#a man of two worlds [ spock ]

[laney-rockin]

It's really weird how Star Trek writers constantly try to make either Kirk or Spock the quote unquote "womanizer", "heartbreaker" and ladies man.

It's so funny to me because neither of them should be. They play chess for fun. They respect women so much. They're both also so awkward that it's impossible to think of James T. "Stack of books on legs." Kirk is anything but an absolutely respectful and lovely human being to women.

I also refuse to believe Spock, the epitome of professionalism, is out there kissing nurses after his fiancee suggested they "take a break". The whole reason Spock held back his urge to climb Kirk like a tree was because he was engaged.

It's just wild to me that the most respectful, awkward men on the Enterprise would ever be portrayed as heartbreakers. Also hilarious.

[sleepynegress]

A COMPREHENSIVE & AUTHENTIC UHURA LOVE/HISTORY POST

The above is where Roddenberry 1st employed Nichelle Nichols [click to watch the full clip]. It was a military show based on Roddenberry's own experiences, the episode is called To Set it Right (I highly suggest reading the wiki article about it).

You should note two other actors, whom he later pegged for Star Trek are in the episode.

They dated briefly and then became good friends way before Trek came about.

Miss Nichols was already an accomplished singer and dancer who performed regularly w/ Billy Eckstine and Duke Ellington

Roddenberry's 1st show, The Lieutenant, was canceled/pulled from the air before these scenes bluntly dealing with racism could air (there's blackface as punishment for the racists at the end of the show, in a case of 'he 'a little confused but got the spirit' for the times, so tw)

He created Star Trek to try to soften the blow of all the social messaging he wanted to insert from his military experience. Star Trek was basically, a submarine drama placed in a sci-fi setting. He made it diverse on purpose because the military helped him travel and serve with all kinds of people. Roddenberry was inspired by that.

Uhura was the first person to read for Spock and in fact, helped to shape the character with her reading and based many of the traits of Uhura (formerly Uhuru) on Spock.

She was basically a glorified secretary. She played the part with poise, joy, and the 60's style womanism she got to play out for those times... Everything from her mini-skirt (which Nichelle herself called very comfortable) to her smile, and teasing lines, and quips were about her playing "big" in a small role. She made every moment, every look, every line, and movement count:

Roddenberry cracked jokes about the fact that the network never figured out that Uhura was fourth in command.

Nichelle was the only main cast member who was not salaried. She was paid by the hour. This attempt at marginalization actually resulted in her being the highest paid at times, because of the long hours.

Nichelle was not let in the front entrance at times, her fan-mail was kept from her, and she grew frustrated with the constant cutting of her scenes, lines and storylines. This is why she justifiably attempted to leave. The bigots in production did not like her being there (and if we're being real, were it not for Janice Rand's actress Grace Lee Whitney having gone through so much and thus losing her job in the 1st season...Uhura might have had even LESS presence)

The lost context in MLK convincing her to stay was that YES she was minimized and could make more money and be more fulfilled on broadway, but her symbolism and presence meant so much at a time when Black women weren't on TV unless as a racist caricature cleaning a house, and even that was rare...that she stayed.

One of her best allies was DeForest Kelly, who threatened to quit if they fired Nichelle. George Takei was her absolute best friend on the show and in life (she served as his Best Woman at his wedding).

There was an unfilmed episode in which Uhura and Deforest would have played reverse roles in "racial dynamics" on a planet they visit

Spock and Uhura were originally supposed to kiss in the alien mind control episode, but Shatner demanded to do so for the publiicity.

Her work to recruit marginalized people as astronauts, as in personally going to colleges and talking to candidates after the show is a staggering achievement that arguably is the most potent of any castmember in any of the Trek series post-show. Sally Ride, Guy Bluford (she personally recruited the 1st woman and 1st black astronaut), Mae Jemison (the 1st black woman credits her for inspiring her to become an astronaut).

Uhura did finally command the ship in the animated series. She would not have gotten to voice the role, but for Leonard Nimoy making it an obligation that all the original actors voice their parts for him to come on.

Scotty and Uhura in the film was definitely a pair the spares situation, in which both were the leftover senior citizens with the writers just going "why not?"

it was beyond insulting and she did protest about the scene where she's bumbling through a giant translation book to speak to klingons for laughs in trek 5 ...but her best moment IMO is her pulling a gun on the young ensign in the transporter room in Trek 3...sadly her ONLY scene in the damn movie.

Miss Saldana got to play to MANY corrections in JJ Abrams rebooted Trek, from being amazing at languages to having an actual life & love, to confidently turning down Kirk at every turn.

FUN FACT!! Both JJ and Bob Orci both expressed disappointed shock that the love story between Spock & Uhura got more hatred from fans than BLOWING UP PLANET VULCAN.

another FUN FACT!! The love story between Spock & Uhura is what grabbed the old school Star Wars fan (JJ Abrams) enough to come aboard to direct. Yep. JJ ships Spock & Uhura.

Zoe's iteration became the 1st version of Uhura to speak confidently in Klingon

Celia Rose Gooding becoming Uhura brings around a lot of Uhura's qualities full circle, IMO. As she is also from theatre (like Nichelle) and has a beautiful singing voice as well as the charm. Zoe's iteration was sharper, and much more protective, professional, & mature, about her life and love.

Celia Rose has the youthful curiousity and stars in her eyes and had vulnerability from her first intro... I loved the eagerness the crew showed to being in her orbit, seeing the glow of her talent and being drawn to that, to have a part in nurturing that.

As I've said... Celia IMO has the most dazzling smile, giant warm brown eyes, fantastic curves, and an energy that feels essentially Uhura, & that is all light, joy, a bit of uncertainty, -from the light singing (!) and the growth to her joy in discovery... I'd love to see her writing move away from serving and be more about her wants needs and growing in friendships/loves.

But Celia is a gift and is perfectly cast.

Essentially Uhura = femininity, graceful carriage, gorgeous smile, excellence in engineering and translation (canon!), ability to sing and play the Vulcan lyre, sharp womanist wit, love for her U.S. of African-Kenyan culture and being beloved by all crew...

When Miss Celia hummed those gorgeous notes to the alien entity on that comet?? That Solidified that she IS Uhura IMO.

I 100% think they fucked up by killing Hemmer, because that mentor-mentee relationship was giving marginalized coming together and bonding over everybody else's bullshit and I was here for it...it was giving me Data and Geordi updated...and since then, IMO they've lost track and given us the same kinda backwards wingwoman role BS, that people who like to pretend to be her fan shoehorn her into.

...but I have high hopes that they'll course-correct.

All this to say ALL OF THE ABOVE is Uhura and anyone calling her ugly, bossy, pushy, annoying, whatever is just sad little hater who doesn't know wtf they are talking about.

[bumblingbabooshka]

On s'est déjà tout dit Et j'ai déjà tout vu Je l'ai déjà apprise, la leçon la plus dure J'suis tombé droit dans l'mur, une fois, deux fois

[We've already said everything and I've already seen it all. I've already learned it, the hardest lesson. I fell straight into the wall, once, twice.]

[bardicious]

I think the fundamental difference I've always seen in Kirk vs everyone else when it comes to Spock is, Kirk always accepts Spock as he is. He doesn't see him as Vulcan, or half human. He merely sees Spock, and interacts with him. Sees Spock for his behavior as a Spock behavior, not a Vulcan or Human one.

Everyone else will narrow Spock's actions down to these components. It will always come down to being completely aware that "oh this is a Vulcan! He doesn't get us" or "He's half Vulcan, half human, those things can be separated. How do we get the Human side in the forefront, or the Vulcan side"

For Jim, Spock has always been Spock. His equal. Someone he understands as he'd understand any human, or any other alien. Jim has always been good at seeing people, and not race, but especially with Spock.

I used to think it was a TOS thing, but honestly, the way SNW characters view the topic is quite the same.

[muchadoaboutstartrek]

Spock: I also feel strange feelings... stirring *proceeds to shamelessly check out La'an*

Laan: *more than slightly confused* You just need to control your impulses

[aethergate]

I have died. Badly.

[dearestblood]

tag dump !

[aethergate]

That's what I thought you would say.

...No, Spock, that... won't be necessary. Forget I said anything.

[risingchaos]

Explanation of Cuff Bands in Star Trek (The Original Series and Strange New Worlds)

Pips TNG onward explained + details of what each rank does

In TOS, they hadn’t figured out the pip system yet, so they did wrist bands to signify rank instead. It’s not nearly as straightforward as the pips, but once you get a hang of it, it helps tons. Plus they rarely call anyone by their rank in TOS, often going by mister or miss. This will mostly have close ups of TOS characters.

Now, Starfleet is based upon the U.S. Navy, so the names used are those. I’ve broken down the ranks in greater detail in the post linked above, so this one is just for knowing the ranking of each band and a brief explanation.

If you just want to know the look, there is a guide at the end for you. :)

—————

Description of the line looks for anyone who needs it: Dashed lines are long gold dashes perpendicular to the cuff, curving slightly upwards on one side and downwards on the other for each dash, like the shape of an eraser on its side. Solid lines are a straight gold band perpendicular to the cuff with another solid gold line wrapped around it. It almost looks like the two are intertwined. Bars are explained briefly later for Admirals, but they look like one straight gold band with two of the previously mentioned solid lines pressed against each side on the top and bottom with no space between.

For Strange New Worlds, replace any mention of a dashed line a thin straight line and any mention of a solid line as a thick straight line. I have not found any actual explanation for Admirals in SNW, but they have different Starfleet badges.

Cadet - Uniform Distinction

As far as I know we don’t actually meet any in TOS, but we do in SNW. In basically all Star Trek media, cadets wear red/all red uniforms. Cadets are people still in the Academy, not yet graduated. They can still serve on ships for training, however. Cadet Uhura is a lovely example of this.

Petty Officer - Insufficient Information

I am not sure if Petty Officers exist in TOS or appear in SNW, I searched for a while to find solid proof. The closest I could find for TOS was that maybe in The Motion Picture there was a Petty Officer with a triangle insignia, and that there was a character named Samno in Star Trek VI who was a PO and a Yeoman. If anyone can confirm/deny/offer anything, I will add it to this.

Yeoman

Yeoman are assistants in Starfleet. They’re only used in TOS, and their system is kind of strange. You can hold a ranked position while still being a Yeoman, shown through an unnamed character who had Junior Lieutenant markings on her sleeve while being addressed as a Yeoman. They generally are Ensigns, however.

Ensign - Blank sleeve

Ensigns have blank sleeves. I think this is probably for practicality for budget reasons in TOS, but most background actors are ensigns. Ensigns are graduates from the Academy and just anyone who hasn’t climbed the chain yet.

Lieutenants

Junior Lieutenant - Single dashed [•]

The only example I could find was a man named Joe Tormolen from the episode “The Naked Time” as the guy who dies at the start. Junior Lieutenants feature a singular dotted line on the cuffs.

Lieutenant - Single solid [~]

Most crew members we see are Lieutenants. Lieutenants are working consoles, navigating, going on away teams. Hikaru Sulu and Nyota Uhura in TOS.

Lieutenant Commander - Single dashed, single solid [•~]

Lieutenant Commanders are integral to running the ship. Heads of departments and the ones who run day to day activities aboard the ship. Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott was one of these.

Commander - Two solid [~~]

The First Officer on the ship. This is second in command, the right hand to the Captain. In TOS, our Commander Spock is also the head of the science department.

Captain - Single solid, single dashed, single solid [~•~]

Captains we all know. They are the head of the ship, the man who has to keep it level and realistic at all times, though our lovely Captain Kirk isn’t exactly known for level-headedness. He also has the green wraparound shirt that has the V shaped gold detailing by the neckline with a small gold line between.

Admirals

Admirals have an extra silly thing. They have a bar. It looks like if you smushed two of the solid bars together with a straight gold piece between. Admirals usually have different uniforms but they honestly change rather frequently. We meet Admirals few and far between in any ST show, but I’ve put them below nonetheless.

Here is a complete guide to each wrist cuff design in Starfleet’s early days, excluding Cadets, Petty Officers, and Ensigns.

A dot • indicates a dash line, a squiggle ~ indicates a solid line, and a hyphen - indicates a bar.

Junior Lieutenant - [•]

Lieutenant - [~]

Lieutenant Commander - [•~]

Commander - [~~]

Captain - [~•~]

Commodore/Rear Admiral (lower half) - [-]

Rear Admiral (upper half) - [~-]

Vice Admiral - [-~-]

Admiral - [~~-~]

Fleet Admiral - [~~-~~]

—————

Hopefully this helps you understand as much as it did me when I first figured it all out. Took a minute to get some research done. Let me know if anything is worded strangely or if the descriptions aren’t clear enough. I tried to be detailed with it at the start. If anyone has extra information or needs more, please comment or message me! I will answer/clarify to the best of my ability.

I love putting together this kind of thing so if anyone wants more lists like this, let me know. Enjoy.

[basimdasasonst]

snw spock rant

i've been watching strange new worlds recently, and the prevailing feeling i always leave with, no matter the episode, is that i would like it if not for spock.

don't get me wrong; i'm a tos fan to my core. star trek launched me into a love of sci-fi and space fiction and is the whole reason i'm in university studying astrophysics, why i'm writing a book using said inner astrophysics nerd, why i have any sense of purpose to me, cliche as it is to say. star trek was an integral, important part of my upbringing, and continues to be one of my main interests to this day. i love jim (and i love snw jim! especially after aos kirk (shudders)) and i love bones (i really hope he joins snw soon....leonard mccoy save us....save us leonard mccoy...) and i love scotty and i love spock. but not snw spock.

here's the thing about spock: his internal character conflicts have always had some sort of root in him being not enough/not vulcan enough/not human enough/etc. his struggles with relationships as a result – because, lets face it, both humans and vulcans are social creatures and need friends otherwise society as a whole wouldn't be a thing on either world – make up a core part of his character. in tos, his relationship struggles were nearly purely platonic, with a few offhand remarks about stray crew members having crushes on him (uhura in early first season, chapel in amok time). 

s1e4 "the naked time". spock, right before losing his figurative Marbles, sees "love mankind" written on a wall. later, he goes on to say to jim: "when i feel friendship for you, i'm ashamed." other posts have done and will do better jobs of explaining it, but in conjunction with "sinner" written on the turbolift near jim (about not being able to form lasting relationships with other crewmates because its too much of a power imbalance), the writing on the wall (literally) is that spock is inherently ashamed of his humanity. he has been raised on vulcan to be a vulcan.

his internal conflict is always about him struggling with his human side. he struggles with friendship, he struggles with his humanity, he struggles to be something that people don't immediately deem wrong. as a gay man, and certainly as a young queer child first watching tos, i felt closest to spock not just because of feeling ashamed of part of my cultural heritage, but also because of repression. spock represses these feelings of insecurity, of friendship, of the need for connection in others in a certain way, so much that it causes him pain. growing up gay, his pain was very real to me. writing on the wall. he’s silly and a cool character of course, but he resonated with me in a way that, at the time, i didn’t have anything to resonate with. 

what does this all have to do with me hating snw spock so much? i want to preface this by saying i went into snw really wanting to love it. i saw the intro and the planets and the nebulae and the black hole and the music and was like "damn, this is fucking cool." star trek, to some part of me, was also about the space exploration aspect as much as the characters. the whims of wacky crewmembers and sentient rocks. the impossibly infinite things nature can form on its own. snw looked fun. i really wanted to like it. and you know what? i almost like it.

except for spock. quite literally the only character i have any quarrels with is spock. dehydrated, glistening, oiled up spock. wtf. why is he in a relationship with t'pring? why does he (almost) cheat on her with chapel? and why chapel??????????? chapel has a one-sided (VERY CLEARLY ONE SIDED) crush on him in tos. why is it two sided now. 

what, and i can't stress this enough, the fuck? 

and don't come into my house and tell me "oh you know, it makes sense, because, because then spock gets all hard and Logical and shuts himself off and obviously the reason for that is a breakup–" No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no no no no. i don't care if it makes “sense” it feels so intrinsically wrong to his character. i’ve had much more character development from losing life-long friends than ending barely a year long relationships. spock wouldn’t immediately shut down because he kissed a girl once and then she said “acshually sowwy my work is more important” when that’s the exact sentiment he echoed to t’pring when they broke up.

more importantly, snw spock barely has friends. he calls pike a friend once or twice, but i hardly believe that they're friends. he barely interacts with la'an or erica, he has a few passing conversations with uhura in season 1 on episodes about her that don't really carry into season 2, and otherwise he's just There. he doesn't have friends in snw. the writers are prioritising him having a romantic relationship over a friendship. snw spock needs a friend way more than he needs a bone buddy. and it really rubs me the wrong way the way the relationship with chapel was portrayed to be first friendly and then romantic. i never believed for a second that he and chapel were friends – despite the screenwriters trying. every time they talked prior to s2e5 there was this odd undercurrent of sexuality that seemed to follow them. lingering looks, touching fingertips, long pauses – it was so unbelievably awkward and obvious that they were setting up a relationship between the two. i mean, for fucks sake, s1e1 uhura calls chapel "spock's girlfriend." boy did my blood boil when i figured out that was where the show was going. s1e5 was actually painful for me to get through (chapel sits down, gives spock relationship advice, giggles, smacks him upside the head, and calls him an idiot. 2017 wattpad is calling, they want their material back) and i had to take two full days to get through s2e5 because i was in anguish the whole time. it was a constant mental barrage of "spock wouldn't say that," and "spock wouldn't do that," and "this is not spock."

for the most part, i couldn't figure out why spock and chapel's relationship specifically bothered me so much. i mean i have my quarrels with la'an and jim, and i really don't give much of a care about pike and batel so why was spock and chapel grating on me so badly? was it because it was being shoved in my face? was the writing that much more atrocious than the others? was it the decimation of spock's character?

it was, i found, a product of all of those and the issue of queerness. 

look; i've survived sherlock bbc, i’ve survived the golden age of quotev fandom in 2016, i've bared witness to so much queerbaiting in my life that i don't even bother trying to hope for any sort of main character queer representation anymore. we’re going to be a footnote until someone does something about it. unfortunately, that’s not going to be me because i’m not a film director. so i look the other way and steam about it on twitter or tumblr or whatever hoping that i, like many other frustrated queer people, get noticed one day in the far future when it’s ok to have a queer romance in mainstream, it’s ok to have a queer main character, and it’s ok to let it simmer slowly and burn instead of jumping into it to say “look guys we’re woke!!!!!” (star trek literally was the pioneer for most of these things back in the day. but that’s another discussion on the heterosexualisation of progressive media that i wont get into. it just feels bitterly funny that this is happening to star trek of all things.) these days i just pretend the relationships dont exist and skip over them when they happen. i've developed a sixth sense for when weird, forced heterosexuality is about to be shoved down my oesophagus. i've just gotten used to it. 

but sphapel (or whatever it's called) burned through me. i've never felt quite this angry at an on screen relationship. and, trust me, i saw AOS. i didn't like spuhura then and i don't like it now but i wasn't angry so much as i was just tired and annoyed. but spock was – and always is to me, confused, queer 10 year old me – a queer character. his struggle with humanity, with friendship, with fitting in, with just being as a perceived "other" was what made him an interesting character to me to begin with. he was a certain outlet to vent that frustration for being "wrong" in society no matter how hard you try to conform one way or another. the knowledge that even if you are different, you still have people backing you up. his fucking friendships, guys. jim and bones. yes i know his friendship with jim is also inherently romantic dont worry im spirk #1 shipper but that’s not relevant here because, and forgive me for being pessimistic, i don’t believe for a second that these writers are going to lean into spirk anytime soon. their relationship went beyond friendship or romance or any of that stuff. coughs in the roddenberry footnote.

what i’m trying to say here, in layman’s terms, is that giving a friendless character a romantic relationship is exactly how you alienate a character. name one person you know in real life that can survive healthily with one single relation, that being their romantic partner that they have no friendly base of. you can’t. that’s a toxic relationship. that’s not romance, that’s alienation. that’s isolation. that’s loneliness. and that’s the OPPOSITE OF WHAT EXPLORING SPOCK’S HUMAN SIDE IS SUPPOSED TO DO TO HIM .

by stripping spock of his friends, and forcing his arc to be purely romantic, you have essentially stripped the character of all he is. i'd be mad if chapel was a dude, too, honestly speaking. but beyond that, corralling spock of all people into a heterosexual romantic relationship is – well. it's a choice i don't think i can ever agree with. the best way i can describe such a choice is like a dissonant chord – you can pluck the notes and they'll sound fine on their own, but when you put them together they will clash. there is nothing you can do with your fingers to play the same notes and not cause the clash. they will always clash. it is dissonance ringing through you, an inherent wrongness coupled with writing that is lazy and clearly meant for a very specific audience. snw spock is bad writing, fanservice, and extraordinarily out of character. notes i can tolerate on their own, but strung together – dissonant.

i really want to like snw. fuck, i love la'an, i love erica, i love jim (!!! thank you paul wesley for making him a nerd, and kind (glares at AOS), and generally a jim kirk that i can look at and say, "yeah, that's jim alright"), i love uhura, i love una, i love m'benga and i love pike but i hate spock. i really, truly, cannot like snw when i have to pause the show and take an irritated deep breath in every time i see chapel approach spock. it's – frustrating, and alienating, and wrong. so, so wrong. 

[spockandstars]

I was thinking about how Spock is intentionally paralleled with Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities in The Wrath of Khan, and now I am unwell!

At the beginning of the movie, Spock famously gives Kirk A Tale of Two Cities as a birthday present. This book was specifically included for its themes of sacrifice and resurrection, which obviously mirror Spock’s decision to give up his life to save the crew. Notably, Kirk’s final lines reference the famous closing of the novel.

Kirk: It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before... a far better resting in place I go to than I have ever known...

Carol: is that a poem?

Kirk: Something Spock was trying to tell me. On my birthday.

So what’s the importance of this line? The famous “far better thing” quote is from the book’s ending when Carton has just sacrificed himself for his beloved Lucie, giving himself up to be executed in place of her husband so that she may find happiness. (Live long and prosper, anyone?)

Interestingly, both Spock and Carton are emotionally repressed characters, and anguish over the depth of their love for the people who uniquely see them for who they are — in this case, Jim and Lucie. While I’d argue that Spock is more at peace with himself and his feelings for Jim after the events of the first movie, the point still stands that Jim is the one to truly understand him in a world that labels him as a cold and calculating being.

I believe that this is what Kirk’s line calling Spock’s soul “the most human I have ever encountered,” is supposed to represent. (Even though I agree with the criticism that it could have been worded better!) Similarly, Lucie is the one to recognize Carton’s inner nature in spite of his aloof facade, begging “I would ask you to believe that [Carton] has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep wounds in it.” (Book 2, Chapter 20.)

When Carton finally admits his love to Lucie, it’s hard not to see the resemblance to Spock’s dilemma in the first movie. You know, that time when Spock, in his heartbreak over something related to Jim (that were not given an explanation for), cries out “Jim! Good-bye my . . . my t’hy’la. This is the last time I will permit myself to think of you or even your name again!” before attempting to purge himself of all feelings in an ancient ritual, and failing because the Vulcan priestess can totally sense that he’s still thinking about Kirk. (Yup, that totally straight time!)

Well, Carton is in a similarly agonizing predicament, because he can’t get his feelings for Lucie to go away. He tells her, “I break down before the knowledge of what I want to say to you” and “I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire—a fire, however, inseparable in its nature from myself, quickening nothing, lighting nothing, doing no service, idly burning away.” (Book 2, Chapter 13)

He also expresses that he could never separate his love for her from himself, saying that “Within myself, I shall always be, towards you, what I am now.” (Book 2, Chapter 13) Yeah, I know the fact this mirrors Spock’s famous “I have been and always shall be yours” is probably a coincidence, but I’ll be damned if I don’t mention it.

Finally, Carton expresses his love for her in his willingness to sacrifice himself for her sake: “For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything. If my career were of that better kind that there was any opportunity or capacity of sacrifice in it, I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you… there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!” (Book 2, Chapter 13.) Of course, Carton’s story ends when he sacrifices himself for her, fulfilling this promise. Hmm, now who else does that sound like?

This is definitely not a perfect parallel: Spock doesn’t start out as a lazy alcoholic, although there is an argument to be made that Carton’s low self-worth reflects Spock’s before he went on his conversion therapy fueled journey of self discovery. Additionally, I wouldn’t say that Spock’s love for Kirk is unrequited like Carton’s for Lucie, (as evidenced by many things, but I’ll primarily point to the events of The Motion Picture and The Search for Spock), but you could potentially cast Carol in the role of Darnay, Lucie’s husband.

The most important thing to glean from this is that Spock was very deliberately set up to be the Carton figure, which is interesting given that Carton’s actions are driven by his willingness to do anything to see his beloved be happy and prosper.

[throuple-tournament]

Description provided by @leverage-ot3.

leverage ot3 description: three good robinhood-esque criminals that fuck over corporations and give back to the people that were hurt by them. ultra competent. hardison is a geeky hacker, eliot is a grumpy hitter, and parker is the best thief in the world (also canon autistic). eliot ended the og series saying that he would protect the other two till his dying day (directly after their parent figures got engaged. marriage proposal who?)

Description provided by @moirailsupport.

James T. Kirk is the captain of the USS Enterprise. A good, moral man. His first officer is the half-Vulcans Spock. In spite of Spock’s dismissal of all things emotional, he and Captain Kirk develop a intense fondness for each other that is said to be the basis for modern fandom as we know it. Leonard “Bones” McCoy is the ships chief medical officer, and a very close friend of Kirks, with the two often enjoying a bottle of whiskey together. He and Spock, on the other hand, do not get along well at all. They do hold respect for each other, and when pressed will show it. Source: I have read way to much Star Trek apocrypha for someone who’s never seen it.

[bardicious]

We need a proper Spirk episode next season. 😔

[cantsayidont]

Despite its protestations of progressive values, STAR TREK media has always explicitly presented (and, with only fleeting exceptions, consistently celebrated) the Federation as an expansionist imperial power, engaged in a large-scale project of colonialism.

The usual apologia/rationalization for this, both from the franchise itself and from its fans, is that the Federation is also a post-scarcity socialist utopia. However, that is expressly not the case in TOS, despite the attempts of the later series to insist otherwise.

Indeed, the plots of some of the most famous and acclaimed episodes of TOS are specifically about resource extraction and ensuring the Federation's access to crucial resources, including lithium (in "Mudd's Women"), pergium (in "The Devil in the Dark"), and dilithium (in "Mirror, Mirror," et al). We are told repeatedly that the Enterprise has a mandate to use force to secure these resources if gentler methods fail. Moreover, while the Federation has a strategic interest in these resources, it's clear at various points in TOS that their extraction and exploitation are, to a significant extent if not exclusively, overseen by private interests for profit. For instance, in "Mudd's Women," Harry Mudd remarks:

Well, girls, lithium miners. Don't you understand? Lonely, isolated, overworked, rich lithium miners! Girls, do you still want husbands, hmm? Evie, you won't be satisfied with a mere ship's captain. I'll get you a man who can buy you a whole planet. Maggie, you're going to be a countess. Ruth, I'll make you a duchess. And I, I'll be running this starship. Captain James Kirk, the next orders you're taking will be given by Harcourt Fenton Mudd!

In "The Devil in the Dark," Kirk ultimately takes a regulatory position — he will not permit the pergium miners to kill the Horta or continue to destroy her eggs — but at no point does he suggest that stopping the pergium production that threatens the Horta is a viable or even acceptable alternative. The accord he proposes is contingent on the Horta's agreement that she and her children will support the mining efforts on her planet, since Kirk emphasizes that "a dozen planets" are depending on the miners to supply needed pergium. (What would have happened to her if she hadn't agreed is not stated, but the episode strongly suggests that she would have been severely punished for noncompliance with Kirk's mediated solution: forcibly relocated to some kind of Horta reservation away from the main mining operations, perhaps.) When the Horta does agree to this proposal, Kirk assures Vanderberg, "you people are going to be embarrassingly rich," which once again suggests that while the miners may have contractual agreements to delivery pergium to Federation worlds, they are still a private, for-profit business, not a Federation department or nationalized entity.

Profit is also Ron Tracey's motivation for breaking the Prime Directive in "The Omega Glory": He believes that he's discovered a "fountain of youth" that he can own, monopolize, and exploit, and that the value of that resource will be enough to buy his way out of legal trouble for his regulatory violations.

We mostly don't see the Enterprise crew handle money except on away missions in other cultures or times, but there are a number of indications that the Federation in this era has not abandoned money: For instance, Harry Mudd's list of past offenses includes purchasing a space vessel "with counterfeit currency," while in "The Apple," Kirk rhetorically asks if Spock knows how much Starfleet has invested in him, which Spock begins to answer, "One hundred twenty-two thousand two hundred …" before Kirk cuts him off. More tellingly, in "I, Mudd," we have the following exchange:

KIRK: All right, Harry, explain. How did you get here? We left you in custody after that affair on the Rigel mining planet. MUDD: Yes, well, I organized a technical information service bringing modern industrial techniques to backward planets, making available certain valuable patents to struggling young civilizations throughout the galaxy. KIRK: Did you pay royalties to the owners of those patents? MUDD: Well, actually, Kirk, as a defender of the free enterprise system, I found myself in a rather ambiguous conflict as a matter of principle. SPOCK: He did not pay royalties. MUDD: Knowledge, sir, should be free to all. KIRK: Who caught you? MUDD: That, sir, is an outrageous assumption. KIRK: Yes. Who caught you? MUDD: I sold the Denebians all the rights to a Vulcan fuel synthesizer. KIRK: And the Denebians contacted the Vulcans.

Whether Deneb is a member of the Federation at this time is unclear, but Vulcan certainly is, and so we may assume that Vulcan and presumably the Federation itself are also part of "the free enterprise system."

The first indication that the Federation does not use money is in STAR TREK IV, and it's not obvious there if Kirk's remark that "They're still using money" is talking about money more broadly or just physical currency, which the Federation may have phased out even if it still uses credit or electronic transfers of monetary value. (Certainly, McCoy's attempt in STAR TREK III to charter a starship indicates that he had some means of paying for passage, since the captain of the ship specifically demands more money upon learning of the intended destination.)

If we accept at face value the assertion of TNG and DS9 that the Federation has genuinely abandoned the use of money, rather than simply going cashless, the most reasonable Watsonian explanation is that this has been a relatively recent development during the 70–80 years between the TOS cast movies and TNG, most likely related to the development of replication technology (which the Federation did not yet have in Kirk's time).

Of course, from a Doylist standpoint, we could chalk up some of this incidental dialogue to the franchise's evolving construction of its own setting, in the same manner as anomalous references to Vulcans as "Vulcanians." Roddenberry and his apologists might also insist that he always meant to depict a socialist utopia, but was prevented by the nattering nabobs of negativity (i.e., the network's BS&P); I'm very skeptical of such claims, but the writers were acutely aware that depicting what Earth is like in Kirk's time would be opening a can of worms, which is why we didn't actually see 23rd century Earth (even briefly) until the movies.

However, the focus on resource extraction and its ramifications is such a load-bearing story element in TOS that the revisionist assertion that the Federation was already a post-scarcity socialist utopia in Kirk's time (as both DISCOVERY and STRANGE NEW WORLDS have attempted to claim) would require really substantial retcons of the original show, perhaps to the extent of insisting that some of those events never took place at all, or happened radically differently than what's in the TOS episodes most STAR TREK fans have seen. For me, anyway, that crosses a line from willing suspension of disbelief to "don't trust your lying eyes," and suggests a frustrating and somewhat disturbing determination to insist that TOS is something much purer and nobler than it is rather than grapple with its actual conceptual flaws and ideological shortcomings.

[aethergate]

Captain put those credits back into your account this instant he needs to learn to not buy illegal substances.

[swimmingwolf59]

A collection of my spones fics! My personal favorites are bold and brash blue!

Series

Between Worlds. Spones raise Joanna on board the Enterprise. 10 fics. Ongoing.

After the Fire. Spones get-together centered around the original series movies. 2 fics. Complete.

Doubt and Trust. Mirrorverse spones - first fic is a tos s1 rewrite in mirrorverse. 2 fics. Ongoing.

Family. Old married spones and their relationships with Sarek and Amanda. 2 fics. Complete.

Canon Compliant

If the Stars Looked Down. Ace!Spock chronicles. Complete.

The Houseboat. Spones go on shore leave together. Written for summer of spones 2021. Complete.

Lines Around Your Thoughts. 5+1 McCoy loves Spock's art <3 Complete.

The Logical Thing to Do. Spones retelling of the DS9 episode "Change of Heart". Complete.

Every Stitch. McCoy knits Spock a sweater. Written for 12dos 2021. Complete.

The Importance of Keeping Your Vulcan Awake During Sehlat Hibernation Season. Old married spones and their pet sehlat. Written for 12dos 2021. Complete.

Held Together. McCoy proposes to Spock when he's half-asleep. Written for summer of spones 2022. Complete.

More Than Adequate. Trans!Spock gets a massage from McCoy after binding too much. Written for summer of spones 2022. Complete.

Just a Pinch of Salt. Spones get into a dumb argument while making breakfast. Complete.

Traditions of Intimacy. 5+1 spones making a meal for each other. Complete.

First Impressions. Spones through canon but ALSO mainly 5+1 McCoy meets Sarek :DDD Complete.

In One Piece. Spock notices that McCoy has a rather peculiar post-transport habit. Written for spones day 2024. Complete.

AUs

Spock 'n' Roll. Rockstar!Spock. Complete.

This Mysterious World. Pokemon AU! Also a series lol. 2 fics. Ongoing.

Take Me Out. Baseball AU - M rating. Written for summer of spones 2022. Complete.

Peach Melody. Stardew Valley AU. Written for summer of spones 2022. Complete.

Entangled. First contact AU. Written for the spones zine "We Go Together" vol. 1 issue 1. Complete.

Not Safe for Vulcans

Surgeon's Hands. Spock gets a taste of them surgeon's hands. Complete.

Bones. Post the tholian web, if you catch my drift ;) Complete.

Behind the Mask. Matchmaker Chekov convinces Spock to go to a masquerade party. Complete.

QPR

Whatever Gets You Through the Night. Post man trap + QPR mckirk. Complete.

Not Explicitly Shippy

Of Gods and Ghosts. Missing scene at the end of the Final Frontier. Spock and McCoy talk about loss. Written for 12dos 2021. Complete.

Weight of the Universe. Two scenes post some disastrous weddings. Written for summer of spones 2022. Complete.

AOS

Reciprocal Averaging. Sarek uses statistics to figure out Spock's most suitable mate. You'll never guess who it is. Complete.