#great start to Friday TOS

[youronlybean]

Blizz: I have an alliance with the girls, gays, and theys…

Blizz, reluctantly: …..and also X33N.

[fruitsboots]

The angel on my shoulder wants to ask about the coffeshop au, but the devil wants to know about the weed one

Dealers choice 😅

poor coffeeshop au, you were supposed to be finished no later than New Years....

so coffeeshop AU is a TOS holiday-ish fic that is going to be McKirk to McSpirk.

Spock works as a physics professor at a university, but his old friend Pike asked him to come help work weekends at his coffeeshop until the holidays are over since he knows Spock doesn't really have a social life.

while working at the coffeeshop, Spock meets a very handsome Jim Kirk who owns a bookstore down the street and comes in and orders something very complicated every Friday afternoon. Every Sunday morning, a snarky Doctor McCoy comes in and orders black coffee.

Will Spock ever get the complicated order right? Will the three of them ever meet up? Will I ever actually finish this fic? All great questions that I'll have to write so you find out.

--

As for weedfic, it's TOS where the crew is going down on shoreleave but the trio are staying behind. Due to the smell of a candle Jim got as a gift, he's feeling nostalgic for the like 3 times he smoked weed with his brother as a teen. After talking to McCoy about it dramatically, the good doctor procures some weed and they proceed to have a nice time hanging out in the arboretum.

This one's in my current working rotation but I'm not really sure where I'm going with it lol. It was supposed to be lighthearted and silly but sort of turned more intimate and poetic which is fine! Big snippet of weedfic under the readmore <3 Thanks for the ask! Maybe this will motivate me to write lol

CW: Drugs

It started with a candle.

A gift from Uhura on his birthday, specially ordered and crafted with him in mind to remind him of Iowa.

The candle itself was simple in design, a cream colored wax with three wicks in a heavy, dark orange colored glass holder. The scent was the thing that was truly special about it.

Crisp and earthy like a late autumn night. The slight dusty smell of dried corn. A hint of sweetness. A touch of smoke.

As soon as he sniffed the candle, memories of Jim’s younger years wove together into a soft tapestry. First kisses and raking leaves. Libraries and school dances. Truck beds and corn fields.

Truck beds and corn fields.

Sam and Sam’s handsome friend pulling up to the house, beat up red pickup truck caked in mud up to the windows in the middle of the night and don’t be a loser Jimmy, it’s not sneaking out if mom and dad aren’t even on the planet. Holding on for dear life, tossed around in the bed of the truck as it swerves recklessly through a harvested cornfield that they definitely shouldn’t be in but it’s alright because Sam says it is and rules can be broken sometimes. Broken rules like passing a joint and chilly air, he should’ve brought his gloves but the smoke fills his lungs and warms him from the inside. Hot, too hot. Coughing in chorus with laughter, a sheepish grin, he’s not going to let on that he’s nervous for the drug’s effect.

Slow then slower. Time slowing down. Thoughts slowing down. Laying down, corrugated plastic pressed into his back. Endless sky, endless stars. Galaxies swirling in his head.

Jim found himself lingering on that particular memory days after receiving the gift. Though he’d refused to light it, he’d occasionally bring the candle to his nose, eyes closed, and try with futility to grasp onto the bittersweet feeling of being sixteen again.

“Y’know, if you lit it you could smell it better. Rather than shoving your entire nose into it.”

Jim pulled the candle away from his face and placed it back on the shelf by his bed. They should be sleeping, but goodnight kisses had turned to something more and now it was late. Jim turned towards the bed where Spock looked more than halfway asleep already, lying on his back with a naked McCoy pressed to his bare side.

“If I did that, it wouldn’t last,” Jim said with a tired smile. “Feels like I should wait. Some special occasion to light it or something.”

“For candle that smells like a hog farm?” McCoy joked. “We’ll have to make sure to break it out the next time we have a good ol’ fashioned barn raising.”

Jim laughed softly, but the comment hit him in the heart. He hesitated before speaking.

“Have you ever tried cannabis?”

The question hung in the air for a moment with only the sound of Spock beginning to snore softly as McCoy raised an eyebrow.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he tried to sit up but the sleeping Vulcan’s arm held him tighter.

“Answer the question, Bones” Jim countered, going to squeeze into the bed next to McCoy. “Computer, lights to 10%.”

The magenta glow of the room dimmed gradually, leaving them in almost-darkness.

“Oh, come on Jim, I’ve told plenty of stories about my mama. What d’you think she would’ve done if she’d caught me smoking weed like some kinda hooligan?”

Jim pressed his face against McCoy’s shoulder and smiled, letting his eyes close. “Hmm…so how many times?”

“…four or five,” the doctor answered honestly. “First few times I don’t think I did it right, nothing really happened except I nearly coughed up a damn lung. That or my friends were pulling a prank on me.”

“And after that?” he felt Spock’s arm twitch between them. Jim leaned away to let Spock readjust, McCoy now free to turn to face him.

“Mm, I don’t really remember, it was a long time ago. Kinda remember getting paranoid and listening to some 22nd Century neo-classical, but those might have been separate times.”

Jim chuckled at the thought and gently rested an arm over McCoy’s waist. “Would you try it again?”

In the dim light, he could see the furrowed brow paired with a quirked smile. “What’s all this about, Jim? You’ve been acting particularly wistful the past few days.”

So McCoy had noticed. Jim supposed that he was usually good at hiding his frequent ‘moods’, not wanting to come across as anything other than the steady, even-keeled captain.

“Nothing, it’s just,” Jim sighed, fidgeting slightly. “You know how I get around my birthday. Just…thinking of the passing of time. She’s a cruel mistress….an hourglass of sand, unable to be turned back over—”

“Jim, it’s late, spare me the monologue.”

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Idk if your requests are open, but if it isn’t then you can delete this. Overhaul and shiver Kai with a s/o who’s laughing in the middle of the night. Like Y/N is on the phone with her friends and she moving to a different room so they won’t wake up their lover and their friends are laughing, they’re laughing right along with them. Eventually their friends screams and says someone’s behind you, and Y/B does a slow head turn knowing the fact that they’re supposed to be asleep so they’re like some “heeeey? How ya doing?”

Keep up the great work! I’m proud of you!

❤

You tried. You really tried.

But you just couldn't close your eyes and sleep.

You didn't know exactly why this time, but you just couldn't. And this usually wouldn't concern you... but ever since you started to share a bed with your boyfriend it became a problem.

Kai was dead set on the rule of not using cellphones for one hour before bed. He really believed that was only to harm anyone sleep schedule... and that included you of course.

The worst part of it is that you couldn't even pick your phone in secret and mess around with it a bit even after he fell asleep. Why? Because this man was a light sleeper. Ever wrong move or the slight bit of light, he would wake up.

You tried many times still, but each time you would try to use your phone to distract you enough to fall asleep Kai would just open one eye to glare at you before grabbing your phone, putting on his own nightstand and growl at you to sleep.

It was sweet in a way but let's be honest, it pissed you a bit his doings.

You sighed through your nose and peaked at your boyfriend who was snoring lightly, sleeping on his side without a shirt on... he looked God like... when he sleep he wouldn't keep a poker face on, so it was just pure sleepy Kai and his God like body you had to try your maximum to not touch it.

Your boyfriend worked a lot, so you wouldn't wake him up for fun time. Especially after the hell workload Pops had given to him these past few days as some sorta of punishment for some wrong doings he had done.

He never learned you thought with a smile brushing his bangs back a bit... he was a light sleeper yeah, but he has been so tired that now he wouldn't wake up so easily thankfully.

Yours ears picked up when you heard your phone's notification started to appear... you bite a bit on your bottom lip before finally grabbing it, getting it out of the charger and looking at what was it.

Your friends were talking about something that you had to control to not laugh as you slowly typed a response...

You talked for a few minutes until one of them suggested that you should all make a call.... you pecked over at your boyfriend... if he found out he would be hella mad at you... but he was sleeping though... he wouldn't wake up now would he?

... you would take the risk.

Slowly but surely you left the bed and tip toed out of the room, immediately freezing when you heard your lover shifting a bit in the bed...

You looked over your shoulder in fear you would get that pair of golden orbs looking at your soul, but to your relief he just had changed positions and was still on a peaceful slumber.

You sighed and went to another room, closing the door carefully to not bother Kai's sleep.

.

.

.

You were laughing so hard. One of your most innocent friends had just killed all of you on a among us game.

Some were laughing in disbelief while others cursed them in many different words... but it was all in good fun.

You all decided to turn on your cameras just to chat and play a few games since apparently none of you had plans for the next day and none could sleep either.

"Dammit..." one you friends growled while the killer was laughing at their victory.

"It was a good match though." You spoke casually

"TO WHOM?!" You laughed even harder before all the group joined on the laughing fit.

"So anyway, we should all go out some day this week." One piped in "I'm free on this Friday if you all in"

"Ah shit not happening, got a job interview." Another whined "How about Saturday?"

"Sorry guys won't do." You spoke and they all asked why "Got a date planned with my boyfriend. Money has been tight but he insisted on going on a restaurant."

"Shoved your happiness in my face (Y/n), go on." Your single friend growled and you snorted "Come on, can't you change the days ir something?"

"Nope, my man is critical about his plans, and I don't think he would appreciate a bit if I suddenly came to him and said to changed the reservation."

"Boo" they all said in union as you laughed at them to shut uo before all shrieked. "(Y/n) THERE IS SOMEONE BEHIND YOU-"

"Eh?" You blinked, reality sinking in as you felt someone behind you indeed... your body freezing, your chest tightening the slightest bit... knowing just who it was before you slowly turned your head back enough, fearfully looking up at at the man who had a glare and arms crossed over his chest.

"Heeeeeeeeeey honey...?" You said awkwardly, your friends apparently calming down when they noticed it was your boyfriend instead of a intruder "how ya doing? Good night we having isn't?"

"Is morning." Chisaki corrected with a growl before stomping over to where you were sat on the couch "Say bye." He demanded before grabbing your phone, carefull to not show his face as he pointed the screen at you as you awkwardly said your good bye to your friends on the chat before he hang up the call.

"I couldn't sleep and they were online." You immediately defended yourself as Kai only ar he'd an eyebrow... clearly not convinced nor amused at your immediate response to him.

"It's 3 am angel... 3. AM." He groaned each word as you sinked in your seat.

"Sorry... I thought I wouldn't wake you up." You hissed when his eye twitched.

"I could hear the laughter from all back to our room." He growled... that wasn't the reason he woke up, he woke up because he didn't felt you on the bed and he was a mess without you, especially to sleep, but you didn't need to know that.

"I said I was sorry..." youmumbldd before shrieked when he picked you up and just casually walked both of you back to the room before without a grace dropping you on your side of the bed "Kai!"

He didn't speak a word as he got to his side, laid down on his pillow and turning his back towards you with a tired 'sleep'.

"Jesus.." You complained "if you are going to act this way I'm going to sleep on the couch-" you yelped when suddenly his arm and leg were on you, him roughly pulling your body against his as he buried his face on the back of your neck.

"If you try to leave this bed I'm overhauling your damn legs." He muttered while tightening his hold on you... you peeked over your shoulder and saw how he was trying to hide his blush and you could only giggle.

"Alright, alright. Don't need to threaten me." You joked a bit before laying down with a relaxed sigh, noticing how his hold losses up a bit, but enough for you to escape him... not that you wanted anyway.

It was a comfortable silence for a bit, you were almost on the verge on sleep until you flinched at his alarm going off.

It was time to wake up.

"Nooooo..." You whined as your boyfriend heaved a sigh.

"This. This is what happens when you stay all the night up laughing about nonsense." He growled before sitting up to grab his alarm to turn it off. He only looked down at you before sighing, turning his head away as he mumbled "if you want... I can stay a bit longer."

You smiled with a 'yay' as he clicked his tongue.

[dreadsuitsamus]

The Reunion | Renji Abarai x Reader |

author's note: this is for @actuallysaiyan, and it's a week or so late lol but here it is, finished. i hope you feel better, bacon, and that it stays that way 🩷 and special thank you to @yeowangies, who supported me on this when i felt it wasn't right. thank you, vero!! 🩷🩷 this is part of the mechanic au, and is chronologically the first out of all i've written so far.

pairing: renji abarai x fem!reader

warnings: a slight bit of angst but far more comfort

You’ve been staring at the email for a good little while now, having blanked out sometime ago as memories and past feelings of dread rise up your spine. Somehow it’s already been ten years since your graduation from high school, and it’s around that time for a good ole reunion, apparently. The mere idea of going back and seeing those people, the ones that made the experience worse than it needed to be and even those that didn’t particularly do anything to you, is less preferable than using cinder blocks for pillows. High school could’ve been worse, and historically for many it was in comparison to your time in those final years of school, but it never left a good flavor in your mouth. Perhaps it’d be different if you’d managed to find a clique to be part of and shape the way you looked at things, but it always felt like nobody really wanted you around, and as such you were a loner.

Things haven’t changed much ten years later.

The sudden sound of plastic crinkling startles a gasp from you alongside a slew of goosebumps down your spine. Somehow you hadn’t heard the garage door open and the heavy footsteps of your mechanic’s steel-toed boots stomping to the small kitchen area. Renji perks a brow, pausing just as he’s about to toss the bag of popcorn into the microwave. “Head in the clouds today, eh?”

Shaking what’s left of the scare away, you close out the email forwarded to you. “Sorry… Just got caught up and didn’t hear you come in.”

“Must be something heavy if you didn’t hear me.” You’ve chided Renji for just how noisy he is many times, ever since you partnered up with him to run his shop just over a year ago and have lost count of how many times you’ve been on the phone with a customer and they could hear the sounds of Renji yelling in the shop.

“I don’t know if heavy is the word for it. It’s stupid, really… But some things are hard to let go of even ten years later.” You murmur the last part to yourself more than to Renji, and he soon settles into his usual chair in front of your desk with his freshly popped snack.

“Well, what is it?” He gathers up a handful of popcorn, dropping in a few pieces into his mouth and chewing expectantly, raising a brow at your hesitation. You were fine the last time he came up here! What could’ve happened in the two hours he’s been hard at work in the garage?

Sighing, you pull the email up again. “My high school reunion is coming soon.”

“Oh. And… it’s a bad thing?” He asks carefully, considering each word with more finesse than when he does electrical work. Oh god, are you about to enter some weird, way too early midlife crisis?? He can already barely handle you while on your period, he’ll never survive this—

“I mean, I guess it isn’t? Or it shouldn’t be. I dunno… High school wasn’t really great for me.” Your lips twist as that sinking, dismal feeling claws back into your gut.

Renji shuffles more popcorn into his hand. “I don’t think it was for most people, really. ‘S why I dropped out and started this up.”

“I wasn’t really bullied or anything. I just always felt like I didn’t belong, y’know? Nobody really talked to me or got to know me, and I kinda just stopped trying after a point. I had a few friends I’d made, but never ones that I’d meet outside of school or anything like that. I never went to the dances or football games, or even the skating rink when I was in middle school and that was the thing middle schoolers did every Friday night. And going to this reunion, I think it’d just… Be more of the same. I don’t wanna feel that way again. I doubt anyone would even remember me!”

Who could forget a face like that? Renji thinks to himself. “‘S up to you. When is it?”

“The end of next month.”

The redhead nods thoughtfully, dumping the last of the popcorn into his palm. “Let’s make a deal. You go to that reunion, and I’ll be your plus one.”

“You sure? It’s probably gonna be boring…”

“I’m a dropout, so ‘s not like I’m getting any other opportunity to be bored to tears and watch guys that peaked in high school football reminisce about how they almost got to go pro. C’mon, chin up! If it’s no good, we’ll make it good. Okay?”

A warm feeling pushes out the nastiness in your tummy and a warm smile replaces the unsure pout on your lips. “Alright. We’ll go to this stupid thing.”

The corner of his mouth perks up a tad. “I can even pretend to be part of the British monarchy to shake things up, if you want.”

“Ren, no.” A giggle bubbles at the mere idea of Renji attempting any sort of British accent. And this guy, the one with tattoos that start at his forehead and go all the way down to his ankles, playing royalty?? Only a fool would believe him!

Though thinking about it further after Renji’s head back into the shop to finish the day off, you surmise that it’s not entirely impossible that you attended school with just the idiots that would think a foreign prince is at their ten year high school reunion, and on your arm!

The day comes quicker than you’d hoped. It’s been a miserable slog to prepare for (figuring out what to wear to a ten-year reunion was far more difficult than it had any right to be!) but with the help of Renji’s assurance over the last few weeks, you’re quite calm as you add the final touches to your hair, makeup and outfit. He’s on his way now to pick you up, surely in one of his restored classic cars to add just a little bit of style to your entry, and your heart thumps quickly in the face of his impending arrival. Having been a friend and business partner of Renji for over a year now, you still haven’t spent much time in these sort of scenarios together— this could almost be a date. Your cheeks scorch at the thought of your friendship with Renji taking that sort of turn. It’s unlikely at best and absolutely impossible at worst! Your threads just can’t cross like that, even if the attraction was there. Too much rides on the line of your professional relationship, and to lose that would lead to a litany of problems that would only drag you right back into the messes he and you both were in back when you first met.

Cracking down as your curious mind almost starts contemplating the what-ifs, the doorbell is ringing with Renji waiting on the other side. His grin nearly blinds you, though the roaring of wanton blood rushing through you overwhelms all of your other senses. Here this man is, handsome and sweet-smelling and on your doorstep.

For a non-romantic evening spent around your former high school peers. It’s a wonder how life manages to keep kicking you while you’re down.

“Hey, you ready to go? You look great.” Those warm eyes of his are hungry and he’s not afraid to show it. You opted for a tried and true classic in the form of the little black dress, and while it’s no trendsetter or daring attempt to make any statements, it’s certainly going to draw eyes. Renji’s got half the mind to ditch the dumb reunion entirely and take you out somewhere more deserving of such beauty— alas, he doesn’t tend to frequent any place that isn’t his garage or a dive bar, and it’s not what he’s been asked to do anyway.

And getting the opportunity to take you on a date is something he can only achieve in his daydreams.

“Me? Let’s talk about you for a second!” A flirty giggle bubbles up. This is the first time you’ve seen his hair down and it’s gorgeously spilling over the shoulders of his deep green suit jacket that compliments him like no other color you’ve seen him wear. He’s delicious, tantalizing, so radiant and, criminally, is not here for any of the things you’re wishing he’s here for. “Goodness, Ren, you look amazing!”

Renji’s cheeks dust a rosy shade. “Had to clean up nice for you. The foreign prince offer is still on the table, after all.”

Snorting, your purse is hooked over your shoulder while you step beside him and lock the front door behind you. “No, it isn’t.”

“You’ve never had fun a day in your life!” Renji’s pout is pitiful, but quickly wiped away as he leads you to the car. Your assumption of his vehicle of choice was right, the exterior particularly shiny after a fresh coat of wax Renji applied earlier today. You’re certainly set to turn heads when you arrive at the country club the reunion is held at!

Your palms begin to feel clammy as Renji closes your door and crosses over to the driver’s side. The club is about a twenty minute drive away, maybe thirty if there’s traffic, and then you’ll be face to face with your graduating class. Have they been successful? Will they remember you? You can’t decide if it’s for the best or not if they have no ideas about you. What will keep them from shutting you out like they had ten years ago?

Renji’s curved knuckle taps beneath your chin, guiding you to look over at him. The car is small, and your proximity to your mechanic as such is far closer than you’ve ever been. His breath is minty, fanning warmly over your skin as his deep voice coaxes at you gently. “Hey... Relax. This is only gonna be as bad as you let it be. High school didn’t mean anything back then and it damn sure isn’t gonna mean anything now.”

“I don’t wanna feel left out again.” You whisper with glossy eyes and a wobbly lip that threatens to ruin your makeup.

“You’re not gonna be left out! I’m gonna be there the entire time, right by your side. We’re gonna drink and talk to people and have a good time. Don’t psych yourself out, okay??” He murmurs sweetly, and he may as well be chanting don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry over and over with that look on his face. He’s really the biggest sweetheart despite what your first impression of him had you thinking way back when—  a pretty girl in tears may as well be his kryptonite!

“Promise?” You blink away your tears with a sniffle, and Renji’s lips curl into a smile.

“I promise. And you know it’s true because I’m a terrible liar. Just trust me and it’ll all be over before you know it.” He winks at you and turns to start the car up, and the fears in your chest fade away rather than strengthen the closer you get to the venue. What’s there to truly be afraid of? You’re in a beautiful car alongside a wonderful, handsome man that's doing his best to make you happy. A smile blooms on your lips, and you give Renji a strong hug upon exiting the car.

“Thank you, Renji.”

His cheeks blush the brightest pink, clashing awfully with his scarlet hair as his strong arms loop around you tightly. “Hey… Anytime.”

After parting, Renji offers his arm up to you, and you gladly take it! Walking into this reunion on the arm of a handsome man was the last thing you planned on doing when you first got the email, but for once life has decided to give you lemonade rather than lemons.

[nightingale-bloom]

okay (probably) final plan for the library of jesse project prep:

-finish making any needed accounts tomorrow (saturday)

-start taking notes on all the stuff i wanna screenshot at my earliest convenience (probably sunday)

for reference, the current day as of posting is friday, september 6th, 2024.

what have i already done?

-made the carrd with all the links on it, added it to the pinned post for my main blog and sideblog

-made the lojp sideblog (accessible from the carrd)

-made the flickr-based gallery

-made a progress tracker on google docs and a volunteer image submission form

-took minimal notes for s2 e1 screenshots yesterday afternoon before realizing there was more to do and burning out for the night (they're physical, but they'll be going on the progress tracker doc soon enough)

-wrote some image submission guidelines

-came up with a few ideas for the sideblog's banner (no idea what the pfp will end up being though)

i'm real excited to get into the meat of this project! while tedious, it'll be great for artists like myself, and likely writers as well.

oh, and stuff i wanna do that will likely be part of tomorrow's account-making shenanigans (helps to have a to-do list!):

-make a discord or something (not sure how i feel about discord, we'll see after i'v read their tos and done some research)

-make accounts on a few more image sharing sites to spread the gallery far as i can get it

-find or make something for lojp's banner and pfp across all sites i put it on

[annakie]

From Broken Bow to Calypso - Check-in #11 - The Original Series, Season 2

All Star Trek By Stardate Review Posts

And we keep chugging through TOS, this time passing the halfway mark with season 2!

A few classics, a few stinkers, and a bunch in the middle here!

3/14/25 - 180 - Catspaw - OK so this is bullshit, Krik, Spock, Scotty, Sulu (and McCoy) are all off the ship. And hey, Checkov is here finally, and on the ship, but like… Kirk leaves some assistant engineer in charge instead of Uhura? We all know it's Time Period reasons but ugh, it's still bullshit. DeSalle is fine, though, I guess, just another plain white guy on TOS. Also, someone please give Chekov a comb for that hair, yeesh, his first scene did not make a good impression (ok apparently it's a wig he wears for his first 4 episodes.) He and Sulu were my preteen crushes, until Wesley Crusher came along, lol. But since I'm watching TOS in production order, like, Chekov apparently gets no formal introduction and that's kinda sad. The "Very bad poetry" "More useful comment, Mr. Spock" exchange is great. Do you believe in magic? The Twilight World of Consciousness, I guess? Ehhh… an underwhelming first episode for this season. I can see why they aired Amok Time first. I do like that Sylvia is age appropriate, maybe even a little older than Kirk. But yes, yes we get it. Women are so catty alien woman-types choose to actually be cats.

3/14/25 - 181 - Metamorphosis - Ah yeah, the Zefram Cochrane episode. It's neat to see him again, I think from now on my rewatches are going to start with the last 5 minutes of First Contact as a reminder, before ep 1 of Enterprise. This is YET ANOTHER all-powerful alien being episode, I should have been keeping track of how many of these there are, I'm sure there's a list somewhere. Glad that the other guest star is a strong, capable women, Hedford, though of course she's sidelined with an illness. AND THEN basically dies (but not really) and has to share her body with said all-powerful being when she could have survived probably if they hadn't gotten diverted. Annnnnd then she has to give up her cool commissioner job and life to be Cochran's half-god wife. Ick. Not Cochran's fault, just a real "woman gives up her entire life for some guy" story. I mean, ok, it's Zefram Chochrane, not just any rando, but still. Cochrane also gives up his chance for freedom for her, so, almost a fair trade except none of this was Hedford's choice.

3/14/25 - 182 - Friday's Child - Ya know, maybe you should brief your redshirts, Kirk, instead of surprising some jumpy kid when he sees a Klingon. Sorry, but McCoy is right here, the crewman was an idiot, and the hosts were protecting their guest. I really liked the Enterprise parts of this episode with Scotty in charge and interacting with Uhura, Chekov and Sulu more than the parts with Spock, McCoy and Kirk on the planet. Hey, it's Vasquez Rocks, what a surprise. I did like McCoy being an expert on the culture of these people, but then all the slapping started happening. And wish Kor would have been the Klingon here. Pretty meh on this one.

3/15/25 - 183 - Who Mourns for Adonais? - Oh boy, another All Powerful Being episode. So original. This one with the twist of it being Apollo & it turns out the Greek gods are real, just aliens! Another one-episode lady crewman who's there to be a love interest, yawn. Especially did not like how Kirk and McCoy were like "Well she's gonna get married and leave service soon, that's what they all do!" Also Scotty showing his true hothead / jealous side. Scotty, buddy, calm the fuck down, you just keep getting your ass beat and even Kirk ordered you to. Love ya Scotty but, please, take a breath. Lady Crewman had coffee with you, she's not your wife. Anyway, the planet stuff isn't the worst but also isn't the best. Watching Spock try to get out of the predicament on the ship is pretty good though. It's especially great when he has Uhura doing some technical work, and she was like "I haven't done this in years!" and I'm like "…I bet Hemmer showed her how to do that" and get teary-eyed. Again, just a great moment that is enhanced by the Stardate watch. Also just a real good moment with her and Spock being like "I can think of no one who could do this better than you." Suuuuuch a great and important little moment. Maybe they were both thinking of Hemmer then. <3 Some "ick" dialog when Kirk is like "We have no need for gods, we find the one quite enough" or something, which, OK Kirk is just trying to provoke Apollo but damn the Hindu religion at a minimum would like to have a word with you.

3/15/25 - 184 - Amok Time - First of all, they need a HR representative on the Enterprise. Poor Spock is absolutely badgered by Kirk to reveal his "secret" and that's not OK! But hey, in the end they were like "this is how close Spock and Kirk are, Spock will tell Kirk about his Pon Farr problems." Kirk could have told the Admiral ordering him to not go to Vulcan like, "Hey Spock is sick and could die", feels like he didn't try all that hard. Also, Spock did another minor hijack of the Enterprise, though he "doesn't remember doing it" in his Pon Farr daze. OK and then again SNW makes it not make sense that Uhura and Chapel are shocked when Spock calls T'Pring his wife. THEY BOTH KNOW T'PRING NOW AND WHAT SPOCK'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER IS. I guess if you want to get super technical maybe they didn't know that they were "married" even though they're not, actually. Also I guess it's now customary for the woman in the betrothal still needs to propose to the man, per the proposal scene in the first ep of SNW. I do enjoy also that Spock begrudgingly has to admit that McCoy is his close friend. Look, after everything T'Pring has been through in SNW, I don't blame her for doing what she did to Spock. She deserves better and I hope she ends up happy with Stonn. It's BS that T'Pau doesn't explain the full issues with Kirk being selected to fight for T'Pring, though. The fight is pretty great, though, hilarious that the first thing Spock does is expose Kirk's tiddies. And of course the closing scene with Spock being elated that Kirk is alive (and he's not going to jail for murder) is an important and classic moment. Spock is much happier to see Kirk than he was T'Pring. Leave T'Pring alone to a happy life, she deserves the peace. Also I think it really speaks to what a great job Gia Sandhu does in SNW, T'Pring does not have a ton of dialog in this but it is just 100% believable that they're the same character.

3/16/25 - 185 - The Doomsday Machine - Who is this non-Uhura person at Communications??? No, bad. And she has a bit more dialog than Uhura often has in an episode. The makeup for Decker is really good, and honestly so is the actor. Really plays a great unstable asshole type. I really like the conflict with him assuming command and being a total loose canon on the ship. Also the planet killer is a great concept, and seems like the Crystalline Entity in TNG is a bit of a rehash of that. This is a really strong episode, really gripping and thrilling all the way through. One of a few Moby Dick parallel episodes but does it so well.

3/16/25 - 186 - Wolf in the Fold - Scotty MAY or MAY NOT be a MURDERERRRRRR! Oh, turns out it's not it's just a… oh hey get this, all-powerful entity. An evil, serial killing one this time! The one that embodied Jack the Ripper and some other serial killers! As neat as it was for Scotty to get something meaty to do, and the mystery was pretty good, overall I thought the whodunnit part ended up being eye-rolling. Or maybe I'm just getting a bit tired of all-powerful entities on TOS. I know… I'm in for a bad time if that's true. :D The silly-fying tranquilizer bit was fun, though!

3/17/25 - 187 - The Changeling - Really great tension in this episode. I especially like how the bombs are coming in at Warp 15! Um, pretty sure those bombs should be lizards by now, breaking the Warp 10 barrier that fast. The machine is a cool scifi concept but holy crap the decision to bring it onto the ship. Scotty's urge to Protect Women not only get him in trouble again in this episode, but literally dead. I was excited that Uhura gets some work this ep but then forgot this is the one where she loses her mind and oh btw women's "thinking" is "chaotic" and thus must be mindwiped. Ugh. But I do love that Uhura relearns literally everything in like, a week, because she's just that great. And she just innately knows Swahili. Like, really great that they put a whole scene in for Uhura and Chapel working together and she's just like… SO smart that she's getting everything back so fast. And they mention an aptitude for mathematics. IDK, I'll take that part for a win. OK wow and then later the machine makes the Enterprise go to Warp 11 and NOBODY TURNS INTO A LIZARD?? Bullshit, this entire episode is bullshit :D Another "Kirk out-logics the supercomputer" episode, so the ending isn't that original, we all remember Landru, ok? But overall, I enjoyed the episode. Lots of strong points in it.

3/17/25 - 188 - The Apple - …oh my God then another supercomputer episode right after. Maybe I shoulda watched in airdate order because this is a bit much. Anyway, Spock really goes through it this episode, gets shot in the chest with spores that killed a crewman, gets zapped by a forcefield, gets zapped by lightning, all the crew gets attacked by the natives.. and HEY THIS IS REALLY COOL -- they let the yeoman fight and she KICKS TWO DUDES ASSES. Also she's Checkov's girlfriend and honestly it's a sweet storyline. Scotty is also having a real bad time up on the Enterprise and Kirk keeps badgering him and he's doing all the can, chill about it Kirk. That part of the episode is harrowing and pretty good. I wish they would have had Sulu and Uhura there with him. I guess the budget was blown with too many extras this week. The main plot with the naive natives is meh… but there were some enjoyable elements in this otherwise meh episode.

3/17/25 - 189 - Mirror, Mirror - HELLLLLLLLLLLLLL YEAH!! Another one I've been looking forward to. Fuckin' Mirror Mirror! It's SO GOOD. OK right off the bat, I'm PRETTY sure this is Uhura's first time in a landing party! I'm SO GLAD they gave her a bigger role here, I mean, ALL SEVEN of them are in this ep and all of them get decent amounts to do! I also remembered seeing Spock that Sarek is dead in the Mirror universe, Georgiou blew him up. But at least Spock survived. Yes, the goatee really works for Nimoy. And I do love that the Spock and Kirk relationship transcends Good and Evil. Sulu hitting on Uhura sure is a THING. Honestly between this and The Naked Time, pretty sure Uhura/Sulu was one of my earliest ships long before we called it shipping. Also love that Sulu pulls double duty as helmsman AND security chief, he's just that good! Funny that they act like security chief is an unnecessary job in TOS and yet… Malcolm, Ash, Nhan and La'an… very much already were people who had that job. And Chekov making his move to try to take out Kirk! My precious little guy, you're swinging way out of your league but good on you for trying, I guess! The smash cut from Good!Kirk being like "I wonder what our counterparts are up to on our ship?" to Evil!Kirk manically yelling and threatening Spock is comedy gold, SO good. I'd forgotten that Kirk killed Pike for the captain's chair. Almost wouldn't mind seeing that in a SNW Mirror ep. The scene in Kirk's room with Moreau does drag on a bit too long, probably my only criticism of the episode. Love Spock having a Vulcan guard with him (and it's Stonn, lol). Sulu attempting his own mutiny is a fantastic scene, and love Moreau saving the Good Crew's butts there. And love McCoy insisting on saving Spock's life. AND later Uhura gets to fight a little and disarms Moreau. There's just so much good stuff in this one to love. The scene at the end with Kirk, McCoy and Spock trading barbs included.

3/18/25 - 190 - The Deadly Years - The Ageing episode, which reminded me of something I get to gripe about when we get to the similar one in TNG haha. Chekov is like, the best. He gets easily scared! He doesn't age! He complains about all the tests and will live, but not enjoy it! Yet another old flame of Kirk's. The ageing makeup is pretty good on everyone, tbh. Shatner pretty much still looks better at 94 than he does in his old age makeup in the episode. Kirk falling asleep in his chair and easily forgetting things is sad, but well done. Nimoy's ageing makeup looks… pretty true to what actually happened. McCoy's southern accent getting worse as he ages… yeah that happened as we saw in TNG. The commodore is right about wanting Spock to take over, Kirk's not fit for command at the point when he wants him to step down.The courtroom scene is good but also like, seems like they didn't need to take the time out -- ESPECIALLY FOR MCCOY -- to do this when they should be looking for a cure. Great drama, though. The Commodore wasn't really fit to command, either. TBH, Sulu should have been given the chair at that point, and he was basically telling the commodore what to do, anyway. I did love that Christine, the Love-interest guest star and Spock worked together to make the cure. Also love the Corbomite callback.

3/18/25 - 191 - I, Mudd - Mudd is back and hijacking the Enterprise.. seems like he learned a lot about how to take over the ship after all that business on Discovery. I'm glad that Uhura and Chekov got to go down to the planet. They're doing well generally giving the junior members of the crew more to do lately. Of course Mudd makes lots of sexy ladies, and they live to serve. I do like that they did a "give everyone what they want" thing, though a little meeeeh about Uhura wanting to be youthful forever. Uhura's fakeout was a nice moment, like, kind of obvious but I liked it. Sad that they didn't let Sulu participate in the hijinks this week, though. (Oh, ok Memory Alpha says that Takei was off filming a movie for the next NINE EPISODES! Fine. At least he wasn't just being left out.) Once again, the solution to beating a computer is to out-logic them. Or I guess in this case I guess out-confuse hem. Considering how much Scotty has died lately, having him beg to be killed is a pretty big gamble. This episode is very hijinks-y and they even work… WITH Mudd for awhile in it. And then he gets a fitting end. Well, until TAS I suppose.

3/18/25 - 192 - The Trouble with Tribbles - YESSS… another one of the best episodes coming up so soon after the last one. It's probably the TOS episode I've watched the most, tbh, and that's not counting Trials and Tribbleations. The only thing wrong with this episode is no Sulu. Everyone else gets a decent amount to do. The plot is super fun. The tribbles are adorable and plot-relevant. Honestly I don't know what else to say, everything about this episode is amazing and I love it a lot. It's ranked in the top 5, sometimes #1 (but should be #2 after A City on the Edge of Forever) for lots of good reasons.

3/19 - 193 - Bread and Circuses - This one was rough, did not enjoy really. The TV Producing parody parts were neat, and there's some really good Spock+McCoy stuff, especially the speech in the jail cell after the arena fight. But overall, it felt implausible that the planet would evolve JUST like Earth did, and that they'd worship Jesus, IMO. At least that last line gave Uhura something to do this episode. But not a fan of Kirk sleeping with a slave, and parts of this seemed to drag on awhile. Apparently there's beta canon that the Preservers transplanted some Earth Romans here and that's why the society is parallel which… ehhhh okay I guess but that doesn't explain Jesus existing nor why they speak English. :p

3/19/25 - 194 - Journey to Babel - Ah the return of Sarek! I mean… and finally Mark Lenard in the role. So good. And Amandaaaa! I do find it kind of funny that Kirk and McCoy don't know Spock's parents when we've seen them so much in Discovery and SNW. Like now, it's more a surprise that K&M don't know since it's like "yes, yes we all know and love Sarek and Amanda" on the Stardate Rewatch.A great episode that really brings in the Andorians and Tellerites especially. The makeup for both is really well done for the time. Just all of the costumes at the diplomat party are fantastic, so much fun to see. And a great story for Spock. Knowing that the two-finger touch is basically kissing for Vulcans, Amanda and Sarek are WILD, all out there making out basically all the time. The mystery is really well done in this one, and I love the end where both Spock and Kirk are all laid up and trying to keep the ship going, and McCoy gets in the last word. Another really great one. But also… I miss Sulu!

3/20/25 - 195 - A Private Little War - Mugato! No but I really love that Spock gets shot and then Kirk goes SO worried. The scene where he gets testy at Uhura, Chekov and Scotty and then apologizes is really nice. AND THEN HEY IT'S M'BENGAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! HELL YEAH! Missed you, buddy <3 Still waiting to see why he's no longer CMO. Honestly this episode quickly goes from great the first ten minutes or so to meeeehhhh on the planet after Kirk gets mauled by the Mugato. Bleh. But the stuff with Christine and M'Benga on the ship is great. I miss those two. Pretty sure M'Benga is completely trolling Christine telling her to do whatever Spock says when he wakes up. HE KNOWS THEIR HISTORY! Also Jess!Christine would have smacked Spock hard, no question lol. Honestly yet another episode where what's happening on the ship is better than what's on the planet. Honestly kinda tuned the episode out after awhile. I suppose I should have cared more since this was the Vietnam war allegory episode. The ending is pretty :( , too. Hey, just like the war.

3/20/25 - 196 - The Gamesters of Triskelion - Giving Chekov and Uhura something to do this episode while Spock and McCoy (And Scotty) are up on the ship.Oh no but then Uhura gets assaulted, dammit this is not the kind of stuff I want for her to get to do! It's not clear exactly what happened so I'm going to hope it wasn't much. =\ It is nice that one of the guest officers on the bridge was a lady, though. Booo that Chekov's thrall is a joke because she's slightly fat and older. Not interested in Kirk's Showmance, but at least the stuff on the planet was interesting this week. Kirk is really going through it, keeps trying to defend others and getting them more hurt. But the stuff on the ship also is great with McCoy and Scotty vs. Spock and everyone is tense about finding Kirk, Uhura and Chekov.

3/21/25 - 197 - Obsession - The vampire cloud is dumb as hell, but honestly enjoying Kirk's descent into obsession, and Spock and McCoy having to deal with it. Kirk is a huge dick to literally everyone here, but great acting by Shatner. I mean, it also sucks that he lost several ensigns in this episode. The past events here happened before SNW, so I doubt we'll see any repercussions in SNW from this, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's mentioned at some point. But yeah overall I really enjoyed the Moby Dick aspects of this episode, though the mystery itself was pretty Meh.

3/21/25 - 198 - The Immunity Syndrome - A real "Disaster!" episode. Things start out bad and keep getting worse and everything is MYSTERY! A good mystery! Kirk having to choose who to send to probably die is a good moment. Everyone being so concerned for Spock is great. Honestly, pretty good episode with an interesting science problem. "Tell Dr. McCoy he should have wished me luck." is some real savage possible last words from Spock. Still don't like fake teary goodbyes, but this wasn't too bad. Realize it's been awhile since we've had a supercomputer or all-powerful entity episode and I've been enjoying the break.

3/22/25 - 199 - A Piece of the Action - So in the second Enterprise "Romulan War" post-show novel, Kobyashi Maru, there's a big chapter dedicated to the Horizon, aka Travis' family's cargo ship. The chapter ends with the Horizon in big trouble, but it also is kind of a cliffhanger if the Horizon is going to make it or not, they're in real bad danger and the last scene is them getting a communication sent off to Earth and more or less hoping they're going to survive. They also mention that they'd been visiting a planet right before they got into that trouble and Paul (Travis' brother) had traded one of his mom's favorite books for some supplies on the planet. I'd just… blanked it out of my mind that the planet was the one in this episode and the book was the one that influenced the culture here so much. And then I had also been holding out hope that the Horizon was going to be okay since I'm still in the 3rd book and they hadn't said one way or the other. And so when like a minute into this episode Kirk goes "Yeah we just got a transmission from the Horizon, they didn't have subspace communication so it was like 100 years late, and the Horizon and all hands were lost shortly after leaving your planet…" oh my God it hit me SO HARD. I'd just… forgotten. And Kirk is just so flippant about it.. and I'm like THAT IS TRAVIS' FAMILY, YOU JERK!! SHOW SOME RESPECT FOR THE MAYWEATHERS AND THEIR CREW!!" Oh no, tears in my eyes. Just another way the Stardate Rewatch RULES. As for the episode itself, a really fun Hijinks ep! Honestly surprised the Cerritos never came back to visit here, seems like something they woulda been tasked with. Also loved that McCoy leaving his communicator there was the inspiration for Malcolm doing so in The Communicator… you'd think that they would have written better protocols after Malcolm did that. They shoulda gone back to get it! The Fizban scene was also really fun. Could tell Shatner was having a ball with this one, and honestly, so did I.

3/22 - 200 - By Any Other Name - This episode was definitely one that I remember clearly watching when I was a kid. The thing where they turned people into the balls of carbon was like, nightmare fuel for me for several childhood years. Pretty good conundrum in this one, not all-powerful beings, but also breaking the galactic barrier. Kirk sluts his way into a solution more or less, and I wish they'd given Uhura and Chekov more to do, we haven't seen much of them the last few episodes. But it was fun that each of the main three + Scotty did some fun sabotage / emotional warfare on the Kelvans.

3/22 - 201 - Return to Tomorrow - First, yay! Sulu is back! Missed you buddy. Too bad you got almost nothing to do this episode after the first minute. Second, hell yeah it's Diana Muldaur's first appearance! She was really great in the episode. Mulhall was a decent character and there are definite flashes of the steely resolve that would earn her the role as Pulaski (and a second TOS appearance.) The plot itself was kind of interesting but pretty slow. Some Spock/Christine stuff here that continues to be ??? in the face of SNW stuff. But I guess hey, it is nice that he still finds her attractive I guess? Ehhh. Kirk's speech about taking risk is pretty good but I wonder if he regretted it after all the crap the aliens put them through, like, you know, death. Another pretty-powerful incorporeal being episode, but it's been awhile since we had one of those I guess. Well, they were kinda similar to the Kelvans in just the previous episode. So yeah, this ep is middling, mostly elevated by Sulu being back and Muldaur. Also I thought of another thing abuot SNW vs. TOS Chapel why I think SNW Chapel should be Jess Bush playing a similar character who isn't Chapel -- Bush!Chapel is AMBITIOUS. She's trying for Fellowships, look at her whole number at the bar in Subspace Rhapsody, and of course Barrett!Chapel does not show any of that ambition, because it's the 60's IRL. I don't feel like Bush!Chapel would be content to just hang out on the Enterprise being a nurse for five more years.

3/23 - 202 - Patterns of Force - The Nazi episode. Just… way too real right now. But also, a great "this is why we have the Prime Directive, dummies!" episode. Decent plotline, wraps up a bit too neatly I think, but hopefully the planet recovers. Not enough of the rest of the crew in this one, or at all lately. The remaster looks particularly good here. Anyway, the episode itself is pretty good with a decent message, I just… don't have a lot to say on it.

3/23 - 203 - The Ultimate Computer - Heeeey it's Daystrom! So important that they made such a brilliant man a PoC, good on you Star Trek even if he was a bit controversial in the episode. William Marshall has a voice I could listen to all day. Spock's speech about not wanting to serve under a computer and a starship runs on loyalty to one man is lovely. The Crew got more to do this episode, even if it was just Doing Their Job stuff. Enjoyed this one quite a bit.

3/24 - 204 - The Omega Glory - Almost a Badmiral episode except Tracey is a Captain. Didn't remember this one but pretty enjoyable… oh until once again they're SOMEHOW connected back to Earth and the good old USA. C'mon. Now I know why this episode was scrubbed from my brain, like The Alternative Factor. I basically tuned out because my eyes were rolling into the back of my head too hard and blocked out the rest of the story. Also some kinda uncomfortable race stuff in here. Getting real tired of the Parallel Earth stuff that doesn't have a good reason for it (ie Patterns of Force and A Piece of the Action have good reasons for it). I did like Sulu beaming down to save the day! Another episode that should have ended 20 minutes earlier than it did. Hoooookey. Glad to see Memory Alpha notes that this episode is considered among the worst on several ranking lists. They're right, and I'm right. Moving on.

3/24 - 205 - Assignment:Earth - Hey it's backdoor pilot time! Yeeeah just CASUAL time travel, NBD y'all! Honestly I'm going to enjoy this episode directly because what Prodigy S2 uses from it if nothing else from now on. I love that Spock loves the cat. Slightly sad to see Memory Alpha hasn't been updated with the Prodigy / Wesley Crusher connections. I don't think the script is strong enough to justify the backdoor pilot, in the end, but it had some interesting concepts. What IS up with that cat anyway? Also I'm glad they didn't keep doing "casual time travel". Where's the Department of Temporal Investigations, huh!? Seems like they should have had to write a report on this. They bugged Archer's crew, they bugged La'an… but nooo Kirk gets special treatment, apparently! :p

------

Overall, S2 I think is slightly weaker than S1 was, a few more middling episodes, but still some great ones that I did and didn't remember. I know there's some pretty good ones coming up in S3 but we've also passed most of the really good ones now.

Going to have a few days next month where I don't watch any episodes at all, I've just got too much stuff to do IRL, but I'm so far ahead that missing like 3 or 4 days will still keep me pretty far ahead. Should pretty easily finish TOS and TAS and probably the movies before the end of April.

But yeah next check-in will just be TOS S3. See ya in 2 or 3 weeks!

[jonfucius]

Great Star Trek Rewatch - The Original Series S2

Originally posted on Twitter 26 October 2020 - 2 December 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[thegeminisage]

ok, tng update time. friday we did "the offspring" and yesterday we did "sins of the father" and "allegiance."

the offspring: WHAT THE FUCK.................................

ok, as previously noted, this was the first episode of tng to make me cry for purely tng reasons (the bones thing doesn't count bc that's crying over tos, technically). i love data SO MUCH this episode was incredible

ok, admittedly, lal was a little hard to watch at times, the acting on her part was not super great, but the storytelling was very solid, and the situation data found himself in was such. a situation

i liked picard's arc in this, actually. he started kinda freaked out by lal and thinking of "it" as a poorly-thought-out invention of data's, and by the end he was fighting for her rights just as hard as he fought for data's in measure of a man, right up to being willing to put his own career on the line

the thing is, he was sort of correct...like, nobody else on the ship needs picard's permission to procreate (and what a wham line that was, even i had been thinking he should've consulted someone first before he did anything until he said that!!) - BUT because of data's unique situation and how tenuous it is that he even has rights as a living being at all, it puts him in the position of: if he does choose to have children, that child will immediately be in the same kind of dangers he himself has faced

also, how stupid that starfleet wasn't ok with having both androids on the staship when it was fine for the ONLY android to be on one...like, it kind of proves that a lot of people still don't think of data as being real or alive in their hindbrains, even if they use the right lip service. like i said, even picard AND EYE PERSONALLY were shocked he did this without consulting someone when we wouldn't have the same kind of shock if it happened to a human

though come to think of it i definitely don't think starfleet officers should be getting pregnant in space either no children should be aboard a starship human or not but that's a different story

it's WILD that she surpassed him, learned to feel feelings (and i still blame the starfleet dude for giving her a panic attack or w/e), and then he's got what's left of her in his own brain. 8in theory, he should know how to access a feeling...but can he, without being destroyed...that's twice now (her and raina) that we've seen androids be destroyed by their ability to feel emotion. i wonder if data realizes that what he seeks is actually very dangerous to him...

anyway, what got me was "thank you for my life." it was so short and most of it wasn't even fun but she was glad to have experienced it and AAAAAAAAA. god. 10/10

sins of the father: i was looking forward to this one bc of the title, and SO pleased it turned out to be good. worf fucking rules, i love him so much

i was so worried that secret brother was gonna be a liar or double cross him, because it seemed SO obvious, but once again i was pleasantly surprised not to be able to predict the plot (although i did see lal dying horribly coming from a mile off, lol).

my one gripe with this episode is that i wish riker had been worf's uh, i forget the klingon word but his second. picard is fine and all but he felt kind of redundant here. nobody needed him to be a captain and picard himself said he wasn't as young or as strong as another man on the ship, and riker having been exposed to klingon culture and also generally being down to clown would have been a way more fun choice. i also think riker would have objected more strongly to the ultimate resolution, and it would mean more coming from him to have told worf's brother "don't forget and don't let your children forget" because he would have been way angrier, and we rarely see riker with that kind of righteous anger that picard does so well. like, picard does it all the time so it didn't feel as noteworthy, but if riker had done it, it would have stood out in a big way

also, i liked the part where worf backhanded that guy bc he knew he was better than him lol

anyway i really hope that plot comes back someday, it fucked

allegiance: this episode fucking sucked. they strung us along for like 35 minutes without giving us any clues to solve the mystery ourselves and then revealed PICARD worked it out by using facts we don't know anything about

also, logistics. they have food in that place but i didn't see water or a bathroom and they were in there for DAYS

i didn't like the fake picard either...he was not very much fun to watch. him interrupting the poker game made me want to die of secondhand embarrassment. also, it was never explained why he wanted to fly the ship into a sun...whats the point of creating a double if he does suspicious and noticable things like murder-suiciding an entire starship lol

THAT SAID. this episode is saved from total dud status because of the mutiny. i LOOOVE when they do mutiny on star trek. this one was SO fun fake picard literally gave worf an order and he went into parade rest and stared into the middle distance and obeyed riker instead. WORF/RIKER/DEANNA IS REAL I'M TELLING YOU. whew <3

tonight: "captain's holiday" (dread...) and "tin man"

[conkreetmonkey]

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Someone just fucking drew Gandalf in a suede chair, nbd.

[ezcater]

How to Make the Most of the Dog Days of Summer

You may be familiar with the dog days of summer, but did you know that these long, sweltering days are not named after our four-legged friends? These toasty days actually get their nickname from Sirius, also known as the ‘Dog Star,’ which is visible in the sky just before dawn during late July and early August.

Still, even if these hot days aren’t named after our best furry friends, you might feel like you’re working like a dog when temperatures are so high. Luckily, you can help your workplace beat the heat—and even enjoy the dog days of summer—with these three tips. Fetch a Few Cold Drinks Stocking the fridge with drinks can help your team stay hydrated, refreshed, and happy during the hottest days of the year. Flavored sparkling waters, probiotic sodas, and kombuchas are all great options for refreshing afternoon pick-me-ups that your team will love. If your office is located in a particularly humid region, like Ohio or Florida, consider starting a weekly tradition of catering fun, chilled beverages on Fridays. A corporate catering service can help connect you with reliable restaurants catering Columbus Ohio or Orlando to bring fresh juice, matcha, iced coffee, or lemonades right to your workplace. Roll Up Your Sleeves Plenty of workplaces loosen their ties literally and figuratively during the summer. Implementing a summer dress code that allows team members to dress casually in the summer is a great way to boost morale and keep your team from sweating through their best button-ups. As more companies adopt a business casual, approachable dress code, workplace-appropriate shorts and even open-toed shoes are becoming the norm in offices across the country, especially during late summer. Did Someone Say “Treat”? Do you have fond memories of chasing down the ice cream truck with your childhood friends or digging through the freezer for a fruit-flavored ice pop? No matter how old we get, sometimes the only cure for hot summer days is a sweet, frozen treat. Make the most of the hottest days of the year by treating your team to a nostalgic dose of summer fun. A catered ice cream bar is a great opportunity for team bonding and a tasty way to cool down. The right catering platform can connect you with reliable ice cream caterers across the country. Whether your Oklahoma-based workplace is searching for the best ice cream catering OKC has to offer, or your Portland team deserves a celebration, a catered sundae bar from Cold Stone Creamery should do the trick. The next time you notice the Dog Star on the horizon, you won’t have to wish for cooler temperatures! With these three ways to help your workplace enjoy the dog days of summer, you and your team can make the most of the heat. About ezCater How easy is it to order team lunch on ezCater? You can order a delicious meal in minutes and have it delivered just in time for lunch. ezCater is the leading catering platform and makes it easy to find reliable caterers near your workplace. You can turn to ezCater to help you cater sales calls, team meetings, and company events. Why is it so easy? ezCater puts dozens of search tools at your fingertips to find the right food for your needs. They’re also connected with over 100,000 caters and restaurants nationwide. You can order highly-rated Cincinnati catering if you’re in the Cincinnati area. In Nashville? Get the catering Nashville can’t stop talking about. Make your next meal happen with ezCater. In the mood for ice cream? Find delivery options near you at https://www.ezcater.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/4dFA0TW

[nevinslibrary]

Make It So Friday

There are so so many Star Trek comics, published by so many different publishers. From Marvel to IDW and everything in between. These particular comics start from the beginning. But, not the TOS beginning, before that, with Christopher Pike and the Enterprise beginning. And, it’s so cool. Pike was only in one official episode of The Original Series, “The Menagerie”, and then from those few things that we learned about him during the episode comes these comics. It was also interesting to see how these writers interpreted those few facts that we knew into his story vs. how the writers on Strange New Worlds are doing the same thing. Or for that matter, the story of the character that is now officially in canon known as Una Chin-Riley (aka Number One). But, in this she has a different name, but, again, in a lot of ways is the same.

It was such a fun read, this first and the second volume too, it’s just a shame that for whatever reason there are only two volumes. It would have been great to have collaboration between the different publishers and have a truly chronological look at Star Trek comics!

Star Trek: The Stardate Collection Vol. 1 by Scott Tipton

[kinetic-elaboration]

November 5: End of Con

I spent the weekend at virtual KiScon and tomorrow I have to go back to the real world and I'm so discombobulated about it. I had a really good time, and it was nice to totally immerse myself in fandom conversations and watch parties and so on, but it is kind of a hard come down. I was expecting that, though.

This upcoming week is going to be weird and I hate thinking about it. I probably shouldn't. Tomorrow I'm going to work as usual, but then I really do have to go shopping afterwards and I don't much want to do that. Not gonna lie. Tuesday I'm off for election day but I have to vote and then I'm getting updated vaccinations in the afternoon. Wednesday we'll see how I feel--I'm a little worried that the answer will be 'bad.' Then somehow it's the end of the week again.

Last year, I had a great time at KiScon but all the inspiration I felt after Saturday got cancelled out by Sunday, where I mostly just felt really intimidated (I didn't attend Friday events because I was at work). This year, I still feel that desire to create, though it's quite vague. I wrote a little Kirk/Mitchell ficlet yesterday, which I loved doing, and since the con ended I've been looking at yarn for a nice K/S scarf. I'm serious about doing it this year! I'm gonna do it!

Troped announcing an end to events the same weekend as the con feels... very interestingly timed for me personally. I'm still a stubborn bitch who doesn't want to give up on her old WIPs and ideas. But...

But what? What would I do? Where would I go? Do I want to go fully into K/S again? Would I even be able to? I don't know. The truth is that I probably have enough on my WIP list to keep me writing for years without having to come up with a single additional new idea so I really shouldn't worry about running out. I've been writing for about 25 years and I haven't run out of ideas, you know? There's just a sort of haziness to the future that I can't define.

Maybe this is just me reacting to having stepped out of reality for 3 days. Now I'm facing a return to... everything. Work. Trying to fix my sleep schedule. Writing I said I would do. An apartment that... needs work. A November that's bizarre. Holidays coming up.

I realized during the con that I still think of myself as 'someone who watched all of TOS recently and is totally well-versed in all of it and full of detailed memories' but actually it's been a year and a half since I finished TOS, and about 3 and a half years since I started the rewatch. Time really just keeps moving, huh?

[hang-on-lil-tomato]

I’ve been through this so many times! when a low grade moron tv exec gets it in their pin heads that they hate a show, they will deep six a great show for whatever whim it is.

Star Trek is rhe classic case. They begrudgingly green lit season 3, then burned off Roddenberry and installed a TERRIBLE producer (we now call “showrunner”.) Superfan Bjo Trumble dubbed him “Kiss of Death Freidberger”

so NBC, then deliberately sabotaged ST TOS by sticking it on Friday night at 10pm. Then they get to say “sorry, you don’t have the ratings”.

and don’t get my started on Firefly and Farscape! 🤬🤬🤬🤬

He is NOT fucking around.

[jesterjamz]

good night !

[willowser]

oh me, oh my, the cowboy bakugou brainrot that i have HAD. i've decided he's perfect for it. 100% has it down pat. whew doggy. can you IMAGINE him in his levi's and his soft cotton tee and his square-toed work boots hello??? HELLO???? and a HAT goodbye

he's like. okay so he's this guy from your teeny home town, right. someone you knew in high-school, maybe weren't friends with but had classes together and had friends of friends of each other. and he was always kind of an asshole and had a truck by the time he was like 16 and never could go out on the weekends or stay out late bc he was always helping his dad. and he never left -- but you did.

and you come back on a random night, for whatever reason, and your old friends take you out to some local bar that you can't believe is still up and open and running and. he's there. little drunk and loud and so fucking handsome. tan from working outside, fit from lifting hay and roping horses and his hands are rough and maybe a little dirty and he's just in a shirt and jeans but god. he looks so good.

and he's so smooth too. all "fancy seein' you here" and "looks like someone grew up right", smells like fresh cut grass and sharp aftershave. pats your hips to get your attention. oh yeah, you're going home with him. no doubt. he still drives that fucking truck, single cab, and before he even can get out of the parking lot, he's got a hand up your shirt and his mouth on yours and he's got to physically strap himself in so he can drive back to his house.

and he's great and rough and you can't believe the best sex of your life is from this country boy from back home. wild.

but. he's still kind of an asshole. and by the morning, he's grouchy and not as smooth and leavin' by the crack of dawn bc he's got shit to do. the little chickens in his yard are talking outside his window while you get dressed, maneuvering around his home as carefully as you can. being in there alone, knowing he's probably ready to be rid of you -- makes you feel like you're doing something wrong. so you call your friend to come get you, sitting on his porch -- that he built himself, by the way -- and just. watching him. out in the field, sheepdog running behind him and the horse he's riding. he's got his hat on bc the sun is fully out by now and beating down on the back of his neck and you can tell he's already sweating.

he lives a little further out of town than you or your friend realized, so you're just waiting when he comes back to sit beside you on the porch, all quiet. his dog comes up too, relishing in all the attention you give him until bakugou pushes him away, telling him to get on.

he doesn't smile as much now that he's sober, just frowns at you. "didn't think i'd see you 'round here again."

the dog comes back and you don't care. you scratch at his fluffy ears anyway. "didn't think you'd notice i was even gone."

he snorts, boots scuffing in his gravel drive as he shifts. "don't be dumb, 'course i noticed."

and you two weren't friends in high-school, hardly ever spoke to one another. maybe saw him in the hallway or thanked him when he opened doors for you. sat in front of him in class or next to him on those rare friday night football games he got to go to, when it was starting to get cold and he would give you the carhart off his own back just 'cause you were shivering and he ran hot anyway.

and he still does, beside you on the porch. when you look up from his dog, he's peering at you with all that heat, tipping his hat up a little to see you better.

"got eggs 'n shit, if you're hungry. if you wanna --" he lifts the bottom of his shirt to wipe at sweat on his brow and yeah. yes. whatever he's gonna say. yes. "if you wanna stay and eat."

good thing you got no phone signal out there, bc you didn't really wanna leave anyway.

[olderthannetfic]

I'm in a fandom with a lot of virulent antis (surprise surprise, it's heavily dark source material and I don't know why they're here at all) and a lot of the pairings that aren't the main badwrong ship on ao3 now have DNI tags on them for shippers of the badwrong ship. I guess not enough to break the TOS (no direct threats?), but still full of stuff like "x shippers DNI", "get help you freaks", "You're disgusting" etc etc.

Its just... so frustrating. Like that's a pretty red flag for me that a fic probably is going to be in an immature writing style so I probably won't read it anyway, but every time I see it I just.... heave a big sigh. Why these people are in this fandom or on Ao3 at all I'll never know. Its not even helpful - the tags are there to help describe the fic, if I didn't want to see that kind of content I could just... avoid content that's tagged that way. Why even add that to a fic that's not even about those characters at all?

Honestly, my real question is.... Olderthannetfic, how do you do it?

I feel like I do it "right", in fandom, or at least I try. I always just block and move on. I don't follow the discourse where I can help it and block a lot of the relevant tags. I keep to a small circle of folks that have the same fun brainrot I do and have fun, generally. But this kind of stuff still slips through the cracks in a way that's unavoidable if you're ever online at all. To be honest, it still hurts a lot to see each time, and be reminded that some people seem to literally want me dead over reading a story. And I can't help the doubt and the self-flagellation that creeps in. Despite my best efforts, and all my research, and living to the ripe rip van winkle tumblr fandom spinster age of 27... I sometimes have a moment where I think, maybe I really am a freak or a degenerate, or an evil predator waiting to bloom.

Do you ever experience this? Does this feeling ever go away, or at least dull to a more bearable exasperated eye roll? Do you ever see these anti idiots grow up or grow out of this mindset? Is it just a matter of time, age or experience? Is there a point at which you felt like it affected you less, or perhaps it didn't affect you like that at all? Is there a secret to navigating it calmly and with confidence? Do you have any advice to give in the, er, art of not giving a fuck?

--

Why would I quail at a stupid child on the internet after coming out as queer when I was 14 in the 90s?

I grew up with very open-minded, supportive family aside from my mother's conviction that BDSM was something people were into because they'd been abused. Even then, I remember privately snickering because I was super kinky, and wouldn't that upset her given this silly world view?

I had it easy compared to most in the 90s, but I still saw a lot of nonsense, like good old Mom on the topic of kink or murders in the media. But I also spent a lot of time reading educational sexuality books that debunked myths about fantasies and kinkiness.

Maybe a firmer grounding in sexuality stuff would help you? Nancy Friday's work on women's fantasies is a common starting point. I'm partial to The Topping Book, which is full of "it's great to be a top, actually" and not "you only do it for the sub".

Getting older does usually help though. Most 20-somethings are insecure in their sense of self. Middle age is when people's fucks generally run out, and that only continues to grow. Watch a stupid child go after some 60-something zine writer lady. She's going to laugh in their faces. Some people remain insecure forever, I suppose, but not anybody who had to woman up to be in fandom in the first place.

It's not just that these little idiots are wrong about us being predators: it's that they are the morally degenerate ones for spreading the psychological equivalent of "vaccines cause autism" or "Jews want to steal your Christian babies".

This idea that The Bad People are infiltrating our minds with their propaganda overlaps heavily with anti-semitic conspiracy theory right wing fundie nutjob ideas, and yet these young fools claim to be pro-queer and pro-civil rights. They're an embarrassment to any progressive movement and it disgusts me.

When someone goes "You're not a Christian, so you're going to hell", do you have a moment when you wonder?

Because that's the level of absurdity here.

Even if they don't bully, even if they don't include threats in their DNIs, the fact that they're spreading myths about sexuality that have been thoroughly debunked many times means they're doing something unethical, anti-intellectual, and anti-science.

I'm not afraid or guilty. I'm embarrassed for them.

--

Do antis grow out of it? Yes, frequently.

They are—either literally or functionally—victims of right wing Christian cults. They have the same trajectory of realizing they've been had and slowly trying to work through the raging guilt and religious trauma.

I have limited patience but some sympathy. Like other victims who were indoctrinated to hurt people, escaping the cult is hard. It means not only giving up your false sense of safety and all of your friends but facing what you've done.