#but i don't think it's a good book for mccoy's fans but then again there are different kinds of mccoy's fans

[lenievi]

I think the problem with TOS and me is that I need everything to follow a certain formula which includes McCoy being the one dealing with Kirk’s moods. If Kirk feels down or has a problem, I need it to be McCoy he talks to. I need it to be McCoy who gives him an advice. Spock can give him an advice too, but McCoy’s advice either needs to follow or precede (but usually follow) – because that’s the formula the show follows.

I know other people probably want more variety, but I’m very simple and want the same thing again and again, even if it only reduces McCoy to a character who’s written around Kirk. Because he is. He’s written around Kirk and Spock because he is a tool to express their emotions when neither of them can express them.

And I feel like when the show’s traditional trio roles are broken, it never works for me. Neither Kirk nor Spock can work without McCoy. I’m not saying it because I like McCoy, it’s just that you literally can’t take him out because then you even lose the kind of relationship Spock and Kirk have in the show imho

And that’s why I think a lot of novels just won’t ever work for me perfectly because a lot of authors 1. don’t know how to write McCoy 2. don’t know what role to give him because they refuse to give him his role in the show - i.e. be Kirk’s confidant. Some authors know what to do with him, but it’s rare.

[bardicious]

Spock's SNW Human-isms (Apparently an Essay)

This has gotta be one of my favorite parts of the episode. Everyone's already talked about Boimler's polite way of telling Chapel her and Spock's relationship is doomed and not worthy of note in the history books. Versus Spock and Kirk's legendary friendship romance T'hy'la status.

I am on the one hand, upset that Spirk will never be fully canon (because paramount is weak and so are it's homophobic fans), but delighted they're not really banking on the easy "Chapel was Spock's true love all along" because that would be fuckin disingenuous as hell, if you've watched ANY TOS episode or movie. Like, absolutely ridiculous. Beyond insane, and I can understand why it worries fans watching SNW. (though I think the reaction to them having any relationship is a bit much and childish).

Anyway, seeing Spock's early life and his fight between his supposed "human side" and "vulcan side" is such a big aspect of his early character. I get the impression that Spock fought hard to be Vulcan while he was growing up there, but held resentment to not being able to show his mother the "human" affection he thought she deserved. He saw her being ridiculed, her loneliness, his own loneliness when he couldn't fit in, and it broke his heart. A war between his emotions and his duties constantly firing. So enough is enough, he leaves Vulcan, because it's not right for him. And joins starfleet.

Starfleet's motto is accepting all kinds of people and understanding them. But lets be real, starfleet accepts Spock's skill, but not his personality or behaviors. He generally gets along with his crewmembers, but they don't really know him. Barring a few exceptions, maybe Captain Pike? But also not really. Captain Pike loves Spock, but my impression is he doesn't always get him. Not like Jim will.

Chapel gives the same vibes. She says she accepts Spock for who he is. But she likes the idea of the human!Spock inside of him. His human side who understood her better. Who, honestly, I think she would have kept if she was less ethical. But she's not. She's a good person, and that's not who Spock is, so it's not what she wants. But it's still this ideal of Spock she's grasping to. Of course, she doesn't want a more human Spock, that's a cruel thing to say, to think even. But ultimately Spock will never given her the behavior and emotional support she's looking for. It's just not there.

My impression of SNW Spock is that, he likes both T'Pring and Chapel, they're his friends, he loves them like a friend would, he protects them like a friend would. But both Chapel and T'Pring personify his human and vulcan ideals. They're the embodiment of what he should want. Not what he actually wants.

And once Chapel breaks his heart (possibly to "save" his amazing future), he will discard his attempts at "human" behavior. Begin to resent it. Hell, get a little racist with it. LMAO (Thinking of his interactions with McCoy - who's so human, or so willing to show his emotions, it irks Spock, because he tried that!)

It will be the crux of his feelings of shame. With Jim. Who's friendship and love is so important to him. But he just can't do it again. Quite possibly, maybe he should never try to love anyone again, because he's tried, and both options were so obviously wrong. How can he possibly fit in with another being?

But he can, because Jim's actually quite a vulcan human in some ways. Duty is the name of Jim's game. The greater good. The way Jim has decided to look at his own life and his family, and decided to take his experiences in a logical capacity rather than the emotional one Sam has taken everything in. Spock and Kirk are compatible, so naturally, that Spock and Kirk never had to try, they just know each other and understand each other. AND damn, everything about SNW just confirms Spirk, but I wish ffs, that they would "canonize" it.

[electronickingdomfox]

"My Enemy, My Ally" review

Romulans stole Spock's brain! (or at least, some Vulcan brains)

Novel from 1984, by Diane Duane, and the first of the five-book series Rihannsu.

The plot itself is okay: the Romulans have a new devious scheme (capturing Vulcans to extract the telepathic abilities from their brains), and the Enterprise must stop their plans. Only this time, Kirk will have to collaborate with a bunch of good, renegade Romulans to succeed. It's not terribly original, nor it's the first time that Kirk has allied himself with Romulans in these novels, but as a plot it's entertaining. However, the narrative drags a lot, specially in the first half of the novel, and it takes a reaaally long time to set things into motion. In part, this is due to a "tell, rather than show" approach. For example, there's a lengthy conversation about how the Enterprise and its Romulan allies are going to stage a fake battle between both ships, in full detail. And then a lengthy description of the ships doing just that. One of these two segments isn't needed. There's also a lot of fluff, specially in scenes at the Recreation deck, and plenty of new character introductions, that don't lead anywhere nor have any real importance. A lot of the new character roles could have been filled by the usual crew, anyway. Now, I don't think that a novel should just be barebones plot, but I didn't find these "extra" scenes particularly entertaining nor enlightening. So in my opinion, this novel would have improved greatly if it was cut short. Though the later sections suffer less of this, and are more focused.

The story is notable for introducing a lot of new material about Romulan culture, and specially language (which seems to me even more unpronounceable than Klingon). In fact, most of the time Romulans are referred to as "Rihannsu", which is the name of the race in their own language. I don't know to what extent Duane developed the grammar and vocabulary, but it seems to have a certain structure to it. There's also much emphasis on the power of names over things and people, and some glimpses into the Romulan worship of Elements. A lot of this has probably never been incorporated into the series, but Romulans having several names (of which only the first is revealed to strangers) seems to have its origins here.

As for characters, the most developed one is Ael, the Romulan commander that strikes an alliance with Kirk. At times she comes dangerously close to Mary Sue territory (for example, beating McCoy at a game she had just learned, despite the doctor being skilled enough to beat none other than Spock). But otherwise, she's fine for her role in the story. In many ways, she's both a mirror and a foil for Kirk, suffering also under the weight of command, and the difficult decisions between duty and her crew's wellbeing. Though not exactly a tragic character, there's also a lot of sadness and burdens in her past. On the other hand, Kirk rubbed me the wrong way. Or rather, his relationship with his crew. I found it way too lax and informal, and sometimes it seems he's more like a cool dad for them, rather than a Captain. Kirk in the series had his goofy moments, of course, and Shatner imbued him with much comedic potential. But nonetheless, there was always some gravitas about him, and a respectful distance with his subordinates. Even with someone as close as Spock, he was usually pretty formal. The only one who broke this pattern was McCoy, and that was precisely why their relationship was special. So yeah, I just don't see Kirk trading jokes with Sulu while under enemy fire, or receiving sassy remarks from Uhura, sorry. Also, as happened in The Wounded Sky, there's again a wide array of fancy aliens populating the Enterprise. I didn't mind them that much in the previous novel, since the story is so unusual, that it could have existed outside the Star Trek universe without damage being done. This time around... I've decided that I'm not a fan of this idea. Apart from being too distracting, Starfleet strikes me as a mostly human institution, at least at the time of TOS (after all, HQ is in San Francisco), and Spock often struggled being accepted among the crew. He was THE alien, and this led to isolation and even ocassional prejudices against him. Now, this wouldn't make much sense if the crew were regularly sipping coffee next to a gelatinous blob of tentacles... As for Spock and McCoy, they're mostly okay, though they tend to get overshadowed by the extended cast, and obviously, Ael.

I must be in the minority here, since most people seem to love this novel, but in general, I didn't like it much. Perhaps it's a consequence of having just read John Ford's masterful The Final Reflection, and his fascinating take on Klingons. Perhaps I simply don't care all that much about Romulans...

Some spoilers under the cut:

The first chapters switch perspectives between Ael and Kirk. While Ael reflects on her falling out with the Romulan Senate, because of her opposition to a certain revolutionary research, Kirk is ordered to patrol the Neutral Zone, as part of a task force. Ael has been "exiled" as commander of a shitty starship named Cuirass, crewed by shitty subordinates. But she keeps contact with her old, loyal ship Bloodwing, now commanded by Tafv, her own son. When news of the Federation ships arriving reach her, she sets her plan into motion. After sabotaging the Cuirass' systems, she escapes in a scout ship to Bloodwing. And the latter ship destroys Cuirass, whose crew she considers traitors to the Empire for their collaboration in the Senate's schemes.

After this, Bloodwing rendezvous with Enterprise near the Neutral Zone, and Ael asks permission to come aboard alone, promising some very important info. Then she explains to Kirk what's going on: The Romulan government has started developing a new weapon at the station in Levaeri V. They capture Vulcans and extract their brain tissue, in order to implant the genetic material into Romulans, and thus give them all their telepathic abilities, even enhanced. After leaving Vulcan centuries ago, the Romulans' divergent development made them unable to mind-meld, or do any of that cool Vulcan stuff. But now, with the new research, powerful individuals could read minds, control thoughts and subject any opposition. Ael believes this will ruin the Empire and its old code of honor. And in turn, will cause conflicts with both the Federation and the Klingons. Thus, she asks Kirk to "lend" her the Enterprise, to help destroy the research station. Her plan is faking a capture of the Enterprise by Bloodwing, then towing the starship into Romulan space and destroy the facility along the way. Spock confirms through a mind-meld that Ael's telling the truth.

Kirk is sympathetic with her cause, but refuses to go along with the plan, on the grounds that he can't intervene in Romulan internal affairs. Things change, however, when the Vulcan ship that was patrolling near the Enterprise is spirited away under their noses. Ael explains that its disappearance matches the modus operandi of Romulans. The Vulcans are being taken to the research station (and now I understand why Spock chose to serve in a human starship; Vulcan ships seem to have the worst luck, between being eaten by amoebas and now this...). Kirk can't ignore the matter anymore, now that the Vulcans are in danger, so he decides to go with Ael.

After faking a battle between Bloodwing and Enterprise, they proceed to Levaeri V. Ael's crew take positions in the Enterprise bridge, while Kirk and the rest of the officers play a bit of theater, faking their capture in the brig, to fool the escorts sent by the Empire. Once approaching the station, Bloodwing and the Enterprise suddenly turn against the escorts and destroy them.

In the last part, Kirk sends a large strike force into the station, to free the Vulcan captives and destroy all research with their brains. But meanwhile, the Enterprise is assaulted by a treacherous faction among Ael's people. Scotty, Chekov and Sulu must fight to recover the ship, while down in the station the battle continues.

Spirk Meter: 1/10*. There's a bit about Spock being particularly interested in the proceedings of Kirk's mind, while playing chess. But I can't think of anything else, and even this is really minimal.

There's also some Mcspirk. McCoy likes to study Kirk and Spock while they play chess, to delve deeper into their personalities and psyches. And when Kirk complains that, if Spock and McCoy keep babysitting him, he'll end up taking their hands, McCoy says that's okay with him. But warns him about Spock, and the kind of rumors that could run through the ship. Also, Ael observes that the three of them seem to share a single mind. Though that's downplayed by the comparison with the similar link between Ael and her son.

*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.

[justxcountrydoctor]

@brooklynislandgirl asked

Off hours on a star-ship aren't quite like they are on terra firma. And with so few people she knows much less is close to, when the chime at her door announces company, she simply assumes that it's Chekov come to take back the rare precious book he'd lent her.

"The ocean says you’re a nerd."

What she was not expecting is that Doctor McCoy would be the one standing on the other side of the partition as she presses the button to let him in. So the teasing disrespect, an old joke between her and the ensign from their childhood, rings out oddly. Which is then paired with her appearing around a corner of her cabin, half dressed and definitely not conscious of his presence until it's too late.

Her face freezes in a certain kind of rictus and within, beyond where he can see it, shame burns like a warp engine in her chest.

"I...I mean...I can explain...."

"No reason for you too. it's your quarters, answer the door any old way you want. i mean hell, i've been known to answer my door in nothing but a towel with a friendly get lost but that's just the grumpy old doctor." Leonard keeps looking everywhere but her as if he doesn't see how good she looks or anything. Yes, he's looking at her out of the corner of his eye so what? He's a red-blooded man and knows beauty when he sees it and can also appreciate it. "Umm, not that i'm going to be staying long, ii just had one little question for you and then i was going to be in the wind again but could you maybe cover up a little and maybe let me in so we could talk without the whole of the ship staring at us like i feel like they are doing right now."

He makes his way inside and then stands there "Why would the sea think i'm a nerd? Is it that thing that i still have for comic books and things of that nature because if the sea thinks i'm nerdy for that then i will gladly take it." Leonard then shifts from foot to foot "Oh, i completely forgot i came over here because a report you wrote up for me didn't get filed and i wondered if you had put it in my office before you left or something along those lines anyway. i wouldn't want you to have to rewrite it just because i went and lost the damn thing." He then looks her in the eyes with a tilt to his head.

"Oh that and you have some down time coming up in a couple of days, if i see you at work on any of those three days there will be trouble for you because you might not be the greatest fan of shore leave, ii would have to look that up to be certain of its though and the only way i can get members of the crew to take their downtime is by following them around all over this ship, then i will personally follow you around for five days." Leonard smiles and sends her a playful wink "i promise that the captain even gets this treatment so don't think that you're all special now and hey, we can talk about comics and stuff if you like that sort of thing." He blushes slightly.

[oneradmonster]

So this is basically for @calystars but others could benefit from it I suppose

Here's a list of (mostly) wicca and maybe some witchcraft type books to get you started as well as links to the books on thriftbooks (so you can get them cheap)

I know this is long but I'm on mobile so ill try to put it under read more when i can oops

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

This one is my personal favorite, Thea makes things very easy to understand! There's also a nice long list of further reading in the back (she also has a twitter where she mostly live tweets watching bad movies, its fun)

Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Wiccans don't have a bible but if they did it probably be this. If you look up "books to read on wicca" this will pop up on pretty much every list. I'm not as much of a fan simply bc its very textbook-ey in some places which makes it hard for me to read but it's still a good source of information for beginners

Also keep in mind Scott passed away back in the '70's so some of his information is outdated.

Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

A continuation of Scott's first book, not much to say other than that, just further reading once you've gotten a little more into things

And here's some links to my wishlist of other books me (and my boyfriend) have been meaning to get to but, you know, money

BASIC PAGANISM

HISTORY OF PAGANISM

WICCA

DRUIDRY

GODS AND GODDESS

SPELLS

STONES & CHARMS

ANIMAL FAMILIARS

KITCHEN WITCH

HERBS, INCENSE, AND OIL

Authors to "Avoid"

Technically speaking there's not a "wrong" way to do Wicca and others will tell you to read everything and come to your own conclusions, which is fair. However their are several authors whose works you should absolutley tale with a grain of salt. And others you should avoid just because they're, you know, horrible people.

Silver Ravenwolf

The bane of witchcraft's existence

Conflates Wicca and witchcraft, claims only Wiccans are true witches, erases non-Wiccan witches and pagans, constant Christian-bashing, misinformation, false history, cultural appropriation, contradicts herself, hateful rhetoric, racism, history of attacking critics

Her writings mostly target teenage girls looking to rebel against their parents.

Gavin and Yvonne Frost

One of their books has chapter describing “Wiccan traditional” coming of age rites of passage for children, except you wont find these 'traditions' anywhere else except their book. Its a sex ritual for (basically) when they hit puberty which they later changed to 18 when they, rightfully, recieved backlash. Feel like its self explanatory why you should avoid them

D. J. Conway

HUGE problems with incorrect information about deities, questionable interpretations of historical events, also conflates Wicca and witchcraft

Raymond Buckland

Appropriates closed cultures, uses the g-slur (gypsy) to exoticize certain rituals and techniques, propagates false history

Edain McCoy

More misinformation about deities and history, mostly where it applies to certain Celtic-associated personages and events. Tries to make EVERYTHING Irish, especially when it’s not.

Catherine Yronwode

Racist, claims LGBTQ+ teens should kill themselves and along with her husband has provided pamphlets and counseling to encourage this, known for attacking people online, threatens critics and pirates with death magic. Claims New Orleans voodoo is “fake” to bolster her own credibility.

Christian Day

Rape apologist, harasses women on social media. Enough said.

Again in general you should always be critical of what you read. Witchcraft and Wicca are a very non constrictive and also ever changing religion/practice. Trust your head. Use some critical thinking when it comes to what sounds right and what doesn't. None of these books are law, so read what you can and sort out the rest for yourself.

Well that's about everything I can think of, have fun and be safe everyone.

[lenievi]

For “Give me the character “ thing. It is kinda obvious, but...McCoy? Thank you!

This is only for TOS!McCoy because my answers for AOS!McCoy would be different. And I'm sorry this got so long!

How I feel about this character: So there's no secret that I love him. People often characterize him as someone who is like an open book, who wears his heart on his sleeve, but I don't think it's true. Sure, he has opinions and he's very vocal about them, he's not afraid to say what he thinks (and his opinions often have a grain of truth even today imho), but when things get a bit serious, when he needs to express his inner feelings to those he's close with (i.e. Kirk), he's not even able to look them in the eye (i.e. Balance of Terror). 

He'll praise Spock behind his back, or defends him against Kirk (or anyone), but to Spock's face, he'll sometimes act as if they weren't even friends. 

Overall, I feel he's keeping everyone (except for Kirk and Spock, to an extent) at an arm-length and guards his emotions pretty tightly. He's polite and a perfect gentleman with strangers and the crew, but with those he is close with? That's where his 'grumpy' and 'gruff' side comes in. But also don’t let me start on Bread and Circuses. All the people I ship romantically with this character: Ahaha, obviously it's Spock. There's just something about their dynamic that works perfectly. They're equals and they respect each other. Neither of them needs to back off when they disagree because there's no expectation to. They choose to maintain their relationship, and I think that's important. I love the little moments when they drop their guards when things get serious, and you can glimpse some of the affection and respect they have for each other.

I low-key ship McCoy with Nancy and Natira too, but I don't have the need to explore those relationships in depth (maybe except as a part of a longer spones narrative).

My non-romantic OTP for this character: So this is obviously Kirk. While Spock/McCoy comes easy to me as a ship, Kirk/McCoy doesn't, so I prefer them as friends. 

Their friendship in tos is just so good. There's no toxicity in their friendship because they're both in different roles, and it's implied they know each other very well and know about each other's pasts. Kirk knows and can read McCoy well, and McCoy is someone Kirk can open up to, share his fears and insecurities with. McCoy respects Kirk, trusts Kirk, and is willing to do a lot of things for Kirk. Sometimes his judgment gets clouded by his worry for Kirk, though. They both accept each other, for better or for worse.

My unpopular opinion about this character: There are moments when he goes a bit overboard (but it's also often in episodes that don't have particularly strong writing, so it's like ugh why writers; not always though). I think sometimes he comes off a bit sexist in the show (but who doesn't) - as in I'm not gonna ignore it, it's there (I don't ignore it with Spock or Kirk, McCoy isn't an exception either).

I don't agree with people saying he's just lucky when he treats someone, because that’s just not true. I also feel like often people woobify him too much, and I'm not a fan of that. It's just a personal taste though and you do you!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Honestly, my only wish is for them to establish that Kirk and McCoy served on one ship together prior to the Enterprise, but I also don't want it to happen because I'd prefer if they never added to McCoy's (or Kirk's) canon ever again.