place in “The Tholian Web,” and McCoy was in rare form being extra racist to Spock the whole time. Even if it’s for good reason (Spock is terrible at command!), McCoy comes off as petty, emotional, and cruel all episode long and that’s not the kind of light-hearted ribbing he usually gives Spock.

It tastes just fine One final blundering McCoy moment comes in The Animated Series episode “The Eye of the Beholder.” “The water is too pure,” according to Spock, before McCoy reveals that it tastes fine. What are you doing drinking untested water on a planet where people have disappeared, bonehead? And getting crushed by a dragon somehow? What is this, amateur hour?

— This blogpost is dead, Jim! We know Bones is a doctor, not an engineer, so fittingly next week we’ll make sure to aim our character spotlight at an engineer! Join us for our celebration of all things Montgomery Scott here on the blog, and also in our continued watchthrough of all Trek over on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast. You can also hail us over on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe don’t keep your scalpels mounted above the biobed, doc. Just a thought.

[hakka84]

Meta: (half)Vulcan's temperature

@jennelikejennay interesting meta reminded me that I never shared here on Tumblr the meta I wrote about Spock's temperature back in 2011. So here it is. Copy/pasted from Livejournal.

----

To be hot or not to be hot? This is the question.

Ok, I'll be serious: your host here has finally found the answer to one of the most controversial things in the Star Trek K/S fandom: Is Spock's temperature higher than a human's? The answer is in TOS so I'll play with pure canon here: no need to read books or such but just watching closely the series itself. I'm sure I'm not the first one to notice but... hey, repeating doesn't hurt, especially when people keep going on about Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual being not canon.

Evidence n°1: Dagger of the Mind

Spock isn't seen near a monitor's biobed except as witness of Van Gelder's apparent craziness. But let's take a good look to the values in the monitors when Van Gelder is on the biobed. Don't mind the actual arrows, as the human isn't really healthy at the moment, but look at the values' scale: we can disregard all the others as we don't need them. Take a look at the brain's waves if you like but save only the temp, the first one on the left.

On my dvd player on tv this work was easier because of an useful zooming function but, thanks to the power of aleniakalain's dvd, I hope this cap will work for you too: I'll help you.

.  .  .

Evidence n°2: Naked time.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Joe Tormolen's readings, just to see how a healthy human reads.

Let's have a better look at the readings

.  .  .

Evidence n°3: Naked time

Spock is healthy, Bones makes us sure of that. By the way, how hot is Nimoy in the black undershirt? Let's take a look at the readings. Bear in mind that these are Spock's average readings, when he's not influenced or under disease.

As you may see quite well, Spock's reading of temperature is quite under the green line, somewhere between 33 and 34°. At a rough guess the double arrows are marking 33.7/8. Spock's brain waves are far above the average.

So… canon speaks: Vulcans (and Spock) are colder than humans and Bones line about "that green ice-water you call blood" isn't a pipe dream.

There are two others times where we can see a Vulcan's reading but they can't be taken into account because in both of them the Vulcan wasn't really health.

Mirror, Mirror: Mirror Spock is, to Bones words, “dying” and all the lines are fucked up: I keep the brains waves as base and when these change too much then I consider the readings null for this little essay.

Journey to Babel: Sarek's readings. His temperature is higher than Spock's but he is under surgeon and all his readings are scrambled. Again, I can't really consider them reliable.

Anyway, canon says quite clearly that Spock isn't hot but cold. We're speaking of two C°, nothing excessive, but that’s it. It may have no biological foundations and you may say it has no sense at all: I can agree. However, Star Trek (TOS, in this case) made us quite used to biological nonsense. If a brain can be removed from its rightful body to then be put there again without any damage, if androids can be infused with a human's "pattern", if one's soul can be transferred in lightning globes (and so on), then we cannot really be squeamish on a simple change of temperature, right?

I know this sounds like a minor thing but since I've read that bit about Vulcan's temperature on Memory Alpha[memory-alpha.org/wiki/Vulcan#Medical_conditions] I have been curious to know why many people insisted on still writing Spock as "hotter". The old school is quite frankly excused as they had no captures to work on (later it came VHS but really, you can't read tiny bits on a recorded video). Recently I raised a geek discussion about it on Deviant Art and I've been quite puzzled by the replies (being cooler not biologically explainable, the book being written without scientific basis and all). They all had their reasons and they weren't just saying "it's this because I want it!" - hell, that's what I love about this fandom: things are discussed! - but I entered one of my stubborn mode... and I can be quite stubborn if I want to.

Then aleniakalain came to my house and brought the dvds... when watching naked time I jumped from the couch (killing her in the process), almost hit my head on the screen (blame the carpet) and zoomed until I found the answer. Then I searched a better view of the monitor for better reference and so on.

This's the result of half an hour spent with aleniakalain searching the right captures! Hope that helps clearing the issue!

*      *      *

Addition n°1: What this makes of us K/S shippers

verizonhorizon's comment reminded me that, originally back in January when I got home from vacation with my First Officeraleniakalain, I wanted to add my two cents about what happens to K/S bed scenes.

Ok, we have Spock who's colder - a little bit - and we have a room hotter than usually - for keep Spock warm because we don't want for our favorite half-Vulcan to have his pointed cute ears drop off. We have also a cute quilt with a little Enterprises' pattern, because our Vulcan likes to sleep under blankets. Logically our hot Captain Sexypant would die in a pool of sweat, right? But, what if perhaps Spock, being cooler, helps our snuggle-ish Jim from feeling like during a sauna session? Hugging Spock could give him the little cold he needs to feel right even in a warm room and under a blanket (even if I'm sure he ends up out of said blankets in the middle of the night).

Basically when Spock is made hotter we have a snuggle-ish Jim with his personal warmer while Spock endured having cold feet and a... well, cooler against himself. We just turned this upside down and is now Jim who has to be the man with the woman's cold feet and hands against his body in automatic search for warmth. XD

.  .  .

Addition n°2: Does this make sense? Again verizonhorizon, who points out that has no sense having a cooling system overworking to keep blood cold in a hot room (well, not these same words... :P). This makes me think, and it's probably the only issue that is still unclear in this matter. As far as I remember (and my mind has more holes than Gruyere cheese), in the series (TOS) nobody says Vulcans need higher temperatures. We know they live on a desert planet and the climate is freaking hot when Kirk jumps on the Kal-if-ee wagon. But, if we keep the desert reference, usually during night the temperature considerably drops. Perhaps the only logical explanation could be found seeing how desert animals' inner system work. Off course I'm not speaking about scorpions or snakes, but mammals like meerkats, foxes and such. This may start a great discussion! Unfortunately, I'm not expert enough to examine datas about these animals... anyway I can provide what I found.

Meerkats have a temperature similar to humans' (36.3ºC / 97.3ºF). They have an efficient ability to regulate temperature and, living in such harsh climate, they have a lower metabolic rate than their cousins living in other parts of the world, allowing them to live with less water and food. Their oxygen consumption is 42% below the value expected from body mass (Vulcan has a thinner atmosphere than Earth - if I remember right - but at least I'm sure there is less oxygen there and Kirk has difficulties to breath right).

Fennex foxes have a temperature of 38.2˚C (100.8˚F), but they are typically nocturne animals and during the day they live in deep dens under the sand to protect themselves from hot climate of desert's day. They are also provided with large ears (*coff coff* Spock?) to dissipate heat.

Camels vary between 34°C to more than 40°C, depending of how much they can dissipate the heat through evaporation. If they have free access to water they tend to have lower temperatures.

.  .  .

Addition n°3: Cold or hot? Both? alliegator as an interesting hypothesis. I'm quoting her, because there's not need for me to elaborate.

"I'm no biologist, but it is my personal head canon that Vulcans are both hotter AND colder than humans. My science-fictiony, pseudo-xenobiology reasoning that would actually fit with the above source: Vulcans have a normal core body temperature (91 F) lower than humans (98.6 F). Humans lose heat through their skin and extremities, so the surface of the skin can be much cooler than the core temp. Now I see Vulcans with their fast pulse as having a very efficient body heat regulation system, so possibly their surface skin temperature is much closer to their core temperature.

"So, theoretically, if a Human (98 F core temp) were to walk up to a Vulcan (91 F core temp) and touch them, to the Human (estimate 80 F hand skin temp) the Vulcan (estimate 87 F hand skin temp) would feel warm. Even though the Vulcan's core temp is lower than Human, the Human's skin temp is lower than the Vulcan's."

.  .  .

Ok, off-topic conclusions: 1) I feel a trekkie and I always hated people (a Star Wars' fan I'm friend of) who wasted time to search for things the canon left unclear or making essays about "no it's like this" and "what if...?"... 2) I've done again a biology little research because of Star Trek, the first being about wolves/canines and feline reproduction - you don't wanna ask believe me... 3) I have now in my mind's eye the disturbing image of meerkat!Vulcans standing at meerkat!Spock's failed wedding... The Lion King can ruin an innocent life!

[thewomancallednova]

I watched "Amok Time" today and was really suprised by how well SNW fits with this episode.

Spock dreaming of Chapel (unprompted) and his response to her "My name is Christine" ("Yes, I know, Christine") works really well with their past relationship. His line "It would be illogical for us to protest against our natures" also feels (retroactively) reminiscent of SNW.

Gia Sandhu really did a great job with T'Pring, her mannarism and style in SNW really connects her to TOS T'Pring. The soul-sharing ritual in "Spock Amok" also fits a ritual Spock describes here, "One touches the other in order to feel each other's thoughts. In this way our minds were locked together, so that at the proper time, we would both be drawn to Koon-ut-kal-if-fee," although it is implied to have taken place at age 7. Their whole "Explain:" and "Specify:" thing from the SNW pilot also originated here. One minor weird point is Spock looking at a childhood picture of T'Pring, as if he hadn't seen her since, or doesn't have access to more recent pictures. It is of course quite possible that T'Pring doesn't like having her picture taken or that Spock burned everything in the break-up, but it's probably the most apparent contradiction.

Interestingly Uhura does not recognize T'Pring, but upon looking at Memory Alpha it seems like they haven't met in SNW either (Uhura is absent in "The Serene Squall", T'Pring only interacts with Spock and Pike in "Strange New Worlds", Uhura is only involved in the Chapel part of "Charades" in "Spock Amok" she only sees T'Pring in Spock's body, so she wouldn't know)

This will definitely by an interesting rewatched once SNW is actually over (among "Arena" and "What Are Little Girls Made Of?")

Also Kirk's line about how Spock "never mentioned that his family was this important" is much more funny after "Journey to Babel" and Star Trek V and all of Discovery :D

[anghraine]

I've got a much longer post in drafts about it, but something I've noticed and find kind of odd is how there's so much insistence on the absolute episodic inconsistency of TOS, and writers knowing absolutely nothing about any previous episodes and the production team not really caring about consistency. It seems like almost any time there's a post about repeated themes or characteristics or whatnot in TOS, you'll get "that episode was written and produced entirely after the episode it might superficially seem consistent with or internally related to, but WELL AKSHUALLY..."

Like, for instance, any discussion of Kirk's (very consistent!) backstory and youthful personality in light of his canonical age will almost always get some insistence on how his age is completely up in the air until "The Deadly Years" establishes him as 34 in S2, there's no real consistency about his age in TOS, the internal timeline especially can't be considered significant to any S1 episodes or backstory as originally envisioned, etc. Yet in the S1 episode "Shore Leave," it's clearly stated that a) 15 years before the events of the episode, Finnegan was an older upperclassman who bullied Kirk, who was a "plebe" (first year) at the Academy at the time, and b) Finnegan was 20 then, nailing down Kirk's current age as no more than 33 or 34 (33 seems more probable, syncing exactly with him being 34 in the next season), and as far as I recall, none of the aired episodes contradict this or suggest otherwise.

A scene in "The Conscience of the King" would have suggested he's significantly older, but this was removed and the scene didn't make a lot of sense in the first place. Other backstory details in TOS are consistent with this as well, like the young Lieutenant Kirk being on his first deep-space assignment 11 years earlier c. S2 (aged 23 by the other episodes' timeline).

The production staff actively forced removal of details they considered inconsistent with his characterization and function (often rightly—sorry, Ellison, they were dicks about it but correct dicks). Details established in earlier episodes do recur—the existence of Sam Kirk, his wife, and sons and their good relationship with Kirk are established many episodes before "Operation: Annihilate!", Spock's painful, unexpressed love for his mother is introduced long before "Journey to Babel," Christine Chapel's crush on him is explicitly stated or clearly referenced in background shots over and over in S1 and S2 and is only really resolved as a thread in "Plato's Stepchildren," well into S3. Even specific events in earlier episodes are sometimes explicitly referenced in other episodes, like the Horta and Spock's desperate attempts to save Kirk in the Tholian web.

But honestly, I'm just kind of puzzled about why there seems so much investment in the idea that TOS is purely episodic and lacks all consistency from episode to episode, nothing ever recurs, it's never implicitly or explicitly calling back to other episodes, character arcs don't really happen, and so on.

[electronickingdomfox]

Star Trek TOS ships. Part 2

Continuation of this other post. I list here the TOS alien vessels, as well as ships from the Animated Series. Ships from the movies are here.

Romulan ship

Introduced in Balance of Terror, it appears in The Deadly Years as well. The Romulan ships from The Enterprise Incident, however, are of Klingon design (see below), though the remaster replaced one of these with the properly Romulan ship. They're equipped with cloaking devices and plasma cannons. Although this design is popularly known as a Bird-of-Prey, this name was never used in TOS for the Romulan ships. The early outline of The Search for Spock, where the villains were still Romulans, refers to their ship as a Bird-of-Prey, but it wouldn't be until "Voyager" that this design was named on-screen.

Klingon ship

It makes its debut in Elaan of Troyius, and reappears in Day of the Dove. The Romulans seem to have been using them as well (The Enterprise Incident). Earlier versions of this script specified that this was due to an alliance between the Klingons and Romulans. The remaster introduced Klingon ships in episodes where none was seen originally: Errand of Mercy, A Private Little War and Friday's Child. This model is popularly known as a D7, but this name wasn't canonized until "Deep Space Nine".

Fesarius

The gigantic First Federation vessel, commanded by Balok in The Corbomite Maneuver. It could dispatch smaller pilot ships, as well as tamper with the Enterprise systems.

Tholian ship

Appears in The Tholian Web. Commanded by Loskene, this ship along a second one start weaving an immobilizing web around the Enterprise.

Eymorg ship

Piloted by Kara in Spock's Brain, this vessel used an ion propulsion system. It looks very different in the remaster.

Orion intruder

The ship that follows the Enterprise in Journey to Babel. It also looks quite different in the remaster.

Gorn ship

Only seen in the remaster of Arena, and barely.

Medusan ship

Again, only visible in the remaster of Is There In Truth No Beauty?. Ambassador Kollos' ship.

SHIPS FROM THE ANIMATED SERIES

Bonaventure 10281 NCC

According to Scotty, this was the first ship ever to have warp drive (something that later series obviously retconned). It must have been at least 100 years old, considering the Horizon and Archon had already visited distant planets by that time. It was lost inside the Delta Triangle and thrown into a parallel universe, as seen in The Time Trap. Looks just like a fat Enterprise, if you ask me...

SS Huron NCC-F1913

A freighter commanded by Captain O'Shea, attacked and raided in The Pirates of Orion.

Ariel

A ship commanded by Lt. Commander Markel, and found in orbit around Lactra Seven, in The Eye of the Beholder. Never seen on-screen.

Robot grain ships NCC-61465 and NCC-G1465

Two automated cargo ships that the Enterprise escorted to Sherman's Planet in More Tribbles, More Troubles. They were attacked by Koloth. This design was the inspiration for the remastered Antares and Woden in TOS.

Several Enterprise shuttlecrafts

The animated format eliminated budget problems when it came to showing more ships, so the Enterprise was given a ton of new shuttlecrafts. Among these, there are the ones seen in Mudd's Passion: NCC-1701/4, 9 and 12. Four and twelve seem to be a new model. Also notice the new tubular shuttle in the first image.

Strangely enough, the shuttle Copernicus from The Slaver Weapon is also numbered NCC-1701/12, yet it's not the same as the previous one.

The aquashuttle from The Ambergris Element can sail on water and under it, as well as flying. The registry appears to be NCC-1701/A5 (the "A" probably stands for "aqua")

In the same episode, there's also a scouter-gig sent to rescue the crew, after the aquashuttle is destroyed. Its number appears to be NCC-1701/R6 (the "R" for "rescue"?)

Winston's trading vessel

The ship, apparently piloted by Winston Carter, that sends a distress call in The Survivor.

Cyrano Jones' scout ship

The ship that Cyrano used to escape from the Klingons, in More Tribbles, More Troubles.

Klothos

A Klingon battle cruiser commanded by Kor, that becomes trapped in a parallel universe along the Enterprise, in The Time Trap.

Dramian patrol ship

The ship that Demos (a Dramian alien) uses to pursue the Enterprise, in Albatross.

Traitor's Claw

A Kzinti police vessel from The Slaver Weapon, used to imprison the Enterprise crew.

Orion vessel

The ship that attacks the SS Huron in The Pirates of Orion. Quite different from the one that appears in Journey to Babel.

Phylosian ships

Strange plant-like ships intended to impose peace by the Phylosians, in The Infinite Vulcan.

Pod ship

An insectoid massive ship, destroyed 300 million years ago by an evil entity. Appears in Beyond the Farthest Star.

Antimatter universe ship

Piloted by Karla Five at impossibly high speeds, in The Counter Clock Incident. Originally from an antimatter universe, Karla Five was trying to escape the positive universe by driving this vessel into a supernova.

[jonfucius]

Great Star Trek Rewatch - The Original Series S2

Originally posted on Twitter 26 October 2020 - 2 December 2020

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 is up next in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. As with ENT, DSC, STX, and TOS Season 1, mini-reviews will document my progress.

Amok Time: After 29 episodes and some contradictory continuity, we finally get the first concrete details on Mr. Spock and the Vulcan species. A classic fight scene rounds out a strong start to Season 2. 8/10

Who Mourns for Adonais?: A decent early Season 2 entry. The giant green space hand is iconic, but the meat of the story rises above. Thanks to this episode, it became tradition that chief engineers on the starships Enterprise can't catch a break in the romance department. 7/10

The Changeling: A dry run of sorts for the superior Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The second time Kirk talks a computer to death, and it's a slow burn to the climax. 6/10

Mirror, Mirror: One of the most enduring concepts across Trek's 50+ year history is the Mirror Universe. This is still one of the best Mirror Universe tales, simply for its originality and focus. 9/10

The Apple: A Prime Directive debate and some red shirt massacres forms the crux of this otherwise forgettable episode. Definitely not one I'd revist on a whim. Not terrible, just mediocre. 5/10

The Doomsday Machine: This one and "Balance of Terror" jockey back and forth for #1 on my list of the best TOS episodes. William Windom's performance is superb, the titular device is scary (I hid behind the sofa when I watched this one as a kid), and the score is iconic. 10/10

Catspaw: Star Trek and Halloween don't go very well together. Even though this has an ostensibly scientific explanation, it still reeks of magic and sorcery. It is goofy, that's why it gets 4/10.

I, Mudd: This one starts slow but turns into a classic comedy by the end. Carmel is back as Mudd, though the portrayal of his wife is problematic at best. 7/10

Metamorphosis: This poignant love story with a solid sci-fi hook just clicks for me. It’s not the best but it just works. 9/10

Journey to Babel: Season 2 is definitely Spock-focused, and those episodes have not disappointed. This is a classic for good reason: action, pathos, humor, world-building. 10/10

Friday’s Child: Tonal problems keep this one from joining the ranks of the true classics. It’s serviceable but dreadfully slow in the middle. The Capellans are a fascinating race, it’s too bad we don’t see them again. 6/10

The Deadly Years: Impressive 60s aging makeup aside, this one doesn’t do much for me. The old age jokes are stereotypes, though the use of elderly actors in the first act is ingenious. And a rare bit of serialization with a callback to “The Corbomjte Maneuver” is welcome. 6/10

Obsession: Kirk gets some backstory and dimension in a tight, tense script. This is a well-paced acting showcase for Shatner. 9/10

Wolf in the Fold: This would have made for an excellent Halloween episode. A gaseous/energy being is easier to believe than the “Catspaw” transmuter, oddly enough. The line about women being easier to scare, and the Kara dance, are typical ugly 60s sexism, unfortunately. 7/10

The Trouble with Tribbles: A fuzzy thing happens on the way to Sherman’s Planet. A classic that thoroughly earns the title, it’s endlessly rewatchable and filled to the brim with classic gags, one-liners, and scenes for the entire cast. 10/10

The Gamesters of Triskelion: Angelique Pettyjohn’s look is iconic, but not much else about this episode is. A huge letdown after the preceding episode. 5/10

A Piece of the Action: An excellent palate cleanser after the preceding dud. Really wish we could follow up on the Iotians some day. I forgot how funny this episode is. 9/10

The Immunity Syndrome: Season 2 giveth, and Season 2 taketh away. The concept of a spaceborne lifeform is compelling, but this is otherwise a dog of a show. 4/10

A Private Little War: when the show tackles the Vietnam allegory, it sings. When it focuses on Nona, it falters under the weight of 60s’ sexism and bigotry. 7/10

Return to Tomorrow: A different take on the non-corporeal beings trope that hangs around TOS like an albatross, this one is more nuanced and subtle than most. Come for Nimoy’s delightful villain performance, stay for the poignant denouement. 8/10

Patterns of Force: An examination of how easy it is for a society to fall in love with fascism misses the mark by claiming power and not racism was the animus of Nazism, much like Confederate apologists claim the Civil War was about rights and not slavery. 0/10

By Any Other Name: The Kelvans’ powers are frightening, but it’s an episode I just can’t get excited about, except for Scotty drinking one under the table. 6/10

The Omega Glory: Gene, your über-patriotism is showing. Another late Season 2 letdown. 3/10

The Ultimate Computer: TOS has a serious distrust of powerful computers/AI that fades somewhat in the later series. Daystrom is a tragic figure, and the horror of the murder of the Excalibur’s crew is effectively conveyed. 8/10

Bread and Circuses: The social commentary is on point, but two parallel Earth stories in three weeks is somewhat tiresome. Still, an entertaining yarn. 7/10

Assignment: Earth: I’m ambivalent on this back door pilot. I like the Gary Seven character, and I normally enjoy time travel stories, but it just doesn’t do a whole lot for me. It’s not excellent, it’s not bad, it just is. 6/10

And with that, Season 2 of TOS comes to an end in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. Final score: 6.77/10. Highest score(s): "The Doomsday Machine," "Journey to Babel," "The Trouble with Tribbles." Lowest score(s): "Patterns of Force"

[onekisstotakewithme]

PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT 90S SKI AU AND AMBASSADOR SPOCK AU

Yesss Prax, I'd be delighted to! 🥰🥺 both incredibly beloved AUs and both victim of my ADHD tendencies...

90s ski AU is pretty much what it sounds like. It's based on a conversation I had with Sarah (@thebreakfastgenie) ... last summer, holy shit lmao. Essentially, BJ and Peg are on vacation at a ski resort in Maine for the week between Christmas & New Year's, plus the first week of the next year. While on said ski vacation, they meet Hawkeye, and well... long story short, romance happens (or it would if I could finish the damn thing).

I love this draft soooo much (I had about 21k or so?) and it breaks my heart that I couldn't keep working on it. I hope I can get back to it someday with the same excitement and verve that the 21k had (seriously, even for a first draft, I did actually love what i was doing.)

Anyway. A snippet:

“You Californians… lily-livered, all of you.”

“Don’t include me in that lily-livered lot, Hawkeye, I’m from Oklahoma.”

“Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains?”

Peg scowls. “There’s nothing you can do about that joke, you just have to sit there and take it.”

BJ chuckles to himself. “I’d leave that alone, Hawkeye. Peg hates Oklahoma.”

“The state or the movie?”

Peg shrugs. “I can go either way.”

~

Ambassador Spock is under the cut because this post is already getting silly.

Ambassador Spock AU is inspired by my love of the TOS episode Journey to Babel (and my appreciation for my favourite grumpy bastard father figure, Sarek), and the plot is thus: Deliberations are being held on admitting a new planet into the Federation. Captain James Kirk is tasked with conveying Ambassador Sarek and his son Ambassador Spock to the neutral place where deliberations are being held... with a few adventures (and some romance!) along the way. Someday I'm going to finish this one, because I had some great ideas for it. And I love a spirk AU.

Snippet:

“What the hell kind of a place is this for a party?” he demands. “Any minute now I feel like I’m going to have to fight a gladiator!”

“Easy, Bones,” Jim says, feeling a headache coming on. “Although I must admit, it’s… certainly unique.”

“What do you think they do, bait humans?”

“Sehlats, actually,” Ambassador Spock says, appearing behind them.

“Ambassador, this is quite the party your father has arranged.”

Spock nods in acknowledgement, as Bones asks, “What in the devil is a sehlat?”

“It resembles a Terran bear,” Spock says, “With fangs.”

[lenievi]

if you're new here (and maybe started to follow me because of SNW), I tend to rewatch random TOS episodes quite often (it hasn't been happening for a while because I've been distracted, but I guess I always come back...) and I usually end up spamming when I do that, and it's typically Kirk related these days... (well for a year and a half tbh) and I do talk a lot about Kirk as a character, which includes the relationships with women in his life

I ship Kirk/McCoy and Spock/McCoy (I do not ship the one not listed).

It might not look like it, but my favourite character is actually McCoy. Kirk just... happened. And SNW has unfortunately given me more fodder...

I'm very canon oriented when talking about the show, but I'm not really stuck on one random line. (That's a lie, I'm very stuck on "And you haven't come to see us in four years, either." because everyone keeps ignoring it and thinks that Spock hasn't seen his father for 18 years by Journey to Babel... anyway lol)

I also absolutely love Sarek, so if you hate him, and I get into my Sarek moods, your time here might not be pleasant lol

anyway, enjoy your stay :D