#punching that vulcan for chapel

[pinazee]

I think i finally figured out why disco/SNW Spock interpretation irks me. I couldnt figure it out because Peck is a good actor and his character hasnt diverged so much that it should anger my TOS loyalty. Plus im usually pretty open minded about creatives doing their thing.

TOS gave the impression that spock only ever let his guard down with Kirk. He was his best friend minimum. He was the most human, the most emotional because of Kirk. And SNW is nearly retconning their relationship. So you see, its my loyalty to spirk thats getting in the way. I want to preserve his special relationship with jim so im struggling to allow spock to show his humanity with anyone but him.

[seraph5]

"I'm so nervous about how much emotion Spock is showing because that means that something is going to have to close him up tighter than a clam at the end of this series so Kirk can spend the next 10 years shucking him like an emotional oyster" - my review of episode 1 season 2 of Strange New Worlds

[rei-ismyname]

Star Trek/X-Men highlights

Long ago, Marvel had the licence for Star Trek comics. A decision was made to smoosh the X-Men and the TOS Enterprise crew together in a baffling and messy adventure. I couldn't find any better quality scans, but here's the highlights.

The Star Trek crew are going about their business when a giant bootlicker appears before the Enterprise. Gladiator in Trek is like a double dose of space bullshit. He punches the ship, lol.

Turns out the X-Men have appeared on the Enterprise, though it's not explained. It doesn't really matter tbh. Logan Behavior in spaaace!

We learn that they're after Deathbird, who would fit right in on Star Trek. Huge Romulan vibes.

The X-Men are unnoticed for now (bc TOS era security and sensors suck.) Somehow Jean Grey and Spock form a telepathic thingy, despite Vulcans only having touch telepathy. The jig is up!

Gambit is injured, so Storm and Beast try to get him medical help in sickbay. They run into Bones and Nurse Chapel, then Beast and Bones both respond to 'Doctor McCoy.' It's funny because they have the same last name.

Logan, surprisingly, doesn't try to murder Spock. He does attack him though only to get knocked out by a Vulcan nerve pinch. Spock thinks he's fascinating. Logan is lucky he didn't land on Deep Space 9, that's for sure.

After getting the superhero hello out of the way, the two teams meet each other and form a tentative alliance. Deathbird is out there and must be stopped!

Surprise! She's not alone. Somehow Proteus is here and he's possessed Gary 7 (a superhuman secret agent type of dude.) Not sure who those other losers are. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they're banging. Obviously they also have a scheme of some kind too.

Their scheme looks a lot like a superhero fight. Kirk asks Jean if she can reach Proteus' host telepathically. She can and they have a good yarn.

Gary tells them what's up and the two crews solve the problem with extreme prejudice. They really kill the fuck out of Proteus, though not using metal, something he's notoriously weak to. Beam spam ftw. Logan shouts and achieve very little. . After this they say their farewells and the X-Men ask Deathbird to come with them. She's kinda bored now so she says yes. Gladiator just stands around and does what he's told.

I'm very familiar with both franchises and I think it sucks. I can't imagine what someone who's only into one of them would think. Instead of taking the best of each series it takes the worst and crams it into 20 pages. Worth it for the camp and Logan getting knocked out though.

[mai-komagata]

about the "snw can't do vulcans" take

One thing I've seen over and over said in the reactions to the sdcc 2024 clip is that "SNW doesn't know how to write vulcans/has a very bioessentialist take on vulcans".... And that *specifically* Henry Alonso Myers cannot write vulcans (even though we have no idea who wrote the clip episode, afaik, i might have missed it, my bad if so). Which I find completely baffling. Every vulcan in SNW has been wildly different than any other background vulcan we have seen in the entire run of the series. 

(For one, they aren't giving every vulcan a logical bowlcut. Every other series pretty much insists their haircut is mandated by Surak or something -- even the visual language around them is different. Even though both T'pau and T'pring have interesting hair in TOS, as does amanda, who lives the vulcan way. i digress. i just love vulcans displaying personal expression). But yeah, what vulcans do we see in SNW? I'm gonna skip over spock because people have very strong opinions over 60 years about what makes a good spock characterization that has nothing to do with characterizing vulcans in general. First, T'Pring. Huge improvement in what we see in TOS. She isn't coldhearted. She loves spock. She gets annoyed by her mom and has struggles of her own. She is kickass at her job. She can match Spock in getting out of hijinks with logical thinking. She is smart and pragmatic. She wears beautiful clothes and is interested in building a strong relationship, and is willing to engage in human culture. We also have T'pring's mom. She is on the other end of the spectrum. She is very into traditional values even when it will make her angry and illogical. She is into proper appearances and doesn't go in for indulgence. She is a bit cruel, too, not just because of her prejudices to spock, but to her daughter and her husband. Then we have T'Prings dad. What a joy of a character. He is nothing like a stereotypical vulcan. He wants to try new things. He is fascinated by tastes and experiences. In many ways, though, he embodies IDIC and compassion much better. He also has a childish joy to him. We also have a V'tosh Katur prisoner in Spock Amok. He is extremely prejudiced of spock -- showing that dislike of humans isn't a prejudice linked to the teachings of Surak, but something orthogonal to that. He is extremely punchable and gets punched. its great. We have a background character that works with T'pring. She is there for a brief scene, but i loved that they resisted the temptation to put her in a "vulcan haircut" and gave her something distinct. We have Sybok, who is dating a non-binary pirate. I love that for him, great addition to his character.

There is Vice Admiral Pasalk, in Una's trial, which Spock hates from his time working with his dad. He is a stickler for the law, but also a vindictive MF, willing to punish Batel despite her doing her job to the best of her abilities despite her personal reservations. There is a Vulcan judge on the panel, who *is* willing to judge in Una's favor, proving that all vulcans aren't voting/thinking in lockstep when adjudicating law, as well. Finally, there is the Vulcan who rejected Chapel's application and then tries to get her back when he hears she met the Kevorkhians -- this vulcan does have the traditional vulcan hairstyle, lol. He is probably the most stereotypically vulcan of the bunch. But yeah... I'm not sure where people are getting that SNW writes/depicts cookie-cutter biologically race determined vulcans when it has written more different types of vulcans than any series other than Enterprise (and that was over the course of 4 seasons...). and I will note most of these vulcans are in episodes Henry Alonso Myers wrote. (although as one of the showrunners along with Akiva Goldsman, they are involved in all the episodes to some capacity). Maybe because they don't like how it characterizes Spock in particular? But Spock is not all Vulcans. Spock is Spock. And I don't even mean it because spock is half-vulcan. I mean it because Spock is one of the most famous characters in the western canon. Everyone has opinions on spock. That has nothing to do with how the show treats Vulcans as a whole. Not to mention the huge amount of things they have sprinkled in about Vulcan culture from all the shows and things they elaborate on, including lots of references to kalifee, the use of telepathy to show connection between family members, sensory differences in smell, temperature, taste, etc, descriptions of their prison system based on rehabilitation, courtship rituals, etc. There have been more interesting takes on mind melds than i have seen on any star trek show. They repeatedly emphasize that Vulcans have strong emotions and what they need to do to control it. 

Anyway -- this is why I'm not gonna assume the writers of SNW suddenly got amnesia and forgot everything they knew about Vulcans based on a 5 minute clip. (as with everything, i'll caveat, i could be wrong, and its a bad episode --- but just because it is a bad episode it doesn't invalidate everything they did with vulcans so far. have i mentioned i want to adopt tpring's dad?). ------------

Non-vulcan specific opinions i've also seen and don't want to make a separate post of: Couldn't they use surgery instead of this serum?: I don't know! neither do you, because we haven't seen the episode. I wonder if wherever they are going on mission requires a more thorough camouflage. Or maybe it has something to do with the research Chapel has been doing since s1 e1. I'm very intrigued as to what they possibly could be doing with a lirpa on a mission. Ok but why does snw have so many genetic modification plotlines: Because that is a question SNW has chosen to engage in in a sci-fi manner, through characters like La'an, Chapel, and Una. like it is one of the big recurring themes in the story -- is all genetic therapy doomed to eugenic applications? Is genetic therapy desirable? what things will it be used for? Are the answers we considered 60 years ago the same as they are today, with the advent of CRISPR and adult stem cell treatments? That the serum represents what vulcans are "really like": We don't know why they are in communication with the kerkhovians, who have previously been shown to be uncaring and bureaucratically inflexible aliens. Why are we assuming their serum is what "biological vulcans" really are like, when we know they screwed it up with 1. how long it lasts and 2. with whether it would work on a lanthanite. And previously they screwed up in assuming spock would want to be fully human, and that spock being spock was a mistake. (they are explicitly shown as bad/intransigent aliens in Charades. they aren't neutral helpful aliens, they are unreliable narrators in that way). That newbie Vulcans should just be Romulans: Well, no, Romulans *also* have their own culture, just because it is not the teachings of Surak doesn't mean Romulans also don't have their own inflexible codes of honor, duty, etc that *they* have adopted in order to regulate their society, which are more similar than different from Vulcans. Romulans aren't pre-reform Vulcans. I'm not even sure there is such a thing as "one type" of pre-reform Vulcan. We've never seen pre-reform Vulcans. Surak didn't emerge in a vacuum. Lots to explore here, and would love to explore the implications after seeing the episode. Why is racism against spock genetic: maybe their literalness/pedanticness/lack of a filter is something that comes more naturally. Romulans do have a sect built entirely around Radical Candor, and Vulcans famously "do not lie." Maybe overcoming being overly literal when its not charitable is part of the lesson they learn/struggle with. Also, there are plenty of biological reasons one might suddenly lack a filter/not be thinking clearly/acting out of character that could come with the serum. 

There was something else I meant to be doing instead of this. (sleeping, maybe?).... But im just bursting with so much speculation from the clip. My brain has just been spinning with theories. 

[t0ast-ghost]

S3 episode 4 (And The Children Shall Lead) I'll explain what happened to episode 3 under the cut of this post.

Start here:

- The three of them beaming down together is a good start

- Guys they're not dead!… they’re just sleepy

- Kirk is not amused

- As much as I want to believe Kirk would be good with children, it’s proven (canonically) he is not

- “I am getting a feeling of anxiety in this place.” This reminds me of a good omens line. If ya know, ya know.

- I love nurse chapel. The medical department being good with kids is heartwarming

- Is this a Peter Pan situation? (edit: nope)

- So why are the kids chanting and summoning an entity? Let's not have to call the exorcist.

- “Have Dr. McCoy report to my quarters.” Yeah…?

- We get to watch Sulu press buttons and turn dials :)

- Uhura’s double take

- “You’re losing control of yourself, sir.” “Not yet.” Scotty then proceeds to fight two guys and get knocked out

- “The enemy from within!” Previous episode mention

- That’s horrific. The children controlling their parents caused them to die on Triacus. Star Trek can write some pretty fucked up shit actually. But it doesn't deal with the consequences.

- McCoy’s opinion is outnumbered two to one again so he just storms out

- They just beamed those two redshirts out into space…

- “Friendly angel come to me.”

- Kirk and Spock share a look like, ‘what the fuck is going on’

- Spell that makes you see knives in space

- Poor Uhura. No one wants to see their own death, but amazing acting

- “Captain, why are we bothering starfleet?” Spock too? Kirk you gotta go find McCoy, maybe he’ll be talking some sense

- So why haven’t I seen anyone talk about this?

- “My Vulcan friend.” Yep Kirk. Reassert your friendship.

- Spock grabs Kirk’s arm to reassure him

- WOAH! He jumped to killing kids way too fast (worst case scenario stun or hypo them! Jesus)

- Kirk has had to remind himself that it’s not okay to punch a child a few too many times in this episode (I can see it in his eyes)

- He’s playing the video of all the kids playing with their parents on Triacus and they’re smiling but I’m expecting Kirk to just say ‘and now.. your parents are dead.’ - omg they really did just switch suddenly to their DEAD PARENTS. No remorse.

- This episode is fucking devastating

- Bones is going to come back from wherever the fuck he is and just, 'Jim, I specifically told you not to traumatize these kids.'

- The ‘angel’ dying is fucking horrifying

Now everything’s fine and dandy. Not like the entire bridge just went through major mind fuck of an ordeal or anything

Masterpost

Episode written by Edward J. Lakso

So I didn't actually watch episode 3, I watched around 15 minutes and then said, 'I really just don’t want to watch this episode. So I won’t.'

Only thoughts from this episode that I'm gonna mention are:

- The reason that they didn't let Spock point out the pine trees is because he would have said their scientific name

- “Typical human reaction to an idyllic natural setting.” McCoy says this with so little bite towards Spock, like he’s actually having a conversation with him and explaining what it is. AHH

- They could have easily left McCoy on the planet to search for Jim while Spock goes to divert the asteroid. If being alone was the issue they could've beamed down a security officer/team

Other than that... there's nothing. Sorry Margaret Armen.

[starlightervarda]

So, aside from making me grin like an idiot the entire time the musical episode did deliver some gut-punches still

like OOF the second I start being like ‘hey maybe I can ship this’ about Kirk and La’An they drop that bombshell about Carol Marcus like can La’An have a good day for ONCE also Kirk had to keep looking at her Like That™ the entire episode too??? WHORE

Still, am glad we got some Number One/La’An quality time this episode

also Uhura needs one of those curly little lapdogs to follow her everywhere and sleep in her arms, or for one of the crew to become her very invasive best friend. I nominate Ortegas since Chapel is about to bounce and leave a very sad and confused Vulcan in her wake

Hope Pike bakes Spock something with chocolate because boy is going to need it

[neyafromfrance95]

So spapel has absolutely consumed my brain. I can't stop pleading to the snw gods to apply a canon fix-it because the idea of them permanently breaking up and Christine being tragically in love with her emotionally unavailable ex forever is too heartbreaking. Like, I'm already tense waiting to see how it all goes to hell this season (Christine's commitment issues combo with Spock not being able to reconcile acting on love vs. logic is my current guess) but whatever happens, the state of them in TOS with the new context of SNW is purely awful, and I don't want it for either of them!

anon, i understand you completely! i think we all do!

but the thing is, we do not know the future of spapel's relationship post-tos!movies, so there can be hope for them. after all, christine is still madly in love with him in tos and an added context from snw could hint that spock loves her too, he simply surprises his feeling for whatever reason.

besides, i have always thought that we had to fill in a lot of blanks in tos when it came to the characters' personal lives since unlike snw, tos was more plot-based than character-based, imo.

that being said, snw and tos are two different productions. just like there is no way pike is going from looking like anson mount to looking like jeffrey hunter in 5 years, snw!spapel's relationship won't ever grow into exactly what their dynamic was in tos.

snw presents their dynamic as that of the soulmates, not simply the first loves bc i believe spock loves t'pring and surely christine has had loved others in her life too. but to our knowledge, christine is the only one for whom spock decided to feel his vulcan emotions and spock is the only one with whom christine wanted to have a strings-attached relationship.

their relationship has been developed exceptionally well so far. i believe that it will have equally satisfying, but hopefully open-ended conclusion in snw. my only fear for now is that they will rush the breaking up storyline, rather than pushing it for much later.

what is interesting to me, is how often the intensity and the danger of vulcan emotions, the very emotions that spock let loose for christine, are emphasized. so i bet that's done for a reason. spock has already let his feelings for christine get in the way of his duties as the first officer - punching a vulcan man, almost starting a war, endangering his own life during the mission...

and listen, i love all of this as a shipper, but if i lived in the federation, i would be seriously pissed by the fact that my life may depend on a high-ranking starfleet officer who is so compromised.

it would be just so bittersweet, if the reason why spapel broke up is that a love like theirs wasn't compatible with being the starfleet officers, and it would be so much more impactful if christine was the one to act logically by breaking away, and maybe that's why spock is the way he is in tos, bc he hasn't quite forgiven chapel for leaving him.

i just hope i'm not massively setting myself up by having such grand, high-romance expectations.

but well, nothing in canon gets in the way of us imagining that 70 years old spock and christine got reunited and restarted their relationship anyways, haha!

[morns-fevered-dream]

Still binge watching SNW onto the next episode

Season 2 Episode 5

The recap is about Spock romance my least favorite thing from season 1

Oh boy back to the love triangle

Spock with the chef apron on lol

I'd perfer if Spock stayed on these anti emotion medication if I'm honest feels more Spock like

A pre marriage dinner years before a marriage?

I real don't care for this romance it's worse then most star trek romances surprising

Oh this is the human Spock episode I heard about

It is indeed a bad idea Pike

This is weird not in a bad or a good just strange

Poor Sam lol

What did the character of Spock do these writers damn

Was that supposed to be horny Spock? I thought we all agreed that was the worst part of Star Trek 3

Regulation beanie should have been that 70s Spock helmet toy

Spock hair after he pulled off the beanie

"You do not" slay

Like at first the awkward moments were slightly funny but it's a bit much now

I've gotten to the punching and kicking air Spock gif I've seen although I thought it was excitement not angry lol

Oh lord back on the nurse Chapel x Spock I know Trek has always had romance but this show feels like it's often more focused on romance then anything else

We skipped charades and all we got was some stupid "sad" romance scene?! Booooo I wanted Vulcan charades

Awww Spock speaking up for Amanda I'm not huge on Spock showing emotion in this show but I'll make an expectation this time

"I don't think your fellowship is ready for me" so far my favorite Chapel moment in this show tbh

"I want to feel this 😫" I think this is the most horny Star Trek show even over ENT but honestly I thought that in the first season of SNW

Lots of ups and downs in this one

[lonesomedreamer]

SNW Liveblog: “Charades”

In which Ethan Peck gets to have some fun, the writers also prove they know nothing about Vulcans, and the last fifteen minutes redeems the whole episode.

What exactly is “sub-impulse speed”?

God dammit.

The fellowship only lasts for two months? What’s even the point?

I hate to complain about a female character working out on-screen—life in space would definitely necessitate some kind of exercise regime! For everyone!—but at what point in her TOS appearances did Christine Chapel strike these writers as the type of girl who spent a lot of time beating on the Enterprise’s punching bag? Maybe if we hadn’t just seen La’an in this exact same scene two episodes ago…

This…this outfit is almost mod! Earrings and all! I’m shocked. Give it some color and you’d be onto something.

In fact, all three girls (La’an, Christine, and Ortegas) are wearing black here. Why do SNW the costume designers HATE fun?

“Oh, things are kind of weird between them.” I don’t use this word lightly, but between her being mean to Spock for no reason last week and now casually betraying her friend’s confidence like this with a little smirk (while Christine is visibly uncomfortable): Ortegas is just a bitch.

Do Vulcans consider their emotions to be “suppressed”? And would M’Benga, Vulcan expert or not, really be able to teach the native Vulcan how to better control his emotions (when he’s been learning that his whole life)??? Do they ever think before writing, or…?

Or: canon only matters when the SNW writers want it to.

“My mother felt this would be best.” A lot of Vulcans on this show throw that verb around awfully lightly. It’s almost like the writers don’t understand Vulcans.

If T’Pring’s mother doesn’t approve, why were they ever engaged in the first place? (I know that this show’s never going to acknowledge that they were betrothed as kids for an arranged marriage. But that’s the canon.)

Bitch, please.

A sweet reversal of her sneaking a glance at him in the Turbolift earlier.

Them.

Spock, please don’t look at your girlfriend when you’re supposed to be steering the shuttle away from the “rupture in space-time”.

Oh, his hair is so much better this way.

Why is everyone calling Uhura “Nyota” all of a sudden? I get that she’s just an ensign, but it’s weird.

This sounds like a casual phone call rather than the first contact between the Federation and an unknown species. Up the professionalism a few notches, Pike.

He does not.

“Mixed instructions? You don’t mean Spock.” I’m no scientist, but it’s obvious they’re talking about his DNA—keep up, Mr. Starship Captain!

“Uhura, get ‘em back.” Maybe if Pike hadn’t stumbled over his words and had gotten straight to the damn point, this wouldn’t be a problem! Kirk and Picard would both have said, “Excuse me, but the way you ‘fixed’ my science officer was not correct” rather than mumbling and stuttering until the call cut off.

He is adorable. You can pry human!Ethan!Spock out of my cold, dead hands.

“My fiancee’s mother? She hates me.” My fiancee? She hates me. Fixed that for you!

“I’ve already spoken to T’Pring and to your family.” That is really crossing a line! Kirk—Spock’s undisputed best friend of all time/brother/soulmate/true love (however you see them)—didn’t know about T’Pring or even that the Vulcan ambassador and his wife who were coming aboard were Spock’s parents until he met them on the Enterprise. But Pike is just casually contacting Sarek, Amanda, and T’Pring without consulting Spock first?! It’s not like he’s in a coma! He could easily have waited and let Spock tell his family himself. Accidents happen in Starfleet all the time. It’s a dangerous job.

Spock always seems to be played by men with the best smiles. ♥

Not Spock drinking alcohol and eating meat! He’s going to feel awful about that when his genetic code is “fixed”! (His dietary habits are cultural, not biological—why would he want to change them with or without his Vulcan DNA?)

If this was a TOS episode, Bridge crew would still be working on getting back in touch with the aliens who did this to Spock…but we have to show Spock enjoying some crispy bacon instead.

Again, I think control is a better choice of words.

“You just need to work on impulse control.” I don’t think taking his Vulcan DNA away would invalidate/negate his years of intensive mental training. He had to work extra hard as a mixed-race child to be a “real” Vulcan, so in theory he should still have access to about emotional control. If not, he should have been stripped of his memories of childhood and whatnot, too.

Spock’s sass is coming out so strongly in this script, which is great, but he should always be sassy! (“Gentlemen, I am in command of this vessel, and we shall continue on our present course…unless it is your intention to declare a mutiny.”)

I’m sure Christine enjoys seeing a more demonstrative version of the man she loves, BUT I hope they also show that she’s mourning the loss of the true Spock. She’s one of the few who really sees him for what he is—half Vulcan, half human, wholly himself.

To culminate his total lack of respect for Spock’s privacy/boundaries, Pike announces that his mom is on board in the middle of a busy hallway.

This Amanda is a babe (though there’s no way she’s old enough to be Ethan Peck’s mom).

I love this nod to the classic “Spock wearing a funny hat to hide his ears” trope.

Could they not get a costume to fit this actress? Not shaming her at all—I’m intimately familiar with the struggle of finding clothes that look flattering with a larger chest! But this ain’t it.

Why is Pike even still here? At this point, Amanda’s business is with her son. Pike can butt out.

“The engagement dinner has been moved several times due to your Starfleet schedule, a fact which they are not understanding about—” A few issues here: a) It seems, well, illogical that a family of Vulcans refuses to understand why Spock’s professional schedule would postpone personal obligations; b) this is the first time we’ve ever heard about this engagement dinner, 15 episodes into the season. That wouldn’t be an issue if (as in TOS) T’Pring had just been introduced—but she’s now been in numerous episodes including the pilot. Yet somehow this has never come up before?

Also, bold of this show to expect me to care that their engagement might get broken when they’ve already faked the audience out about that once and when I know T’Pring’s ultimately going to dump Spock anyway…

Incompetence.

So T’Pring’s family disapproves of Spock’s career (and we know from previous episodes that T’Pring isn’t thrilled about it, either), but they agree to hold this traditional and (apparently) super-important engagement dinner on the starship where Spock works?

I don’t think “Spock, you’re human” would be a human mother’s natural first reaction here. Idk. I know Amanda’s been on Vulcan a long time, but we know she’s still very warm, very human, and seeing her son so changed would have to be shocking/upsetting/concerning, right?

“I couldn’t even fool you.” That’s kind of funny.

First of all: Spock can lie with the best of them. Secondly, I don’t think you can learn to be a genuinely good liar in a few hours. Finally (and again): his years of Vulcan discipline/training shouldn’t have been erased (he obviously still has all his memories and knowledge), so he shouldn’t have to lie at all.

Seriously, Spock doesn’t have amnesia! He was raised by Vulcans—he knows how they speak!!!

Okay, but…Spock can’t perform the mind meld, and Amanda would know that. I feel like she should be saying, “My son was in a serious accident and is in no state to socialize” but then someone else—maybe even Sarek—overrules her. That would still leaves plenty of room for drama.

Just contact the aliens for help! I’m begging you! This is Star Trek!!!

“We can’t do it, but we already know who can” Thank God someone on this show can keep up.

I kind of hate her. :) At least she didn’t make a snarky comment, too.

I am weak (even if this is the least-flattering Vulcan look I have ever seen on any version of Spock).

T’Pring has some funny lines re: her difficult relationship with her mother, and I guess it’s a nice parallel to Spock’s difficult relationship with Sarek. I can sympathize with her, but I refuse to like her.

There’s no way a conservative Vulcan couple would be satisfied with a human preparing the traditional food for their daughter’s engagement dinner.

The majority of Vulcans in this show continue to look like a parody.

T’Pring’s dad being a foodie is funny. Him being obviously subservient to his scary bully of a wife is unoriginal and not so funny.

They stole a shuttlecraft and no one even alerts the captain?

Christine being willing to do anything for Spock: canon in every universe. ♥

I get that they’re in “interdimensional space” and in a state of semi-shock as a result (understandably!), but why can no one communicate effectively in this episode, including Uhura of all people???

Christine’s straight-talk with the aliens is just making me angry that Pike didn’t speak up about their mistake when he was communicating with them earlier.

She’s stunning.

Spock being protective of/afraid for Christine is precious.

“During the accident, the other being diverted the shields away from himself to protect you.” Even though I’m unsure how that would work (isn’t the shield around the entire shuttlecraft?)—that is SO Spock and so adorable.

“Are you so obtuse that you don’t even see that [you have feelings for Spock]?” It’s always one step forward, three steps back with Ortegas…

The writers were kind enough to grant my wish: Christine acknowledges that a wholly human Spock isn’t really Spock at all. The writing is less than phenomenal, but Jess Bush really sells it anyway, and it alludes nicely to Christine’s heartfelt confession of love in “The Naked Time” about seeing Spock as being greater than the sum of his genetic parts.

I’m tearing up.

The scene where Spock tells T’Pring’s mother off and praises his own isn’t super believable/in-character, but it’s satisfying!

Once again: the Vulcans on this show use that word way too much…

They really have wanted T’Pring to always be the victim/wronged party in this relationship ever since the first episode. But why?! She’s going to leave him! In canon, she makes him fight his own best friend to the death to have her when she doesn’t even want him! No matter how they resolve the relationship in this show, it’s all drama I don’t care about!!!

T’Pring’s mother was overtly racist towards Amanda and Spock during the entire dinner; she doesn’t approve of him; and she told him that he deserved to be disowned by Sarek/didn’t deserve to marry T’Pring. She would probably continue behaving that way towards him for the rest of her life. But after he endured all of that for her sake and after she repeatedly warned him not to mess the dinner up, T’Pring expresses neither concern for Spock’s ordeal nor relief that he’s been healed/that the dinner was a success nor gratitude for what he put himself through. She expresses only disappointment that he didn’t confide in her.

Crying in the club.

There’s a lovely reciprocity to Spock and Christine’s dynamic so far—he kissed her in Season One; this time, she kisses him. He risked his life to save her earlier; then she goes back and risks hers to make him whole again. I know these writers are going to screw it up eventually, so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

Overall, this episode was way too long (a full hour!) and was bogged down with a bunch of nonsense in the middle in the name of comedy. Its dialogue in particular was just as poorly-written as most SNW scripts have been (i.e., “you look constipated,” “you messed him up,” numerous crew members mumbling and stuttering in the heat of the moment…these aren’t Starfleet professionals, they’re high schoolers!) BUT there was an extra helping of heart in this episode. Between Amanda Grayson’s tenderness towards her son, Spock’s protectiveness towards Christine, and Christine’s fierce loyalty towards Spock, I almost cried more than once. And since Spock/Christine is THE reason I started watching this show in the first place, it’s nice to finally see some payoff fifteen episodes in!

The Good: Ethan’s face without Vulcan make-up + his gorgeous smile!—a surprise Amanda cameo—Spock and Christine mutually being protective of each other/risking their lives for each other—some funny moments—Jess and Ethan both acting their socks off—really cool visuals during the “interdimensional space” scene—a few excellent costume designs—finally, the big kiss!

The Bad: Childish/unprofessional dialogue throughout—Ortegas being a bitch even to her friends—writing human!Spock like a teenager who forgot everything he knows about being Vulcan (even though his memories are in tact)—Pike’s total incompetence—name-dropping Roger Korby (ugh)

I can’t wait to see how this show is going to disappointment me in the Spockstine department going forward.

[female-fogbank]

Thank you @selene-ships for the prompt Christine x T'Pring 'On an away mission'. I had to take a few liberties with this prompt but I hope you enjoy it! You can read on AO3 here

Christine smiled as she watched the fox-like creatures roam, the beautiful paradise they landed in only moments ago. She stood on the back ramp of the shuttlecraft. Her medkit by her feet was ready to go as soon as the others were ready to move.

“The crash site is just over the ridge. It should take us at least an hour to get there,” Spock told them, they had been hiking over an hour to reach the crash site.

“Could you have not parked any closer?” La’an asked Erica, she and Spock had been mapping out the best route to the crash site. A small Vulcan transport vessel had crashed on the planet three days ago, as the Enterprise was the closest ship in range they had been tasked to search for survivors. 

“It’s the best I could do, this isn’t the greatest terrain not to mention the atmospheric interference was playing hooey the shuttle craft’s systems. We should all be grateful we got down in one piece,” Erica told them as she was already into the guts of the shuttle craft trying to find a workaround for their current power issue.

“Are you going to be able to get us back to the ship?” Una asked.

“Yeah, and if not, we got enough pattern enhancers to punch through the atmosphere back to the ship. Leeman and I have got this,” Erica assured her.

“Alright, let’s move out. Leeman, Ortegas, keep the door shut after we leave,” Una ordered, Christine picked up her pack and stepped out of the Shuttle and waited for the others.

“Will do,” Erica said, Christine smiled at her as Erica gave them a wave and shut the door.

The rescue party moved out. Christine followed in the middle with Spock as Una took the lead and La’an followed behind them. She didn’t bother trying to make conversation as he’d frozen her out since their…well her decision to end their relationship. She knew he was just taking his time to reconcile with what happened between them and T’Pring.

“Do we know who is on this ship?” Christine asked, breaking the silence as they were close to ship. She and M’Benga had been tied up in medbay with an emergency appendectomy to get the debriefing. M’Benga would’ve been on the mission but he’d been needed to stay on the ship.

“It’s an Ankeshtan K'til transport. It carried three personnel and one prisoner,” La’an told her.

“Not that he was referred to as a prisoner, or even dangerous,” Una said, correcting La’an and making it clear that if there was a danger it didn’t come from their allies but more from the surrounding location.

“Is T’Pring on this ship?” Christine asked out of curiosity.

“Yes,” Spock replied in a curt manner.

“There it is,” Una said, the crashed ship was finally in sight. It looked like it had come down hard. 

“The ship is beyond repair, there is no power. I am only reading two life signs, Vulcan,” Spock said, he read his tricorder.

"Alright, let's tread carefully and keep our eyes open, Chapel, you're with me. La'an with Spock, take the lead," Una told them, she and La'an raised their weapons at the ready. They barely stepped into the craft when they found two bodies that were wrapped in cloth.

The further they went in, the more it amazed Christine that the ship was still somewhat intact. She watched as Spock gently tapped La'an's shoulder and pointed in the direction of where the readings were coming from. They heard a growl of frustration echo through the darkened hallway.

Christine watched as Spock and La'an disappeared, "All clear! We need a medic!" La'an shouted a few seconds later. Una stepped out of the way, Christine walked through the hallway as it opened up into room that probably once upon a time been a ready room.

The room was trashed, but there was a small lamp that swamped the room in a soft orange glow. In one of the chairs there was a Vulcan male tied and gagged to a chair, unconscious.

At the other end of the table sat T'Pring with a bottle in her hands. She looked completely wrecked compared to Vulcan who was tied up. Her clothing torn, she had bruising and lacerations. Her beautiful long hair was a tangled mess. Her face was drawn in pure exhaustion and resignation.

"Oh Great, Nurse Chapel here, isn't this just another unpleasant surprise,” T’Pring slurred, Christine's went wide at the comment as it was very un-Vulcan of her. In fact, she looked and sounded drunk.

“Brain injury?” Spock asked in a dry manner, he kept his distance. Christine moved to T'Pring's side and dropped her medkit on the floor and opened it to grab her tricorder.

“Maybe?” Christine said, she scanned or tried to scan T'Pring but she squinted at the bright light, “Don’t move, you’re injured,” Christine told her.

“ Amazing, Nurse Chapel, what other banal observations will you be regaling us with before you’re of any use," T'Pring snapped as she smacked Christine's hands away from her. The tricorder scanner flew across the room and hit the wall.

“T’Pring, look at me," Christine told her, she decided to assess her old school style as T'Pring was clearly light sensitive. She caught T'Pring by the chin and tried to get T'Pring to comply but she was recalcitrant.

“Must I?” T'Pring asked, her tone dripping with contempt. Christine deserved it. She just wished it wasn't with their audience. She picked up the bottle and took a long drink. 

“Are you drunk?” Christine asked her incredulously. She managed to snatch the bottle from the woman and sniffed it. 

“It’s water,” T'Pring told her. It smelt like water to Christine but she passed to Spock as she knew Vulcans did not get drunk off of water.

“It is not water,” Spock told them.

“Looks like water, smells like water and tastes a little sweet, but otherwise it is wartner," T'Pring shrugged, she huffed a sigh and reclined in a rather unladylike manner. She closed her eyes and looked ready to drift off to sleep.

“It has a chemical structure very similar to alcohol,” Spock informed them.

“How much have you had to drink?” Christine asked her, when T'Pring didn't answer her immediately Christine shook her. "T'Pring!" She prompted.

“Leave me alone,” T'Pring grouched.

“Nurse Chapel is trying to help you," Spock told T'Pring. 

“Spock, La'an, I need your assistance in here," Una called from the hallway, before T'Pring could deliver a scathing remark, Spock escaped the room. La'an hesitated for a moment.

"I'll be fine, I got this," Christine assured her, La'an nodded and disappeared. Christine took a deep fortifying breath and turned back to T'Pring.

“Look, I know this is awkward. But we are here to help you," Christine told her, she grabbed her scanner and picked up her tricorder.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” T'Pring said, she looked around for her drink and looked mildly annoyed to see it missing.

“Well, you got it, so suck it up buttercup and sit still,” Christine told her in a firm manner. T'Pring raised a questioning eyebrow at her, but this time sat still. quickly scanned T'Pring and got all the answers to her condition.

“I can see why he chose you, you’re everything I am not," T'Pring drawled, she reached out and curled a finger in one of Christine's silver locks. Christine let her do it as it gave her the time to quickly scan her and got all the answers to her condition.

“I doubt that,” Christine said, as she could definitely see the similarities between them in this moment. She picked up the dermal regenerator from the kit and moved in closer to heal T'Pring's facial lacerations. 

“Emotionally free to feel as you wish, unburdened by societal obligations,” T'Pring said in a distracted manner, it was more like she was talking to herself than Christine.

“T’Pring, are you-” before Christine could ask her question, T'Pring kissed her. Christine froze in shock as it was the last thing she had expected. Just before Christine could react, T'Pring pulled back,  “Whoa, ok. What was that?” Christine asked her as her cheeks flushed.

“Mere curiosity," T'Pring said as she sat back in her chair.

“And?” Christine asked wryly, her heart was pounding in her chest, desire pooled low in her belly. She was a redblooded woman who was kissed by an absolutely stunning woman. Of course, she rationalized that even the briefest kiss would affect her.

“Truly lacklustre, I find myself deeply disappointed by the experience," T'Pring informed her, the scathing review stung Christine's pride.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to kiss me. Maybe if you gave me time to prepare, it would've been better," Christine snapped, she knew it was petty to react to someone who was drunk. But she liked to think herself to be quite a great kisser.

“I was led to believe your assignation with my ex-fiance was on the spur of the moment. If I were to throw away everything I worked so hard-” T'Pring started but Christine cut her off. She kissed her, she didn't lay some chaste kiss on her either. No, Christine kissed her with a passion she wanted from her lovers. 

The kiss was supposed to prove a point, but somewhere in demonstration Christine lost herself. Maybe it was the softness of T'Pring's lips, the taste of her or how her hands came to rest on her neck, stroking that erogenous zone below her ears. All Christine knew was that T'Pring lit a fire in her body. Pleasure rolled through her, drowning her senses as it pulled her under. Christine wasn't the only one unaffected as T'Pring moaned and melted into her arms. 

Someone cleared their throat, Christine pulled back and saw T'Pring looking just as dazed with desire, breathing hard like her. Her lips glistened from their kiss. There was a new tension between them that Christine could never imagine, it wasn't the mistress and the scorned ex. It was a kind of sexual chemistry Christine hadn't felt in a long time. It was electrifying and so delightfully forbidden.

"Yeah?" Christine asked as she found her voice. She didn't look back as she knew she'd betray herself. She'd chastise herself later for being inappropriate but for now, she could only feel what she did.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we need to move out," La'an drawled, Christine could only imagine what she was thinking. She heard the Lieutenant's footsteps move to stand in the room.

"I just need ten minutes," Christine told her.

"I'll be right here," La'an assured her, Christine nodded as she got to back to what she should've been doing which was working.

Chapter two on AO3...where things get steamy

[fluffy-leech]

[ID: Two pages from Star Trek: The New Voyages, reading:

Introduction to The Enchanted Pool, by Nichelle Nichols. Not only in the "bloopers" is Uhura occasionally temped to say, "Mr. Spock, sugah." She has been known to tease him, even in song, and she is hardly the only one, present or future, who would be delighted to find some enchantment by which to disturb his Vulcan cool. More seriously, Uhura is often seen today as a symbol of women and their role in the Star Trek universe, and as her alter ego I am often asked to speak on that role. In fact, it is a question that has interested me and one that Uhura and I plan to deal with in a book now in progress with the editors of this anthology. It was, of course, the intention of the creator of Star Trek to show not only the beauty of differences but also the delight in the diversities as well as the similarities of women; to show them as capable of responsibility, achievement, initiative, courage, compassion—fellow beings reaching for nobility, heroic in their quest. For instant, the story of "Number One," the female second-in-command, played so beautifully in the first pilot of Star Trek by Majel Barrett, was always inspiring. "Nurse" Chapel was, in fact, a doctor and researcher in her own right. Uhura, likewise, was highly respected as exceedingly qualified in her field, and a first-rate officer, even by the exacting standards of Mr. Spock. She was regarded as quite capable of saving the entire spaceship because of her expertise, and in a punch, fully able to hold her own as a "gladiator." The Enterprise has security "men" who were women, and ran into doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs who were women—commanders, matriarchs and the like. If Star Trek ever lapsed from that standard—and it must be admitted that even Uhura was heard of complain about saying, "Hailing frequencies open, sir," for the umteenth time—we should still remember that it was only Star Trek that began to set that standard, long before we heard much about it in our real world. I can't help believing that Star Trek was a forerunner in the real world for the inevitable movements for liberation for anyone who ever felt misclassified by form or face or color or creed. We have come a long way since the last of the old voyages, and I think we would not have come to far without them. We till have a long way to go. But I see people working to get there. (It is significant that many of them are women; for example, the writers and editors of these stories.) So long as we are still working, writing, talking, thinking, loving, we are under way on warp drive to the world and the future we want. These are the new voyages…. And they may be just a little different. Logical, Mr. Spock, sugah. P.S. Hailing frequencies still open, Cap'n Honey.

End ID]

Mr. Spock, sugah & Cap'n Honey 😁😍

[jennawynn]

Chronotrek: TOS Season 1 Part 2

A long one because I thought I'd made a post more recently than I had... but this is the one! This is the one that means those of you who have been following along finally get your money's worth because I did not put two and two together and had the biggest OH SHIT moment... at the end. lol

8- So Korby's the one that is into 'archaeological' medicine on SNW that Chapel's going to study with, right? I thought he was Vulcan, but I guess just ON Vulcan.

Kirk's silly little tuck and roll maneuvers are so cute. Like a toddler pretending to fight.

Kinda figured Korby was also an android.

9- Another Earth?? Oh, good job, Jim. You punched a big kid.

Eww. Sudden dislike of plotline intensifies. "She's becoming a woman." I guess the 'kids age imperceptibly slow' thing makes it a little more palatable? Maybe?

You know... I've gotten so used to having so many aliens on the shows that it feels like they're practically absent in this one. I guess the pilot, Spock, the dog in an alien costume... oh and Nancy and Charlie. It feels out of place that even the aliens are so... human.

10- Helen's skirt is so short you can tell they wear shorts underneath. SKORTS!

Damn, Helen's got a body count!

11- What in the Windows XP screensaver is that??

Spock's inflections when he gives/receives orders are... part amusing part irritating. Is that Nimoy or a Choice? The way his voice lilts at the end of an order.

Do I know what the First Federation is? Or Balok?

GDI Bailey, get your shit together! He should have been relieved.

12- OH SHIT, PIKE?! The sfx have gotten so much better lmao. I never put 2 & 2 together and realize that Pike's future might be in TOS. This is another in a long line of things that I probably should have anticipated that their introductions in Disco/SNW means that they were probably fleshing out backstory to things that happened in TOS. I just assumed that everything in Disco/SNW was created for those shows :joy:

Side note: This is a 2 and 2 and OH SHIT moment, but count it as a midseason finale cause we've got more to go!

13- I don't know... I think I like that Pike got his happy ending, even if they really should have advanced enough medicine to heal him.

14 THEY HAVE SHUTTLES!

I didn't realize TOS!Uhura sang so much. Guess that explains SNW!Uhura.

DOUBLE Red Alert... you're in trouble now!

15- One thing I do appreciate is how many people are in the show. So many extras and small parts instead of just 7 senior staff. It makes it feel more real, like a real ship. Like if you're gonna tell me that there are (checks notes) 428 people on the ship, there need to be more than 4 people on screen. I also like that it's clear they have a duty rotation. It's not always the same person in the navigator's chair. Sulu's not always the helmsman. Ortegas can't stand watch 24 hours a day!

I've already forgotten where the Romulans came in previously... Wait. This looks familiar. (Rewatches SNW A Quality of Mercy)

It starts with a wedding, just like before. Some other captain... so I was right! It was an AU of what if Pike was there instead of Kirk. Even the dialogue matches the beginning except that the outpost commander is suddenly Arabic. Visual of the Romulans makes Spock raise his eyebrows- that felt like a reference when I saw it in SNW. The way the camera panned was very tongue in cheek.

I thought Romulans wouldn't be identified until much later- like TNG later- that it was a question for more than the single episode in which they were introduced.

In SNW the bride was killed and Spock injured. In TOS, the groom was lost instead.

"Leave any bigotry in your quarters, not on the bridge."

Romulan = Roman. How did I not catch that?

Makes no damn sense to take half the bridge crew off the bridge during a high pressure situation to take them to a briefing room. Brief on the bridge.

16- What a fey adventure this is... lol

So you think about something and it appears? And the woman just happens to keep thinking about men who assault her? What in the rape fantasy bullshit is this?

17 Tools look like toys from a toddler's toybox.

18- Notify the Discovery... but Discovery's gone! Did they already build a new one?

It's funny bc the women are almost always filmed in closeups with a soft lens... the 'glamor shots' camera. And all the men without... except Kirk. He often gets the soft lens. It makes me wonder just how much they intended to appeal to (straight) female viewers.

19- As soon as I saw 'Gorn' in the episode blurb, I wondered if it was the dino man that Kirk fights in all those old gifs... and it IS!

Slow motion fisticuffs.

Why is Kirk so stupid? They said they would provide weapons, but all I've found are sticks, stones, and sharp diamonds! No phasers anywhere! (They also said they'd give him a translator, and he's sitting there recording his captain's log WHERE THE GORN CAN HEAR HIM. (haha I didn't think that would actually be explicitly explained later)

20- They're so concerned about telling Captain Christopher anything about the future, but tell him that not only does he have a son (he doesn't have yet) but that the son will lead a project to Saturn??

It's annoying how much his attitude changed just because he found out he's going to have a son.

That guy's hat is on sideways.

If it's just a matter of slingshotting the sun to go back or forward in time, why isn't it done more often during the time warp trickery ST likes so much? Also... I get storytelling device but I hate the idea of clocks running backwards to show time is in reverse. Why aren't the people in reverse too, then?

21- Stone is aptly named. He has practically no expressions, especially opposite Kirk.

WHY WOULD THEY PUT THOSE TWO BUTTONS NEXT TO EACH OTHER?? And knowing that they are, why would Kirk press one without looking at it??

Did... he say one to the fourth power? Isn't that... one?

23- The Eugenics Wars were in the mid-90s?

Saying 'mid-90s' was 30 years ago for SNW/Disco, but TOS saying 'mid-90s' was 30 years in the future. I'd be interested to see what they thought the mid-90s would look like.

Is that Singh?

Women (besides Uhura, who exists to make sure there's a Black woman on screen all the time) apparently only exist in the story when they need to do a romantic or sexual storyline.

WAIT. KHAAAAAAAAAAAN is Singh?? (Also I thought the Noonien part of La'an's name was from another ancestor trying to soften the Singh part of the name, not that it was a whole last name.) I thought the KHAAAAAAN guy was just Khan or last name Khan like Kirk. I totally missed that THAT guy was the same guy as the Eugenics War guy.

At least now I assume that Wrath of Khan is the KHAAAAN guy is this guy is La'an's ancestor.

So Jim drops charges from a dictator from 200 years ago and drops him off on a habitable planet with 72 super-men. I'm sure this won't ever come back with negative consequences.

That's uh... brownface, isn't it?

[sporkandpringles]

I know we’re all reeling from the death of Hemmer, but one aspect of episode 09 that I haven’t seen addressed yet is just how awfully they’re handling Spock’s character arc? Like, I could understand the funeral shaking him up a bit and making him punch a wall. In TOS he broke a vase in “Plato’s Stepchildren” when they were under duress. But earlier in the episode, he just chooses violent rage against another being, with like... hardly any deliberation. And that just doesn’t square with his TOS commitment to Vulcan pacifism.  The way it’s framed as him trying to be more human for Christine is also super messed up. Like Christine Chapel says “It’s good to get mad sometimes” and then suddenly Spock just picks up a space spear and decides to go all Vulcan Rage Mode? What the hell? I get that they’re trying to demonstrate that he’s struggling between his human and Vulcan sides, but this ain’t it.

[ichayalovesyou]

Spock, Christine and T’Pring: Literally Just What’s Happened On Screen in SNW (So Far)

Because I feel like we ALL need a refresher from the sheer amount of Spock/shipping Discourse. Whether y’all thing he’s gay and comphet or just thinks he’s bi, actually is bi or straight. Whatever you ship, things have been both minimized and blown way out of proportion. Not favoring any ships or interpretations of Spock’s romantic preferences in gender or between these two characters.

Spock and Christine

Christine jokingly flirted with him and he didn’t pick up on it.

Spock clarified when Uhura joked that Chapel was his girlfriend.

Chapel smacks Spock upside the head when he’s a jerk to his fiancé. Spock listens to Christine’s relationship advice after breaking his promise to T’Pring. Which ultimately works!

They bonded over being lonely children with pets as their closest friends. Christine also finds out Spock is messing with people when he takes things too literally sometimes.

Spock punches a racist in T’Pring’s body, both for his own benefit and Chapel’s. He thanks her for the advice. After the fact Chapel seems to realize she’s catching feelings.

More relationship advice when Spock feels like T’Pring is going a little bit fast for him.

Pretends to have an affair with Chapel to save his fiancé’s reputation, the first and only time they have ever kissed.

Spock apologizes for the ruse, Chapel doesn’t want to really talk about it because Feelings, knows he’d never cheat on T’Pring.

Let’s Spock know it’s okay to be angry (without being smug). He hesitantly returns her hug when she comforts him after Hemmer’s funeral.

Chapel is completely devastated at Spock’s mutilated state in the Balance of Timeline.

Spock and T’Pring

T’Pring upgrades their childhood betrothal/bonding ritual to an engagement by proposing to him at dinner. (Making their arranged marriage just a liiiiittle less weird.)

Obviously prefers to kiss him the human way rather than the Vulcan way. (Haven’t really gotten their individual feeling about it.)

They were gonna have very logical engagement commemorative sex. Spock skips out on the very logical commerative engagement sex to go help space dad save space mom. Much to T’Pring’s chagrin, but she strives to be understanding.

Goes out of her way to make time for him when the crew goes on shore leave by bringing a coworker. Spock fails to uphold his end of the deal when the unexpected occurs. She fears Starfleet is means of him avoiding his Vulcan heritage, and by extension her.

Spending time in Spock’s shoes she learns how demanding and strange his job is. Spock learns the stresses and bonafide jackasses she has to deal with. Spock punches a racist, T’Pring finds that assessment logical.

They sleep together, possibly for the first time (since they missed out on logical engagement commemoration sex) after getting un-Freaky Friday’d, but some lessons remain yet to be learned.

T’Pring unnerves Spock a little bit by researching human sexuality without asking what he was comfortable with. Spock isn’t really sure if/how to set boundaries.

Spock and T’Pring get fake unengaged as part of Spock’s adultery ruse to thwart Angel. She is firm in the believe Spock would never actually cheat (as is Chapel).

T’Pring and Spock get re-engaged almost immediately afterward. Stonn (who she later falls in love with) is in play as a coworker, and Sybok is among the patients where she works.

[tagthetrekkie]

Can we please talk about how Spock punched a Vulcan to defend Chapel and the Humans? That was beautiful

[muchadoaboutstartrek]

I got a Spock/La’an idea if you’re interested. How about one where the crew having become acutely aware of Spock and La’an mutual infatuation that they take bets on when they’ll finally admit it/hook up and maybe even some of the senior staff try to covertly set the two up.

Here you go! I hope you like it. I chose the 5+1 style of post for this particular drabble.

1. Chris

They thought they were being sneaky, Chris could tell. They were delusional, in his humble oppinion.

As if Chris didn't notice the stolen glances across the bridge concealed in a witty banter and snarky remarks. Like he was oblivious to the way Spock would lean over her station to "look at the phaser alignments" and not actually brush his fingers against her's in what he obviously, and rather foolishly, thought was a discrete fashion.

It wasn't.

Not to mention the way his eyes would hungrily follow La'an's form as she strutted across the bridge confidently.  Or the way La'an would look Spock up and down and almost drool. Chris wasn't foolhardy enough to actually offer her a napkin to wipe her mouth. He was pretty sure there was some under-the-table action that one time in his quarters when La'an almost choked on her food while Spock turned green when they turned to look at them.

They couldn't have been any more obvious had they hung a neon sign above their heads that said "we are fucking" in bold capital letters.

When he first noticed the bubbling attraction and sizzling tension between the two, he thought there was nothing but sex there. An orgasm for orgasm. Purely beneficial on both sides. He wasn't an expert on Vulcan relationships but he was pretty sure Vulcans didn't do casual and for a moment Chris wondered about T'Pring before he chased that thought away. It wasn't his business.

But as he watched Spock's eyes soften when La'an spoke about her time in the academy and how La'an pretended not to look at Spock as he washed the dishes in his quarters, he wondered how deep that relationship actually went and if he was wrong to assume the true nature of their relationship.

2. Una

Una knew relationships didn't come easy to La'an. Poor thing has been traumatized one too many times to be trusting blindly to anyone that comes along.

She knew she didn't have many partners at the academy, instead focusing on her studies and working her butt off to climb the ranks.

Spock was another piece of work. The Vulcan was hot, even in her own opinion, and she wasn't oblivious to the fact. She has been very aware of it from the moment she first met him in that transporter room. He was obviously cocky and confident if the way his hands immediately went to her hips when she asked him to give her a boost was anything to go by.

He wasn't tender, with anyone, really. In fact, she has observed him and made a conclusion he even went above and beyond his way to appear slightly cruel to some newer Ensigns or those who he didn't know. He was cold and calculating.

Which is why it shocked her so much, almost punched the breath out of her, when she stumbled upon him and La'an talking in the hallway that one time. There wasn't anything wrong with that, she was perfectly aware, but what ticked her off was the way Spock was standing closer to her than he would to anyone, even Chris. And La'an... she seemed content with it. Una saw the way smile tugged at the edge of her lip and she gasped when Spock raised his hand and removed a strand of hair from her face that has come undone.

So that's why they seemed weird to her. Una suddenly had flashback of that one time La'an was having breakfast with her, which was an unusual occurrence in on itself because La'an liked eating alone. But what really made a difference was the way La'an was smiling at her PADD as she typed something on it. It was only now that Una was able to connect the dots she was probably texting Spock that was sitting few tables to the left.

3. Chapel

Chapel liked Spock... a bit more than a friend.

She denied it even to herself, but ever since that kiss they shared in front of Angel in order to throw them off their game, Spock never really left her mind.

And of course, as such, she always noticed little things about him. Which was probably the reason she noticed something was going on with him and Chief of Security straight away.

She watched, in stunned silence, as Spock rushed into sickbay, La'an's almost unconscious and limp form cradled in his arms. She moved on autopilot, following M'Benga as he rushed to assess the situation, noticing the deep wounds in La'an's stomach as blood seeped out and stained Spock's science blue uniform. She grabbed her scissors as Spock set her on the bed, a painful groan flying out of her mouth, as Chapel moved to cut away her uniform shirt in order to get a better look at the lacerations while M'Benga rushed to power up surgical ward.

She worked to stop the bleeding as much as possible, Spock now the last thing on her mind, but considering her close proximity, she couldn't avoid seeing the way La'an's hand dropped onto Spock's arm and his fingers squeezed her bloody digits tightly. Chapel's eyes snapped to Spock's face, noticing the way his teeth were clenched together so hard the muscles in his jaw were twitching.

It hit her like a punch to the gut when Spock bent down to La'an's level, his other hand cradling her head almost lovingly in order to whisper something, she couldn't hear, in her ear.

She had no time to think about what happened just in front of her eyes as M'Benga barked orders left and right and they were both wisked away to scrub up while they wheeled La'an away into surgery.

She still remembers the haunted look on Spock's face as he watched the bed disappear.

4. Uhura

Uhura marveled the way La'an lead the team of Ensigns down onto the planet with almost surgical precision and commanded attention with her presence alone.

She also admired Mr. Spock's ability to excel in almost anything he put his mind onto and if being La'an's second in command at an away mission was one of those things, then he would do it with absolute success.

She always assumed they were nothing more but good colleagues with the highest amounts of respect for one another, ocassional bickering across the bridge notwithstanding, and that's why they worked so well as a team.

But she couldn't help but think she has been slightly biased when she heard very distinctive word coming out of La'an's mouth at one of those away missions.

"Adun," Uhura almost dropped her stylus but composed herself and remained turned with their back to them, not letting them know she has overheard. "Sorry. Lt. Spock, there is a member of your science team that is asking for assistance."

She waited for the ball to drop and for Spock to either say something along the lines of inappropriate behaviour on an away mission or just walk away, but almost got a stroke when she heard him speak affirmative and then quietly, "Kahs'khiori." Which, if her Vulcan studies served her well, meant "shooting star".

5. Ortegas

She really hated when Ensigns messed up.

She didn't blame them, she was an ensign once as well, but how hard was it to just bring up the PADD from engineering without compromising the information she needed.

She walked down the empty corridor as the sound of laughter that sounded ridiculously similar to La'an's voice reached her ears along with a deep masculine voice. She frowned. Since when did La'an  hang out with anyone, let alone a guy.

Too curious for her own good, she rounded the corner but stayed hidden just in case as she moved towards the Jefferies tube. There was another sudden chuckle echoing around the metal walls, but this one belonged to the man and if Ortegas's hearing was serving her well, it sounded suspiciously like Spock.

She peeked behind the corner, prepared to see almost anything... only to be blown away as she spotted two figures, definitely La'an and Spock (she's recognise those braids and pointed ears anywhere) tinkering with controls in Jefferies tubes. That wasn't unusual, Spock was usually sent to fix minor glitches in certain areas since he required no guidance on how to do it. But what really surprised Ortegas was the way La'an was smiling and laughing at something Spock was saying. She only managed to catch glimpses of it.

"So then what happened?"

"I am ashamed to admit I fell into the mud. And since it was rainy season, I had to walk the distance on foot back to my home. My mother was not pleased. She insisted I leave my clothes outside since the mud will stain her white carpets."

La'an bursted into another fit of laughter, holding onto Spock for balance. Ortegas watched in astonishment as Spock cradled La'an's hip while Lt. threw her arms around his neck, still chuckling. She saw corners of Spock's mouth lift up in a half-smirk as he bent down and took La'an's grinning lips into a kiss.

Ortegas ducked out of the hallway, blushing as red as her uniform.

+1. The one where Spock and La'an are taken by surprise

Spock and La'an stood, both of them quite shocked, as they watched the way their friends looked at them with almost flat expressions on their faces.

Chris broke the silence. "Fucking finally."

Una nodded next to him. "I agree. It was a goddamn time."

"Yeah, you guys really weren't that slick." They watched as everyone in the room nodded, amused grins on their faces.

La'an looked at Spock who was standing next to her,  his arm around her waist. She flung her arms out. "Whoa hold up! You knew about us?" She gestured between herself and him. Spock was sporting an equally confused look.

It was Chapel who nodded. " Yeah.... I mean we're not blind and you guys are as subtle as a plane crash."

"She's right. Kind of hard to ignore all the eye-fucking across the bridge."

"Wait... They were doing That?" Una turned to Chris and he nodded.

"Well yeah. Wait, how did you find out?"

"I saw Spock tuck a strand of hair behind her ear."

"That gave it away? I caught them making out in the Jefferies tube!"

"And I head them speak in Vulcan to one another at an away mission."

Spock and La'an only stood with their mouths opened as their friends continued exchanging stories of what they've affectionately named "finding out moment". They were kind of perplexed the crew noticed it so much but also slightly unnerved they weren't as good at hiding it as they've originally thought.

But at the same time they couldn't help but to be proud their family on board was accepting of their relationship. Despite the fact they've tried to hide it from them.