#got tribble problems?

[comparatorclock]

New Star Trek headcanon: since tribbles infest grain supplies in a manner akin to common earth mice or rats, they should thus be ecologically similar - that is to say, cats should perceive tribbles as prey.

Now consider this: when Klingons learn that cats can and do hunt tribbles, they decide to make use of that intel. This leads to a trade deal between the federation and the Klingons, where the latter asks for large numbers of housecats. The federation is confused, but decides to go along with it - what's the worst that could happen, after all? If nothing else, it is an opportunity for trade!

So, the cats are thus recruited into the Klingon war on tribbles. After a hard-fought victory, everyone in the empire celebrates, with the cats being guests of honor more often than not. The Klingons are happy; the cats are happy and fat with tribble meat; the federation looks on in confusion at what just happened.

Thus, the road to the Khitomer Accords has become possible, through the power of housecats - and careful diplomacy, of course. But mostly the cats. Because tribble hunting.

[amethysttribble]

Next time I’m dealing with an upset kid, I’m going to remember my aunt saying to me, “That fight was the beginning of the end for you and [cousin who a whole airport staff couldn’t unload all my baggage with]” when I was jokingly recounting a spat we had when we were twelve and I called her a ‘motherucking bitch’

Because that flabbergasted me so much I legitimately laughed and I’m still thinking about it.

‘Cause no. Oh my god no. That was the end of the end. That was when I finally said, “I can’t do this anymore.” That was it.

But my aunt couldn’t see that because to her we were just two twelve year olds calling each other names, /oh those two, so ‘close’ (in truth, we were just two girls who were the same age, our moms said we had to be close) but always bickering/ not the continued saga of pain and harassment that had been our shared childhood, twelve years worth, and the moment I was finally old enough to realize, “I should stop trying to be friends and instead never talk to her again.”

‘The beginning of the end’. As if those years when we were younger didn’t count and weren’t informative. They were. As if we didn’t have interiority and a complicated, broken relationship before that. We did. As if it was all petty before we were teenagers. It wasn’t.

It had ended a long time ago.

[olderthannetfic]

This is a stupid question and might be too personal but I wonder if you or others have thoughts on this. Is it generally hard to combine having a job, children and continuing to be bit of a "weird nerd"? How to find rolemodels and people to vibe with and is there time for fixating on the things (obviously staying up reading fanfic until 3am before morning shifts or painting warcraft miniatures 60+ hours per week is probably not advisable anymore but you know). Is the difference actually like night and day or what is it like?

--

A huge, huge, huge amount depends on whether your partner is actually supportive, if you have one, and what kind of work you're trying to return to after having a kid.

Tons of weird nerds just cart their kids along to their D&D sessions or whatever. There's nothing odd about that.

The bigger problems arise when you're economically marginal and don't have adequate childcare or when you have a manchild spouse who not only doesn't do half the work but becomes baby #2.

In my particular case, it took me most of the first year to get my brain back in a space where I could work on creative writing. (Sorry, people who are waiting for book 3. It's coming! It's coming!) But I'm lucky enough to not be facing a lot of money troubles, and I don't have a partner to worry about. This makes my situation night and day from one where you're trying to figure out how to both pay the rent and do all your own childcare.

Chronic sleep deprivation is probably the biggest issue when it comes to being able to enjoy things or carve out time for hobbies.

In general, reading on a kindle or phone (which you can do one-handed and on an object that is somewhat less vulnerable to drool and grabbing fingers) is a great hobby to combine with dealing with little monsters. Breast feeding is boring and takes a hell of a lot of my day.

--

I don't think the weird nerd aspect is significant at all unless you feel inhibited about not being a normie parent. (Personally, I already dress my kid like a fucking elf all in green and shit like that and have no qualms about telling someone where to stick it if they think she should wear pink.)

But the more caretaker-y parent often ends up so sleep deprived and miserable from lack of emotional/financial support that their whole life goes to hell, whether their hobbies are "weird" or otherwise.

And even if there are two or more supportive team players raising the kid, money troubles breed like tribbles once you spawn.

If you live in the US (which you might since you didn't think to say), there isn't much structural support, but you can fix that with money. So, anon, how much money have you got?

[ihopesocomic]

That "everything My Pride got wrong about lions" list you mentioned in one of previous asks? Would love to actually see that 👀

We don't have an exact "list" per se but here's the main things that spring to mind that are shown in MP that are factually incorrect:

Prides are led by a single male and no other male may have control of the pride: incorrect. Prides can and will consist of more than one male and males will sometimes team up to run out the resident male or males.

Lions can bite through a rival's mane: a lion's mane is like thick, fluffy armour that protects the throat and it absolutely cannot be penetrated in the manner like Quick did with Starmane. This is why lions actually opt to attack the face, the back, or the hips.

Lionesses do not defend their cubs from rogue males: lionesses absolutely do defend their cubs from males, including those that are related to them by blood, such as the father. They're very protective mothers. There's even reports of lionesses running their cubs away from the pride and hiding them so the rogue male cannot find them.

Lions are active during the day: lions are actually crepuscular and more active at dawn, dusk and at night for the African nights are cooler and present better hunting opportunities. They tend to rest during the day. I know there are instances where this isn't the case, but that just comes with being opportunistic hunters. They will also hunt during storms, uilitising the weather to their advantage. Hence why Travellers have names related to the weather. We just thought it was a cool fact.

Lions have slit pupils: lions, like all big cats, have round pupils. There are theories as to why this is, but at the end of the day, only domestic cats have slit pupils.

Male lions are called manes: Yes, we know that this is a xenofiction thing and MP has every right to adopt their own vocabulary, but people literally think that male lions in a pride are called "manes" and male lions not in a pride are called "no-manes". So apparently it needs to be said that male lions are simply called lions, and females are lionesses.

Tsavo lions are a subspecies of lions that do not develop full manes: So, this appears to be a misconception that some MP fans have walked away with and I just want to correct the record on this. Tsavo lions are not a subspecies of the African lion. They are named after the geographical location where maneless lions are more apparent, because geography and environment seems to have an effect on how a lion's mane forms. Lions are sensitive to heat, so the hotter a region is, the less likely a mane is to form. The Tsavo region is known to be hot and dry and this is why lions there have problems developing a full mane. Genetics is also theorised to play a role. Such a thing has also been observed in West African regions and Ancient Egyptian art has also depicted maneless lions. It's also worth noting that Asiatic lions also have smaller manes than their African counterparts due to Asia having a hotter climate. This is why some of our characters like Fade and Larkspur do not have full manes. Both of them have either been raised in a desert region or a region adjacent to a desert and the heat has affected them developing a full mane. So, Moonstrike being described as a Tsavo lion was completely pointless and confusing. I can only assume it was Tribble trying to flex her lion knowledge but she also didn't even bother to explore why exactly Tsavo has a connection to maneless lions, thus fans assuming that the lack of a mane is down to Moonstrike being part of some sort of subspecies. I'm probably missing some things out but this is what I have so far. - RJ

[the-last-dillpickle]

DS9 trivia from IMDB - Part 1

- Colm Meaney was initially reluctant about signing onto the series. Meaney was comfortable playing O'Brien on an episode by episode basis for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), and at the time, was unsure if he wanted to play a full time television role.  

- Although we only rarely see it, there is an ATM in Quark's bar. It dispenses the various types of currency used by major races visiting the station: Federation credits, Bajoran litas, Cardassian leks, and Ferengi latinum.  

- Constable Odo was originally envisioned as a young Clint Eastwood type. When Rene Auberjonois was called in for his audition, the casting director told him that none of the previous actors had been "grouchy enough". So Auberjonois improvised his lines using his most gravelly voice, and secured the role. Odo's scoff eventually became such a character trademark that the screenwriters would often script it into his lines (as "harrumph!"), much to Auberjonois' annoyance.  

- Michael Dorn did not want to reprise his role as Worf, since the daily make-up application was exhausting, and he was relieved to be able to move on. Dorn said that the salary he was offered made him reconsider.  

- The Dominion storyline was originally only meant to span two episodes. Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr lobbied to make the storyline on-going, but met with resistance from Executive Producer Rick Berman, who wanted to maintain an episodic format to the series. After Berman left production to oversee the launch of Star Trek: Voyager (1995), Moore and Behr were given more creative control over this series, making the Dominion War the main plot of the show, and adopting a serialized format.   

- Wolf 359, mentioned as the battle site between the Borg and the Federation where Sisko lost his wife, is a real star that is seven and a half light-years from Earth.  

- In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996) when Sisko and Dax see Kirk and Spock, Dax has the hots for Spock. In August 2017, Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) got engaged to Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard Nimoy (Spock).  

- The jars of "pills" in Dr. Bashir's office were filled with M&Ms. In many instances during the early episodes, the level of the pills would change between shots because crew members kept stealing them. The problem was solved by epoxying the lids in place.   

- When Colm Meaney was fitted for his Deep Space Nine uniform, he made two requests of the costume designers. He explained that unlike the officers, the non-commissioned Chief O'Brien was a working man. So he needed to be able to roll up his sleeves, and he needed pockets for his tools. The costume department altered his uniform accordingly.  

- The character of Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd), the Lurian bar patron who is always seen sitting at Quark's bar, was written as a nod to the character of Norm Peterson, played by George Wendt on Cheers (1982). Morn is an anagram of Norm. The mask worn by Shepherd originally had no opening for the mouth, so make-up artist Michael Westmore gave him lips over the course of the series, in case the character needed to speak. Several lines for Morn were scripted over the years, but unfortunately for Shepherd, these were always written out at the last moment. So Morn never said one word during the entire run of the show, leading to a running gag where bar patrons, station crew members and civilian residents often mention that Morn is excessively talkative off-screen, and "never shuts up."  

[batneko]

Okay I got another bowuigi idea.

Koopa Kingdom gets infested with Legally-Distinct-From-Tribbles and nobody can figure out how to get rid of them, they're eating everything, fire only makes them multiply somehow, and one day Bowser is trying to come up with ideas and mutters "What would Princess Peach do?" and one of his minions says "Call the Mario Brothers probably." They both have a good laugh over this.

But time goes by and the not!Tribbles are still everywhere, and finally Bowser is like "okay I'm at least going to ASK, can't hurt to ask, but I'll address it to the green one, that'll be less embarrassing."

Meanwhile Luigi has been feeling a little down about himself, so when he gets the letter he's like "Maybe if I do it it'll prove I can solve problems by myself!" (he was the only one who was doubting this). So he rolls up to the castle determined to Be A Hero and only changes his mind and turns around three times along the way.

Bowser is kind of a dick at first, naturally, but Luigi manages to stand up for himself and insist on being paid at least. This is an extermination job, not a rescue mission. After some back and forth Bowser agrees to give him a Kidnapping Rain Check - next time Luigi just isn't feeling it, he can use the rain check and make Bowser give up on his latest Kidnap Peach plan.

So Luigi goes around, studies the not!Tribbles, comes up with some plans for keeping them out of the food, etc. At first he's having to power through the fear, but eventually he realizes Bowser is mostly bluster (this time) and focuses more on doing the job.

A lot of time passes with both of them being surprised by each other. Luigi learns that Bowser rules through respect, not fear, and that he cares about others. Bowser learns that Luigi is more than just an inferior copy of his brother. I'm picturing a scene where Bowser (who has been casually talking down to Luigi this whole time) says something insulting, and Luigi snaps back with an insult of his own, and Bowser is so surprised that he busts out in genuine laughter. "Okay that's a good one. If you ever repeat it I'll throw you off something, but that's pretty good."

And maybe a scene where they're planning a Public Awareness Campaign so people will keep their food in sealed containers and stop burning the not!Tribbles already seriously you're only making it worse, and as they're talking about it Bowser Jr. wanders in and demands to be able to help. Bowser is like “Sure, you can make the artwork for all the posters we're going to put up, here's what I need you to draw.” Luigi watches this and thinks to himself, in order, “huh, I didn't think Bowser would be a good dad” and then “wait a minute, why didn't I think Bowser would be a good dad? That's not fair to him,” and then “wait since when have I cared about being fair to Bowser?”

Bowser definitely falls first, though he doesn't realize it for longer. He finds himself actually caring what Luigi thinks of him, and gets angry at himself for caring. At one point they're looking for cracks that the not!Tribbles might be sneaking in through, and have to take down a portrait of Peach that Bowser had put up in a secluded corner. Once that's done he completely forgets to put it back up for like two weeks, only realizing when he stumbles over it that he's barely thought of her at all lately.

Luigi, on the other hand, one day thinks to himself “Bowser is so cute when he laughs” and realizes instantly that he's sunk.

Finally they start making progress with the not!Tribbles, so Luigi is like “okay I'll come back in a week and see if the numbers have gone down,” and Bowser is like “yeah sure whatever.” But the next day he's listless and grouchy (he'd barely been grouchy at all lately, what's up with that?) and takes until almost evening to understand he misses Luigi. They both miss each other.

When Luigi finally comes back the not!Tribbles have gone down, but not enough, so he's back to coming over every day to do more research. Bowser is still barely clinging to denial, but he's started trying to look nicer, polishing his shell and combing his hair. Luigi notices and tries very hard not to notice.

If fire makes them multiply, maybe ice prevents it? So they put together some kind of giant mousetrap with lots of food and successfully manage to trap most of the not!Tribbles in a giant ice cube. It only takes another couple of days to track down the stragglers. They've done it! Luigi has saved (for a certain value of “saved”) the Koopa Kingdom.

And... that's it. There's no reason for him to stay anymore. Bowser scribbles out the rain check and starts to hand it to him... And stops.

“Don't take it.”

“What?”

“Don't take that. It's useless.”

“You're not going to honor it?” Luigi asks. He'd almost been allowing himself to think Bowser might like him back, a little bit, but now he's reminded that there's been someone more important to him since before all this started. Before they even met.

“I mean you're never going to have a reason to use it!” Bowser says.

He's never going to kidnap Peach again. At least, not the way he used to. Bowser still wants to take over the Mushroom Kingdom – as well as everywhere else, but Peach... she doesn't mean anything to him anymore.

He can't bring himself to say that though, and frustrated and angry he snaps at Luigi to take something else from the castle too, treasure or tools, anything he wants. And goes up to his bedroom to mope.

It's not until days later that he realizes one of his portraits is missing. It was a good one, he thought he looked really imposing in it, so he yells at people until somebody admits that the portrait was the thing Luigi took as his “payment.”

It wouldn't have been worth much. The frame was nice, but not THAT nice. If Luigi took Bowser's portrait it must be because he wanted it.

Bowser writes Luigi another letter, this time inviting him to dinner.

[the-starry-seas]

omg you're a techo enjoyer too??? blessed 🥺 do you have any hcs or plot tribbles about them you'd be willing to share?

So Tech is the person that Echo spends the most time with, when he first goes with the Batch. This isn't because of any desire to connect on Tech's part - the only reason nobody calls him unfriendly is cause Crosshair is right there, in much the way that your neighbour's snarly dog isn't much of a problem compared to a rabid T Rex.

Instead, it's because the Bad Batch realise that, y'know, Echo's been Matrixed into a freezer for a while (timeline is not my strength but it was a few years, I think). Somebody's gotta figure out those cyborg parts and how to fix them, preferably before something breaks. And of course for something that serious, you choose the smart one.

At first, Echo is very awkward about this. The last thing he wants is someone digging around in his parts, even if it's for a good reason. But he also knows that it's going to be even worse for everybody if he has some sudden breakdown that disables him. So he grits his teeth and bears it.

(Tech does not notice shit about this. He has new science to explore, new problems to figure out, and human interaction has never been his strong suit. Autism King <3)

There's definitely some initial awkwardness, but Echo figures out pretty quickly that if he gets Tech rambling about something, the sound of his voice is soothing. Echo thinks nothing of it. (lol. lmao even.) He also comes to find it vaguely endearing when Tech gets distracted in the middle of something because he thinks of some cool upgrade that he can do. The Iron Man-style rocket boots are a total success. Tech is fully convinced his sensation of affection and pride is just because he got the boots working, and nothing to do with Echo himself (again: lol. lmao even.)

Tech pokes at the dataport, frowns, and looks down at his datapad. "Can you give me a hand with this?" A metal arm clatters to the floor next to him. Echo, across the room, hasn't moved from his co-pilot's seat and is still watching the latest episode of his holodrama. "Technically," he begins, adjusting his goggles with an indignant sniff, "yes, that is what I asked for. But I expected better of you."

Echo suddenly has some fucking thoughts about the possibility of Tech praising him, let me tell you. Still, he also has some reservations, because there's times where Tech gets too invested in the ✨ science ✨ and Echo starts feeling kind of like an experiment all over again.

Anyway the two of them are getting along pretty well and Tech is remaining fairly oblivious to both their feelings. (This is not a dig at Tech, I'm simply a huge sucker for ships where one of them doesn't realise their feelings until a Dramatic Moment, generally involving a near-death experience.) Except that Echo doesn't much like talking about his past and all the Clone Trauma™, especially pertaining to his lost Fives, and Tech's a nosy bitch who wants to know everything.

So Tech finds a way to get Echo's file. If the reg's not gonna talk, well, when has Tech ever respected a 'no access' sign? He reads through it and takes some notes, and it seems as though things are fine.

Except once Echo actually does start opening up about his past, Tech jumps in to fill in some details. Details that Echo certainly never told him. And Echo wants to know how Tech knows, and Tech's a shit liar, so the truth comes out.

Echo is not pleased with the truth.

(pain incoming)

"Well, I've... read your file," Tech says, hesitantly. He reaches up to adjust his goggles. A nervous tic, one that Echo usually finds endearing. But hearing that Tech was reading his file makes something twist in his stomach - what's left of it. Especially with Tech nervous about it. Echo's never really seen him like that. Not with him. "Okay," he replies, fighting to keep his voice and expression as close to 'calm' as possible. "And?" "I know it's been, well, hard. For you. For the other reg- the other clones." Echo stares at him, too shocked to attempt a look of neutrality any more. Tech must be joking. He must be. Not about reading his file, Echo had assumed that the Batch had all dug into him to find out who he was. But thinking that he knows anything about what it was like? Just because he read a file? He's seen the kinds of files that are kept on clones. They're dry, succinct, and mention nothing about who a clone is, just a service record like the kind you'd see kept about a machine. Because that's just about all they were, to the people in charge. The clones certainly weren't people to anyone but themselves. "So what's it like, Tech? Go on, you read the file." He waits. It's harsh, he knows, maybe even cruel, but he's not much in a laughing mood any more. "Maybe I... missed a few things," Tech hedges, looking very much like he wants to escape. "How much more do you want to know? Because they carved me out of myself, but they left the memories, and I see all of it every single night, so I can tell you more than the devil himself could stomach." He waits, but Tech doesn't say anything, just shifts his weight, eyes wide, fingers curling and uncurling around his datapad. Finally, Echo says, "You don't know shit, Tech. Don't ever pretend you do. Especially not around me." He leaves. For once, Tech's not distracted. For once, Tech watches him go.

So there's a bump in the road, as it were. Well, more like hitting a moose with your janky 90s sedan. You walked away from it physically fine but you have an overwhelming feeling about how oh god you're so fucked. Also who do you call about that???

Echo calls Rex. Rex does not know what to do about this. He lets Echo vent until they've been sitting quietly for a few minutes, and then suggests that maybe that was just Tech's way of trying to connect to Echo. Not exactly normal, "but you always did say, when you called, that he always paid attention to you and wanted to know more about you. Maybe this is an extension of that, and he didn't realise that he was crossing some lines."

(Yes, in my head, Rex is lowkey playing matchmaker. He's heard the way Echo's voice changes when he talks about Tech, and he wants to see where this goes.)

Meanwhile, Tech is bothering the shit out of Hunter because 'you know how people work, what did I do?'

This is the first that Hunter is hearing about any of this. He doesn't have the slightest idea what's going on, but he does have some experience with relationship difficulties caused by inadvertent assholery *inserts my Cross/Hunter agenda here*

So Rex helps Echo calm down, and Hunter helps Tech figure out how to apologise. Tech doesn't do shit with that knowledge because emotional conversations suck and he'd much rather pretend that just never happened, thank you goodbye. He's just a huge anxious mess because he doesn't know why people think he's being weird or mean or rude when he thought they were Just Vibing.

It takes like two months for Tech to make a move to fix this, is what I'm saying.

"Echo?" Tech asks hesitantly. He stands with his hands clasped in front of him, one thumb rubbing over the knuckles of his opposite hand. "Fuck off." Tech winces, but, well - with the way he inadvertently treated Echo, it's not like he can complain. "I- when I mentioned your file-" "Don't." "I was just trying to say that you didn't have to hide anything from me. That you were one of us. And we'd do our best to understand. I didn't- I'm not good at apologies, I'm sorry, I'll go-" "Wait." Tech freezes in the doorway, even more uncertain now. Echo sighs and looks at him. If his gaze is supposed to be communicating something, it's not in a language that Tech speaks. Maybe his uncertainty shows on his face, or maybe Echo was just waiting to collect his thoughts. "Thanks, Tech." Despite the awkward seriousness of their conversation, Tech smiles. "You're welcome, Echo. And if there's- I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to, you know, but if there's anything you wanted to talk about, um, well, I'm only so far away. The Marauder's not a big ship." Echo doesn't say anything else, but he nods, and Tech feels like he actually managed to make some progress as he slips back out to the kitchen.

Anyway Echo has to comm Rex and send him ten bucks because Rex was right about Tech not being an asshole. Rex is only a little smug about this.

Echo slowly starts gravitating back towards Tech after that, and Tech is all !!!! not entirely sure what's happening but apparently the hot one Echo doesn't hate him any more so that's great!

They eventually get back into their groove and Tech makes him those kickass rocket boots to apologise for the whole... whatever that was. Words are hard, inventing is easy. He's still not 100% sure what went down, but Echo seems to have forgiven him, so he doesn't want to bring it up again. (He does, but it's like... a full year later, once he's definitely sure that Echo's not mad at him about it any more.)

Good thing that they do find their way back together, because one of Echo's legs breaks. And of course Tech's the one who immediately gets a little googly-eyed about finally being able to take Echo's leg apart. (He was strictly forbidden from Tinkering while Echo was wearing them, because Echo doesn't completely trust Tech to be able to resist the siren call of becoming a mad scientist. He adores the man, but he also knows Tech's weaknesses.)

Tech does indeed get a little mad scientist-y when he gets his hands all over those legs. He spends a week with a diet of space Red Bull, dry instant ramen, and no sleep, and comes up with Legs 2.0.11.8. He almost blows the ship up once or twice, but nothing seriously affects the life support systems, so it's fine, leave the lab alone.

Legs 2.0.11.8 are lighter, more durable, fit more comfortably, and have not only the fancy rocket boosters, but the ability to switch out normal treads for heavy ones and even climbing crampons! And a thousand other upgrades, but he's talking so fast that Echo genuinely has no idea what's going on. He figures that he can ask to read Tech's file about em later (yes he jokes about that, no Tech doesn't know if he can laugh).

When Echo first tries out his new legs, he loses his balance and goes straight into Tech's arms. Tech catches him and murmurs You're doing great, Echo.

Echo is running on an emotional high of having his legs back, having much better legs than the last ones, being caught by a hot nerd, and being praised by a hot nerd.

There's nothing to do about all that except kiss Tech.

He briefly thinks he's encountered a massive problem when Tech doesn't kiss back, and just stands there with a thoughtful look on his face. There's about a thousand things crossing Echo's mind in that moment, none of them exactly good. Can he get kicked off a squad for kissing someone???

Tech calmly says, "That was unexpected but perfectly acceptable. I commend your technique."

Echo isn't entirely sure what that means for a second, but then Tech pulls him in with both hands and tongues him, and Echo figures he doesn't need to ask.

The Batch is entirely unaware of this until three weeks later, when Echo joins them in the cockpit and sits right down in Tech's lap with his legs crossed. Wrecker wants to know why Echo's not in his usual co-pilot's chair. Echo just says figure it out and nudges Tech's chin up to kiss him.

Okay I've got so many headcanons too hold on

Tech's bunk is full of half-forgotten-about wires, metal sheets, pieces of rebar, loose screws, and the occasional shard of glass. Echo will not get into that bunk, they cuddle in Echo's hammock.

Tech will lay on top of Echo like a living weighted blanket and is perfectly happy to stay there for 12+ hours if he gets really invested in something on his datapad. This is often some design for another improvement to Echo's implants, so double bonus!

Strip chess

They love crosswords but they manage to get really competitive. Usually this means they make out about it, but sometimes they get mad at each other. Scrabble is banned after a few Incidents that resulted in yelling and a little blood, Hunter burned the tiles.

Tech keeps begging Echo into picking up dangerous insects, snails, frogs, and poisonous plants with his metal hand. Echo doesn't have to worry about getting bitten/poisoned and Tech can get a close-up look. Best of both worlds!

LEGO couple. If you haven't seen them for 16 hours? They got deeply invested into space version of some NASA set with 4000 pieces. Echo will bite you if you interrupt them.

Echo doesn't handle cold weather, it reminds him too much of being stuck as a POW. This means that the Batch leaves him on the ship on arctic missions but it also means Tech gets him eight pairs of fluffy socks because he read on the holonet that those are the best for keeping warm. Nobody's allowed to point out that Echo no longer has feet to keep warm. Echo wears them anyway and has favourites.

Sometimes Echo uses his USB hand to lock Tech's datapad when Tech won't go to sleep

He has a body pillow because it helps when his hips hurt. It's custom printed to look like Tech. Tech gets irrationally jealous over seeing Echo cuddle it.

Tech can do that finger skateboard thing and Echo uniroincally thinks it's really clever of him and admires his tricks

Tech makes Echo a new arm that has a human-shaped hand on the end so it has a wider range of function. The USB comes out of the tip of Echo's middle finger, at Echo's request.

Echo shakes hands/takes things from people with his metal hand. Tech is the only exception.

Tech likes crouching and crawling around, instead of walking 'normally'. There's been a few times that his head's popped up from where he's been crawling around on the floor like a snake, and Echo almost kicked him in the face because it scared him.

Echo can do some Black Widow shit with his new metal legs. He tries them all out on Tech cause it gets Tech real hot and bothered

There's been several times that Tech runs away from making out because he had a breakthrough thought on some project. Echo is always a little mad about it.

Tech snores. Loudly. Echo always turns off his hearing aids and lets that be everyone else's problem. He likes the way Tech's chest moves against his when they're sleeping together.

Echo keeps the lights off and his shirt on when they're getting intimate for years. Lot of self-esteem issues related to how his body looks. It's Tech's unfailing admiration for the occasional shirtless look, that eventually helps Echo start to accept himself.

Tech's name in Echo's phone is 'cyare' and Echo's name in Tech's phone is 'Echo 💙'

Echo once casually refers to a 'honey-do list' and Tech needs a reboot because holy shit he's honey!!!

Everyone can always tell when they were making out because Echo has hickeys everywhere. At first he was embarrassed about it but nowadays he shows them off.

Rex once commented 'oh, wow, did Echo get hit in the throat?' and Tech spat his water across the table. That was how Rex found out they were hooking up.

Rex said he was going to give Tech the shovel talk and Tech immediately started talking over him about the types of screws used to connect shovel heads. Rex never got around to his part.

Tech and Echo always walk holding hands. Sometimes the rest of the Batch stops or changes directions, and Tech doesn't notice with his datapad two inches from his face, so Echo gently tugs him in the right direction.

Sometimes the rest of the Batch didn't stop or change direction, and Echo is pulling him into an alley to make out.

Tech still hasn't lived down the time he came back from a detour with Echo and then had to go back to find his codpiece.

They stargaze whenever they're planetside. Tech loves infodumping about the stars and Echo loves to listen. Tech custom-built a two-person lawn chair so they can put their feet up. Echo's fallen asleep cuddled up to him more times than even Tech can count.

Echo has to be physically direct with flirting, cause if he just says something like "wow you're hot", then Tech just says "yes thank you", and keeps doing what he's doing. Gotta distract him from his project by kissing him or sitting in his lap or something before Echo can get to the words part.

[spirkme915]

I made the decision to be extra-judicious on deciding what constituted a spoiler for the new season of Strange New Worlds and I'm sticking with that.

But I have thoughts and I’ve spent way too much time thinking about them for a season and a half and I can’t hold them in anymore. So here you go.

Definite spoilers for episode 5 and everything before it under the cut. TL;DR at the very bottom of this way too long post.

Episode 5 was an absolute banger of an episode in terms of Hollywood entertainment value. But, and this is a big BUT, what the actual hell are the writers doing?

The Christine/Spock/T’Pring love triangle is tarnishing the gift that was given to Trek fans when Strange New Worlds was announced and it's becoming way too obvious not to comment on.

It’s maddening that they’ve decided to take a thirty second scene of a one-sided crush from the original series (Chapel confessing her love for Spock in The Naked Time) and turned it into a two-sided love affair that's part of a love triangle. It is, quite literally, derailing what is otherwise an incredible show.

I hear you asking… Seriously? Aren’t you being extreme? How could a consensual affair do that? Or.... You're a Spirk blog. Aren't you biased? Oh boy, I wish it were that simple. This is coming from a literal lifelong Trek fan who had Trouble with Tribbles memorized before I had an inkling what romance even was, and who - fortunately - was taught by my Trekkie father what made good writing.

The love triangle is not good Trek or good writing.

For reasons that likely have to do with Spock being arguably the most well known character in Star Trek canon (pop culture wise), the writers have chosen to focus on him. And what kind of storyline can they give us since Spock goes through a massive, decades long character arc in the original series and movies? (Spoiler alert, I answer that at the end and it's not a love triangle.)

For reasons that likely have to do with Peck’s appearance and natural charisma, they’ve decided to give Spock love interests - not just one but two.

Let’s ignore that Spock doesn’t show interest in either Christine or T’Pring in the original series. Really, that’s the least of the problems and easily explained away.

Where the problems arise are two fold - Spock’s emotional journey and the minimization of two strong female characters to love interests.

Spock’s emotional journey - As great as parts of this episode were (looking at you, Amanda), what it achieved was Spock coming to terms with his human side in a way that the Spock we know from the original series hasn’t accepted. It takes original series Spock until The Motion Picture (perhaps not until after The Voyage Home), to be comfortable in being both human and Vulcan. So the ground Spock gained in this episode? Strange New Worlds, if it continues as part of the prime timeline, can only result in character regression for Spock. As a fan of Spock in all iterations, that regression will be a heartbreaking and horrible way to end a hopeful show.

Christine and T’Pring as love interests - Dear god, can these women exist without being defined by a man please? It’s 2023. This shouldn’t be something female characters have to ask for. Sure, there was more about Christine in this episode, but her arc still revolved around Spock. And not only that, but we got the Korby name drop in this episode (her future fiancé). I'd love to think that this isn't headed in a direction where Christine will hook up with Spock then he’ll pull away and she jumps ship to Korby only to be defined again by a man. But for fuck's sake, this last season and a half hasn't given me much hope. Jess Bush is amazing as Christine. Is it too much to let Christine be her own woman? And T’Pring? I adore T'Pring way more in Strange New Worlds than I expected to. So, please, help a Vulcan woman out. T’Pring is already relegated to nothing in the narrative after Amok Time.  If there’s going to be an insistence on bringing her into the story can she please not be defined by Spock then Stonn? I'm BEGGING the Strange New Worlds writers - let these characters and actors shine as fully realized women.

But the larger problem is that this single decision for a love triangle has not only fated these three characters to regression and minimization - IT'S DIMMING THE POSSIBILITIES FOR EVERYONE.

When Strange New Worlds was announced, there were so many possibilities. A whole new part of canon to be explored and expanded. NEW CHARACTERS, NEW PLACES, NEW MORAL QUANDARIES, NEW EXPLORATIONS.

But we only get 10 episodes a season, right? Not the 26ish we got with the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. (Discovery, I'm looking at you and weeping too.)

So, why are the writers insisting on episodes focusing on an unnecessary love triangle when they could be doing this:

Uhura - Hello? SHE'S RIGHT THERE AND CELIA IS INCREDIBLE. The original series is notorious for brushing Uhura under the rug and other people can speak way more intelligently on Uhura meta than I can. But, I mean, she didn't even have a canon first name until 2009. So. Yeah. Good news, Strange New Worlds can change all of that. Build her history, show us her successes, her fears, her failings, glimpses into her past. Give her a chance to have a dalliance with the "alien of the week." Uhura is a beloved character for so so so many wonderful reasons. Give us the stories about her that deepen that love.

Erica - Oh, Erica. My beloved Erica. Paramount PR keeps saying that last week's episode was "Erica's Big Moment" and if it truly was her biggest moment of the season, then I weep for her and Melissa Navia. All we learned in that episode was that she's Erica Ortegas and she flies the ship (and, well, that Navia has a depth in her they haven't let her show with Erica so far). Erica does pilot and flies really goddamn well, but we already knew that. What about her time in the Klingon War? What about her family? Her friends off the ship? What was it that either made her determined to become the best pilot or that happened in her past that inspired her to become that pilot? How does she feel about being on the Enterprise? How does she feel about soup or carpet or art? There's nothing, literally NOTHING, in future canon about her and right now her Memory Alpha entries for her life before Strange New Worlds is seven sentences. SEVEN SENTENCES. All of this for a fan favorite character. *sigh*

Sam - The potential for this character is limitless and all we've really gotten is him touching something he shouldn't have, being xenophobic to Spock, and that he doesn't pick up his dirty dishes. Seriously? We know more about Jim Kirk in Strange New Worlds and he's not even on the Enterprise or in the same timeline! When we rewatch Operation Annihilate, give us a reason to mourn with Jim. Make that episode a billion times worse because Sam is a character that we know and care about outside of being Jim's brother.

Pike - Okay, so admittedly, Pike is probably the most fleshed out character besides Spock in canon and they're not shying away from the future he knows is coming. That's been handled really well. And they've also done a great job of showing how much Pike cares. But, what makes Pike one of the "great captains" and how has his past turned him into who he is today (the canon pieces with his father have so much possibility) and what is he doing behind the scenes to fight for his crew and his ship? I feel like we got more of the "great captain" in Discovery than we've gotten in Strange New Worlds. And, dear god again with the "romance," can his love interest get a canon first name please? Hard to buy he loves her when he calls her Captain Batel even in his personal log.

Una - She was pretty much a canonical blank slate going into Strange New Worlds and they've done some incredible episodes with her, but I'd love to see her actually be the XO? Making that a question because she absolutely is, but we have yet to really see that in practice. The relationship between Pike and Una deserves so so much more screen time. Let them be captain and first officer. Explore Pike mentoring her, and give way more of her mentoring crew. Let her be more than Illyrian. What are the unique challenges she faces as the highest ranked woman and non-Human on the ship? Is she a fighter or a negotiator or some secret third thing? Does she have an intricate knowledge of some space anomaly or ship function that no one else on board does? What are her future goals and plans? I'm rambling now, but the point is that she's a character who disappears from canon after Strange New Worlds and she's the goddamn FIRST OFFICER OF THE ENTERPRISE. Let her be that until she isn't anymore.

La’An and M'Benga - Honestly, I'm not going to put much here for La'An because out of all the "new" characters in Strange New Worlds, La'An has been fleshed out the most. And, out of all the "barely exists in canon" characters, M'Benga is the same. But I'm listing them because they make my point. La'An and M'Benga are good examples of what happens when the writers focus on characters who either don't exist in canon or barely exist there. We know pieces of their backstory and their motivations. We know what keeps them up at night. Both actors have given performances that tie the audience to their characters emotionally. And yet, there's seasons worth of more material for both of them.

So. To come back to my original point - why are the writers focusing on a love triangle that tramples on canon and minimizes female characters when they are wealthy af with primo characters?

I mean, there are so many other ways they could have gone with Christine (making her bisexuality more than a one-off line, having her struggle with what happened on the Farragut, exploring her role during the Klingon War, family, friends, facing moral quandaries in her research...), and Spock (his relationship with Sarek, Vulcan rituals and practices we've never seen ((double parentheses here to emphasize that to us, as viewers, Vulcan *is* a strange new world and there's still a hell of a lot of Vulcan stuff that's veiled in mystery)), and MICHAEL ((remember Michael, his sister, who got a one line mention in the first episode then nothing?? Yeah, that Michael)), Spock's grief over losing Hemmer and Michael so closely together, etc...). Poor T'Pring is pretty much relegated to love interest and plot device at this point unfortunately. Instead of the love triangle route, they could've cut the sex scenes and made her a cool, calculating advisor to Spock and the Angel/Sybok plotline could've still happened. But alas, was not meant to be.

I've written a lot of words and taken up way too much of my day with this, but I seriously couldn't hold it in any longer. Look, I love Strange New Worlds, but I also seriously grieve for the show that it could've been and I seriously hope it will become that show in future seasons.

Strange New Worlds is gorgeous, the sets and special effects are A+, the actors are all pretty too and know how to command a scene. There's a lot to work with. But let's not forget that the original series was put together with styrofoam, glitter, and a prayer and it birthed this 60 year franchise. What kept people coming back to Trek were the relationships and a found family working together to explore, not a forced love triangle.

TL;DR

The insistence on the Christine/Spock/T'Pring love triangle is dooming all of their characters to massive character regression and minimization *and* cheating us out of learning about and loving the characters who are practically unknown in canon.

[aldieb]

after 3 months, i finally had the time, energy, and physical book required to finish the vanished birds, and i continue to think that simon jimenez is doing some of the best sff of the 2020s! it’s just so full of crunchy bits! the overarching questions of what problems occur when your world is full of distances (typical space travel time dilation done through multiple wonderfully heartbreaking romances) and what problems occur when you shrink those distances (forced homogenization of culture and exploitation of the less fortunate in order to achieve the shrinking) were ultimately what grabbed me, but there’s also a lot in there about various configurations of relationships and what we owe the people with whom we’re entangled. several of the one-on-one relationships felt very real and kept me invested in the book overall (the aforementioned romances + the adoptive familial bond between the ship captain and the boy that kicks off the plot), but tbh where things fell down for me was the found family situation with the ship’s crew. (i’ve never actually gotten into a spaceship found family in a book, i think—maybe there’s just not enough narrative space for one to feel developed? bc tv shows have done this for me.) the prose has a great rhythm and included images/parallels that made my brain sit up and clap every few chapters. (difficult to describe the best one without context, but the motif of music as a source of trauma but also of connection was a+ overall.) like the spear cuts through water, though, it needed slightly more intervention on the sentence level to clean up dangling bits that don’t exactly make sense. (aside from the grammar, during the climax i had to experience a poetic description of music where “notes tribble out” of the instrument… this got past a whole team of sf fans?) anyway you’d still better read this book

[electronickingdomfox]

"How Much for Just the Planet?" review

Novel from 1987, by John M. Ford. Well, this was certainly something... different. I knew beforehand that this was a farce, and that it had a far more comedic approach than the regular ST novel. The problem is that, for a satire, I didn't find it all that funny. This novel is a case of "love it or hate it" among fandom. And even though I wouldn't use such a strong word as "hate", and some bits were entertaining, overall the joke fell flat on me. My biggest complaint with it is that it tries too hard to be silly, and the characters and world didn't feel like Star Trek at all. The humor in episodes like The Trouble with Tribbles or A Piece of the Action worked because neither the characters nor the initial setting were silly; it was just the situation they were put in what got progressively more ridiculous and out of control. So when Kirk gets finally buried in a mountain of tribbles, this feels like the unavoidable and hilarious resolution of everything that's been going on, and not an instance of Kirk being suddenly stupid. Yet a lot of what happens in this novel is the result of characters doing silly things for the sake of it, whether it matches their personalities or not.

And then there's the world-building. Is this the future depicted in Star Trek? I wouldn't have guessed so. With technology and customs that simply copy the 20th century, there's nothing particularly original about the planet where the main chunk of the novel is set. Add to this the continous references to classic movies (I recognized Vincent Price's The Fall of the House of Usher, but most of the rest flew over my head), taxes, and old-fashioned capitalism, and this could be anywhere but the Federation. Actually, the parts set before they reach the planet are the ones that work best: Starfleet developing a new secret project in the form of a giant inflatable starship, as target practice; a malfunctioning computer that's turned shy and unsure of itself; a Vulcan affecting a super-logic appearance, while being incredibly sloppy and leaving traces of milkshake everywhere... Now THAT works. The vaudeville musical numbers (apparently inspired by Gillbert and Sullivan), or a pie fight... not so much. And look, I love the Marx Brothers movies, but I don't think that a novel is the best medium for that kind of visual humor, let alone a musical, when there isn't even music!

As for the characters... Well, McCoy is alright and has a few funny lines, even if just in a shallow depiction of his "grumpy country doctor" side. But the rest are barely recognizable. Spock is so-so, though he's almost absent in the story. And worst offender is Kirk, who's portrayed as a dumbass who'd get involved in a ridiculous plan to reunite two lovers, while in the middle of important diplomatic conversations. Also, any depiction of Kirk as a womanizer, who's reduced to babbling just because of a bit of cleavage, or said to look at a woman's butt every 15 minutes, is a big fat NO from me (the way I remember the series, it was the women who drooled after Kirk, not the other way around, sorry). The Klingons aren't particularly interesting either (despite this being the same author of the excellent Klingon novel "The Final Reflection"), and some of them just seem like regular dudes.

I'll try to present a very brief outline of the plot, though that's difficult with a story divided in multiple "vignettes" that follow independent situations. Spoilers under the cut:

A survey ship discovers a planet choke full of dilithium, but soon thereafter they're detected by a Klingon battlecruiser. The crew (comprised of just three persons) escapes in a pod towards the planet, hoping that the Klingons won't notice it, while the ship's computer is instructed to flee at warp speed. Sure enough, the crew arrives safely at the planet, though completely covered in milkshake from the malfunctioning pod's replicator. While the survey ship, controlled by the equally malfunctioning computer, lures the Klingons to the Enterprise (and its giant inflatable replica). As both the Federation and the Klingon Empire are now aware of the treasure of dilithium, and since neither can fight over it because of the Organian Treaty, they decide to settle the matter through diplomatic means: the party who can better convince the natives of the benefits of their respective governments, will get the planet and its dilithium.

The locals welcome both the Federation and Klingon embassies with a song (there are many, MANY songs) and a feast, and then lead them to their hotel. Though the private conversations between the planet's leader and his wife, reveal that they have some plan up their sleeve for the newcomers. After this, the Enterprise members pair up with several Klingons, and each group follows a different adventure. Scotty and Chekov get into a fight with their opponents, and try to resolve it over a golf match, before being involved in a sudden all-out war started by the natives. Uhura and a Klingon cinephile go out shopping, but after buying a small harp, they're targeted by shady individuals that kidnap them in succession, all of them in search of the mysterious item. It's a sort of parody of film noir and Hitchcock, but unless you're very familiar with the genre, most of the references will probably get lost. The funniest storyline is perhaps that of McCoy and Sulu, who get up in the middle of the night to search for a legendary treasure, mentioned by their hosts during the feast (well, McCoy gets dragged out of bed and just wants a coffee). They team up with a couple of Klingons, are captured in the fortress of an evil queen (who sings an evil song), and McCoy ends up hypoing a ton of guards through the jail bars to escape. Finally, Kirk, ambassador Charlotte, the Klingon captain and his female science officer, stay at the hotel and are approached by a couple of star-crossed lovers. The girl conspires with the women, to stage a fake assault by the legendary burglar "Black Cat", where "he" will kidnap the ambassador, so the girl's boyfriend can rescue her in front of everyone and impress her parents. Unbeknownst to them, the boyfriend devises the same plan, but using Kirk and the Klingon captain instead. So when the night arrives, there are two Black Cats trying to kidnap the ambassador, and all four characters get tangled up in a complicated and messy misunderstanding. Kirk and the other captain fall through the laundry chute several times, Kirk loses his clothes (and ponders for a moment the idea of wearing a red dress instead), the ambassador loses her clothes, the Klingon captain doesn't lose his clothes but gets drenched in the shower... Anyway, it's far too convoluted to detail here, and very easy to get lost while reading it.

In the middle of all these situations, there are brief appearances of the survey crew, who get repeatedly lost while searching for the city, and end up living like wilderness survivors. And the story of a couple of children who secretly beam up to the Enterprise and steal one of the inflatable prototypes.

At the end, all four groups converge suddenly in the feast hall, and it's revealed that their adventures were just theatric stagings organized by the natives, in an attempt to drive them away from their planet. The Federation and Klingons are forced to sign a treaty to share the dilithium resources. But both parties are so pissed at each other, that they start a battle royal with pies. Spock, meanwhile, has stayed the whole time in the Enterprise, so he missed all the bullshit fun.

Spirk Meter: 1/10*. Kirk and Spock are separated most of the novel, but when Kirk finally gets reunited with him, he starts repeating a heartfelt "Spock!" (and you know exactly the kind of face he's making at that moment).

*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.

[joju-but-trek]

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2, Episode 13: A Tribble Called Quest

That tribble is going to give me nightmares.

Finally, we get a Prodigy episode with the Klingons! I love Klingons overall, and Prodigy did the thing that I always wish they did with the species. I'll get into it more in the spoiler section, but this episode did so much more for the Klingon lore than it had to, and I respect that. On top of that, it kept up the streak of still being a Prodigy episode first, and I respect how good this season has been about doing both. 9/10

My big issue with the Klingons is the old fan question. If everyone in the species is so predatory and warlike, how did they ever invent space travel? This episode didn't answer that, but it did have a Klingon scientist, which I think we need more of generally. And K'ruvang bridged the gap in the way that I thought it should be bridged - he treats science as a noble pursuit, and his scientific success is his source of honor just as much as a warrior's physical success is.

This episode also did some fun things with tribbles. The return of Rok's presentation from the start of the season was genius - that was such a good foreshadow now that I know where it was going. I also appreciate that Rok was able to work with someone else who valued scientific success above their own life, and that she was able to bounce off that with her own struggles and need for success. It's not fully in line with the conformism arc that she started this season with, but it's also part of it in an interesting way.

That being said, the Rok-tribble was slightly scary, at least when I first saw it. I didn't have a problem with it in the Netflix menu for some reason, but when it turned around and stared I was a little freaked out. I got used to it, and I like how Rok grew to accept it, but I'm not sure why they took it with them. It's still a tribble, and we know what happens with tribbles on a spaceship.

Rok sneezing on the tribble DNA reminded me of the Rick and Morty episode where they destroyed an entire dimension with a mutated cold virus, and I kept thinking about it now. If I were to compare them and their takes on scientific responsibility, I'd give Prodigy credit for having Rok successfully clean up the mess, but each show was going for a different theme with how they did that particular storyline, and comparing them doesn't seem fair.

I liked Dal thinking on his feet in this episode and Chakotay propping him up. The two of them have great chemistry in this dynamic, and I'm excited to see where it develops.

We're also getting an escalation of the Zero body plot. It makes sense given where we are in the season, something about it just feels like it needed more time. Maybe if it was going on in a different season where the A-plot wasn't a desperate mission to save the multiverse it could have gotten the time it deserved. What they did with it was still good, I just wouldn't have done it here and now.

One other thing about this season that I'm noticing is that it feels like a summation of this era of Trek. It ties in a lot of loose threads from the other Paramount+ shows and links them back to the older shows, on top of involving and expanding those characters' plotlines into a single cohesive story. It's like this show was trying to be the finale of the era, and I'm not sure where that element of it is leading to. I've been pretty cynical about any Trek getting renewed since Paramount tried to kill this season, and it's interesting that the show itself feels like it's trying to go down swinging.

[writercole]

A Very Serious Matter

Summary: Charles got a little drunk and criticized her driving. Well...maybe it worked out for the best.

Words: 1352

Warnings: 18+ MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY. Vaginal penetration, outdoor sex, vaginal fingering, alcohol use (mentions), French dirty talk with no translations

A/N: I've stopped asking where the tribbles come from and just follow them. I apologize for the amount of RPF coming your way but just think of it as a character that shares the same name and look as someone famous. You know...a face claim. Because trust me. I absolutely 100% know how delusional this is.

A/N 2: I'm sorry, @reels-and-wheels.

He wasn't going to get drunk. It wasn't in his plan. But the season was over, planning and testing hadn't begun, and he deserved to unwind. That's how she ended up driving his custom Ferrari down the streets of Monaco towards his apartment. The problem is that he wasn’t very happy about that.

“Cherie, slow down for the curve.”

“You’re not shifting right.”

“No, no, you’re too close.”

“Pull up closer.”

“Charles, if you don’t stop telling me how to drive, I’m going to leave your drunk ass here with your car and I’m going to walk home. To my place,” she stressed.

“You wouldn’t,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes for good measure.

She nodded silently and turned down a side street, popping the parking break and stepping out of the car.

“Where are you going?” Charles called before she shut the door.

She took satisfaction in shutting the door without responding, crossing in front of the car as she heard his door open. Footsteps rushed towards her as Charles called for her to stop.

“Oh, hold on, cherie,” he drawled as he caught her wrist and twirled her towards him. “You can’t walk away from me when you look so good trying to be angry with me.”

Her hands landed on his solid chest and the frustration that had been building since they left the party melted away. Warmth seeped through the silk dress she wore where his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, a sly grin on his flushed face as he looked down on her. She looked up at him through her lashes, pressing herself closer, biting her lip when she felt his hardness against her.

“When you look at me like that, it makes me want to take you right here, cherie,” he growled. His hands trailed down her side and gripped her hips tightly, grinding against her.

A soft whimper escaped her lips and he smirked, backing her up against the hood of his car.

“That sounds like you would like that,” he taunted. His lips met hers roughly and she kissed him back, whining when he pulled away and left her leaning against his prized sports car.

“Charles, the car,” she said breathlessly as he spun her around.

“Fuck the car,” he growled, his hands pushing down between her shoulder blades and trailing down her spine. She felt the hem of her dress lifting and his hands hooking in the simple thong she was wearing, pulling it down slowly. A yelp echoed in the alley as his teeth sank into the globe of her ass. “Step, darling,” he cooed once his hands had reached her ankles.

She complied, bracing herself on the hood of his Ferrari, the cool breeze a welcome contrast to the heat building with every brush of his fingers against her thighs. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him standing back up, his hands on his belt, desperately trying to get it unbuckled. His foot kicked her heels apart, exposing her to him fully.

“Hold on, cherie,” he commanded as he lined up the tip of his cock against her dripping hole. He bottomed himself out in one thrust, her cunt stretching to accommodate him easily as it had been made for him.

She moaned loudly, her fingers grasping for purchase against the smooth carbon fiber, doing everything she could to keep her weight off of the delicate material as Charles pounded into her ruthlessly. Fire burned in her veins, setting her nerves on fire as her release built with every thrust.

“Tu est une bonne fille,” he cooed behind her, his fingers digging into her hips for leverage. “Ma bonne petite putain.”

Her release hit out of nowhere, walls clenching around his cock and shouts bouncing off of the dark Monaco streets. Charles growled behind her and picked up his pace, his hips faltering before he came with a shout, his seed coating her walls, him continuing to fuck into her, pushing her into over-stimulation as she started to squirm under his touch.

His hands landed on the side of her and his weight folded on top of her back, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.

“Baby, you’re going to dent the hood,” she chuckled as more and more of his weight pressed down upon her.

“I don’t care,” he replied, but stood anyway, pulling his softening cock out with a hiss. He tugged her dress down with one hand, the other holding his pants up until he got her righted.

She turned and looked at him, flushed cheeks and disheveled hair, crooked grin as he fastened his belt again. “Where’s my underwear?” She asked.

“Oh, you don’t need them.”

“But I’m going to ruin your seat,” she protested.

“Cherie, I said it once, I’ll say it again. Fuck the car. I want to remember bending you over the hood of the second most precious thing in my world and filling you up before dropping you back in the passenger seat leaking me.”

“Passenger seat?” She laughed. “Charles, you’re still drunk. I’m driving home.”

“Hmm. I don’t think so,” he tutted as he stepped back into her space, his fingers trailing up her thigh once again. She suppressed a whimper and gripped his wrist before he could reach the apex of her leg. “I drive, I play with that pretty little pussy, and you make a mess of that dress, my hand, and my seat. I want anyone who gets into my car to smell you and know what I can do to you.”

She nodded enthusiastically and let him guide her to the passenger seat on weak legs, smiling when he dipped down to kiss her before closing the door. He slipped in to the driver seat and his hand automatically landed on her knee and trailed up, dipping under her dress and into her folds.

“Charles,” she whined as she squirmed in her seat.

His fingers skillfully rubbed her clit while he steered the car away from the curb, keeping to the low speed limit of the city streets as she writhed next to him, bucking her hips against his hand and chasing the pleasure of another release. Her juices coated his hand and he helped her to ride out her high before withdrawing his fingers and bringing them up to the low light flooding the car from the streetlights. He looked over with a smirk and opened his mouth, sucking his fingers clean with an obscene moan that made her walls clench around nothing.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost home,” he assured her as he dug in his pocket. “And you’ve done so good, cherie, so good for me. Leaving me little reminders everywhere.” A small strip of fabric dangled from his finger as he dropped his hand to the shifter, draping her thong over the stick.

“You can’t leave those there,” she protested halfheartedly.

“It’s my car, I can do whatever I want with it.”

“Those are my panties!”

“Yeah. And everyone else will know that my car will always be second to my girl’s pleasure. And I’ll remember the night that I couldn’t wait to get you home to be inside you, the night I had to fuck you over the hood of my car because I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.”

“Not the night that I parked on the side of the road and planned on walking back and leaving your drunk ass there?”

“No, the night that I knew that I’d do anything for the woman in the satin dress, including risking dents on the hood of my car to calm you down.”

“You..” She chuckled. “You are something else, Charles LeClerc.”

“You know you love it,” he replied with a cocky grin, pulling into the parking garage.

“I guess,” she sighed in mock annoyance.

“Well, if it’s just a guess, I guess I’ll have to take you inside and pleasure you until I convince you.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

“Oh trust me, cherie,” he chuckled, “pleasure is a very serious matter.”

[anonymousewrites]

Logos and Pathos (Book 2) Chapter Eleven

Spock x Empath! Reader

Chapter Eleven: Trouble with Klingons

Summary: (Y/N) has to watch out for Klingons, but they seem intent on messing with the Enterprise crew. That's fine. (Y/N) will handle them.

            As (Y/N) waited to be sent back down to Deep Space Station K-7, they were far from bored. Uhura had been gifted a tribble by a travelling merchant, and it had no multiplied into more than twenty. So far, no one was complaining, though, since their little trills were calming. Their effect on others’ emotions were pleasing as well, so (Y/N) was enjoying themself not dealing with negative emotions as they pet a tribble.

            “Spock, they’re so cute,” cooed (Y/N) as the pleasant emotions of calm humans washed over them.

            Spock looked at them. He found (Y/N) cute as they played with the little animals, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “They do seem to have a calming effect on the crew.” He was pleased to see (Y/N) to relaxed.

            “Here! Pet one. It’s nice.” (Y/N) held out a white tribble.

            Spock knew he should make a logical reason to not pet the tribble since there was no reason for him to other than it would be pleasant (close to an emotion), but he couldn’t’ say no to (Y/N)’s eager expression. “Very well.” He held the tribble and softly petted it. Spock was not immune to its charm.

            “How long have you had this thing, Lieutenant?” asked Bones, looking at Uhura.

            “Since yesterday, Doctor,” she replied. “This morning I found out that he—I mean, she—had babies.”

            “Well, I’d say, in that case, you got a bargain,” joked Bones.

            “You running a nursery, Lieutenant?” asked Kirk.

            “Oh, Captain. Well, I hadn’t intended to, sir, but the tribble had other plans,” said Uhura.

            “Did you get this at the space station?” Honestly, Kirk was just surprised that one tribble had become twenty overnight.

            “Yes, sir,” said Uhura.

            “A most curious creature, Captain,” remarked Spock. “Its trilling seems to have a tranquilizing effect on the human nervous system.”

            “Celian, too,” added (Y/N), sighing happily as they played with the tribbles.

            “Fortunately, of course, I am…immune to its effects,” said Kirk as he stroked the tribbles fur.

            “Oh, yes. Of course,” teased (YN).

            Spock did not reply for the sake of his pride.

            Kirk smirked and chuckled at the interaction, exchanging significant glances with Bones. “Well, Lieutenant (L/N), I hate to remove you, but I need you to return to K-7. Baris is getting nervous about all the Klingons, and even if they don’t try anything with the wheat, I think negotiation might be needed.”

            (Y/N) smiled. “No problem, Captain, I’ll head right down.”

            “Be careful,” said Spock. “The Klingons are volatile.”

            “Don’t worry, Spock. I can handle what they throw at me.”

l

            After they ordered, (Y/N), Scotty, and Chekov sat down at a table while the other nine officers (twelve in all to match the Klingons’ numbers) occupied another.

            “Excuse me, but may I interest you in a tribble?” said Cyrano Jones, the merchant whole gave Uhura a tribble.

            “No, thank you,” said (Y/N).

            Jones shrugged and left, walking over to the Klingon table. “Ah, friend Klingon! Might I interest you in a tribble?” He held out a tribble, and it trilled angrily as it neared the Klingon.

            The Klingon, Kolax (Koloth’s right hand), glared at it distastefully and backed away. “Get it away from me.”

            “I’m sorry, I can’t understand it,” said Jones in confusion as the tribble screeched. “I’ve never seen them act this way.”

            (Y/N) cocked their head. Interesting. Tribbles don’t like Klingons.

            “Get it out of here,” repeated Kolax.

            “They never act like this,” said Jones.

            “Take it away!” barked Kolax.

            “Yes, of course,” said Jones as the tribble cried out. He walked over to the bar.

            The waitress arrived at their table and handed out drinks.

            “When are you going to get off that milk diet, lad?” teased Scotty.

            “This is vodka,” said Chekov, huffing.

            “Where I come from, that’s soda pop,” said Scotty. “Now this is a drink for a man.”

            (Y/N) chuckled. “Scotch? I have to admit, I think Celian drinks are the best.” They lifted their cocktail, ‘Passion.’ It was pink with a fruity scent. “Delicious with just the right kick.”

            Scotty considered. “I once had a scotch variant in a drink called Déjà Vu from Celia. That was excellent.” He grinned. “I was drunk as a skunk afterward, but it was good.”

            The trio laughed together as they relaxed for the first time in forever. Their peace was interrupted as Kolax spoke loudly from the bar.

            “The Earthers like those fuzzy things, don’t they?” remarked Kolax, looking at the tribbles. “Well, frankly, I never liked Earthers. They remind me of Regulan bloodworms.” The Klingons laughed, and Chekov scowled. Aggression dripped from Kolax like oil.

            “That does it!” cried Chekov.

            “Easy,” said (Y/N).

            “Well, there is one Earth man who doesn’t remind me of a Regulan bloodworm. That’s Kirk,” spat Kolax. “A Regulan bloodworm is soft and shapeless. But Kirk isn’t soft.” The Klingons snickered. “Kirk may be a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood…but he’s not soft.”

            Chekov tried to stand, but Scotty held him back. “Easy, lad.”

            “Don’t let them get to you,” said (Y/N), ignoring Kolax’s poisonous emotions. “They’re trying to get a reaction. Don’t give them the satisfaction.”

            Kolax turned his attention to (Y/N). “Celians are tolerable, but they’re so…sensitive. I’ve heard some are good for their looks, and I guess that’s true.” He smirked. “I guess the Federation keeps some of the softies around for eye-candy.”

            “Mx. (L/N)!’ said Chekov. “You can’t just let them talk about you that way.”

            (Y/N) smiled calmly. “I can take some insults, Chekov.”

            “That’s right! Such a good sport,” sneered Kolax. “And that means I can say that the only reason you’d lower yourself to deal with Federation weaklings must because you like that attention.”

            (Y/N)’s gaze darkened, and Scotty and Chekov looked at them watchfully.

            “I mean, why else would they be kept if they weren’t sleeping around?” sneered Kolax, the disdain clear in his voice.

            Chekov’s hand curled into a fist, and he stood, but (Y/N) was faster and approached Kolax. They could ignore the ugly crawl of his emotions on their skin, but they wouldn’t just sit there.

            Kolax smirked. “You know, we’ve been in space a long time. If you want a little fun that’s better than these Earthers and Vulcans, just let me know.”

            (Y/N) laughed, taking Kolax, Scotty, and Chekov aback. They sighed and smirked condescendingly at Kolax. “Me? Lower myself to sleep with the likes of you?” They scoffed. “As if. You don’t even deserve the time I waste talking to you.”

            “Alien whore,” hissed Kolax, his anger reaching red-hot intensity.

            “Yep, that’s me, and you wish you could get some,” said (Y/N), rolling their eyes.

            Kolax made a move to hit them, and Chekov and Scotty were on their feet in a second to defend their friend. Scotty swung and hit Kolax in the face. The other Klingons were on their feet in an instant, and Chekov tackled one. Brawls between Enterprise officers and Klingon agents broke out around the bar.

            (Y/N) sighed as chaos reigned. Oh, boy. This is a mess.

l

            Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk paced before the twelve officers who had been in the bar when the fights with the Klingons broke out. Spock stood with his arms crossed in the corner.

            “I am forced to cancel shore leave for both ships,” said Kirk in frustration. “I want to know who started it.” No one spoke. “I’m waiting.” He sighed. “Freeman. Who started the fight?”

            “I don’t know, sir,” said Freeman.

            “Alright. Chekov…” Kirk raised an eyebrow at the ensign. “I know you. You started it, didn’t you?”

            “No, sir, I didn’t,” said Chekov.

            “Well, who did?”

            “I don’t know, sir.”

            “ ‘I don’t know, sir.’ I want to know who threw the first punch!” Still, no one answered. “Alright, you’re all confined to your quarters.”

            “Captain, witnesses assure that (Y/N) was not involved in the fight,” said Spock. “And their specialties will be needed.”

            Kirk nodded. “Right, right, the rest of you, dismissed.” He stopped Scotty as well as he went to leave. “Scotty, (L/N), you two were supposed to prevent trouble.”

            “Yes, Captain. My apologies,” said (Y/N).

            “Who threw the first punch?” asked Kirk.

            “Um…” Scotty coughed uncomfortably. “I did, Captain.”

            Spock raised his eyebrow in surprise. Normally, Scotty was excitable but sensible.

            Kirk blinked. “You did, Mr. Scott?” He looked at (Y/N). “What started it?”

            (Y/N) winced. “Well…the Klingons were trying to provoke us, Captain.”

            “They insulted us!” said Scotty indignantly.

            “Must have been some insult,” said Kirk.

            “Aye, it was,” said Scotty, his face wrinkling in disgust.

            “You threw the first punch,” realized Kirk.

            “He was doing a really good job controlling himself, but the Klingons just kept pushing,” said (Y/N). “They got pretty mean.”

            “Pretty mean?! They called Kirk a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood!” cried Scotty.

            “And that’s what caused the fight?” asked Spock, raising an eyebrow.

            “No, no, I know the Captain can take a few insults,” said Scotty.

            “Ah,” said Kirk, admittedly a little disappointed at Scotty’s blasé attitude towards those insults. “So what did the Klingons say that did started?”

            (Y/N) coughed awkwardly. “Well, uh, Kolax called me a whore.”

            “And then he went to attack them!” said Scotty indignantly. “I mean, maybe they could hold themself back, but I couldn’t let that slide.”

            (Y/N) smiled. Scotty was a good friend.

            Spock’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. He greatly disliked that the Klingons had insulted (Y/N) like that. He knew that they were attractive and that drew attention to them quite a bit. Unfortunately, Spock himself had seen people make unwanted advances on (Y/N), and he hated it. He hated seeing them uncomfortable. In fact, while Spock preferred peace to violence, he admitted to himself that he would struggle to keep his composure if he was in Kolax’s presence when he insulted (Y/N). They didn’t deserve it in any way.

            “(Y/N), I hope you were not injured by Kolax’s attack,” said Spock.

            (Y/N) shook their head. “No. I avoided the fighting.”

            Kirk sighed. “We’re glad you’re alright. Scotty, while you had good intentions, I do have to confine you to your quarters.”

            Scotty smiled. “Thank you, sir. That’ll give me a chance to catch up on my technical journals.” He left the room happily.

            “Captain, as (Y/N) was uninvolved in the physical altercation and may be needed for negotiations with the Klingons, might I suggest that you—” began Spock.

            Kirk waved a hand. “They’re not getting punished. They handled themself well.” He nodded to (Y/N). “Good job, Lieutenant.”

            “Thank you, Captain,” said (Y/N).

            “I’ll try to smooth things over. God knows what Baris’ll say about this,” sighed Kirk, leaving the room.

            (Y/N) sighed. “I know he says I did a good job, but I didn’t really do my job, did I?” they joked, glancing at Spock. “I should have realized that snapping back at Kolax would only worsen the situation.”

            Spock took a step closer to them. “Kolax was disrespectful. You handled it with your words. I find that approach logical.”

            (Y/N) raised an eyebrow. “Even though I insulted him back?”

            “Admittedly, that was not the most diplomatic approach.” Spock looked at (Y/N). “But I still approve.” (Y/N) blinked in surprise. “I…It displeases me to see people take advantage of your kindness. I think you rightfully defended yourself.”

            (Y/N) smiled. “Thank you, Spock.” Their face fell. “I just wish people didn’t assume that because I’m attractive and friendly it means I down for everything. I’m not. I’m more than a pretty face.”

            “Your value has never been in your appearance alone,” said Spock, reaching out and resting his hand on their upper arm. “I value you for your mind.” And your heart. But he wasn’t going to say that.”

            (Y/N)’s smile returned with a dusting on pink on their cheeks. “I’ve always been able to feel safe with you, Spock. Thank you for that.” They looked at Spock with love in their eyes, although he couldn’t identify it. “I’m glad you’re here.” Their hand moved to cover his hand on their arm, but they held themself back in order to not cross any boundaries.

            “As am I,” said Spock. Realizing his hand still rested on their arm, he drew it back and cleared his throat. “And if you need help making sure people do not cross your boundaries, I am here to offer you my assistance.”

            (Y/N) grinned. “You do have an imposing presence. People would listen to you. I’ll let you know if I need any help.”

            Privately, Spock promised himself to intervene in any future issues. It was illogical to believe words constituted a threat, but he couldn’t stand by if (Y/N) was hurt. They—Well, they weren’t his partner, but he would protect them as if they were.

            After all, Spock loved them.

            (Y/N) felt their heart swell up as Spock assured them that he was there to help them. To know that he respected them and wanted them to be respected by others felt wonderful. (Y/N) could hardly contain their desire to reach out to him and hold him tight. Their emotions were bright as their gaze met his.

            If only Spock knew how much (Y/N) loved him.

Taglist:

@a-ofzest

@grippleback-galaxy

@genderfluid-anime-goth

@groovy-lady

@im-making-an-effort

@unending-screaming

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Pavel Chekov

By Ames

Ever hear an old Russian folktale called Star Trek: The Original Series? I have it on good authority that it was written by a little old lady in Leningrad. That’s right: we’re shining the spotlight on the Enterprise’s Russian navigator this week on A Star to Steer Her By, so be prepared to hear way too many tall tales from the garden of Eden, located right outside of Moscow.

Somehow it was easier coming up with enough best and worst moments from Pavel Chekov to fill out our list than it was for Sulu and Uhura, and even Scotty for that matter! Maybe it’s that we’ve just loved picking on Walter Koenig over the years, or maybe it’s that it just sounded like so much fun writing comic relief scenes for him. So read on below and listen to our banter on this week’s podcast episode (chat starts at 1:14:49). It’s definitely worth a couple ham sandwiches.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best Moments

The Russian waltz “I, Mudd” turns into one of the silliest sequences from The Original Series by the end as the crew puts on a dumb show to confuse the robots into having mental breakdowns. And this includes some pretty great work from Chekov, waltzing with Uhura and then illogically getting slapped by her, and dancing emphatically when he’s been ordered to be absolutely still. Does not compute!

Scared to death… er, life Despite being a pill throughout most of “The Deadly Years,” Chekov did end up contributing to the antidote for the other crewmembers’ old age problem simply by being a pathetic little coward. Because he was so scared to see Alvin’s dead body, Chekov was immune from the condition due to his increased adrenaline, which Doc deduces. Eek!

She wants to shop, and I thought I would help her In a rather cute moment in “The Trouble with Tribbles,” Chekov agrees to go shopping with Uhura on Space Station K7. It’s just a small little moment of bonding that could have been any of the characters, but it’s just good of Chekov to accompany the lieutenant while on shore leave, and being there when she adopts her pet tribble.

You started it, didn't you? We also have to give Chekov some credit for not snitching on Scott’s initiating the massive brawl all over the bar in “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Chekov was itching for a fight himself, but Scott throws the first punch and then Chekov keeps mum about it while Kirk is questioning all the combatants. How did the fight itself go? Well you’ll see…

Pavel of all trades We see a lot of instances of crewmembers filling in for each other on the ship. Last week, we mentioned how Uhura jumped in to do some rewiring work. And in “The Immunity Syndrome,” we see Chekov manning the science station throughout the episode during moments when Spock is either busy or on a one-way trip into a space amoeba, as one does.

If he shoots at me, I will just step out of the way Despite getting gunned down like a dog by Morgan Earp in “Spectre of the Gun,” Chekov does manage to help the others figure out the puzzle of their OK Corral setting. Billy Claiborne didn’t die in the shootout in real life (he ran away, like we could imagine Chekov doing), so the others realize this scenario doesn’t have to match history. Thanks, Chekov. Sorry about the dying part.

Arm… photon… torpedoes… As usual, we’ve got lots more moments to highlight from the minor bridge characters in the movies compared to the television show, so let’s start off with The Motion Picture. Chekov is mostly around to feed various lines of technobabble and to get his arm zapped by his console, but he also successfully juliennes the space potato in that horribly extended wormhole sequence.

Botany Bay? Oh no! We get a ton of action from Chekov while he’s serving on the Reliant in The Wrath of Khan though! He figures out (too late, mind you) that something is afoot on the Botany Bay when he finds a clue. And even more impressive, he somehow survives having a ceti eel latch around his brain, fighting off Khan’s manipulation that would have coaxed him into killing Kirk!

And Admiral, it is the Enterprise! As usual, The Voyage Home has the most stuff for the lesser main characters to do, which is a treat. And Pavel gets some time to shine when he and Uhura find the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise (a great touch!), infiltrate it, and sneak out some of its photons. And like when he escorted her to K7, he’s an entire gentleman and even lets Uhura beam out first!

Winter Storm Walter I just find this delightful. Chekov and Sulu hiking in the woods together and enjoying their little playdate in The Final Frontier is sweet enough on its own, but when Chekov wants to save face and avoid telling Uhura that they got lost before being called back to duty, he fakes a blizzard. And just how badly he impersonates the wind is just part of the charm of this scene!

Warp speed now! Man, we really are seeing The Final Frontier represented a surprising amount in our best moments in this spotlight series! It’s undoubtedly one of Chekov’s best moments, possibly because he has the most to do: tricking Sybok by pretending to be the captain of the Enterprise, going up against a Klingon Bird of Prey, and getting his party back aboard before warping away!

Next time, stick with synthehol Finally, just a small detail that Jake really liked from The Undiscovered Country. While the dinner scene with the Klingons mostly just came across as racist (as Ames noted in our Kirk spotlight), Walter Koenig just had perfect delivery of the line, “Only the size of my head,” jesting about the radiation surge and his hangover from all that Romulan ale.

—

Worst Moments

Hey hey we’re the Monkees Place your votes on which of the early-season-2 wigs was the worst. Watching poor Walter Koenig in these absolutely atrocious Monkees wigs in episodes like “Amok Time” and “Who Mourns for Adonais?” is just painful. They look like really poorly styled women’s bob hairpieces, and I cannot take anyone wearing them seriously.

We all move up in rank It’s funny how little we actually see mirror Chekov in “Mirror, Mirror,” and yet what a great effect he has in establishing the world. He has all of three lines in the whole episode (plus a whole lot of great Koenig screaming), and yet we understand from how he so utterly fails at mutinying that in this world it’s kill or be killed. And Chekov clearly doesn’t have the chops.

Trouble on paradise planet On the other hand, we see entirely too much of Chekov in “The Apple,” and it’s mostly all cringe. Literally moments after watching Hendorff get killed and Yeoman Landon is concerned about their safety, Chekov comes onto her with a “I've been wanting to get you in a place like this for a long time.” The two of them are just horny teenagers all episode long and it’s all really immature.

If I live long enough, I'm going to run out of samples Chekov also comes across as just plain whiny and even more immature in “The Deadly Years” when he’s complaining and complaining about undergoing tests for McCoy to figure out what caused his afore-mentioned immunity. His fellow crewmates and everyone who’d been in that colony are dying / have died of old age, and he’s insensitive enough to complain about a couple samples?

You heard what he called the captain While the brawl in “The Trouble with Tribbles” is indeed a thing of beauty, it does make Chekov come across as both needlessly violent when Scott has to talk him out of attacking Klingons a couple times, and also as woefully incompetent when all his punches have exactly no effect on his assailant. It’s just a little “Chekov is weak” joke that’s kinda dumb when you think about it.

Piotr would be ashamed This one comes with a content warning for attempted rape. Like Kirk in “The Enemy Within,” when Chekov is affected by the Beta XII-A entity which is making everyone angry in “Day of the Dove,” he goes straight to sexually assaulting Kang’s wife Mara, and it’s uncomfortable and immoral and shameful. I will not be hearing excuses, energy being–related or otherwise.

Feeling a little Defiant Hey, another instance of Chekov being influenced by some kind of space craziness, this time by the area of space that also took the Defiant in “The Tholian Web.” Something about this area sends crewmembers into a fury, and Chekov is first on the list to go mindlessly ravenous. I’ve said before that this episode really doesn’t make a ton of sense, and here’s just more evidence.

Be incorrect, occasionally While we felt Spock and Bones were woefully out of character in “The Tholian Web,” Chekov felt miswritten in “The Way to Eden.” He belittles his old girlfriend’s way of life, and she counters that he’s always been so straight-laced and by-the-book. Since when!? Perhaps this was left over from when she was meant to be McCoy’s daughter, because being judgemental does not feel like a Chekov trait.

This is Ceti Alpha V! Yes, Chekov, a planet has to be “completely lifeless” for the Genesis Device to test there. We could understand how tricky it might be to account for a tiny organism or something, but you somehow missed a whole colony of augmented humans in The Wrath of Khan. How can someone miss that? And to not notice which planet you’re even on? What is this, amateur hour?

We are looking for nuclear wessels While I could just give hell to whatever accent Walter Koenig thought he was doing (nuclear wessels, my foot), let’s make this The Voyager Home moment about getting his ass captured by U.S. navy men, absolutely failing to escape and breaking his everything, and needing everyone else to stop what they were doing to get him rescued. And have I mentioned the whole “wessels” thing?

Put Chekov at the kids’ table from now on I give Nichelle Nichols credit for refusing to say “Guess who’s coming to dinner” in The Undiscovered Country because to have a black woman say a line with such racial undercurrents would be a mistake, so Chekov says it instead. You coulda just read the room and cut it entirely, but whatever. Then Chekov makes a fool of himself by speaking of “inalienable human rights” only to be positively schooled by Azetbur, and rightly so.

If shoe fits, wear it We’ve been surprised how many of our best moments have come from The Final Frontier, and on the flip side it’s just as surprising how many of our worst moments have come from The Undiscovered Country. Despite being a genuinely good film, it sometimes screws over its characters, like when Chekov is made a fool yet again by not checking crewman Dax’s feet before accusing him of being the movie’s Cinderella.

— Clearly all this has been a Russian inwention. Stay tuned for one final character spotlight from The Original Series, as we’ve only got Nurse Chapel yet to go. We’re also continuing our trip through Enterprise over on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, you can share Russian tales with us over on Facebook and Twitter, and check to make sure that wig isn’t on backwards.

[tsunflowers]

I went to look up David Gerrold to see if I could gain some insight into why he wrote the things in Hella that he did, and he was the writer of the classic Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" !??!?!?!?!?!!?

His Wikipedia article informed me that he is gay and a single adoptive father (wrote a semi-autobiographical book about his experience around a]having adopted his son, which was adpted into a flim starting John Cusack, but Cusack's character in the film was changed to a straight widower) paints him as a decent person.

But his article on Fanlore dot org (especially the part about his hatred of Kirk/Spock shipper) seems to be more in line with the type of author who would create a book with the problems you identified.

he did write that! it's like the first thing in his bio on the book jacket. he seems like... an interesting guy, is what I'll say. he seems to have occupied a unique position in 70s trek fan culture as someone who was between a creator and a fan. I don't think people these days could get into that position bc creators ignore fan work for legal reasons. but here's a guy who got a script published at a young age but didn't become a regular writer

if I had to guess I'd say he's a gay man who's concerned with gay men's issues. like, it seems like he did a ton of aids charity work. hating kirk/spock is almost part of that bc he was mad that women were writing weird and inaccurate portrayals of gay men. but when it comes to other the social issues he depicted in hella I don't think he was trying to be negative but he just didn't understand. sort of like the kirk/spock shippers he hated so much didn't understand what it was like to be a gay man...

[thelongestway]

Star Trek Prodigy, notes on the watch, ep. 13

Rok episode? Of course, with the baby stars and all!

Ahh, there we go, with a crew you've got her cleaned up right quick!

Z, the absolute curiosity in the "was that you who devoured this entire world?" is gold!

Wow, tribbles can bite through a Brikar's skin. Mortal enemies of the Klingon empire, indeed!

Wow. Dire Tribbles.

"Pain is such a horribly novel sensation!" Sorry to say, Z, but it becomes a really dull one over time. Still irritating, though.

"At least he's direct," he's a Klingon, Chakotay, duh.

"Very unsanitary lab", haha!

Wait, Rok literally wrote her thesis on this!! Dr. K'Ruvang, you are in luck!

"Problem-tunity" is my new favorite word!

Lab safety episode, haha!

Hm, so are Jankom and Zero going to build Zero a new body?

Is that a tri-brikar?? technically Rok's kid?? or a macroretrovirus??

quadrotriticale grain, moar deep cuts. :P

If you make them even bigger, Rok, then there'll be two disgraced scientists is all. :P

okay, Bribble, not Trikar ))

nobody likes their scientific mistakes to stare at you, trust me, Rok!

Klingon disruptors don't have a stun setting, Dal!

Rok, did you just make a Chubb-Chubb?

A victory for science! Also, is that a new Klingon song, or do I just not know it?

It just hit me: Chakotay, do you maybe want to replicate a new shirt now that you have replicators???

Excellent little episode about science and mistakes!