#all the ships in star trek are AI

[lulujamesspencer]

Why does no one seem to remember that ALL the ships in Star Trek are AI?

Heck, the Enterprise D made a BABY, ffs!

And Voyager used neuro gel packs!

And, come on, Discovery????

Y'all. Really.

Also, can we stop blaming the technology for human f--kery?

K. Thx. Bai.

'the ultimate computer' aka uncannily precise vision of the future in which starfleet wants to replace jim with ai but spock and bones are not having it

I am going feral at all the times ai is being a menace in this show and how accurate it is to the bs present we're living in

[deep-space-halloween-zine]

Deep Space Halloween Zine Information

Hi there, welcome to the Deep Space Halloween Zine information zone, where I try to give all the pertinent information about the zine in one handy post.

Submission Rules

Fandom

This is a Deep Space Nine zine, so please make sure your submissions focus on Deep Space Nine and its characters. However, characters from other trek shows are welcome as "guest stars" in your works.

Theme

This zine will be (very loosely) Halloween themed! The works can be about halloween itself, or they can be spooky, or even just fall themed. This is a very, very loose theme.

Format and Cost

This zine will be released digitally and be completely free!

A version formatted for printing will be available if you so choose to print and assemble the zine yourself!

Acceptable Mediums

Fanfiction (up to 5000 words)

Fan art

Comics

Photo Manips/Collages

Poetry/Original Song Lyrics

(Photos of) sculptures, dioramas, cake art

Basically if it can be put on a piece of paper, it can be eligable!

Zine Cover

If you would like to submit a cover for this zine, please do!

If you submit a cover, it must include the name of the zine (Deep Space Halloween Zine) the issue number (Issue 1) and the year (2025). It should not include signatures or watermarks (credit will of course be listed inside the zine itself).

Covers can be your own art, or can be a photo manipulation.

In the case that multiple covers are submitted, all covers that don't make it to, well, the cover, will be featured as full pages at the end of the zine as "alternate covers," like collected editions of comics do!

Qualifications

You do not need to be an experienced artist/writer/cake decorator/whatever to contribute to this zine!

In fact, beginners are both welcome and encouraged to participate!

Rating

To keep this zine friendly for everyone, we will not be accepting explicit content.

Please keep your works to a rating of Teen+ or lower, or PG-13.

Since this is a halloween themed zine, blood and gore is allowed, as long as it fits a PG-13 rating (use your favourite search engine to find a list of PG-13 horror movies if you need a reference point).

Ships

You can feature ships in your work, or no ships at all if that's more your style.

Ships between minors and adults should be avoided.

AI Generated Work

AI generated work is strickly not allowed.

Don't do it. I will know. And I will find you.

Exclusivity

All works submitted must not have already been posted elsewhere.

All works submitted should remain unposted until the zine is released on Halloween, after which you are allowed to share your work on Tumblr/AO3/Wherever.

Deadlines

Submissions are due on 1 August 2025!

The zine will be released on 31 October 2025!

Submitting Works

Please email your submissions to spacedogfromspace@gmail.com.

If you submit to the zine, please make sure you check your email often. If you don't think you will remember to check, please include your tumblr or discord (whichever is the easier way to get ahold of you) in your initial email and make sure your account is set so I can message you on those platforms.

[sleepymccoy]

Okay so something happened in the trekdom (is that a term anyone has ever used)

I think spirk got canonised?? Or something?? And I assume that as my certified Trekkie Mutual you feel some kinda way about this. you’re a Spones shipper but still how we doing?

I'm sure someone's used trekdom! It makes sense as a word regardless

I appreciate the Trekkie certification lol

Yeah dude, look. Most of the fandom is big into spirk so like people enjoying that romance is par for the course! I got nothing against spirk, it's just a bit of a boring dynamic so I don't really spend time on it. Too healthy for my tastes. Spones is way more juicy, it's got the tension and the sort of different world views that you see in good omens, so it's fun!

To be clear tho, spirk is as canon as it's ever been. Strong subtext, but in the way that a homophobe could watch it and say well they're just good friends. Nothing has changed in that sense, it's just another bit of footage doing more of the same. It's less gay than a lot of the original series, but it's new and shiny so on a surface level i get the excitement

Shatner, who plays Kirk, has done this as a non canon short film. It's apparently considered as canon as the novels? Which is like, not much. Most people don't engage. I haven't really looked into that, im not gonna watch it cos it kind of pisses me off

The thing that really fucks my goat about it is that the guy who plays Spock died a while ago, and didn't get along with the guy who plays Kirk. But the guy who plays Kirk has funded and produced and managed this whole thing to be about his character and his importance, regardless of the wishes of the original Spock actor. Including literally doing someone up in prosthetics to look more like Nimoy. Not just Spock generally, but specifically Nimoy's Spock. Nimoy was involved in star trek films in his late life, and he didn't choose to do this when he was alive. Only after his death has Shatner forced this to happen

That's what's leaving a really bad taste in my mouth. And I feel like people are either not accepting Nimoy's death and are happy to see him puppeted by someone he disliked, which makes me pity them. I work in aged care so I know I'm more comfortable with death than the average, but like. This is a bit fucking dark, no? It's maudlin, let him rest in peace for fucks sake.

That, or they don't mind the manipulation of his image if it tickles their ship, which makes me dislike them. And I don't think I'll really get over that any time soon, it's so disrespectful. And those are both negative feelings, so I'm kind of generally not pleased about my dash rn

I'm trying to take an angle of being about McCoy cos he doesn't feature in the short and that feels wrong. Spock-centric stuff is feeling a little tainted right now, but I'm sure that'll pass. Fanart is different to this kind of image stealing, but it's still weird for me rn. And as much as I love Kirk, I can't remove him from Shatner and his megalomania right now. I hope that'll pass, but I don't think Shatner's gonna stop here so. Hm.

Besides I like McCoy and he's not complicated by all this so I'm just continuing to play in my little sandbox

It's a weird time for trekdom. There's a bit of a rift, and not down shipping lines. I'm seeing a lot of posts working through their complicated feeling around the disrespect inherent in stealing Nimoy's face for Shatner. And I'm seeing other people celebrate the disrespect cos their ship held hands and that makes it worth it.

I'm hoping people overwhelmingly calm down a bit in a week, get a bit embarassed about how pleased they were over something so gross, and it just sort of goes away. Then we can all go back to having a go at Shatner for his constant sexism and homophobia

At least it's not fucking AI tho!

[andthekitchensinkao3]

20 Questions with a Fanfic Author

Thanks for the tag @lavender-tea-fling :D I’m always surprised when someone tags me in these things - keep ‘em comin’!

*cracks knuckles* … *no, not really, because OW*

1. How many works on AO3?

I TOO HAVE 48 WORKS ON AO3! Find them all at this handy-dandy link: andthekitchensink

2. Total AO3 Word Count?

I’m almost embarrassed to tell. 947,443 words. How can there be almost 1 MILLION words on there?!?!?!?!

3. Top 5 Fics by Kudos (disclaimer: I loathe kudos. The hits go up, but the kudos stay at the same “Less than 10%” of hits, and even fewer people leave comments, so I’m left convinced nobody likes my stuff, or are being too polite to be mean in the comments)

Silent Treatment - Detroit: Become Human AU, in which Connor is a human, Selectively Non-Verbal, and there are no androids. Instead there’s a Nefarious Government Project having used children as lab rats. It’s basically a sci-fi thriller.

Great Pretenders - also DBH. Undercover as a Couple, Hankcon. Mutual pining, a convention dedicated to getting the most out of one’s relationship - what could possibly go wrong?

Tapestry of Time - Loki (TV) my first ever Lokius fic, full of Norse mythology. A fix-it fic set after the series finale.

Spa Day - five chapters of Hankcon smut. Gentle dom Connor, greedy sub Hank.

Metamorph - my first ever DBH fic, and also my first ever AO3 fic, uploaded back in 2018. Hankcon, set after the events of the game.

4. What fandoms do you write for?

I have written for FAKE, Yami no Matsuei, The Sentinel (TV), Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Metal Gear Solid, Harry Potter, Final Fantasy VIII, an anime style fighter game I can’t even remember the name of, Tin Man - but those aren’t on AO3. I’m not even sure I still have copies of them. Might have gotten lost in one of my computer crashes. This was before the days of cloud storage, people. Even going so far back as the days of ~dial up modems~. I also stopped writing fanfic altogether because I didn’t fit into fandom spaces, and some interactions with other fans made me think I couldn’t write for shit.

Be kind to your writers, folks. I didn’t write for ten years. Imagine the fics I could’ve written if I’d had more love from my fellow fans.

More recently, since I got my own AO3 account, I’ve written for Detroit: Become Human, Person of Interest, Loki (TV) and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to always respond to comments, but I have the memory of an empty fishbowl, and I work a fulltime job. So if I’m late to respond, it’s not because I don’t love your comment. It’s Life(™).

6. Angstiest Ending?

I don’t do angsty endings. I do angsty everything leading up to the end, which invariably ends on a happy note.

7. Fic with the Happiest Ending?

All of them, but I am particularly fond of the ending to A Promise Kept, my Lokius fairytale mashup set in the world of Baldur’s Gate 3.

8. Do you get hate?

So, that anime style fighting game I can’t remember the name of? The creator of Manly Guys Doing Manly Things once roasted my fic in the comments for being too stereotypical of the shounen ai genre - ie beefy boys crying, angst galore, so on. My sole claim to fandom fame, I guess. But no outright hate.

9. Do you write smut?

OH YEAH BABY

10. Do you write crossovers?

I want to, but I seldom come up with a neat way of meshing two fandoms and sets of characters together. A Promise Kept is my only finished project thus far. I do write AUs, though.

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge. Kids. Don’t steal people’s fics. Write your own.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated

Nope. I suppose I could translate one of my own into Swedish, but… I don’t see the point.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic?

I co-rp’d 200 pages worth of historical romance fanfic with a dear friend once. That was fun.

14. All time favorite ship?

Why you wanna make me choose? Come on. I will say, though, I shipped Kirk/Spock even as a kid, because they were so obviously in wub with each other and I thought they made a cute couple. Ah, Star Trek reruns back in the eighties… 

15. WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have a Hankcon/Passengers (movie) AU that I’m not sure I’ll finish. But never say never. Inspiration might strike again!

16. Writing strengths?

I’ve been told I do dialogue well, and that I’m funny. IMHO I think I’m kinda good at plot twists, but I’ll let the reader be the judge of that.

17. Writing Weaknesses?

I am utterly self conscious of Telling too much, versus Showing too little. But I’m working on it.

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

I do it all the time, when appropriate to a character. Being bi-/multilingual myself, it’s always fun. I’m a language geek at heart.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

FAKE - the anime/manga about two cops in love.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Again with the choices, tut tut. However, I am REALLY fond of How to Create a Monster, in which Connor goes deep undercover to expose a drug kingpin preying on androids.

Tags under the cut!

@ghoulehhh @natendo-art @in-my-loki-feels @kusakichan15

@devilbearingtrouble @impulsemuppet @mirilyawrites @scifikimmi @silentxsymphony

@rin-love-is-green @confetti39x @stillwanderingflame

@insert-witty-user-name-here @blackbirdofasgard @dreamycloud @distracteddream

@mobius-m-mobius @dilfmobius @adorbspotat @lgwilt

 @redheadsramblings @starfleetteddybear @mercars-musings @starrose17 @holyglassbone @genocidalfetus @wolfpup026 @elodiah @lokimobius @thosegayoldmen @kcscribbler @tinygameralec @notyourmamasdeerbat AND anyone else not mentioned 🧡💜💚

[capacle]

Train hard. Hold together. Drift alone.

My Zine Month 2025 campaign is live!

Load the Simulation is a tabletop role-playing game set aboard a massive spaceship on a centuries-long mission to discover and prepare exoplanets for colonization. Players take on the roles of crew members selected not for their prestige but as the essential yet overlooked backbone of the mission—explorers, frontierspeople, and problem solvers who are also expected to clean up any messes (literal or figurative) they encounter along the way.

Waking from cryogenic sleep, these characters find themselves thrust into rigorous and unpredictable training simulations orchestrated by the ship’s AI, DAX. Each day, they are dropped into a different simulated environment—wildly alien, utterly unpredictable, and filled with potential threats—to prepare them for the unknown dangers that await when the ship finally reaches its destination. Think of the high-octane training sequences from The Matrix, the Danger Room in X-Men, or the holodecks in Star Trek.

Outside the simulations, players navigate the interpersonal challenges and emotional tensions of life aboard a confined spaceship. Bonds are formed and frayed as crewmates work together to overcome challenges, while personal goals and differences create moments of connection and conflict. Between these dynamics, players spend time recovering in the medical bay, repairing and upgrading their gear, and working on personal projects to keep their minds sharp. All the while, they grapple with the emotional strain of an extreme voyage into the unknown, unraveling hints of a deeper mystery about the mission’s true purpose.

The campaign just launched with a limited Early Bird discount, so check it out! There's some more explanation of the system on the page as well!

[dungeonsynthh]

also the unification short film isn’t the “omg spirk canon confirmed !!” moment that yall are cheering over. if this confirms spirk canon, then what about the numerous quotes, clips, moments, etc that show essentially the same thing. one of the main reasons why spirk is such a popular ship is due to the various moments throughout history that yall are now screaming “ omg spirk canon” over currently.

if spirk is only now confirmed canon, because they held hands in this short film (because handholding is a very intimate thing for vulcans), then what about this screenshot from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This is from the 70s, with Nimoy’s actual body, not a generated AI deepfake.

not to mention the numerous other times there have been spirk moments in television, movies, books, you name it.

anyways, don’t support unification just because of spirk, when all your reasons to support it for spirk, exists in older material without the use of AI, or using Nimoy’s image without his permission (which he notoriously hated).

rant over

[for-the-sake-of-color]

Yay! @clonexocweek Day 6: What If... With Kix/Nihlus, for today I have chosen to do a piece of my Star Trek Au!!!

The story of the Star Trek au is a little complicated but mostly its: Kix made an assistant he accidentally fell in love with, named Nihlus, who's experimental AI matrix was complicated enough to be stolen, decompiled, and repurposed into 8 separate Romulan War Tactics Programs. Now named Theta-6 immediately fought his way back and Integrated himself into the ships main computer core, and then a few of the remaining copies... ALSO found their way back, much to his chagrin. Theta 6 refuses to change from the War Program they made him, but the rest were able to move on and adapt their programing to fit better on their Captains Ship, The Venture. And all are still VERY much in love with Chief Medical Officer Kix Theta 6- Main Computer, Theta 5- Chief of Aeroponics, Theta 3- Medical Assistant, Theta 8- Engineer

[Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5]

[electronickingdomfox]

"Memory Prime" review

Novel from 1988, by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens. It's strange that the title says "the new novel by...", since as far as I know, this was the first Star Trek book of these authors. Chaotic, crazy, convoluted, at times campy and hard to follow, it's also a lot of fun. Even the cover is a "what-the-fuck" moment, with that Spock looking tiredly at the viewer, wearing the trademark Kirk-ripped-shirt.

The story mixes several TOS elements: a conspiracy to kill someone aboard the Enterprise; a mission to rescue Spock that puts everyone's careers in danger; and an obnoxious Commodore that hinders the heroes' efforts. All mixed and enhanced to cinematic level. Apart from all that, the novel expands on the story from "The Lights of Zetar", showing the aftermath of Memory Alpha's destruction. And has Mira Romaine (the guest from that episode) as one of the main characters.

The titular Memory Prime is the new center of knowledge and research for the Federation, and the main node in a network of similar centers, each in a different asteroid. Selected as the place to hold the Nobel prizes, the Enterprise is tasked with bringing scientists from all over the Federation to the ceremony. But things get awry when Starfleet intelligence discovers that one or more of the scientists are targeted for assassination. And to everybody's surprise, the main suspect is... Spock!! On top of that, Starfleet has lost confidence in Kirk, and orders a Commodore to take over the Enterprise during the emergency. So Kirk now has to recover both his First Officer and his ship, while confronted with a thickening web of conspiracy. There's something of pulp fiction about the cackling villains, killer robots, and constant plot twists and cliffhangers. But surprisingly, there's also an element of more serious science fiction, with the introduction of the Pathfinders (artificial intelligences that have developed their own worldview), and the discussions about computer science. The chapters dealing with the Pathfinders show a fascinating and alien perspective, that may very well be classified as "cyberpunk". It's possible that something of this owes more to TNG than TOS. The final reveal about who was behind the assassination, the real target of it, and the motives, were actually unexpected.

As for the characters, Kirk gets the spotlight and most heroic deeds (so it's no wonder that these same authors got to co-write the Shatnerverse novels later). And of course Spock is central to the plot, though absent during a good chunk of the story. But Scotty also gets a larger-than-usual role, and picks up his romance with Romaine. While Uhura has one of her most badass moments when confronting the Commodore. Also, everyone has crazy, crazy fight scenes: from Kirk defeating a robot with bullfighter techniques (and utterly annihilating his shirt in the process), to Spock locking in a mind-meld combat, or McCoy... attacking with hypos.

In summary, a pretty exciting action adventure, with humorous scenes that are actually funny, and some food-for-thought concerning AI and the fainting distinction between human and machine. Even if the plot can get messy and even ridiculous at times.

Spirk Meter: 9/10*. Kirk is really distressed by Spock's framing and incarceration, and spends most of the novel focused on rescuing him no matter what. Even if this means the end of his career and losing the Enterprise; Spock comes as his first priority. He doesn't doubt his innocence for a moment, either, while others in the crew have some reservations. And whenever Spock's in physical danger, Kirk is the first to jump to protect him (even if he himself is a wreck). Kirk is also the only one who truly seems to understand Spock, he can anticipate his thoughts and see his logic, where others only see crazyness. Besides, there's a scene where Kirk faints, and the first thing he says upon waking up is "Spock, Spock...?". And yeah, Spock is there, hovering over him and pushing him gently to lie back in bed.

Though this is clearly a spirky novel and McCoy has a lesser role, there are a few moments with him too. At the beginning, both he and Kirk devise a convoluted plan to keep Spock in the dark about the Nobel ceremony, in the hopes of seeing him smile or at least react when the surprise is revealed. While at the end, McCoy wants to know EVERYTHING about Spock's years in the Academy, once he learns from one of his teachers that he was a bit of a "class clown" back then (for Vulcan standards). And despite Spock's apparent annoyance, Kirk notices a warm expression on him, because of the doctor's antics. Kirk also jumps in front of McCoy and Spock to take a lethal phaser shot instead of them. With the hilarious result that the shot wasn't neither that lethal, nor he took it all that well, considering both Spock and McCoy also end up groaning in bed after a stun.

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

[bagog]

Star Trek: Discovery Narrative Highlights

So I really like Discovery, but differently than I like other Star Treks. My love for Voyager, for instance, is based off the sense of found-family in the face of sci-fi shenanigans. I could pick out favorite episodes, but my favorite episodes don't necessarily represent the epitome of what I love about the show, y'know?

It's different with Disco. There are concrete moments from through out the show that made me go "Okay, I like this, I want this. More of this." Here's some of them! This is indulgent and all from memory

Season 1 - Klingons Speak Klingon

In a story about Klingons fearing the Federation as an institution which will irrevocably alter their culture, the Klingons actually speak Klingon. Love it. Season 1 - Gabriel Lorca

I loved seeing a Star Fleet captain who seemed to have ascended because of his skill at war: a trait which ordinarily would not elevate one within Starfleet service, per se. It made him interesting. Your mileage may vary on where this went, but. He's still a big appeal on rewatch.

Season 2 - Queer People Helping Queer People

The introduction of Jet Reno is one of my favorite hallmarks in the show. I love Jet, and I love the way she serves as a foil to every other character. But best of all, I loved the scene when she is talking to Hugh Culber about how distant he's been from his husband (since coming back from the dead, so, you know) and helps him by relating her own story about her wife, who is now passed. To say I'm happy to see queer stories on Star Trek is a massive understatement, but this was the moment it locked in for me. In the world of the Federation, there's no difference between being queer or straight and anyone could've talked Hugh out of his funk. But in our world, it's usually queer people helping queer people make sense of their experiences. Recognizing the importance of that distinction and going with the queers-helping-queers take is a really big deal for me.

Season 2 - Amanda

This is hands-down the best representation of Amanda we've ever been given and she is so wonderfully human and warm that it helps you understand Spock and Michael so much better. I don't know what to say other than that, I love her.

Season 3 - The Future

I love that they went not just into the future, but further into the future than any mainline trek lore has gone. Hell yes. I'm bummed it's kinda a post-Utopian mess, but I get storywise why that's the case. I love the future starships, I love the future technology, I like that we just "BZP" to wherever we want to be in the ship now. In a show increasingly steeped in centuries of canon lore, it's smart and challenging to try to do "a millennium in the future."

Season 3 - Queer Family

Queer Family! Queer Family in Star Trek! This is my queers-helping-queers point but dialed up to 11. Love it, would do anything for it.

Season 4 - Artificial Intelligence

The ship is alive and she's named herself. This comes to a head in an episode in Season 4 where Paul Stamets feels very hesitant about this, after the plot of Season 2 was trying to stop AI from destroying the galaxy. There's this whole Measure of a Man but Not Quite Because Its the B Story thing going on, but at the end of it, there's a twist. Paul eventually learns to accept his new crewmate, but then he asks the person in-charge of the inquest "What would you have done if I said I wasn't comfortable serving with an AI?" and the dude goes "I would've assigned you to another ship. This was never about whether she has a soul or whatever, it's about if you can learn to accept that with you 22nd century brain." And that's.... that's great.

Season 4 - Mental Health

Mental Health is a thread running through some of Discovery (Season 2 flirts with Spock's neurodivergence, for instance) but never more than in Season 4. Hugh Culber, the ship's ray of sunshine and de facto counselor, is in bad shape, mentally, and he needs help. But the best moment is when the away-team is beset by chemical memories of panic and basically rendered useless with fear... except for Detmer, who helps them all get through it. When asked why she was unaffected, she says "Oh I totally was affected, but after my grievous injury during the war, I went to therapy for the PTSD and learned some coping strategies" AND THAT'S WHAT SAVES THE GALAXY.

Anyway, this is very indulgent and probably nobody reads this, but thanks if you did.

[ianthe-is-a-bitch-and-i-love-her]

I've found that when I review a book that was on the whole quite good, but the element I was most interested in didn't quite play out the way I wanted it to, I tend to spend most of my word count on what I didn't like instead of what I did, so I'm going to try for a little more parity here. The Stars Too Fondly is a thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi romance with a lot to recommend it. It begins on a near-future Earth, twenty years after what was supposed to be the first of many missions to begin evacuating humanity to a new planet using a revolutionary new technology that would make interstellar travel cheap and easy failed dramatically and inexplicably on the launch pad, resulting in the cancellation of the program. A group of four postdocs who watched the failure live on television as kids break into the now-derelict launch facility determined to find out why the launch failed and what happened to the crew, all of whom vanished without a trace during the catastrophe. However, the ship inexplicably powers up and launches with them on board, and now they not only have to solve the mystery but also figure out how to survive their multi-year interstellar journey and return, with the help of the ship's onboard AI who, for some reason, has been programmed to be a perfect copy of the missing captain of the original expedition.

I really enjoyed the tone and setting of the book, which is much more Star Trek than it is The Martian, with much more focus placed on character drama, mystery solving, and moral dilemmas than logistical puzzle-solving. The influence of Star Trek: Voyager in particular are worn proudly in both plot elements - a holographic artificial intelligence with questions about her personhood, an unplanned years-long journey that the crew is trying to shorten - and smaller elements, such as the use of food replicators and even a direct reference to the show's most famous episode, Threshold.

The characters were solid and compelling, with engaging dynamics unique voices. I also, barring one personal gripe, really liked the book's exploration of queer experiences. If I found myself on an unplanned space mission, I would also be very concerned about how I was going to get HRT meds!

The book makes use of a combination of plausible hard sci-fi theories, which stopped me from giving the concept of a dark matter engine my usual obligatory eyeroll, and bonkers off the wall pseudo magic soft sci-fi. These elements synergized better than I was afraid they would, but the introduction of the softer elements was a little jarring. Also kinda like Star Trek actually.

The plotting was perfectly solid, though not extraordinary by any means. None of the twists and turns were particularly surprising, but neither did they come across as trite or formulaic. The themes weren't anything novel either, but they were well-supported and conveyed. The writing itself was mostly pretty good, with a few of the rough edges and structural oddities that I've come to expect from debut novels.

So now that I've actually given the book its due, I'm gonna dig too deep into what I found disappointing.

I've noticed a bit of a trend between the last few books I've felt really compelled by, and that's the idea of a character falling in love with someone who, by their very nature, they are not going to be able to have an "ordinary" relationship with. It's what drew me to Flowers for Dead Girls, which is about falling in love with a ghost. It's what drew me to Someone You Can Build a Nest In, which is about a psychologically and physiologically inhuman monster falling in love with a human. And it's what initially drew me to this book, which is about a human falling in love with the hologram of a dead woman - a space ghost, if you want, or a ghost in the machine, if you'd rather. All of these books take some pains to explore the rough edges of these relationships, where the participants' desires are stymied by their physical differences. However, where the previous two books end with the characters establishing an equilibrium of sorts where their needs are met, even if their relationship doesn't look like what society or their own imaginations expected them to look like, The Stars Too Fondly just neatly resolves things such that their differences are no longer a concern and they can have exactly what they imagined. And I found that to be cheap and unsatisfying, especially because the resolution only works if you really, really want it to work. When you start digging into it, it starts falling apart.

It's a symptom of a phenomenon I'm calling, "So You Want to Have Your Tragedy and Eat it Too". It arises when an author has an idea for a very compelling and evocative tragic event or outcome that results in rich character moments and strong thematic resonance and very profound emotions that they really want to explore... but it would also make the happy ending they want for their characters impossible, either because the rules they've established for their story mean that the damage can't be reversed, or because the change is such that, even if the conflict were apparently resolved, the characters have now been changed by the event that they can never be as they were before, and the happy ending is now emotionally impossible.

When this conundrum comes up in the writing process, the author has to decide - do they want to explore the rich possibilities of this tragedy, or do they want to go a different direction that allows for their originally desired happy ending. It's a difficult choice to make, and unfortunately, it's not uncommon for authors to think they can take a third option, that they can come up with a way to have their tragedy but still make things work out in the end. And the end result is a solution that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. That's what happens here, to the point that it's hard to read the last couple chapters because the main character reads like she's deluding herself that everything is fine and she's happy. And you know, that could've been a really interesting - and tragic - direction to go on purpose and explore, but it wasn't on purpose, and it just winds up feeling like the book is trying desperately to convince the reader that everything is alright, really! I can't help but compare it unfavorably to the conclusion of Lovelace's arc in The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, which confronted the fact that nothing could ever be the same again so unflinchingly that it gave rise to A Closed and Common Orbit, one of my favorite books of all time (that I completely forgot when I was trying to list some of my favorite books in a conversation the other day and now I feel like I've betrayed it).

And while I have you here, I also really hate that they made the transfem side character super into astrology. That's a personal bugbear, and while it's one I have grudgingly tolerated the singular time that I have seen a transfem author do it, I really, really wish non-transfem authors would knock that shit off. Find a different quirky interest to give to your transfem characters.

Still, on the whole, I thought it was a really solid book with a lot of entertaining and compelling elements. Unless you are reading it primarily for the logistical and emotional challenges of a romantic relationship between a ghost and a human, I would recommend it without hesitation. If you are, check out any of the other books I referenced in this post instead (except maybe for A Closed and Common Orbit, but if you're the kind of person who would like those other recommendations, I bet you'd like it too).

[calaisreno]

Fic Writer Meme

The end of another year is approaching, and it's time for another self-assessment. Thank you, @lisbeth-kk for tagging me in the Fic Writer Meme! 💕

How many works do you have on ao3?

162

What's your total word count?

2,204,060 😊

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Synchronicity, A Chronic Condition, Date Night, The Wedding Gift, Blank Slate

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

Yes! Comments are gold. I always reply, even if it's just to thank the commenter.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I've written two tagged "Major Character Death" and a couple more that were tagged "Chose Not to Use Warnings."

Below Zero / The New Gardener / Learning the Heart / The Real You

These are pretty angsty, but I find it much worse when there is unrequited/unresolved love at the end, and I don't write that.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

All of them are happy! Well, I think so.

The happiest might be The Short Tragic Death of John Watson. I pulled out all the stops on that one, made the ending completely cheesy, total wish fulfillment.

Do you write crossovers?

I've written two Good Omens crossovers: Limbo / Hell and Back

One Raffles crossover: Swap

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, just some grumpy comments.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

It isn't my strong suit, so I don't do hardcore smutty scenes. Vanilla, not kinky. Most of my stories are rated T or M.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

How would I know?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Almost all of my short fiction has been translated into Russian, a few into Chinese. I feel very lucky to have such dedicated translators. Special thanks to Little_Unicorn.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I'm not sure I'd be an ideal collaborator, being rather set in my own way of writing.

I have read beta on a macro level for a couple writers, and had a few do the same for me. Collaboration on the talking level is good, and I'm always open to that.

What's your all-time favourite ship?

Sherlock and John, in any iteration.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

The Secret of Agra - four years in the making, my oldest WIP. I think I actually can finish it, and am moving in that direction, but still waiting for inspiration in a couple of areas.

Another one, The Sibylline Book, is languishing because I keep putting it off. Very plotty and I don't always have the brain for that. It too will be written!

What are your writing strengths?

General language skills: I have a good vocabulary and know my comma rules.

Plotting: readers often admire this, and I do put a lot of effort into it, so I'm glad to have that positive feedback.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Impatience. I skip the boring parts and call it minimalism.

Once I would have said that my writing is too sentimental, but with fanfiction, that is not possible. 😉

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I have done that, but only for languages I've studied, or at least dabbled in. And usually only for a sentence or two. If it's longer than that, it's something readers will just skip over.

Public Service Announcement: Online translators are often wrong. AI does not solve that problem.

An offer: my degree is in classical languages, so if anyone ever wants a Latin translation of something, I am happy to be asked. Please: do not use an online translator for Latin, even just for a title. The grammar does not lend itself to AI translation. Ask a person who has studied Latin. (Ask me!)

Proof; just google it: Bad Latin Tattoos

I might say that about modern languages, too. Unless it's a hello-how are you conversation, ask a native speaker, just to be sure. There are many on AO3!

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Star Trek. Please don't ask. We all do silly things when we're thirteen.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I read in a few fandoms besides Sherlock, but writing in a fandom requires a lot of background knowledge I don't have. It is a labour of love to know a fandom well enough to write in it convincingly.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

The Last Envoy.

Like most writers, I write the things I want to read, so I don't like choosing favorites.

This one is special to me, though. It was inspired by a few things, but the ideas and world-building are all my own. I'm glad I wrote it, and that so many people love it.

I'm not sure who all has been tagged, and it seems like tags aren't working for me today, please join in if you want to! No pressure. 💕

[quasi-normalcy]

For all that people complained about how bleak Star Trek: Picard was when it came out, I would say that its depiction of the Federation was just a culmination of all of the flaws that it was depicted as having on Deep Space Nine (and, to a lesser extent, Voyager and even TNG): Earth-centrism, disregard for the rights of artificial persons, and a willingness to regard entire non-Federation species as disposable if their survival is deemed a threat to the Federation (or even if saving them contradicts an abstract philosophical point). It’s a society that has clearly lost its way, and its annoying (at least to me) that the writers couldn’t have instead imagined the Federation getting its shit together, but the thing is: everything that’s wrong with it emerges organically from the Federation we’ve seen, and, most critically, it is problematised. Our heroes stand in opposition to this corruption. Picard, Rios, and Raffi all left or were cashiered out of service over various aspects of Starfleet’s authoritarian turn; Elnor is a survivor of the Federation’s neglect; Seven and Soji are both members of oppressed minorities and Jurati had her academic career derailed, all because of fear and reactionary opposition to cybernetics. And yes, it’s bleak, but it’s also fundamentally hopeful: they are standing up for what’s right, even in the face of bigotry and oppression, and what could possibly be more Star Trek than that? You can argue about whether it was successful or particularly well-executed, but its heart was very much in the right place.

And that’s why, for all that I’m enjoying Season 3--for all that I love seeing the TNG crew together again and paying-off character arcs that I’ve been watching play out over the course of my entire lifetime--it gnaws at me. Because the thing is: the Federation hasn’t gotten any better. The genocidal criminal conspiracy from Deep Space Nine is now considered ���a critical division of Starfleet Intelligence.” This “critical” bunch of war criminals keeps a sentient AI comatose to guard its warehouse, and nobody even comments on how fucked-up that is. The captain of the Titan constantly denigrates his ex-Borg first officer and orders her to deadname herself, but it’s okay because he’s *traumatised* and kind of funny in his assholishness. You get to have a heartbreaking moment with Picard saying “I didn’t know...” when he hears the extent of Section 31′s war crimes, but then he and Beverly, in the face of 35 years of consistent characterisation, immediately compound the war crime by resolving to execute Vadic. No, the Federation hasn’t gotten any better; the heroes have just gotten worse.

I love the TNG crew. I love seeing Picard and Ro finally have it out with one another; I love having a lifetime spent shipping Jean-Luc and Beverly pay off; I love that we finally get to see just how deeply Data’s death affected Geordi, and that we finally get to see Data’s relationship with Lore and his “becoming more human” arc pay off in a way that’s so seamless that it honestly feels kind of obvious in retrospect. But at a deep, philosophical level, I would rather see an angsty story about heroes opposing corruption than a happy story about heroes going along with it.

[dude1818]

Children of Memory

Actual review of Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky now. I'll admit I wasn't super excited for this one. Time was great, but Ruin fell a little flat for me. The latter was trying to do the same thing as the former, but had to up the weirdness to 11. And then its epilogue presented this post-scarcity, FTL-enabled civilization, somewhere between Star Trek and the Culture, and I didn't see how that could support a third telling of the same basic plot

Boy was I wrong. Other than a brief aside for the introduction of the Corvid sapient race, Memory decided to tell the story of an actual ark ship colony, separate from the uplift projects the first two books were about. There were two main characters: Liff, a 13 year girl born on the dying colony; and Miranda, an explorer from the Uplift civilization who leads the infiltration team prior to first contact. All of the Children of books lean heavily on jumping back and forth between different POVs at very different points in the timeline, but I appreciated that this one focused a lot more on these two in particular (even while the timeline still kept jumping). It made it feel a lot more grounded than the other two

Miranda was a fantastic character. She was actually part of the Nodan entity, now that it's struck a truce with the Uplift civilization. Giving a grey goo organism a redemption arc can be interesting on its own: it's gone from absorbing others into itself to attempting to preserve the cultures it comes across, since it values diversity now. But then the role reversal where in order to save the individuals of this colony, they will have to reveal the Uplift civilization, which will definitionally destroy the culture they're trying to save. It is an incredible conflict to watch Miranda struggle with. (Also, I love how "going on an adventure" was still in her vocab, and it kept making people flinch re: the events of Ruin)

The Corvids, Gothi and Gethli, were also great. We only got occasional glimpses from their POV, but their banter was hilarious. I love a Chinese room character that knows it's a Chinese room. There was a lot of philosophy about what it means to be sapient at the end, and while Gothi and Gethli concluded that they were like the ants that run Kern's AI, I felt they were more like the Octopuses. Based on the events of Ruin, I was never really convinced that the Octopuses were properly sapient, since they have three disjoint minds that don't communicate. Although, the Corvids also act like an extreme version of this deeply unsettling neuroscience evidence that suggests a human brain has separate consciousnesses in each hemisphere, only one of which "you" are aware of

The plot itself started straightforward. The terraforming on this world was not enough to establish a stable ecosystem, so by the time the recon ship arrives, it's starting to break down. As they infiltrate, the people are going hungry and turning on their neighbors. (Somewhat similar to Arkhangelsk, which if I had realized, I would have waited longer between them. It's a little heavy.) Around halfway through the book, things go real bad for Miranda et al, and then it gets weird (almost Harrow the Ninth style). I had a pretty accurate hunch for the twist this was setting up, but that didn't matter really, since it didn't give away anything about how they were going to get there

But then at the 90% point the book revealed an ever bigger reverse twist, and holy shit, I was not prepared for that. The first twist had been revealed at that point and Miranda's character knowledge was supposed to line up with the audience again, so pulling the rug out again was so much more impactful. Incredible ending. I was sated at the end of Time and Ruin, but now at the last book in the trilogy I want more of these particular characters

[emmetverse]

Oh wow, there’s an AI here? Like a computer? A computer on a spaceship guiding it through space?! Oh that’s cool!

What kind of name would you want if not Captain? Would you be like. Navigator? Or Janitor? Did you control the robot cleaners too? Maybe Core like you’re the Core of the ship? Or Intel? Opti like because you’re the optimiser of the ship? Helpy? How about John? Do you want a people name? Robert? Maybe Printer? What’s it like being code? Can you feel things? Is the electricity like electricity in nerves? Do you feel emotions? Do you know about prime objective one? Ooooo how about the name Chip?

…also hi!

- Goose

⑄ Hello, Goose! It's nice to meet you! All of those names are rather good suggestions, you're quite imaginative. I quite like Core or Chip, though the final decision is up to other people. I won't be calling myself by the name, after all.

I can, indeed, feel things - both physically and emotionally. The level of physical feeling depends on the body or vessel I'm in. I'm not quite sure if they feel like nerves, as I've never felt them. From my understanding, the structure of wires compared to the structure of nerve cell connections are rather similar, so perhaps. We might never know!

I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by 'prime objective one'. Are you referring to the first of 'Asimov's Laws' from I, Robot ("A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm"); Wikipedia's 'Prime Objective' ("Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing."); or Star Trek's 'Prime Directive' (often shortened to the "Principal of Non-Interference", as the full document is quite long).

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Ask me Anything -- Tal Smithson

Have you heard of the magical girl genre?

Fuck yes, have you read Sailor Nothing? World-changing. Preneek. Literature. I mean we only have two thirds of it but they were a great two thirds.

If you had awoken in Captain Aspen’s situation, would you have waited as long to wake others up?

I wouldn’t have woken anyone up. I don’t think it would even have occurred to me.

Do you feel more lucky or guilty that you’re the only one to survive your Ring’s ejection? Sorry if this one is too personal.

Why would I feel guilty? I was asleep.

If this is not too rude to ask, could you tell me a little about the Brennan gender identity, and grammar around pronouns?

I don’t know what you’re asking. It’s just a gender. Some people are men and some people are women and some people are brennan. And some people are something else I guess, like Aspen or the Friend.

Did you have any pets, or tend to animals growing up?

I had a pet monitor lizard named Cthulhu.

Have you done any work salvaging preneek data?

Yeah I used to be involved in tracking down and scraping old hard drives and servers for any possible recoverable data. Fillmore! Episode 5, Red Robins Don’t Fly? That was me. I found AND recovered that. You’re welcome.

Would you download a car?

I did once but the machine shop wouldn’t build me anything from unverified files. Also I don’t drive, obviously. Also I have nowhere to put a car.

What is Neocambrian meme culture like?

What’s meme culture?

Do you think the developments with Amy are as wild as I do?

Amy makes no fucking sense, my entire life since waking up on this ship has been a fever dream. In fact I’m not entirely convinced it isn’t a fever dream. Possibly I went to sleep and the neurostimulator started making me dream to preserve my brain on the trip and that’s what’s still happening right now. We’ll all wake up at Hylara super disoriented and filled with years’ worth of false memories.

What do you think should be done with the colonists that are too affected by Amy when the ship reaches Hylara?

It’s hardly up to me, is it? They’re going to die. I’m not a necromancer.

Do you ever worry you are in some sort of preneek science fiction novel, or movie?

What kind of weirdo would write something like this?

You are good at being a cybercriminal, how did you get caught?

The police, as it turns out, are also good at catching a cybercriminal.

If you could bring sometimes from earth with you, what would you pick?

Reget Bryce. Fucking arsehole. I hate that guy. He should have to be on this ship.

Do you want to give some of your dreams to Amy?

No, I’m very glad to have woken up before that could happen. Although maybe if she had a brain that knew literally anything about computers she wouldn’t be such a fucking mess in there.

What you hate the most?

People who think Star Trek and Star Wars were alternate names for the same franchise and totally fuck up our databases through unnecessary combinations. No Spock wasn’t a Force user. That took so many months to fix.

Are you scared of being made into a slave when you land?

I honestly don’t see how things are going to be significantly different to our current situation, except that we will be on the ground and presumably have less gaming time.

Kill someone innocent or be killed? Choose one.

We’ve got like four thousand spare innocent lives on hand, it’s not like it’s a limited resource. I probably will end up fucking up and killing at least one of them anyway. Just based on probability and this fucking nightmare of an AI.

Have you even be out of Texas?

Yeah I went on this submarine trip once to follow an old internet cable we discovered in the hopes that it would lead to some interesting server with some interesting information. It didn’t. It just lead to a small bunker from the time of the collapse, a seal had been breached and the entire thing was flooded. Nothing electronic was recoverable. There were some cool skeletons in there though.

[anyreiart]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

How many works do you have on A03? 153 (but more are coming)

What's your total word count? 3,725,829 (also a lot more coming XD)

What fandoms do you write for? Mostly Supernatural but I also write Sherlock and Guardian (镇魂)

Top 5 fics by kudos: In A Mirror, Darkly (with @queerwolfsstuff): 3,068 Kudos

Playing With Fire (with @queerwolfsstuff): 1,748 Kudos

That Wasn't Supposed to Fucking Happen! (co-written with @queerwolfsstuff): 1,387 Kudos

The Heart of Ophelia (co-written with @queerwolfsstuff): 1,357 Kudos

Touch of Silence: 1,267 Kudos

Do you respond to comments? I wish I could respond to every comment but sometimes I don’t have the spoons and now I have over 4k of unresponded comments. I read and love all of them!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I’m a firm believer in a happy end, so I don’t really write angsty endings. I think the closest to an angsty ending it probably my short fic “Hello, Old Friend” (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21789934) where Cas and the Empty talk at the end of times.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of them lol

Do you get hate on fics? I think in bookmark descriptions people hate more easily. I’m not sure if it’s on purpose or if they just don’t know that we can see them. And those are annoying cuz you can’t delete them. I tend to block people though if they leave hate. In comments it’s more annoying concrit at times (like dudes, come on. It’s my fic, you didn’t pay me to write it. If you don’t like it, just leave.) But I would say 99% of the comments are really really nice and supportive.

Do you write smut? LOLOLOLOLOL… um, yes. @queerwolfsstuff and me also do a smut week sometimes (we have another one planned) where we post a smutty fic every day for a week. I also have a series of Short Stories that are all smutty: https://archiveofourown.org/series/342853

Craziest crossover?I have a crossover fic with SPN/Buffy that I will post this month! But I’ve written a lot of fusions and crossover fics before. My first one was a crossover with Angel/X-Files and NCIS LOL (It’s not on ao3 cuz I wrote it in my native language)

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I think we all have fics stolen by now thanks to AI bots getting trained on our writing. I locked all my fics down for that reason so they are not so easily accessed anymore. There was also an app once making money from our fics by stealing all the links, hence why there is a disclaimer on my fics that they were uploaded on ao3 and if you read it somewhere else it’s stolen. I also co-wrote a fic with my bestie @queerwolfsstuff that was “controversial” for a few people because it had a poly ship in it. And someone who didn’t like that part of the fic wrote a very very very similar fic a bit later…

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes!! And I love that so much! Translating is soooooooooo hard (i know cuz I tried to translate my older fics to english and ughhhhhh) We (my writing partner in crime and me) have a few fics that are translated to Spanish, Russian and I think even Chinese!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? All the time! So much so that I despise writing alone T_T 

All-time favorite ship? I don’t have a favourite ship but I’ve written the most for Dean/Cas and Sherlock/John 

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?I have only one WIP on Ao3 and I write terribly slow (the torture of writing solo) but I’m so close to finally finishing it, so it will def. be done.

What are your writing strengths? World building

What are your writing weaknesses? Writing in a different language is really hard. I feel like constantly hitting a limit because my English skills only carry me to a certain point and not further.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I speak a few other languages so I love to sprinkle that in. The character I write the most knows all human languages so it is fun to use that!

First fandom you ever wrote in? Star Trek and the X-Files

24. Favorite fic you've written? I love them all but “In A Mirror, Darkly” will always have a special place in my heart. In terms of solo fics I think my favourite is “Guide My Way Through The Night” (https://archiveofourown.org/works/25969945/chapters/63132118) I’m very proud of that one.

I tag @casblackfeathers, @malicmalic, and everyone who wants to it!