#in my head I think I could be in starfleet but then I think about the events in an average episode of star trek and it’s like.

[wrinkleintime]

enterprise text posts: featuring starfleet’s most reluctant astronaut, hoshi <3

[appavevo]

i’m pretty well removed from the “trauma” of my childhood that whenever stuff like that happens again it’s interesting to see how quickly i go to my coping habits and it’s okay oh yea! that’s why i’m like that

[dduane]

I have started collecting your Star Trek novels, after having gotten to know your writing through Young Wizards. Just finished Spock's World, am a few chapters into The Wounded Sky.

I'd just like to say that I love the way you embrace diversity as a concept in your writing. Your Starfleet is full of Terrans, sure, and humanoids, but also overflowing with nonhumanoids, with species whose inclusion necessitates accommodation and work and cooperation, and it's just so very STAR TREK, in a way even the most ambitious episodes of the original series and TNG never managed, for budget reasons and probably because someone, somewhere said "nobody would deal with that on a starship."

It makes the things that aren't present in the books, the diversity that no 1980s publisher would have allowed in such a mainstream property, feel less keenly absent. This alien is a genderless crystal whose experience of time is utterly beyond my understanding, I think, so of course there's room in this Starfleet for an autistic agender bisexual like me.

It's really uplifting in ways I wouldn't have expected before I really got into your Trek novels.

I'm glad the books have worked for you.

I think one of the things that may be working in my favor here is a tendency to take a series's (or IP's) professed themes and/or philosophies at face value, and run with them—treating them as if they're worth wholeheartedly accepting.* The fairly early statement of the IDIC concept would have been one that jumped out at me when (like all the other viewers in the mid-to-late 60s) I was watching Trek for the first time.

But something else that would always have been in the background for me was a very early engagement with, and enthusiasm about, the relatively hard-SF concept of More Alien-Than-Usual Aliens. This would've come from reading authors who espoused it: Heinlein sometimes, Ted Sturgeon sometimes, but also E. E. "Doc" Smith and William Tenn and Cordwainer Smith... and also, very especially, Hal Clement, who's too little-known these days and did some of the best aliens ever. Add all of these (especially Doc Smith's Lensman series) to a longtime fondness for the Green Lantern Corps, and you wind up with the general let's-get-out-there-and-have-a-good-time-with-our-extremely-alien-cousins approach of the Young Wizards series.

So when they and the Middle Kingdoms crowd (with alien species holding positions of prominence in both series) got me in the door at the print end of Star Trek, the tendencies I'd already been exploiting on my own turf more or less inevitably came with me. As far as I was concerned, the more aliens (or non-usual Earth-based species), the more fun I was going to have. And when it came to the IDIC thing, I didn't think Gene had mumbled. The more diversity, the better.

(No one complained about the unusual aliens, either. The nice thing about Trek-novel writing is the low special effects cost... since your readers do it all in their heads. Original Trek was always running into the "We can't afford that" thing, alas. Not a problem for me, though.)

Anyway: Trek is absolutely, from the ground up, a place where all possible diversity belongs. You could make a case that the Trek series that have least featured this aspect of that universe have in turn been the least effective ones. ...But I'll leave it to other people to argue that out. Myself, I managed to work a sentient-mathematical-concept-Green Lantern into a GL script one time. It'd be fun to do that (and figure out how to make it visual!) in Trek. ...Later for that.

Meanwhile: it's my pleasure to have been of service. Thanks for letting me know. :)

*See also the old idiom about "taking the King's shilling". If you're going to accept it, don't waste everybody's time on half-measures. Go transgalactic or go home. :)

[walkingstackofbooks]

IPS/BIL AU where Tain dies before he can send the message. Garak and Worf never go to the gamma quadrant. Julian and Martok don't get rescued.

Back on DS9 the changeling is stopped pretty much just as it was in canon, with Kira and Dax managing to stop the Yukon from reaching the sun, just as it explodes. (Maybe since Garak is still on the station, he notifies Sisko that Bashir has taken the Yukon out?) This time, however, no-one knows it was a changeling, and among all the shock and grief, there's tense speculation about what the hell Julian was doing out there in a runabout with a bomb.

The changeling had planned to never be identified, believing it would sow more confusion and fear in the Federation if they believe one of their own had been secretly allied with the Dominion. And so the changeling had left behind a trail of "Julian" interacting with highly questionable locked-down message-boards such as "Would enhanced individuals be better off under the Dominion?", which would never have been tracked back to him apart from under such scrutiny he's now post-humously receiving. (The changeling knew about Julian's enhancements - to become something is to understand that thing, after all.)

Of course, it is considered whether Julian may have been impersonated by a changeling, but once the link to his enhancements has been revealed - and his parents can't hide it, they confess, and are sentenced to time in a penal colony - it seems very much decided that Doctor Bashir had become an augment extremist, biding his time on DS9 until he could play out his part in the Dominion plot. There's varying levels of acceptance of this among Julian's friends - even if it seems that they have to admit it, it's still almost impossible to believe that Julian could have tried to do that. But it doesn't really matter what they think - life has to go on, and the war's continuing whether they like it or not, and little by little they move on with their now-Julian-less lives.

Time passes. they get a new CMO. The Cardassians re-occupy the station, and Sisko leads the campaign to get it back. Worf and Jadzia get married. Garak gets a message.

A.L.I.V.E. J.S.B.

And no-one knows what to think. JSB can't be... can it? But how...

Garak argues that Doctor Bashir's death is so well-known that no-one would use his name as the basis for some sort of trap. Miles agrees. Everyone else wants to agree. (For a certain definition of 'want'. Julian being alive, not a traitor... that also means he's been doing somewhere in the past ten months, and it's difficult to think about what sort of awful place that might have been.)

Garak and Worf are sent out to chase this signal - in theory, it's recon, but naturally it quickly devolves. They get captured themsleves, finding Camp 371 and Julian, looking ten months worse for wear. Garak learns about Tain's death, and the subspace transmitter he'd began working on and that they'd only just been able to finish, having managed to recruit a recently-abducted Starfleet engineer. An engineer who's currently in solitary, leaving them with a plan to escape now there's a runabout in orbit, but no way to effect it. Unless there's something Garak can do...

And Worf, of course, meets Martok, and is impressed by the Klingon's tale of daily fights for nearly three years. "Almost every day," Martok corrects him. "There have been times when I've woken up with a sore head to find that the doctor has taken my place."

Worf looks to Julian, nodding. "So you are the man we remember," he says. "Your enhancements may have helped you fight, but it was an honourable thing to volunteer."

"My... my enhancements?" asks Julian faintly. "What- what do you mean?"

"Commander, is now really the time—" Garak tries to interrupt but Julian speaks over him.

"No, Garak, I want to know— I-I need to know. What do you mean, Worf?"

And Worf, in his short, succinct way tells Julian how they had believed he had died, and what they had discovered thereafter, and while they know now that he is not an augment extremist, his parents' confession made it clear that he is an augment.

Julian doesn't say very much after that, apart from what is needed to help with the rescue - he calms Garak down, he volunteers to try and figure out what needs doing in the crawl space ("I've learnt at least a few things from tinkering with it over those seven months...") - but otherwise, he's withdrawn and spacey. Garak perserveres - he must get Julian back to DS9, has to hope there's still time to rekindle that light in his doctor's eyes - and manages to get them out, and even locking onto the engineer's life sign in solitary. They make it to the runabout, and escape.

It's a very different sort of homecoming. This time, rather than having only a few hours to get used to the idea that Julian had been missing for a month, they've been mourning him for almost a year, angry and confused and left with so many questions. And they've had almost a week of wondering what's become of Worf and Garak, and to tie themselves in circles wondering if J.S.B really could be Julian Subatoi Bashir.

Garak gets them all beamed directly to sickbay, and it's obvious that Julian's overwhelmed enough by that without having hordes of emotional friends come to greet him. So they're allowed in, one at a time. Miles petitions to be first, and wraps Julian up in what would have been the firmest of hugs - apart from Julian's so gaunt, so... so fragile, that Miles finds he dares not squeeze too hard. Words gush out - ones that he'd never have thought he'd admit out loud - about how much he missed Julian and how glad he is none of what they said was true, and it takes him some time to realise that he's been blabbering on and Julian's not been saying a word.

Julian has been clinging onto him tightly, though, and that... that's got to be enough, for now.

[ddejavvu]

hiiii! i was wondering if maybe you could do spencer reid meeting readers dad and he's scared asf bc the dad is huge, scary-looking, and super intimidating but then the dad ends up being a total nerd just like reid? thank you, have a good day!

my dad is a nerd this spoke to me <3

--

It doesn't matter how much time Spencer spends around Morgan; he's still uneasy around people whose arms are thicker than his head. Meeting your dad goes just about as well as you'd thought it would, with a stutter and a stammer here and there from Spencer, and some very red cheeks.

"It's lovely to meet- meet you, sir." Spencer manages to clear his throat enough to say the words, and the stoic nod your dad sends back doesn't calm his nerves.

"Spencer," Your dad recites his name from the stories you'd told him, firmly shaking his hand that you're relieved Spencer offered, "Y/N speaks very highly of you."

"I do," You gush, rushing forwards to loop your arm around Spencer's and lead him into the house before his knees buckle from anxiety, "Come on, Spence, my mom's in the backyard waiting for us."

Spencer's keen eyes pick up on the little grey tablet displayed on the edge of your dad's desk as you pass his home office, and when you pass through the kitchen, he ducks his head to whisper against your ear.

"Is that a PADD? Like- from Star Trek?"

"Oh!" You brighten, having forgotten the love both your dad and your boyfriend share for the franchise, "Yeah! Dad," You call, where he's locking the door behind you, "Spencer likes your Trekkie stuff."

It successfully breaks through your father's rather intimidating exterior, and his unapproachable expression brightens into a kind smile.

"Son, I didn't know you liked Star Trek," The man beams, and you feel the way Spencer's tense muscles loosen at your dad's jovial tone, "That should have been the first thing Y/N told me about you."

"Pardon me," You groan teasingly, "I wanted you to know his name first."

"Not important," Your dad cracks, stopping by the door to his office and beckoning Spencer forwards, "Y/N, go get your mom and tell her Spencer's here. I don't often get the chance to show off my memorabilia, I'm not gonna waste it now."

"Oh, dad," You groan, but Spencer's all-too-enticed by the promise of a replica of Commander La Forge's VISOR, and follows the man without a second thought.

"Mom," You call, stepping through the back door and finding her kneeling beside a bed of tulips, "Spencer's here, but I don't think you'll see him for the next ten years."

Her brows furrow, and you supply, "He's in dad's office. He asked about the PADD."

"Oh, that man," She groans, rising to her feet and brushing dirt off of her gardening gloves, "Honey, go in there, save him!"

"It's okay," You laugh, smearing away a speck of dirt that's stuck to her arm, "He likes it, mom. He's a big fan."

"You be careful," She instructs, brow furrowed as she takes your hand, "If those two start watching the shows together, your dad is going to see him more than you do."

"I won't lose him!" You promise with a giggle, leading her inside, "But we should stop Dad before he tries showing Spencer his Starfleet uniforms; I want to have lunch before it gets dark."

[therealsubobscura]

so Julian's a hardcore federation idealist. despite having been actively discriminated against and oppressed as an augment. do you think there are any circumstances under which Julian would choose not just to resign from starfleet in protest, but actively defect? I started working on a story in my head last night about that scenario, but I just don't know if there's any amount of abuse that could make Julian give up on what the federation could ideally be. he and Garak are patriotic mirrors of each other.

[captainsophiestark]

Irregular Heartbeat

Bones McCoy x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober, and for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Star Trek

Day Eighteen Prompt: "You always have a plan."

Summary: Bones's SO has a Valentine's Day surprise planned for him that's fit for the CMO of the Enterprise.

Word Count: 1,295

Category: Fluff, Humor

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Jim!"

My best friend, Jim Kirk, whirled around at the sound of my voice, one eyebrow raised. He was incredibly used to me and my shenanigans, so he didn't even look phased as I charged towards him while he waited for the machine to fill his cup with caf.

"I need you to distract Bones for, like, half an hour. Preferably today. And within the next hour," I said, only slightly breathless as I reached him.

"So... you want me to go distract Bones as soon as I get my caf?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Jim grinned at me. "You know I'm in. But care to tell me why?"

"I've got a Valentine's Day suprirse I want to put together for him. It's the first time we've been a couple for the holiday, and I want to do something special."

"And I take it you already have a plan?" I gave Jim a withering look and he just laughed. "Of course. You always have a plan."

"Damn right I do. Now come on, take that caf to go and get out of here. I've got things to do today."

"Alright, alright, I'm going. But next time you pull me away from a rare break to help you with something, it better be for a prank. Not a date."

I grinned. "I think I can commit to that deal."

Jim smirked back at me, then raised his cup of caf in mock salute as he strode out of the cafeteria, off to distract Bones. I paused, letting him get a little bit ahead of me so there was no chance of running into him or my boyfriend on their way out of medical, then quickly made my way through the familiar hallways of the Enterprise.

Luckily for me, when I made it to sickbay (after one brief stop in my quarters), it was almost completely empty. Jim must've been doing as I'd asked in getting Bones out of here, and now, I had exactly the window I needed to pull off my Valentine's Day surprise.

I made my way to one of the heart rate monitors and popped open the back panel, then got to work breaking it the way I wanted to break it. Althought Starfleet Engineering hadn't covered exactly this kind of change to equipment on a starship, it had been a thorough enough course that I had the skills regardless.

Once I finished, I tested my handiwork, then grinned and made everything look like it had before I'd showed up. Finally, I snuck the bouquet of fresh roses I'd managed to secure on our last shore leave out of my bag, tucking them behind the pillows of the bed. I paused to take one last look at my setup, then took off out of sickbay with a grin. Not a moment later, I heard Jim's voice echoing loudly down the corridor, clearly trying to give me a heads up about his return with Bones.

I hid around the corner while Bones and Jim said their goodbyes, then waited for Jim's footsteps to fade in the opposite direction before turning the corner and reentering sickbay.

"Hey," I said, a small smile on my face as I found Bones just outside his office. "Happy Valentine's Day."

He'd had a slight frown on his face when he'd first turned around, but it dissolved the moment he saw me.

"Hey yourself. Happy Valentine's Day." He took a few steps closer to me, a faint smile growing on his face as he approached. "What brings you in? I wasn't expecting to get to see you until tonight."

"Actually... I'm feeling a little rough. I was hoping you could check me out."

Bones narrowed his eyes. "...Is this a bad pickup line?"

"What? No!"

He held up his hands in surrender, then gently stepped forward and took my elbow.

"Alright. Valentine's Day and all, I had to check. Let's get you on a bed."

"And you're talking to me about bad pickup lines?"

Bones snorted, and I grinned. I didn't wait for him to direct me to a bed, and instead I headed straight for the one I'd just finished modifying. Bones didn't even bat an eye at my decision, instead following me over and carefully getting me hooked up to the various monitoring machines.

"Do you want to tell me about your symptoms?" he asked as he worked. I sighed.

"I don't know, I just haven't been feeling well. A little lighthearted, a little fluttering in my chest."

I expected Bones to make another bad pickup line comment, but clearly, he'd switched into doctor mode. He just hummed as he continued to work.

"And what's been your food and water to caffeine ratio so far today?"

I grunted. "Food, water, and no caffeine so far, thank you very much."

Bones just gave me a look, which I couldn't really argue. Too much caffeine and not enough other, better fuel had been the cause of me not feeling good before, and we both knew it.

"Well, let's see what we can see here, hm?"

I barely managed to fight back a giddy smile as Bones turned to look at the monitor read out, including the heart rate monitor. What he found, instead of the normally reading beeping line, was the green line tracing the shape of a (non-anatomical) heart. I snuck my hand behind my pillow to retrieve the roses while Bones blinked at the display in shock.

"My god... what is..." He glanced from the monitor to me, then got halfway through turning back to the monitor before stopping to stay on me and my roses. His wide eyes and slightly-open mouth were instantly replaced with a squint and a frown. "What did you do to this monitor?"

"I made it cute for Valentine's Day!" I replied. I held out the roses to him, but before I could get through another word, he'd crossed his arms and fixed me with a glare.

"I thought something was seriously wrong, either with you or with my highly-sophisticated medical equipment, which is essential to the health and safety of this crew. What if we'd had an emergency situaiton before you could fix this, or even tell me about it?"

I sighed.

"I hear you, baby, but come on. I made sure the odds of that were crazy low, it's one monitor, and I made the whole thing easy to fix."

"Easy enough that a non-engineer who didn't know the machine had been tampered with could fix it?"

"Yes."

Bones raised an eyebrow, so I sighed, and used my free hand to give the machine a nice hard whack. Theoretically, the same one a stressed and confused medical professional would give it in the heat of the moment.

It beeped, then the readout changed back to the normal, boring heart monitor readout. I turned back to Bones with a look.

He sighed. "Fine. But you still scared me when I saw that coming up as a readout of your heart beat."

"Just take the roses and get M'benga to cover the end of your shift. This is just the first Valentine's surprise of the day."

Despite himself, a smile clawed its way onto my boyfriend's face. I grinned back at him. I knew he couldn't hold out here much longer.

"Alright, fine," he said, taking the roses out of my hand and leaning in to give me a kiss. I leaned up and into it, bringing one hand up to rest at the nape of his neck. After a long, sweet moment, he pulled back. "I'm all yours until dinner tonight."

"What happens at dinner tonight?"

"Then it's my turn to take over with the Valentine's planning. I put together a nice dinner for the both of us, and as a bonus, it won't give either of us a heart attack."

I laughed and leaned up to kiss him again.

"Sounds perfect to me."

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21

[gallavichsreddie1128]

The Protective and The Oblivious (Q)

Description: Q likes Y/N but she is oblivious until he is over protective of her.

Word Count:828

Request: How about a continuation of your overprotective fics? Q comes across the reader for the first time and finds her intriguing. After some time he continues to grow attached while she remains oblivious. Maybe he sees her getting harassed by a male crewmember and he goes feral. Thank you!!

Y/N watched from her spot on the bridge as Q teased Picard. She wasn’t sure what he was doing here but he sure loved to tease the captain. He loved to tease everyone, except for her. Picard found it strange as did she. She wasn’t sure why the god never was mean to her. Riker, on the other hand, always smirked when it got brought up.

It was like he knew something she did not. She didn’t understand what made her so different from the others. “And hello to my favorite human.” Q flirted as he walked up the ramp to her. She smiled at him and he got really close to her. “Back off Q.” Picard said to him but the god didn’t listen. “My my my it has been awhile since I have seen you.” He says and she thinks back to the last time.

It has been awhile. “Q.” Picard growled. Q looked at the captain, “Now Picard you cannot expect me not to get friendly when I will be staying on this ship for a week.” A week? She thought. She giggled at the thought of him messing with the captain for a whole week.

He looked down at her in surprise. She giggled. “Something making you giggle, cupcake?” He asked her and her face went red. Riker smirked at the interaction but Picard was more than pissed. He was not ready for a week with the god. 

Q didn’t care for privacy at all. Especially with the captain and Y/N. While Picard would yell and scream at him, Y/N would giggle and explain what she was doing. The look in Q’s eyes as he watched the woman talk about the new book she was reading was of pure lust and love.

Though she had no idea that he was looking at her like that. He had to admit, her obliviousness was cute but it was also kind of annoying. He was trying so hard to make it obvious that he was into her but she never caught on. “You are the most adorable human I’ve ever come across.” He said and that still flew over her head as flirting.

He wished that she would just see that he was hopelessly in love with her. “Q, I am sleepy.” She told him as she yawned. He snapped his fingers and she in a pair of fluffy PJ’s. She gasped and looked down. “Q these are so cute.” She gushed and rubbed her arms and legs feeling the fabric.

He smiled at that and watched at how amused she was. “Do you need a big fluffy blanket?” He asked and she nodded. He didn’t make a blanket appear like she thought he would. He got on the bed and laid beside her before opening his arms to her. She had a confused look but just shrugged and laid in his arms. It was better than a big fluffy blanket. 

The next morning when she woke Q was not there. She felt herself fill up with disappointment but then she smiled as she thought of where he could be and who he could be annoying. She looked at the time and decided to get ready for her shift. On the bridge she was training a new ensign that arrived on the ship 3 days ago.

He was very tall but short with words. He didn’t say much and seemed to be bored and not interested in anything she had to say. It got to the point where during the shift she had made a small mistake and the ensign blew up on her. Her eyes widened as the guy yelled at her and called her stupid.

Before anyone could say anything Q appeared and he looked angry. Y/N watched as he got in the ensign’s face and threatened him. “Yell at her again your tongue will be ripped away and you will no longer use words.” He growled. The ensign looked scared as he backed away from Q but Q followed. Y/N watched as Q made the guy cry but she didn’t feel bad. The guy was very rude and obviously not for starfleet.

She watched as he ran off the bridge. Q turned around and looked at the girl he was so fond of. She didn’t have the look of fear in her eyes but the look of gratefulness? “Thank you, but you did not have to do that.” She said to him. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I will always protect you.” He said softly and she stared up at him with shock.

Did Q have feelings for her? “Yes and I have for a while now.” She looked at him as he answered the question she thought. “Thank you for finally noticing.” Before she could answer his lips were on hers and she was thankfully that he had been over protective of her and she caught on.

[scootingaround12]

So I’ve been on kinda a Star Trek lower decks kick lately and one idea I’ve come across that won’t leave me alone is that Brad Boimlers is an augmented human.

Like maybe one or more of his parents had health issues/problems that they really didn’t want passed down to their child/ would make it so that child wouldn’t survive to adulthood.

But they were still desperate for a biological child of their own so ended up going to some shady doctor/scientist who said that they would rewrite the baby’s genetic code enough so that it wouldn’t have the health issues but still be there’s genetically.

In order to do this they basically had to create DNA that self replicated and healed as the baby lived so that none of the health conditions would kill him. It was partly successful, while Brad is very frail and displays a lot of the health issues and allergies of his parent/s he’s still able to mostly be healthy.

An unforeseen side effect of this was purple hair and that when enough adrenaline is pumping and the body feels like it has to go into survival mode the self healing DNA kicks into overdrive and he’s somehow able to survive experiences that would kill most others.

Seriously he’s come back from death/near death like 3 times and off the top of my head survived falling off a mountain with a local stating he’s the first she’s seen live afterwards in a current episode.

Also this is absolutely me looking way to deeply into a joke but I’m on a roll so hear we go: Mariner makes a comment that no Brad isn’t aging in reverse he just doesn’t get enough vitamins, what if due to his DNA constantly having to repair itself it basically leaches important vitamins and minerals from his body resulting in Brad being underweight and scrawny he also has problem digesting certain foods so has a hard time getting nutrients from that. He definitely should be on some kind of medical grade supplements but he’s delt with it his entire life and to him it’s normal (his parents were not risking taking him to a doctor more than they had to in fear they might find something out).

The whole but about him dying his hair could be him being paranoid about Starfleet listening to logs and him trying to cover his tracks if his hairs ever brought up. Also another person mentioned his admiration of Una to me and watching the episode it honestly felt deliberate with how clearly he hero worships her along with mentioning how he joined star fleet because of her, Una who’s Illyrian species known for it’s genetic modifications.

I’m thinking that Brad is a genetically modified human and starfleet as a strict no augmented humans allowed rule due to past experiences and worries they have about their unstable DNA.

Brad however has always dreamed of being in starfleet so despite the risks joins claiming to be just a regular human who some less than great genetics.

Honestly I think it could also be a really interesting way to show the not so nice and downright prejudice aspects of starfleet as a whole.

Especially if Brad is ever found out, since not only would he be kicked out he’d most likely be arrested for lying to starfleet about being an augmented human.

Starfleet is in no way prepared for the fury that is mariner, Tendi and Rutherford along with the entire cerritos crew coming for them.

[fatalism-and-villainy]

I genuinely love Mirror Sisko so much. I think he reflects and refracts our Sisko in so many compelling ways, and feels to true to how Sisko actually could have developed if he’d been born under very different circumstances. (Part of it is the script, and part of it is Avery Brooks’ marvelous performance.)

The Sisko we’re presented with in the mirror universe is wilder and angrier and more cynical, boisterous and fun-loving in a palpably threatening way, where you sense that he could spontaneously break out into violence at any time. And he projects a decidedly predatory vibe every time he interacts with our Kira. It feels deeply off, and yet also strangely reminiscent of Sisko Prime’s darker side. Because even though Sisko as presented in the show is a much more decent man, and much more committed to higher ideals and moral rectitude, he also had a wild side when he was younger, and his anger can be quite threatening when he’s pushed or under duress. (This manifests more often in later seasons, but even early on, there’s the scene in Past Prologue where he tells Kira, “Go over my head again, and I’ll have yours on a platter.” He has a real way of smiling like he’s baring his teeth that Mirror Sisko dials up to eleven.)

Mirror Sisko is representative of who Sisko would have been without the Federation, without the utopian society to nurture his most heroic and humanistic traits and without a structure of higher ideals to build his identity around. He has many of the same personality traits, but his jagged edges are more pronounced, and it’s clear his aggressiveness is a protective wall he’s built around himself. His interactions with the Intendant really illustrate how traumatized he truly is - when she comms him in Quark’s bar, he shuts down for a second before snapping out of it and sharing a lascivious chuckle with his crew about his going to see her, and then in her quarters, he has the line about how he “never had any [feelings] to hurt”. He’s cultivated a “fuck you, I got mine” mindset, and takes pleasure in intimidating O’Brien as a way of indulging in what limited power he has, because he knows - as Kira points out - that he’s still a victim.

(There’s something very poignant as well in how How Far Beyond the Stars links Sisko’s Black identity to the value of the Federation - it’s his trip back to a racist past that reminds him of what he’s fighting to protect against the Dominion. Meanwhile, with Mirror Sisko, in a world without the Federation, we have the imagery of a Black man from a enslaved people whose very conditional freedom and privileges are tied up in his ability to sexually service a white woman.)

But his fundamental heroism still comes through, and it’s explicitly through his concern for the wellbeing of his crew. When Kira challenges him as to why he hasn’t fought more for freedom for the Terrans, he says:

You’re looking in the wrong place for a hero, ma’am. I’ve made the best of a bad life for my crew. That’s my contribution.

I love this line so much, because while Sisko Prime is very devoted to the broader ideals of Starfleet and the Federation, and very invested in the symbolism of “the uniform”, he’s also very devoted to the people under his command, and willing to bend the rules or look the other way to protect them. It shows up in all kinds of ways, like him finding a loophole to shield Kira from getting in trouble for disobeying orders in Progress, or him fighting for Worf in Rules of Engagement despite disagreeing with his judgment call. So it seems completely fitting that for Mirror Sisko, who never had that ideological structure to nurture him and shape his worldview, his heroism - his “contribution” to the good of the Terrans - is entirely centered on protecting his crew, and his world has basically shrunk to his ship and its command structure. And there’s something so perfect about the fact that it’s Kira who makes him see that he can be more.

Of all the Mirror Universe characters, he feels to me like the most thorough use of the conceit to shed light on the character we already know.

[ectogeo-art]

For the ask game: Julian jealous of imagined siskarak

Ooooh this one has been fun for me to write. It’s set during the s6 Defiant arc, and it’s all just misunderstandings and miscommunications and Garak and Bashir being in different headspace’s due to the anxieties of wartime. Garak and Bashir are roommates on the Defiant, getting closer to each other than ever, and then that abruptly ends bc they are needed in different places (Julian is on the Defiant and Garak is on the Starbase along with Sisko, so they can still see each other but it’s sporadic). It’s all Julian POV and he is trying to figure out how to start a relationship with Garak even though it would functionally be long-distance for awhile, but he and Garak both won’t state anything plainly so he just gets super jealous that Sisko gets to hang out with him all the time now. His frayed nerves make him paranoid and he knows he’s being irrationally jealous but like he has had no reassurance from Garak that they’ll get together and he just wants some sign from him.

And meanwhile Garak is not really thinking about romance at all. He is too busy working for Starfleet and cracking codes and having lowkey breakdowns about being a traitor to Cardassia (kinda like in Afterimage but more like in Favor the Bold). He kind of has put his usual pining for Julian on hold both because he is reckoning with his role in this war and because he is pretty sure at this point that he has Julian on lock. Like, he thinks they are on the same page about wanting to date each other when they get the chance, so he can afford to think about other more pressing matters like how to defeat the Dominion without getting too many of his fellow Cardassians killed in the process of stopping them, and such.

It all works out in the end though. 💕 The draft is about 3k words, I just have to write the getting together conversation and then edit the whole fic for like cohesion lol, so it may take me anywhere between 1 month and 3 years to finish it. 😂

(Link to my WIP ask game post.)

Snippet below the cut.

He waited a few more days before calling Garak, not wanting to seem desperate.

He’d rehearsed it all in his head. “Hey, Garak,” he’d say casually, “my roommate is working a double shift so I have a bit of privacy if you want to…”

Here, he would give him a look and trail off pointedly and strategically, and then let Garak fill in the blanks however he wanted. If Garak just wanted to talk, they could talk. Debate their latest read with passionate banter like they were across the table in the Replimat instead of star systems apart.

On the other hand, if Garak wanted to finally do something more, something fueled by all their flirtation over the years and all the recent much more heightened tension from sharing a living space… Well, Julian was prepared for that too—he wore only his uniform jacket, and the rest of him was covered only by a blanket.

The sheets slid across his bare skin as he squirmed to be slightly more upright.

The video call connected.

“—have clearance for—” Sisko cut himself off, straightened up, and blinked in surprise. “Dr. Bashir,” he greeted.

Sisko was standing behind a seated Garak and had been leaning over his shoulder, presumably in order to type something on the console that Julian’s call had gone to.

“Captain, I was, er, hoping to speak to Garak.”

“By all means.”

“Privately…”

He didn’t want to spell it out, both because it would have been embarrassingly unprofessional of him and because he was only half sure that he and Garak were on the same page about what kind of call this might turn out to be.

Garak made questioning eye contact with Sisko, who thought for a moment and then shook his head slightly.

Garak turned back to Julian on the screen. “I’m afraid now is not a good time,” he said with a sigh.

“I need to borrow him for the night,” Sisko said gravely. “It unfortunately can’t wait.”

An unfair jealousy coiled around Julian’s stomach and squeezed. The two of them shared secrets that he wasn’t allowed to know. The two of them needed to work long into the night with each other and could communicate with just a glance. He knew the importance of informational security in wartime, but Sisko and Garak hadn’t even given him the vague shape of whatever they were working on together.

“Of course,” he said stiffly. “I understand.”

After some brief goodbyes, Garak was the one who finally reached forward to end the call when Julian, frozen in place, made no move to.

[v-o-i-d-e-d]

I've been binging romcoms with my younger sister and we just finished "To all the boys I have loved before" and now I can't get the idea out of my head: reader writing letters for different starfleet members without intending to send them and suddenly the letters are gone and being sent to their unintended targets (lol, probably Jim did it not knowing that they were not supposed to be read or something). Problem is: our favorite vulcan will too be receiving quite a love letter. Idk, I just thought it was cute, you can ignore if it's too silly ^\\\^

This was such a cute request and I love rom-com-type situations so I ran wild. Also, I'm sorry that this took so long for me to get out I have been busy with school and other annoying responsibilities! I hope you enjoy it!

Title: Message in a Bottle

Pairing: Spock x Kirk!reader

Warnings- none!

Word Count: 4047 my hand slipped

            Lieutenant (Y/N) Kirk had been having a totally normal day. She completed her duties on the bridge as normal and had just finished eating dinner with her brother Jim. Now as she headed back to her room, she could not wait to shower, crawl into bed, and enjoy the next few hours of sleep before she had to get up and do everything again. When she entered her room the automated door hissed closed and she was finally completely alone. She took a deep breath and turned the lights in the room on. She almost immediately noticed something that completely ruined her peace.

 Earlier that morning, (Y/N) was clearing out her storage closet and had sat a white box full of envelopes on her dining room table so that she would remember to find a new place for them. That box was no longer on the table. Now, one might think why is a missing box of envelopes a big deal? Well, they aren’t. It’s the fact that the envelopes were all properly addressed and full of letters to people she knew that she never intended to send. A few sappy ‘thank you’s to old teachers, a couple to her higher-ups including Captain Christopher Pike – the man who told the Kirk siblings to enroll in Star Fleet Academy. These letters would be slightly embarrassing if they got out but nothing (Y/N) couldn’t handle. After all, everything she wrote in them was true and she appreciates everything those people have done for her. There was only one letter in that whole box that worried (Y/N)—her love letter – a detailed love letter – to one Commander Spock. She cursed herself for writing and keeping a love letter in the first place though she didn’t anticipate the whole box would disappear. She tried to think back to earlier to see if she could remember if she moved it, but when she left her room after lunch it was still on the table and she hadn’t returned since.

            “This can’t be happening. It didn’t just sprout legs and walk away!” She said to herself. (Y/N) ran a hand down her face and thought hard. She paused, “No fucking way.” She exited her room at a jog and progressively got faster as she headed toward her brother’s room. She slid to a stop in front of the white door of the captain's quarters and rapidly slammed her fist against it.

            “James, open the door right now!”

The door slid open revealing a perplexed – and slightly afraid – Jim Kirk. He knew he had done something wrong for her to be angry enough to come to his room calling him by his full name. Of course, he had no idea what he had done but he decided it was best to try to start off ahead.

            “Look, I know you’re upset about-“

            “Did you move the white box on my dining room table when you were in my room earlier?”

            “Wait, what? That’s what you’re mad about?” Jim scrunched his face up and scratched the top of his head. (Y/N)’s eyes widened and she briefly looked around the corridor before shoving Jim back into his room and following him in. The door shut with a hiss and (Y/N) closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. When she opened her eyes Jim was staring at her with a confused expression and his hands crossed over his chest.

            “Please, for the love of god, tell me you didn’t mail those letters,” (Y/N) said as calmly as she possibly could. Silence followed her question and she already knew the answer.

            “Well –“

            “Oh. My. God.”

            “There was a box of addressed envelopes on the table so I thought you needed them mailed!”

            “Jim! Why would you mail someone else's letters? Isn’t that, like, illegal or something?” (Y/N) was absolutely freaking out and, for the life of him, Jim couldn’t understand why.

            “I was trying to be nice! I knew you had a long day today and I wanted to take something off your plate! Excuse me for being a good brother,” Jim rolled his eyes at his sister and threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

            “Well, jackass, a good brother would have asked before just taking a box from his sister’s room and now there is a love letter headed to your second in command!”

A long pause followed her statement. Jim blinked once. Twice. Then a prolonged third blink.

            “What?” Jim had no idea what to say. (Y/N) groaned and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She began to pace in the entryway and ramble about how dumb she was to write it in the first place and how she should have burned the letters when she had the chance. Jim finally shook his head to rouse himself out of his stunned silence.

            “Why the hell would you write a love letter…to Spock? Or to anyone for that matter what is this 1812?” Jim chuckled at his own joke but covered it with a cough when (Y/N) glared at him.

            “I don’t know! I like writing letters and I just started writing one day and it turned into a full blown sappy confession that I had planned to keep hidden till the day I died! Now it’s headed off to the last person in the universe who I wanted to see it.”

            “Well, maybe this isn’t so bad.”

            “I want you to stop talking.”

            “No, I’m serious maybe this is what you two need to stop dancing around the obvious!” Jim gestured vaguely with his hands as (Y/N) ceased her pacing. She sighed and shook her head.

            “Jim, we’ve been over this: Spock does not feel that way about me. And that’s fine!” (Y/N) and her brother had had many conversations about this subject. Always with Jim insisting that the feelings were mutual and (Y/N) denying that Spock would ever even look at her in that way. I’m his best friend’s little sister and his subordinate, she thought, He’s way too professional for that.

            Before Jim could respond, both of their communicators chimed. They were being called back to the bridge for an emergency. They briefly held eye contact before rushing toward the door. As they jogged toward the bridge, (Y/N) continued the conversation.

            “Okay did you just mail them today?”

            “Why are we still talking about this?”

            “Because I want to know how long I have to transfer to another part of the fucking galaxy to avoid embarrassment,” They turned a corner and the lights flickered before flashing red. The ship shuttered and Jim and (Y/N) struggled to regain footing.

            “Is it bad that I’m hoping whatever just happened happened to happen to the mail room?”

            “Yes. And that was way too many uses of the word ‘happened’.”

Six hours and several shots fired later, the trouble was averted. A rogue Klingon battalion had decided to attack the Enterprise while it was stationary and almost destroyed the engines but quick thinking from Jim, (Y/N), Spock, and Sulu had saved the day. (Y/N) was officially beyond exhausted. She was so tired, in fact, that she forgot about the whole letter situation and went straight to bed after the whole debacle was over.

Day 1 of waiting:

She slept blissfully and woke up rested and ready for the day. She had gotten dressed and ready and made her way back to the bridge. Unfortunately, her blissful restfulness was cut short when she laid eyes on a certain Commander and remembered the imminent embarrassment that was bound to ruin her life at some point this week.

            “Good morning, Lieutenant Kirk. You look rested.” Spock greeted her with a nod as he fell in step with her toward the bridge elevator.

            “Uh, yeah, good morning,” (Y/N) managed to only stutter once and she quickly cleared her throat. She shouldn’t be freaking out. They walked together to the bridge all the time. Of course, normally Jim is with them but still, casual meetings with Spock were not entirely out of the ordinary. As they walked, silence filled the space between the two and, to (Y/N), it was suffocating. Something on her face must have given away the fact that something was wrong.

            “Are you feeling alright, Lieutenant?” Spock asked. His face was neutral but he side eyed (Y/N) intensely. Briefly, (Y/N) met his heavy gaze before looking straight ahead.

            “Yup, feeling absolutely terrific!” She couldn’t even believe herself. Spock raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak again but, luckily for (Y/N), he was interrupted.

            “Lieutenant Kirk.” It was Scotty. God bless him! (Y/N) thought.

            “What’s up, Scotty?” Was that the formal way to address him? No. But (Y/N) just wanted to get out of speaking with Spock one-on-one.

            “I need to speak to you. There are some issues with a few of the privates stationed in the engine room and I could use your help to resolve the issue before I throw some people out of the airlock!” His accent was strong with annoyance and (Y/N) couldn’t help but chuckle.

            “Sure thing,” She turned to Spock who had paused beside her, “You go on to the bridge, I’ll be in the engine room if you need me in the meantime.” Without waiting for an answer, (Y/N) hurried toward the engine room leaving Scotty to trail behind.

Day 2 of waiting:

            It was only the second day, and Spock had already caught on to the fact that (Y/N) was avoiding him. (Y/N) knew it was not going to be easy to allude him while also keeping it a secret that she was doing it on purpose, after all – Spock isn’t an idiot and (Y/N) is anything but subtle. Spock and (Y/N) had a routine and of course in an effort to not speak to him (Y/N) had changed it so that she was usually off the bridge when Spock was there and vice versa.

            “Lieutenant Kirk you are needed on the bridge,” Chekov’s thick accent crackled through (Y/N)’s communicator and she sighed. She knew Spock would be there which is why she was currently in the engine room recalibrating the warp drive. It was busy work that she normally wouldn’t do but anything to avoid the impending embarrassment.

            “On my way.”

            When she arrived, Spock immediately shifted his gaze from his work to her. (Y/N) briefly met his gaze before walking toward her brother who was seated in his chair with his legs thrown over the armrest. She rolled her eyes.

            “What do you want, Jim?”

            “That’s no way to address your captain, Lieutenant,” Jim had a smug smile on his face – as usual – and it took everything in (Y/N) not to smack him on the back of his head.

            “Tell me what you want or I’m leaving. I was working, unlike some people,” She scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned into her hip.

            “Okay, I am sending you and Spock on a mission,” Jim’s smirk got wider as he noticed his sister’s eye twitch in annoyance. “The planet we’re coming up on is supposed to be abandoned but there should be evidence of a previous civilization. I figured with your archeological knowledge and Spock’s general smart-assery you two would fit the job perfectly.”

(Y/N) took a deep breath in through her nose as she glared at Jim. She sneaked a glance at Spock.

He was listening in on the conversation – an action he deemed logical since it also pertained to him. His eyes were focused on the screen in front of him but he could see (Y/N) from the corner of his eye. He noticed her normally relaxed state was exchanged for tensed shoulders and a glowering expression. Whatever had been going on yesterday had most certainly carried into today. He thought. (Y/N) Kirk was one of his closest friends just as James Kirk was. Though many things that the younger Kirk did were illogical and not well thought out, she knew how to get the results she wanted and always figured out a way for everyone to be happy or at least safe. Spock enjoyed her company even more than he enjoyed her brother’s. She was smart, kind, and usually quiet if it was just the two of them. She was a challenging chess opponent and someone dear to his heart. Not that he would say that to her.

(Y/N) sighed, “Okay. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. We’ll be in the atmosphere at around 12 o’clock Earth time so you’ve got plenty of time to research and prepare. Why don’t you and Spock take the rest of the day for whatever nerd stuff you need to do,” Jim waved his sister off before getting up and leaving the bridge. (Y/N) glared at his back as he left before begrudgingly walking over to Spock.

“Hey, Spock,” she said. Her eyes were focused on the ground rather than up at the Vulcan who was looking at her intently. (Y/N) took a breath in through her nose before finally lifting her gaze to meet Spock’s, “Let’s go get some lunch and we can talk about the mission.”

Before the Vulcan had the chance to respond, (Y/N) quickly turned on her hell and started walking toward the elevator. Spock easily caught up to her before the doors closed and as the elevator began to descend, Spock spoke up.

“(Y/N), are you feeling ill?” Spock dropped the formalities and asked straight out. (Y/N) lifted an eyebrow and looked at her Commander with a curious gaze.

“No, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” This was a stupid question, (Y/N) realized. Her behavior was at best erratic and clearly intentional so it was only logical for Spock to know something was wrong. She did breathe an internal sigh of relief knowing that Spock hadn’t received the letter, otherwise, she was sure he would have confronted her by now – mutual feelings or not.

“You’ve been acting strange for the last couple of days. I want to be sure that your behavior will not negatively affect your performance on this mission.”

(Y/N) fought the urge to roll her eyes as the elevator doors hissed open. Of course. She thought. He’s only worried about this dumb mission my dumb brother is sending us on to torture me.

“I am also worried about your well-being, Lieutenant.” Spock’s surprising sentiment almost made (Y/N) trip on her own foot. She cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders as they turned the corner of the hallway.

“I promise, I’m okay. Just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Ah, yes, the letter.”

(Y/N) swore her heart stopped right there in the hallway. She hesitantly looked at Spock, trying her best to keep her expression as neutral as his. She didn't know how to respond I could play dumb, she mused, but he’s too smart for that to work. The man knows my handwriting so it would be impossible for me to deny that I wrote it. She took a deep breath through her nose, Fuck it.

“Yeah, actually that is what’s on my mind. And honestly, I had hoped I could just ignore the problem but I should have known that wouldn’t work with you.” (Y/N) rambled.

“Why would this be a problem?” Spock tilted his head slightly and furrowed his eyebrows, something that (Y/N) found impossible endearing.

“It could ruin things! In so many ways!” By now, (Y/N) was pacing the hallway and Spock was more confused than ever. “You’re my superior officer and I just sent a love letter to you! Of course, I wouldn’t be dumb enough to send it that would be my genius brother. But I was dumb enough to leave the box out and allow him into my room! But I mean, who mails other people’s letters without asking? What was he even thinking?”

“(Y/N) –“

“I’m so sorry! I seriously didn’t mean to tell you like this and if I’m honest, I didn’t intend on telling you at all! My feelings were supposed to be kept to myself! Well, to myself and Jim but he’s a nosey bastard who obviously can’t mind his business! I don't know why I tell him anything and honestly, I wish he’d just – “

“(Y/N).” Spock, tired of listening to her pointlessly rambling on about how annoying her brother is – a fact he knew to be true – grabbed her gently by the shoulder to get her to stop pacing. Now that she wasn’t speaking and instead was staring up at him like a kicked puppy waiting to be scolded his mind went blank. Spock was officially at a loss for words. “I was talking about the letter of promotion Admiral Pike sent you. About the head of engineering position.”

She wanted to disappear. Perhaps if she willed it hard enough, she could fade from existence on the spot. For once, it was running her own mouth that got her in trouble instead of her brother’s. (Y/N) tried to read Spock’s expression but couldn’t and that sent even more anxiety straight to her gut.

“Oh.” That was all she managed to say. She quickly regained her wits, “Then just forget everything I said and we can just go back to normal!” She let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a cry and started to walk in the direction of the cafeteria. However, Spock hadn’t let go of her shoulder and as she walked away his grip slipped from her shoulder down to her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“Wait.” That was all he managed to say. His mind was still reeling trying to decipher her quick words. A love letter. He thought. She loves me? He couldn’t believe it. “You love me?”

Despite her distraught state, she had to admit she had never seen Spock looking so dumbfounded, as if what she said was something he had never thought of in any scenario. His hand still held hers firmly and he gently pulled her back towards him. “You love me.” He said again, though this time it seemed as though he was finally understanding the situation.

“Okay, Spock, you’re starting to sound like a broken record, and the record is titled Hurting (Y/N)’s Feelings.” She chuckled only to keep herself from bursting into tears out of sheer embarrassment. This was the moment she was dreading. The absolute end of a friendship and a lifetime of shame. I’ll have to go into exile. Maybe I’ll ask Scotty to throw me out of the airlock. She thought. Just as she was about to speak again, Spock dropped her hand turned on his heel, and headed back in the direction they came from. That was when the damn broke and (Y/N)’s eyes welled up with hot tears. Blinking rapidly, she haphazardly looked around the hallway to make sure no one saw her before jetting away in the direction of her room.

“You left her in the hallway?” Jim was on the verge of shouting. He was absolutely flabbergasted at Spock’s behavior. Spock rolled his eyes.

“I was unsure of what I was supposed to do.”

“So you decided to leave my baby sister in the hallway, by herself, after basically confessing her undying love for you.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Trust me, I am not.” Jim ran a hand through his hair and huffed out an annoyed sigh. He paced back and forth, a habit that Spock noticed the siblings share, before looking back at his second in command. “Okay, you have to go after her.”

Spock knew this. It was obviously the most logical course of action. There was only one problem: “What am I supposed to say to her?”

“Apologize for rudely walking away, first off. Then – and this is just a spitball idea – tell her you feel the same!”

Jim was actually convinced that Spock’s brain had short-circuited. Spock wasn’t firing on all cylinders because if he was, he would understand the logical thing to do. Secretly, Jim was happy this situation happened. He had been trying to the Spock and his sister together for months now but he found the process to be similar to cutting a tree down with a blunt axe.

“Beginning a relationship with Lieutenant Kirk would violate –“

“Not if she accepts the promotion.”

“She’d still be my subordinate!”

“Only in the same way Scotty is our subordinate! He only has to listen to us sometimes.”

“That is not how the ranking system works.”

“Who cares?” Jim was tired of arguing with Spock over something that seemed so obvious. Spock felt the same way. “Listen, if you don’t want to tell her you have feelings for her I can’t make you. What I can tell you is that no matter what you do the sentence needs to start with I’m sorry and end with something nice. Turn off the Vulcan side for a change, not everything you do has to be completely logical. Sometimes we just need to do things that we want.”

It must have been a strange sight. The commanding officer of the USS Enterprise stood stiffly in front of (Y/N)’s quarters. He was still trying to figure out what exact words he needed to say and he had taken to scratching at his cuticles out of nervousness. I should not just be standing here. He thought. Shaking his head and finally lifting his clenched fist, he knocked twice. Panic briefly set into his veins as he realized he was actually going to have to talk to (Y/N). A cold shiver ran up his spine as the door’s airlock hissed open and revealed (Y/N) on the other side. He could tell she had been crying, though the tears seemed to be mostly dry by now. Her red-rimmed eyes lightly glared up at him and she crossed her arms tightly over her body.

“Can I help you?” Her voice was scratchy and her words were punctuated by a sniffle. Spock felt an ache deep in his gut from knowing he had made her feel this way.

“I-“ He paused. Once again he was speechless but he was determined to make this right. “I apologized for the way I behaved. Leaving you there after such an important moment was not the right thing to do and I am sorry for hurting you.” Even as he did his best to keep his tone even he couldn’t help the slight waver in his voice.

“It’s alright, Spock. Honest. I’ll be okay and ready for the mission tomorrow. Like I said we can just go back to normal and forget about it.” She was offering him an out. He knew he could easily just take it and go but part of him, a large part of him refused to give up that easily.

“No.”

“What?”

“I do not wish to return to normal.”

“Oh.” (Y/N) believed this to be the final moment of friendship. He wanted nothing to do with her anymore. “Um, okay. I guess you can just do the mission alone or ask my brother to –“

“You misunderstand. I do not want to return to normal because I reciprocate your feelings of affection.”

Oh. (Y/N) thought. A moment of silence passed between them. Spock watched (Y/N)’s face for any sign of emotion but she seemed frozen. He wouldn’t lie, she thought. Vulcans don’t lie. “You do?” her voice was quieter than she intended, almost a whisper.

Spock took her hand in his larger one. “Of course I do. I believe an adequate way to put it would be you have bewitched me, body and soul.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help the giggle, “So you do listen when I talk about Jane Austin. I thought you found romance novels illogical.”

“Everything about you is illogical, but that is one of the many things I find alluring about you.” They both smiled. (Y/N) had only seen Spock actually smile a few times and each time it was like new life had filled her lungs but this time it was even better knowing that the smile was put there solely for her. And this time, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing that smile even if she tried.

[bulkyphrase]

Avengers in Space - a fic rec list

I love the Avengers and I love outer space, and these are a few of my favorite stories that combine the two.

What do you mean we left Clint on Mars? by sara_holmes (@captn-sara-holmes) (WinterHawk, Teen And Up Audiences, 24,537 words)

Summary: “What do you mean we left Clint on Mars?” Cap’s incredulous voice cuts through the stunned silence of the cockpit, loud and shocked. He’s standing there with his cowl in hand, gaping at the holo-screen at the front of the jet. Next to him, Tony is standing with his hands on his head, mouth hanging open in a similar fashion. Over on the other side of the cockpit is Jane, who has both palms clapped across her mouth like she’s trying to hold back hysterical giggles. For his part, Bucky is just staring at the screen like he can’t quite believe what’s going on.

Straight on till Morning by @sineala (Stony, Explicit, 109,848 words)

Summary: Tony Stark resigned his commission in Starfleet five years ago, after a disastrous away mission, and he swore he'd never go back. He just wants to be left alone to build warp engines in peace. But the universe has more in store for him than that, as he discovers when Admiral Fury comes to him with an offer he could never have expected and cannot possibly refuse: first officer and chief engineer aboard the all-new USS Avenger, a starship of Tony's own design. What's more, the Avenger's captain is Steve Rogers, hero of the Earth-Romulan War. Believed dead for over a century, Steve is miraculously alive... and very, very attractive. But nothing is ever easy for Tony. As he wrestles with his secret desire for his new captain and his not-so-dormant fears, another mission starts to go wrong, and Tony becomes aware that Steve has secrets of his own -- and the truth could change everything. Also available as a podfic read by M_Samro (@msamro)

More below the cut!

A Far Better Thing I Do by @brighteyedjill (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,333 words)

Summary: A mysterious man with no paper trail was involved in a bloody attack on a meeting of Starfleet admirals. James T. Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise have tracked him to the Klingon home wold, Kronos, where they have threatened to unleash the experimental torpedoes Admiral Marcus sent with them unless the man surrenders. That man, Steve Rogers, has other ideas.

Into That Good Night by Nonymos (Stucky, Explicit, 73,540 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers has lived for entirely too long—long enough to see the world's end. The heroes are gone, and the Earth is pushing what's left of mankind towards the exit. But when a makeshift team rises from the ashes, when a mysterious presence all but drags Steve there, he begins to think there may be hope yet. As they shoot for the stars one last time, Steve will get proof yet again that the future is nothing if not an echo of the past.

Wandering Stars by @sabrecmc (Stony, Explicit, 24,470 words)

Summary: Alien Steve/Astronaut Tony (oviposition)

Cold Space, Warm Welcome by Annie D (@no-gorms) (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 15,572 words)

Summary: Tony’s spent a couple of years flying around the galaxy in his best friend Rhodey’s spaceship the Iron Advance, doing what could perhaps be counted as ‘hero’ work. Among their allies is Steve Rogers, captain of his own crew, with whom Tony has a… potentially friendly relationship. When Steve’s ship is irreparably damaged, Rhodey takes him and his whole crew onto the Iron Advance to recover. Tony’s not at all nervous about this, because so what if this is the first time Steve will see him without the Iron Man armor?

Space Between by NachoDiablo (Samsteve, Teen And Up Audiences, 9,157 words)

Summary: Sam has a quiet life on a newly inhabited planet. He spends his days tending the garden plots and avoiding his past. But right before an impending storm, a fugitive crash lands in his space and upsets his solitude.

The Truth When Captains Meet by Kimra (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 2,303 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers wakes up on an alien’s space ship being carried bridal style by Carol Danvers. As far as first meetings go, it’s memorable.

Brisingr by @ironychan (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 155,649 words)

Summary: When Jane Foster discovers an object on a course for the inner solar system, it looks like a job for the Avengers. But when what looked like a comet turns out to be a refugee ship from another galaxy, it's not clear whose job this is anymore. Tony Stark and the Vision find they have an uncomfortable amount in common with the creatures called the Brisings, while Jane learns that the aliens are being followed by something they thought they'd left behind five million years ago. Set post-AOU, pre-CW.

Liberate Tutemet Ex Inferis (Save yourself from hell) by Terrenis, with art by @kaiwrites (James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, Explicit, 55,989 words)

Summary: In the Year 2060, Stark Aeronautics and Space Administration's prestige project, the “Event Horizon”, was on its maiden voyage with the newly developed Arc Reactor Gravity Drive, only to disappear beyond Neptune’s orbit without a trace. Now, seven years later, a transmission from the eighth planet is received, along with a very disturbing audio record. Tony Stark, who not only wants to redeem his reputation, but also needs to know what happened on the ship, goes on a mission with the enhanced Inhuman ragtag crew of the Singularity to salvage his baby. Little do they know that this is literally going to be a trip to hell… Or that totally unnecessary Event Horizon AU that no one asked for. But I’m going to write it anyway.

Catch a Falling Star by tsukinofaerii (Stony, Explicit, 42,741 words)

Summary: When Tony was sixteen, he got to meet his hero, Captain Steve Rogers, the Empire's not-literally-golden boy from the Continuity Wars. When he was twenty-seven, the aforementioned Captain turned Pirate picked him up at the outer edges of space. It would have been a good time to appreciate the abundant nudity that came from spending too much time with space colonists, but Tony had bigger worries than even Rogers' amazing hip-to-shoulder ratio. Something was sending the star-encircling computers that power the galaxy into a tailspin, and it was going to take a lot more than luck and skill to clean the mess up.

Luminosity by CSHfic, VSfic (Stony, Mature, 60,922 words)

Summary: The Avengers organize a two month mission to investigate an anomaly in space that appears to be engulfing planets, Steve is worried about leaving Tony alone, and Hawkeye is just worried about being left behind. But then something goes wrong. Steve drags himself out of the wreckage of their ship, on a planet that shouldn’t exist, the Avengers are missing, Iron Man is torn to scraps, and Tony has a lot of explaining to do. Or, in which Steve has no clue that Tony is Iron Man, and it takes crash-landing on an alien planet for him to find out.

Gravitational Pull by @antigrav-vector (Stony, Explicit, 29,718 words)

Summary: A strange temple floating in space is discovered, and Steve and Tony are the logical choices to go investigate. What they find is going to make or break their relationship...

Inquiries into Orbital Dynamics (The Mission Controllers' Remix) by Muccamukk (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,591 words)

Summary: When a mysterious object appears in orbit around the Moon, NASA teams up with the Avengers to investigate it. This is NASA's story. Inspired by Gravitational Pull

everybody needs a reason why they run by napricot (Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Explicit, 77,888 words)

Summary: Pepper doesn’t often regret the improbable circumstances and choices that brought her, Tony, and Jim to the SGC and then to Atlantis. After all, being an intergalactic explorer is way cooler than being the right hand woman of Stark Industries’ heir Tony Stark. But when strangers show up during her Gate team’s milk run of a trading mission, she’s got a bad feeling she knows better than to ignore. Which is how Pepper’s Gate team ends up picking up a stray in the form of a metal-armed runner with a mysterious past and learning about a dangerous new sect of Wraith worshippers called Hydrans. But the Atlanteans aren’t the only ones interested in the Hydrans: there are stories spreading throughout the Pegasus Galaxy about the Nomad and the Widows, three maybe-heroes who have set their sights on the Hydrans and the Wraith. Meanwhile, Tony’s trying to figure out if there’s something more to Atlantis’s helpful new hospitality-oriented subroutines, and Master Sergeant Sam Wilson is trying to have just one offworld mission where shit doesn’t get weird.

a war could be our only hope by @aceofwands (Stony, Explicit, 62,817 words)

Summary: Steve emerges in the future, where the Federation is fighting a war against the totalitarian Dominion. Traumatised from his experience with the Borg, Tony already has enough trouble coping without Steve's return bringing up unexpected feelings.

[louthestarspeaker]

it's almost 1am here's my essay about Dal and captainhood <333

I hath promised a Dal essay and I hath delivered… 

I've had this in the drafts for so long, but I just rewatched season two and it really allowed me to solidify a lot of my thoughts.

One of things that really strikes me about Dal's character and his relationship to command is that being in charge is a place of safety for him. He's had to be self-reliant and self-sufficient pretty much his whole life until the Protostar. It's something that was engraved into him since he was small, that the only person Dal could really depend on was himself.

And because he was never around anyone who actually cared about him until the Protostar, that was the right thing to do. This need to be in charge, to be in control really, is a learned survival skill. "I can tell you from experience, people in authority lie."

But in season two, his circumstances have changed (for the better!), and that's not the right thing to do anymore. Ultimately, to me, Dal's season two character arc is about vulnerability and trust. He's been in survival mode for so, so long, and now we watch him learn to heal.

You start with this boy who's spent the grand majority of his life alone or with people who are exploiting him, and the story takes him by the hand and tells him "now that you're safe, now that you have people who care about you, you can't live like that anymore."

All throughout season one he learns trust. Trust in his crew, in Hologram Janeway, in the Federation and in Starfleet as institutions that can and will help him and his newfound family. But as a captain,when he was guiding his crew through active crisis after crisis, trust looked like open doors. It looked like laying out all the variables and problems on a table so they could figure a way out together. 

Trust looks very different on the Voyager-A. It asks him to have faith in what he's not seeing, what he's not being told. He has to believe that they have his best interests at heart, that he's not trusting his family to something that will try to hurt them. 

Captainhood isn't just bossing people around for Dal. It's the responsibility of holding the lives of the people he loves in his hands. He trusts his own hands. He has the best interest of his crew at heart. 

To ask Dal to relinquish control, is to ask him to place the lives of himself and his family into someone else's hands. Which, historically, has not gone great for them. It prods directly at his trauma, asks him to take undo and ignore the survival instincts that kept them alive for so long. Is it any wonder he has trouble with that?

Dal's not going around crawling through Jeffries Tubes because he's a brat or because he thinks he's entitled to know everything. He's a traumatized kid whose self-sufficiency, independence, and ability to make his own decisions were once, for a very long time, the literal line between life and death for him and his crew.

And even if he trusts Starfleet and Janeway in his head on a logical level (which I absolutely believe he does), there's still this instinct that's written into him. It's a process to learn how and when to turn that off, and that's what we see especially throughout the first half of season two. 

This really culminates in the cafeteria scene after they return with the Protostar and Chakotay, when Dal advocates for the Starfleet temporal management guys to figure out a way to get the Protostar back to Tars Lamora. Dal was able to see that his hands weren't the best ones for the job, and trust Gwyn's life to someone else. That's huge for him. He trusts not just a person, but a branch of an institution he's never interacted with before, with one of the people that mean the very most to him. And Dal's able to give up that control, to place himself and his crew in that position of potential vulnerability, because he's finally started to feel it in his bones that he's safe here.

[jim-kirk-headcanons]

Do you have any Jim Kirk hair headcanons? Im not sure why but its been stuck in my head

oooh yes for sure!!!

he'd be a huge fan of getting his head scratched or having someone run their hands through his hair. think like, a big puppy who just wants pats and attention lmao

his hair looks naturally a bit red in the sunlight, even though in reality it's a very light brown with blond highlights.

it's a bit part of him, despite his best efforts to avoid it. some planets give him a lot of attention because of his hair, and he's even just.. Known for it in starfleet. i think it would make him insecure in some way, or that he'd use it as a shield, helping him play the role of "hunky, important captain".

i do feel like he would dye it at some point. it's a personal headcanon that he dyes it red himself, and i have a fic on ao3 about him doing it (with help from Spock) that explores the thought process behind the decision and acts as a general exploration of how queer people use hair dye as an expression of individuality and self-identity.

he was definitely one of those kids who grew their hair out so long that no one could tell whether they were a boy or girl (though most people just assumed nonbinary, since it was the future lmao)

when he's stressed he pulls at his hair or rubs the back of it up sharply

off-duty jim would love little hairclips and headbands!! especially ones with sun and space motifs

his hair smells like mild cologne, and pear soap <3

[very-bad-poetry-captain]

TOS book review McCoy edition – Dreams of the Raven

I joked that one day I’d write a book review based on specific McCoy questions… A McCoy meter if you will. Well, I decided to do it! Not to be taken too seriously except that my love for McCoy (and his suffering) is no joke. Contains some spoilers for the book.

Title: Dreams of the Raven Author: Carmen Carter. Year published: 1987

To summarize the book in two sentences:

McCoy loses his memory in the middle of a mission and thinks he’s in his early twenties again. This is fun for exactly no one. 

Official plot summary:

A merchant ship’s frantic SOS sends the Enterprise speeding to the rescue! But the starship’s mission of mercy soon becomes a desperate struggle for survival against a nightmarish enemy Captain Kirk can neither identify nor understand, an enemy he must defeat without the aid of one of his most trusted officers. For the Leonard McCoy Kirk knew is gone. In his place stands a stranger – a man with no memory of his Starfleet career, his family, his friend or the one thing James T. Kirk needs most of all… his dreams.

This book is for you if you:

would love to study McCoy under a microscope

enjoy exciting mystery plots

have a strong stomach (trigger warning for gore/body horror/autopsy scenes)

The ultimate McCoy questionnaire (below the read-more):

Is McCoy in it? McCoy is the main character and the main problem and somehow also the solution.

Is McCoy in it a lot? So much. But it’s mostly the amnesiac McCoy that no one likes mean. Somehow the “young” McCoy gets it in his head that the “old” McCoy should die for his crimes (that is, being human enough to have made mistakes throughout life) and it’s up to the young McCoy to quit Starfleet and start his life over. I’d say half the book revolves around this plot (to my great amusement).

Does he get to be concerned over whatever angst has befallen Kirk lately? It’s the opposite around – Kirk gets to worry himself sick over McCoy :3 The young McCoy doesn’t even remember who Kirk is. Kirk is extremely upset by this (yay!) and really wants his bestie back. Quote from Kirk (barely controlled rage): “It’s your duty as a doctor, as my ship’s surgeon… […] Somewhere inside of you is a man who would stop at nothing to save a friend’s life, to save any life, no matter what the personal cost. It was that quality that made him the best medical officer in Star Fleet. If you don’t have that same passion for the value of life, you’ll never be half the doctor he was. Or half the man.”

Does he get to have silly little arguments with Spock?                  Yes, of course, Spock can’t resist him. They were literally arguing when McCoy got knocked over and lost his memories. After that everyone is sad and depressed because young McCoy refuses to argue with Spock.

Is he the damsel in distress?                    Well, he’s in a lot of distress, that’s for sure. But he gets some action scenes at the end… More like he’s treating himself like a damsel in distress to the detriment of everyone around him. At least we can assume that Spock carried a bleeding McCoy through the ship to Sickbay, since Spock was with him when he hit his head and Kirk reminisces later over Spock being covered in blood… And everyone is very worried about him.

Does he suffer, preferably a lot? Physical and/or psychological torment                          He suffers a lot initially… Then he makes everyone else suffer for a change. Why would you do this, McCoy? Just hurt everyone you love? I just wish he’d remembered it afterwards so he could suffer from guilt, too. That would have been delicious. The book starts off with shore leave being cancelled, and then a lot of the crew get hurt and several die. McCoy comes out of hours upon hours of surgery with trembling hands and a lot of angst. He does fun things like staring at pictures of dead aliens, reading an e-mail from his ex-wife and getting drunk before dropping into bed. Then, of course, after too little sleep he knocks his head so hard he loses his memories and wakes up in Sickbay (and he truly is the worst patient ever). The young McCoy is tormented by not remembering half of medical school, hearing about all the terrible mistakes the old McCoy has done throughout life, and seeing wrinkles on his face in the mirror. Also he’s pretty useless as an officer and can’t remember having ever done surgery on a living being before. Quote from young McCoy: “Since when does Star Fleet hire doctors with an instinct for self-annihilation? No wonder I became chief medical officer. Promotion due to a high rate of casualties.” <-Words from a man whose colleagues knew he’d volunteer to beam into a dangerous situation. If only he knew how much danger he’d volunteered for in the twenty-five years he’s forgotten…

Does he get to whine and complain and be right about it? Even better is he wrong about it?                        He whines A LOT and he is extremely WRONG about it. It’s a miracle no one grabs him by the collar and shakes him around.

Does he get to throw some of that southern charm around?                         Yeah, on the wrong person. Terrible. And extremely fascinating. The young doctor in charge of getting his memories back is no match for young McCoy’s advances, and honestly, who can blame her? Who needs workplace professionalism when you can get your heart broken by sleeping with your boss while his memories are gone. And poor Spock catches them kissing… I’m pretty sure this is why no one tells McCoy what happened afterwards when his memories return. Too awkward.

Does he get to do some medical malpractice?                         Yes, actually, if you count incapacitating aliens as medical malpractice. But mainly he gets to forget everything he ever learned and get it back just in time to take over from the sucky doctor no one likes to save the day. Heroic. (But why is the second most senior doctor on the ship an asshole no one likes? They should have put Chapel in charge or something… I mean obviously it’s because then everyone gets to commiserate over how McCoy is a much better CMO and boss, but still. I have questions.)

Does Spock call him illogical or similar?                         Spock COMPLIMENTS him. What is the world coming to? Better yet – young McCoy calls Spock “sir” and is super polite to him and Spock hates it. And Spock gets the dubious honor of training an amnesiac McCoy for landing party duty. Literally just drills McCoy on protocol for hours so he won’t die. Quote from young McCoy: “Diana must have been pulling my leg about fighting with Spock. I’d rather wrassle a Bengal tiger than cross that man.”

Is he forcibly put through his arch nemesis the transporter? Or the dress uniform? Quote from young McCoy: “You put human beings in that unholy device?”

Does Kirk call him handsome (joke or not this happens more than you'd think)? Not really :/

Bonus points if his accent is pronounced and his speech is full of befuddling southern expressions which make Spock question McCoy's sanity (and me wondering if I need a dictionary) I think they could have had more fun with young McCoy having an accent. But the book does get bonus points for young McCoy’s last memory being that he was thrown off a horse at a ranch (apparently a great way to relax from medical school is riding half-wild young horses? And this from a man who is afraid of transporters…) and therefore gets to have a I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore… kind of moment.

Criticisms/things I’d change:

Much like in The search for Spock, there’s a serious lack of McCoy/Spock closure at the end of the book. Also, I’d remove the weird romance young McCoy has with the other doctor on the Enterprise that he conveniently forgets about when his memories return. Plus, even though the title literally includes the word dreams there are barely any dreams in the book. They could have spent a little bit more time showing him sweating and moaning from nightmares… alas we were robbed.

Highlights:

The reason McCoy’s memories return (not gonna spoil it). The way Spock and Jim obviously miss him a lot. The mission plot which is really interesting. A very good, slightly insane book! Definitely a recommended read!

Final McCoy meter: 9/10 would read again