#we were rooting for you kirk!

[sapphic-bombshell-vixen]

Is Lady Boss aka Sam actually watching ‘Secret Crush on You’ — in which Becky and Freen were girlfriends in?

[commander-quack-to-the-bridge]

My mother and I were watching Star Trek Into Darkness tonight (I'm not feeling well and we love to watch these movies together)

Well we got through the first scene, when Spock is in the volcano and Kirk asks Bones, "If I was there and Spock was here, what would he do?" And Bones replies, "He'd let you die."

Just... I have to say, I know there are a lot of points in that movie that revolve around the sentiment of Spock following the rules and regulations and protocols of Starfleet without hesitation. But there's something in Kirk's eyes when Bones says that, this flash like how can you possibly believe that?

I just know Kirk never fully believed that. He can't. I feel like a big part of the foundation of their friendship in the Kelvin timeline is rooted in Spock's human-side. Kirk knows it's there, just beneath the surface, well controlled but still there

Kirk hears Bones. Understands his concerns even. But doesn't believe them.

Thank you for coming to my strep throat induced TED talk.

[camlannpod]

Hey, if there was someone named James T Kirk in the Camlann apocalypse, would he be able to shoot phasers out of kit bashed hair dryers? What about a Clark Kent? Could he fly? How does the Camlann apocalypse interact with modern myths as opposed to oral traditions?

Hi! So there's an in-universe answer and an out-of-universe answer. In-universe, our gang doesn't know the answer to this question. Telecommunications went down in the first nine days, and stories by their nature are often contradictory, so our gang just don't know enough yet about how this all works to know what it does and doesn't apply to.

Out-of-universe, which is to say the way I write it (and likely something that won't come up explicitly in the show) - the stories have to have been told for the first time orally. They have to be part of an oral tradition that involves many creators and many listeners. The more tellers, listeners and permutations of the story, the more powerful it is. The age of the stories also makes them more powerful, as does their connection to 'the land' - wherever they were first told. They also have to be...organic? They have to have been told for the sake of telling them, not specifically made as a product to be sold.

By all of these rules, anything that was written for a paycheque is pretty much out - which rules out Star Trek and Superman. You can draw a lot of parallels between modern fiction and mythology, for sure, but they do fundamentally serve different purposes and were created for different reasons. A lot of heart and politics went into the creation of Superman, not least combating the rise of fascism. However, he was also created in the first place to sell comic books.

Modern myths that might work better are urban legends - especially older ones that find their roots in the late 1800s or early 1900s. American rural stories about strangers on the road etc. But in that example, again, the age of the story and its connection to the land is always the most important factor. This means that in the US, for example, indigenous folklore and stories are always more powerful than more modern settler ghost stories, and in figurative or literal conflict, the indigenous stories are going to win the toss. Which means that you're a lot less likely to find a creepypasta type creature unless you're in an area that's isolated from any indigenous cultures. Which is obviously going to be hard to find.

*Finally, a note on religion: I do not feel comfortable playing games with real people's real faiths, which is a big part of why we're largely steering clear of religions and religious stories. There's a grey area where religious figures that have also become folk heroes can come into play, specifically leaning on the power they have from folk legend - so Santa, Joan of Arc etc. As a white British woman, I don't feel I have the authority to tell those stories for other cultures. One day I'd love to have a series of mini-episodes where we invite writers from around the world to tackle these subjects. But I'm not going to be the one who writes those stories, because they're not mine to tell.

[quasi-normalcy]

So the thing about Star Trek: Picard is...

Say what you will about the first season, but it’s meaningful. In fact, Rios says explicitly what it’s about in the fourth episode: “the existential pain of living with the consciousness of death and how it defines us as human beings.” Pretty much all of the character arcs are about different reactions to this, and the supposed “grimdarkness” of the setting reinforces this point; the Federation has become reactionary and xenophobic because it was a utopia that experienced mass death right on its doorstep for the first time in living memory. The conflict with the Synths is ultimately rooted in the fact that we die; they don’t. The fact that the finale was called “Et in Arcadia ego” really just telegraphs this; “Even in Arcadia [utopia], I [Death] am.”

And the second season, for all its many flaws, carries this theme forward, proposing that love, togetherness, and companionship are the only meaningful candles in the dark. Q is dying; he awaits meaning, and he doesn’t find it. And so he opts instead to do one last favour for Jean-Luc so at least he can spare his favourite mortal from his own fate of dying alone. Jurati is able to connect with the Borg Queen because she recognises that her own motivation is something similar: the Queen can feel herself dying across infinite realities and she doesn’t want to be alone. Seven and Raffi find each other; Rios gives up his entire life for a shot at love. It’s an infernal mess, a budget-saving exercise in want of a plot, but I’m going to be honest: I kind of adore it. I think it’s beautiful for all its flaws.

Throughout the first two seasons, we have serious contemplations of transhumanism and identity in the face of death. Picard escapes death using technology, even as his friend, a living machine, embraces his end as a necessary part of being human. Soji loses her identity even as she gains knowledge of herself as an immortal android. Jurati too embraces transhumanism and, to some extent, loses her identity by so doing, but–in an interesting twist for Star Trek–this is not stigmatized; this is framed as what’s best for her. All of this is philosophically rich, high-octane fuel for thought, as speculative fiction should be.

The third season, meanwhile–for all that I have loved (some of) the nostalgia hits injected directly into my veins–bugs me because of how absolutely lightweight it feels. Death is gone. Not just as a theme, but gone from the narrative. Sure we kill off Ro, and T’Veen, and Vadic, and Shelby, and Shaw, but it feels like nothing. Death holds no dominion; Data is back; so’s the Enterprise-D; so’s Q (or maybe he’s come in from an earlier point in his timeline; it’s not clear). Kirk apparently is alive again, resurrected offscreen sometime after Generations and kept in a covert warehouse awaiting new adventures. Apparently Terry Matalas has already formulated plans for bringing Todd Stashwick back if when he gets his “Legacy” spinoff. I’m half-surprised that they didn’t reveal that Romulus magically popped back into existence in a background Okudagram somewhere. The Federation is as “grimdark” as it has ever been depicted, but unlike the first season (or Deep Space Nine, or even the first season of Discovery), this is never seriously interrogated or problematised. We go through the motions, cargo-cult-like, of moral debate in episode 7, but it’s not connected to anything. We hear that Vadic was the product of Section 31 war crimes; Picard looks shaken up by this, but then he and Beverly immediately decide to commit some war crimes of their own by executing her. This is never mentioned again. The whole exercise feels perfunctory, as I have said above: like ten-year-olds playing with action figures. It doesn’t feel like Picard, and frankly, for all of the surface detail it gets right, it feels even less like TNG.

So no; I’m not pleased that the first two seasons were ignored.

[treesspeaklatin]

It's spirk ficrec time! Fics with less than 400 kudos - part 2

Part 1 here ; part 3 coming soon

These things we do not speak of - Della19 (AOS)

Basically anything written by this author is the best thing you'll read today, but this one, omg, this one. I don't have the right words to describe what it did to my heart. It's a classic falling in love - introspection - pon farr fic. The author has an amazing control of their style and of the characters, and the levels of pining are astronomical. Locked on ao3, so you'll need an account to read it.

The Sea King - killabeez (TOS MIRROR)

When I found this fic I couldn't believe my eyes. It's a mirroresque Gilgamesh au, elegant, epic and bittersweet. The mix of futuristic and mythological elements is really good. Can I say Gilgamesh and Enkidu were the original t'hy'la? There, I said it. Read this if you're looking for something different and you want to be surprised.

Root Systems - Moonfishgirl (AOS)

During a stay on New Vulcan, Jim watches Spock exist inside his own culture, and in the process he discovers something about himself (spoiler: he looooves him!). Adorable fic, rich on Vulcan traditions. Read this if you are into some good Vulcan culture and ancient t'hy'la warrior bond lore.

Five times Bones and Jim forgot they were married - Goldencoalcat (AOS MCSPIRK)

This time I wanted to include some Bones/Kirk/Spock too. This fic is adorable and a good Jim character study. It explores his relationship with his family and Winona in particular, and the reasons why he has issues with being loved. Characters are spot on. Read this if you're in the mood for hurt!Jim being pampered and loved by his two husbands.

one grave too many - leafings (every universe)

Not exactly a mirror universe, but a twisted, fucked-up universe in which the crew loves Jim in a dark and obsessive way and is willing to do anything for his sake, and I mean here Enterprise rhymes with homicide. In the midst of the dark stuff, to no one's surprise, Jim and Spock also find time for their t'hy'la shit. I live for this concept.

A heart even more your own - cicia3 (TOS)

Hey, it's me. I wanted to end with this fic of mine because I really think I wrote this in some sort of mystical fit and I'll never write something this good again lol it's a Persuasion AU with some other good old Austen shenanigans. Excruciating pining + sexual tension + romance.

(last but not the least. Do you know why I specifically choose fics with less than 400 kudos? Because they are fucking amazing and it's ridiculous they don't have something like 2k kudos while they deserve so much more recognition. So PLEASE for the love of god, if you're gonna read these fics and if you'll love them (and you'll probably love them) tell the authors! Smash that kudos button, leave a comment, send them heart emojis, share those fics and don't let them die in the dust!)

Share this post for a better world ❤️

[shut-up-danny-kun]

today I bring you a chunk of a Spirk WIP that will probably never be finished. I thought someone might still enjoy it.

(Bones and Spock talking and both being extremely stubborn. Teen and up.)

* * *

It was strange, sitting at a table with Dr. McCoy and watching him sip from his cup of (frankly, disgusting) earl grey tea. Spock himself had opted for a traditional Vulcan blend of medicinal plants - his only source of vitamins for the past five days. The tea warmed his empty stomach, reducing the pain slightly.

“Well?” McCoy suddenly asked.

“Excuse me?”

“I've sat down and had your damn tea. Are you going to explain what's going on in that magnificent brain of yours?”

Spock put his half-empty mug on the table.

“You will, obviously, not disclose any of this information to anyone.”

“Of course, not unless it's required for your treatment.”

“Including the captain.”

The doctor sighed quietly and looked at Spock with a pained expression.

“No. I can't guarantee you that and I can't lie. But I can guarantee that I will try my best to make sure he doesn't have to know. Deal?”

A terrible predicament. The captain finding out lead either to the worst or the best outcome, and the odds leaned heavily towards the former. Still, Spock was going to have to trust the CMO's word.

“Deal.”

He took a deep breath, steadying himself, very aware of McCoy's gaze on him.

“You are correct in your assertion that I have not been eating for the past five days. I have also been unable to meditate or enter deep sleep for twelve days.”

McCoy sighed sadly.

“You know, Spock, I have to hand to you - for a man who hasn't slept in almost two weeks, you do a great job of pretending you're fine,” he remarked.

Indeed, Spock felt a surge of pride.

“Why, thank you, Doctor.”

“Any ideas on what's causing this?”

This was the delicate part: he needed to find a way to explain the problem while skirting around the root cause, and McCoy had just proved that his reasoning skills were above average.

“Extended mental strain.”

McCoy's eyebrows rose.

“Oh. Alright, that's something. See, now I'm going to have to talk to Jim so he'd reduce your workload...”

“No.”

“No?”

“The strain is not work-related. In fact, my research is one of the few things that distract me from it.”

Spock picked his cup back up and drained the rest of the tea in one big gulp. McCoy leaned towards him in his chair.

“As you are aware, Vulcans were once a deeply impulsive species. Though we have learned to retain control over our minds, some impulses still remain that must be...supressed.”

McCoy took a second to process before making an induction.

“So, you're supressing something powerful.”

Spock hated to be obvious, but somehow, he was relieved that McCoy said it for him. He nodded silently.

“What is it, then?”

“I'm afraid I cannot disclose that information.”

“It may be crucial!”

“If you can indeed treat me, you do not need to know. There are urges which cannot be acted upon.”

The doctor leaned back in his chair, thinking.

“Hmm... Give me a moment.”

A minute ticked by in silence as he finished his tea. Spock listened to the calming thrum of the warp engines, imperceptible to the human ear. Then, McCoy spoke again:

“Can you tell me this: does your condition possibly have anything to do with your recently broken bond to that woman, T'Pring? I know it happened months ago, but it's possible you're only feeling the effects now.“

Spock was once again astonished by the doctor's intuition, and found that his respect for the man was growing by the minute. Not that he'd ever admit that. He had not even considered the impact of a broken bond.

“That may be a contributing factor.”

A satisfied smile spread across McCoy's face.

“Well, Mister Spock, the good news is you don't have to tell me anything, because I think I know exactly what's going on here.”

Spock's heartbeat sped up. Surely, he couldn't...

“Three words: James Tiberius Kirk.”

His stomach dropped at the mention of his name, and all hope was lost. He knew, and Spock was nothing but an open book. Far away, a galaxy exploded.

He jumped to his legs to do something, stop this somehow, but what could he do? Erase McCoy's memory? It would be unacceptable even in such dire circumstances. So he stood there uselessly and stared at him, somewhere between enraged and scared.

The doctor, meanwhile, looked amused.

“You've given me all the puzzle pieces! “Please don't tell the captain”, said you're supressing an emotion - and wouldn't you know it, your marriage bond happens to be broken and unoccupied. Wouldn't you like Jim to move in?”

He chuckled.

“Look at you! A pointy-eared machine of a man, dying of lovesickness. Never thought I'd see the day.”

“You dissapoint me, doctor,” Spock said, his voice low and dark, “I had hoped you were performing your duties as a healer. I see now you are here merely to humiliate me.”

McCoy stood up also, and his smile faded.

“No! This is all to help you. I said I'd heal you and I will, one way or another.”

“Allow me to make a prediction. You suggest reporting to the captain himself.”

“Yes! Don't you think Jim deserves to know?”

“Quite the opposite. Informing him would put him in an extremely disadvantageous position. If he were to reject me, he might reason that he is to blame for my suffering.”

The doctor looked at him. There was something melancholic in his blue eyes, as if he was remembering some other story similar to Spock's.

“Did it ever occur to you that he might reciprocate?”

Spock's heart began to hammer, his mind soared. It was a beautiful thought.

“Unlikely.”

McCoy smirked and sat down again. He shook his head, more to himself than to Spock.

“You think you're so clever, and yet you know nothing.”

Spock stood there quietly, wrestling with his mental defenses.

“I'm no expert either, but you'd have to be blind to not notice that Jim's crazy about you! The whole damn ship knows already! He looks at you like you're some kind of supernova. All I hear from him in sickbay is “where's Spock?” and “how's Spock?”, and when he's singing the blues over a glass of whiskey, what does he tell me? Spock again. The doctor's orders are to go to his quarters right now and tell him exactly what you're feeling. Jim will provide you with all the treatment you need.”

How naïve, Spock thought.

“All is not as simple as you suggest.”

McCoy was obviously dead set on his answer.

“Well, do it your way. I don't know your courting rituals.”

“That is not the issue. For humans, relationships are a far more trivial concern. If I were to take Jim as a...partner,” Spock explained, struggling to form words, “It would have to be forever.”

McCoy's expression was incomprehensible. He thought for a beat, and then sighed.

“Because of the mental bond?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I agree, that's a big commitment. But that's even more reason to talk to him about it.”

Spock trembled, struggling to keep his emotions leashed.

“I prefer to live in ignorance, Doctor.”

At least this way, the glimmer of hope kept his heart beating. He imagined Jim saying he couldn't agree to spend his whole life with one partner, saying he preffered a human, a woman, that he simply didn't love Spock. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth painfully. He doubted he would survive the rejection.

“Spock, are you alright?”

Do not let go. Do not let go. If he were to slip up, then...yes, now he knew what would happen. He would break down crying. He would be unworthy of calling himself a Vulcan. Blood drainined from his limbs, his body quaking, his head feeling like it was being crushed in a hydraulic press.

“Spock. Listen to me. Take a breath.”

He opened his mouth. The air filled his burning lungs.

“Good. Breathe out.”

He obeyed.

“Let's do that again. Breathe in slowly...breathe out. In, out, in, out...”

For a moment, he could let his brain rest and numbly listen to Dr. McCoy's voice. He breathed until his heartbeat slowed slightly, and opened his eyes.

McCoy was bent over Spock where he had collapsed on the chair, close, but not touching him. He could feel the doctor's compassion simply from the way he spoke.

“You've made your point. You need medical interference. Can you stand?”

Spock put his hands down on the chair and slowly pushed himself up.

“Good. In ten minutes, I want you down in medbay for infrasound therapy. We will also discuss medications and give you some hypos with nutrients.”

“You will not tell the captain,” Spock whispered weakly.

“No, I won't. Swear on my badge.”

They stood in silence for a while, the weight of what had just transpired heavy on their shoulders.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“It's my job.”

[n3wstxd]

𝐊𝐈𝐑𝐊/𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 - 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲

warnings: drug usage, drinking to cope, first time(s), anal sex, sad sex

nsfw under the cut :)

Jason had drunk himself into a stupor. Both to forget the hazing from his bandmates and to numb the pain of being their punching bag, both metaphorically and physically.

That night’s show was a disaster in his eyes—his bass had mysteriously gone out during “My Friend of Misery”, preventing his beautiful bass solo from getting played. That, coupled with the fact that James and Lars nitpicked everything he did on stage after the show.

His eyes glazed over, slumped over on the couch as he thought. When he got drunk, he wasn’t boisterous like James, he wasn’t a gossiper like Lars or plain stupid like Kirk. He was quiet. Reserved. Lost in thought and sat to the side in thoughtful silence. 

Alone in his hotel room drinking a 6-pack all by himself, joint resting on an ashtray. Millions and millions of thoughts filled his head. Like a hot air balloon that threatened to burst, he quelled his thoughts with another puff of his joint. 

You could always rely on a good beer and joint combo to blank out any bad thoughts. 

He’s getting through the night already, he can’t tell what time it is but it sure as hell felt like forever. Jason had the windows open, the soft, cool wind blowing in, mixing with the smell of pot and the beer laden on his breath. 

When he’s finally unwinding, he’s coiled taut again by the sharp rapping against his foot. He places down his fourth beer of the night and stubs out his blunt, standing to open the door. 

And there stood the root sources of his own self-destructive act. 

“Can I help you guys?” He asked, slurring his words ever so slightly, door half-open. He knows he looks like a mess, his hair sticking up, eyes bloodshot and clearly zooted. The smell of weed drifts from his room into the hallway, and Jason’s eyes strain at the brightness in the hallway.

“Oh..uh…” started Lars. Jason tilted his head, waiting for whatever he had to say. “We were just wondering what you were doing since you left the afterparty so early.”

Jason shrugs. “Wasn’t in the mood.” James scoffs softly. “Obviously in the mood to drink and smoke by yourself.” In no mood to entertain them, he raised his eyebrows over half-lidded eyes. 

“Now you know what I was doing. G’night.” 

“Hey, wait—“

Before he can shut his door, a shoe blocks it in the last second. Jason holds back the urge to groan. “What?” He says annoyedly, opening the door a fraction to peek out. 

“Listen, you need to stop acting like a spoiled child. It isn’t our fault your bass went out.” James says defensively. Jason wants to roll his eyes. Wants to yell at him and say that it was, that he had planned it all, that he was the mastermind. But even in his inebriated state, he retained his sobriety and retained his temper.

“Uhuh.” Was all he had to say, rubbing one of his reddened eyes. “Jesus Christ…whatever, get mad at us. See if we care.” He saw James and Lars storm off in the other direction, no doubt speaking ill of him behind his back and planning their next “prank”. And as he moved to close his door, he was stopped again, but not by force this time.

“Wait.” 

He almost wanted to cry out in frustration. But he didn’t. He couldn’t be temperamental. He couldn’t. After all, he was supposed to be the calm one. 

Kirk stood outside his door—previously overshadowed by the two biggest egos in the hallway, Jason barely noticed his presence. But now it was the two of them. 

“..Yeah..?” Jason couldn’t bring himself to raise his voice. Kirk was always the most passive among the other three with his hazing, if one could even call it that. Sure, he participated in the beginning, but he got over his grief, and acknowledged Jason as another person with feelings. Not like he was a puppet built to destroy like James and Lars thought he was. 

“Can I come in? I just..I wanna talk.” Kirk stood in front of the gap in the door now, eyes locking with Jason’s. Against his better judgement, Jason opened the door. Kirk was let in, and Jason closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it. 

“I’m sorry about what happened…I didn’t know-“ “It’s fine. It’s not like you would’ve done anything like this. I think.” Kirk awkwardly shifted his weight from foot to foot. It hurt slightly to hear Jason speak like that.. “You can sit.”

Kirk flopped next to Jason, the two sitting and facing the open balcony window. The moonlight shone down with her smile, her crescent smile familiar to Jason after nights being alone and contemplating his decisions. 

“The guys don’t know what they’re doing. And I don’t take responsibility for their actions. But they’ll understand, not now, but maybe when they’re 40.” Kirk’s words are almost comforting. 

Almost. 

But it hurts. The reassurance of their realisation only when they’ve seen the world and what it’s for hurts. Why couldn’t they have their moment of clarity now? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to Jason. But nothing was ever fair since Cliff passed. 

“It’s okay.” He mumbled. Kirk rested his head against Jason’s shoulder. It’s an intimate gesture—it’s not playful like when they’re in interviews or posing in photos. It’s like Kirk sees him. Sees through him and sees him right to his core.

“I’m sorry. About what I did. And what I didn’t do to stop them.” Jason wants to laugh bitterly. He knows that Kirk won’t do anything to stop them, not now and not anytime soon. As much as he’d like to believe his words, they’re as real as the groupies he hears them bang every night. 

They sit in silence. Contemplating. As if they had the same thought: “Jason’s suffering.” They share the same mind, even if it’s for a split second. 

It’s the closeness of Kirk to him, the way his warmth spreads and seeps through his clothes onto the cold husk of himself. He wants to believe those little white lies. He wants to believe that this would all stop. But how can one fool themself so easily? 

Kirk lifts his head and looks up at Jason. Jason looks back down at him. All this thinking and sitting in silence sobers him up further. Having deep thoughts drunk and high was fun, till it was with someone else. He always needed to retain control, before he let anything he didn’t mean to say aloud slip out. 

And when their gazes lock, the warmth in the eyes of Kirk’s enveloping the stony greyish blue in Jason’s, he wants to melt. Kirk looks at him with such tenderness. One unfamiliar, but not unwelcome. 

And before he can pull away his gaze, Kirk leans upwards, a hand caressing Jason’s jaw tenderly as his lips meet Kirk’s. Nothing properly registers in the younger man’s mind till Kirk slips a hand through his mussed curls, eyes closed. Once again, the loving action foreign, but not…unwelcome? 

Jason accept the gesture, albeit tentatively. What if Lars and James set him up to this? But it couldn’t be, that moment was too real and too raw to be a prank. You could fake depth but you couldn’t fake sincerity. 

And Kirk kissed him with all the sincerity of a long-lost lover finding his other half. 

Jason’s on his back now, hair sprawled out like an auburn halo, and Kirk thinks that he must be God’s favourite angel. 

So Kirk takes off each article of clothing all gentle and all tender, like he would shatter Jason if he were too rough. And as much as he hated being treated like a fragile little thing, it wasn’t derogatory with Kirk. It was all worshipful and admiration. 

Kirk maps out the plane expanses of Jason’s body with his hands, tracing each beauty mark and contour with his hands. Kirk was never like this with Lars, who liked it all teeth and friction and crazed lovemaking. It was a nice change of pace from the Dane. 

When Kirk’s hands slip lower and lower, Jason, always a loud presence on stage, let out a soft whine. Jason, who was all growls and guttural vocals, let himself a moment of vulnerability with Kirk. Fondling him now, the auburn man is all breathy gasps and pathetic little whines. It eggs Kirk on, and Jason mewls while bucking up into his hand. 

His hand moves faster, and they kiss again, as tender and loving as the first. Jason grants him that, that small sliver of his true side, and Kirk savours it like a drug. Jason gasps and writhes and moans Kirk’s name, and he drinks it all in. With Lars, he was the one getting boned six days from Sunday, but now he got to give Jason what he always wanted to receive. 

When Jason’s spend coats his hand, the man moans so sweetly. It’s oh so damn intimate and genuine, and it’s not pornstar-eqsue and fake like with groupies. It’s not like the animalistic growls with Lars. Sugar to his ears, icing of sin dripping off an angelcake. 

He strips himself down to match Jason, and he glanced up for permission. To take him. To have him. To show him how much he cared and adored him. Jason sat up. 

“I’ve never done this before—been with a guy, I mean.” The hesitation is clear, but Kirk gives him a reassuring smile. “I’ll make it good. You just have to trust me.” Trust Jason does, settling into his back. Kirk finds the lube easily, abandoned and barely used. Jason could find girls easily, but what wasn’t easy was letting them in during this dark period of time. 

Jason trusts him, and that’s all he needs before he’s got his fingers slicked up and has Jason’s legs spread. 

“Deep breaths, okay? It’s gonna feel weird, tell me if I need to stop.” One lubed fingers pushes past the tight ring of muscle, and Jason groans. It’s not uncomfortable or painful, but it’s a unique sensation. Kirk thrusts this finger in and out gently, and Jason lets himself be pliant. 

“I’m gonna add another, is that okay?” Kirk caressed the side of Jason’s face, his middle finger ready. Jason nodded, and in slipped the second. There was a slight stretch that had Jason squirming, not exactly unwelcome, though. It felt unique and almost good—but it all changed when Kirk crooked the ends of his fingers by a few degrees, brushing past a spot that made him see stars. 

“Fuck—“, he choked on a moan and his body curved upward. Kirk stilled, concern welling in his eyes. “What..what was that?” “That was your g-spot. Let me find that again , and you’ll know why it’s called that.”

When Kirk crooks his fingers further, his knuckles rub against the rubbery ball of nerves that set Jason’s loins aflame. He keens, toes curling as he grips the sheets. Kirk smiles and continues his assault on that spot, stars sparkling behind his eyelids. “How does that feel?”

“Kirk—that’s..oh, fuck-!” Jason moans, the familiar pressure building in his belly, and he’s sure he might come just from that. It’s all so overwhelmingly good that his mind spins, already muddled from the beers. Kirk set a steady rhythm, curling and scissoring his fingers in a way that had Jason keening. 

“Good?” The older man asks. It felt good to make Jason feel good, the bassist recently seemed to be down in the dumps after shows, no matter how high-energy he was on stage. “So good—“ he choked out, eyes squeezed shut as breathy moans escaped his parted lips. Precome pearled at his tip, dripping down the underside of his cock.

When Kirk retracts his fingers, he whines at the loss. “Why..” he asks, question left unspoken but understood. “I want you to come on my cock.” Flushing at the obscene words, Jason’s pale face went pink in a matter of seconds. How cute, Kirk thought. 

Squeezing a generous amount of lube, he slicked up his length, his clean hand pushing the hair out of Jason’s face. “You’re gorgeous, Jase.” He complimented, and Jason scoffs in embarrassment. 

Kirk lines himself up with Jason’s hole, and looks up at him for confirmation. The younger man nods, biting his lip. Kirk’s cock prods at him, before the head slips in. He lets Jason adjust, watching with care. 

Jason bites down a cry, Kirk softly rocking his hips and working Jason open further. It felt like he was being torn into two, unused to the stretch that came with having a dick up his ass. “Oh, fuuuck—“

Kirk’s hips stuttered as he felt the flutter of Jason’s hole around his dick, and it had Kirk gripping Jason’s hips tightly. Jason looked his hottest like this, back bowed in ecstasy and his ass stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey with Kirk’s dick. The elder carefully draped himself over Jason and tilted up his chin gently, leaning in against his chest and tilting his head so that he could look into his eyes. 

As he fucked him slow and gentle, they kept eye contact, Kirk analysing every expression Jason made. His face scrunched up, brow glistening with sweat.

Kirk was hitting Jason’s sweet spot dead in with each smartly calculated roll of his hips. Jason’s prostate felt raw, and it was all so much, it took everything not to come right then and there. Kirk gave him a particularly well-angled thrust, cock hitting Jason’s prostate like a bullseye. Kirk moans at his sheer tightness, gripping his thighs tight.

Kirk’s dick rubbed against it deliciously as he withdrew, only to slam in and nail it again, right on the dot. It made Jason arch his back into a taut bow against Kirk as the sparks lit up every nerve ending like lightning.

It was never-ending pleasure, and Jason didn’t even notice his orgasm, taking him by surprise when he spilled onto his chest. Kirk didn’t stop, still gently fucking into him and chasing his own pleasure now that Jason was satiated. With the younger man clenching around him like a vice, it was hard to continue past a few thrusts before he fills Jason, insides all warm and gooey. 

They lay there for a while, their panting filling the room. Their bodies are warm against the cool midnight air—it’s so serene and feels unreal. Everything blurs together. Their bodies and their passion and their shared intimacy under the gaze of the moon. 

Tender and soft, Jason’s curled against Kirk’s chest with his body painted with his and Kirk’s come, but he doesn’t mind. Kirk has an arm draped across his waist, breathing in the faint pot smell from Jason’s hair. 

Jason knows that Kirk’ll be gone in the morning, back in Lars’ bed like this encounter never happened. He was bound to Lars, and to leave him for Jason was unforgivable. This little affair was meant to be forgotten in the morning. To never be spoken of again, despite their passions for one another.

Kirk and Jason. Jason and Kirk. In another world they’d be inseparable. In another world, they’d be lovers. In another world, they wouldn’t have met the way they had. But God hates Jason, that’s why he makes him suffer. 

The one who suffers through it all, is God’s most beautiful angel. He is beautiful and he is pained, bound to fall far from God’s grace when the time comes. Bound to slip through Kirk’s fingers soon. 

So they’d let themselves have this. This tiny sliver of heaven a sanctuary to them, they, who are not granted it.

[the-derpy-duck]

Hikaru Sulu and Pavol Chekov: The greatest fictional friendship you have never seen.  

The original Star Trek series was known and remembered for being rather progressive and had a major impact on popular culture. The idea of a mirror dimension that has all the characters but evil came from Star Trek, many characters get referenced in different media, and a lot of fanfiction as we know it today started with the Star Trek fandom. The main reoccurring cast in the first season of Star Trek was Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy or “Bones”, Mr. Scot or “Scotty”, Mr. Sulu, and Mrs. Uhura along with a few other background characters that were not as prevalent. In the second season Star Trek decided to add another guy to the cast, Mr. Chekov. He was mostly just there to be Russian and a reason for teen girls to watch the show. However, I believe that is a boring way to see a character. If a character speaks, or even makes an on-screen appearance, then there is subtext that can be read into. This can most easily be applied to the main trio.  

Spock is a half-Human half-Vulcan who comes from a world that is highly built around logic and suppressing emotions. He never really ends up fitting into one singular category to the more ignorant people around him and is subject to many bigoted comments from both humans and Vulcans, in varying degrees of subtilty. In some cases, it is difficult to tell if a comment was meant to be directed at Spock and if it was malicious. Spock does not often react to these comments regardless and it is typically Kirk who would confront the person. McCoy is very opposite to Spock; he is a doctor and a part of being in the medical field is having empathy. Although McCoy does make jokes at Spock’s expense there is a clear difference between when McCoy, Spock’s friend, antagonizes him and when some random guy does. McCoy is often at odds with Spock because he is so deeply rooted in empathy and caring for others which often leads to, and is also rooted in, emotions. Vulcans aren’t supposed to feel strong emotions, which Spock clearly does for both McCoy and Krik. In the episode “Naked Time” he directly states that he feels strong emotions for Kirk, in “Amok Time” he asks Kirk to go with him as a companion to witness a culturally significant ceremony in Vulcan culture (McCoy is also asked and they both go). Spock is the “brain” of the trio, McCoy is the “heart”, and Kirk is the result of two equally unstable and stubborn people refusing to stop bickering. Many, much better, essays have been written about this, what I wish to discuss is the implied friendship between Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekov. 

For the entirety of season one, Chekov does not exist. If one were to watch the show and take everything at face value, then he is a shallow, one dimensional, stereotype of a Russian put in a show made during a time when America did not like Russians. This, however, is not fun and is not technically true. Chekov has a more laid back and joking personality. The main joke he makes is that everything is made in Russia. It is important to keep in mind the political climate of the time this show was made in. Chekov is making a joke, the things he claims to originate in his home country are obviously not Russian, the main question is if the joke is being actively made by Chekov in the narrative, as in the he is telling a joke to someone else in the story canonically, or if the joke is just that Chekov thinks or is claiming things aren’t Russian to be Russian. If it is the former, then it adds to his character in a way that isn’t just throwing more ‘Russia’ onto the guy who’s main thing is being Russian. If it is the latter, then it adds more ‘Russia’ to the guy who’s main thing is being Russian. Every person who consumes a thing will come out of it with a slightly different reading. We can get a central theme and idea, but we have different ways of coming to the conclusion. We read a word in a different tone, completely changing the sentence, we focus on different characters and read relationships differently. The best thing about art is that there is no wrong way to read and enjoy it. I personally like Chekov. I see him as being a more sarcastic character who is, more often than not, mocking the viewer for laughing at a stereotype. Even if this not what he is, it is what a lot of the “made in Russia” jokes came off to me as. I also love the “made in Georgia” joke so I am biased towards a guy who would make a similar joke. But him saying that he “was the Tzar of all the Russians” when told that a man standing Infront of him (who had just grown multiple feet in height) was the god Apollo. He sheepishly apologizes to the captain for this comment, which made me think that he tended to say things without thinking because he was either personally insulted or just thought it would be funny. I also just thought that it was a bit cute. Chekov also obviously loves women (same) and is obviously loyal to Captain Krik, in “I, Mudd” he automatically dislikes Mudd because he is being held captive by him (with the rest of the crew) and because I think he has some level of loyalty to Kirk and the rest of the crew. He also dislikes physicals but that should be discussed later in this essay. One can also infer based on a comment made by Bones in “Who Mourns for Adonais?” where Chekov starts listing animals that can generate energy/electricity without any harm to themselves. Bones tells him to stop, and Chekov says that Kirk would need all the information. Bones then remarks that “Spock is contaminating this boy”. Which could also just mean that Chekov transferred to the Enterprise. It could also mean that Chekov trained under or spent time with Spock. It could mean both, it doesn’t fully matter but I think it’s fun to think about. This gives the impression of a character that likes to make jokes but cares about and is good at his job. Another thing about Chekov is that he makes what would ber historical references, especially Russian ones. In the episode “I, Mudd” he either called Mudd a former Surf or a former owner of a Surf. This would add to the ‘Chekov spent time with Spock” narrative as Spock studies history, but this doesn’t matter that much.  He is a bit young, impulsive, and very naevi, but also very passionate in the field he works in. Regardless of how good or real these conclusions I’ve come to are, it is still a semi-reasonable way to read and interpret the text.    

Sulu was a part of the cast sense the first season. He played a notable role in the episode “The Naked Time” where he was one of the first people to be affected by the virus that caused people to lose their inhibitions. Interestingly enough, Sulu became afflicted after his friend, who had originally contracted the virus and was the one who brought it back to the ship, had a mental breakdown and attempted to kill himself using a knife. He was apparently in a friend group with this character who existed to die, and Riley. They (Sulu and Riley) attempted to restrain their friend but ultimately failed. Sulu spent the rest of the episode fencing. The idea. that watching their friend die was never really considered as a possibility for Riley or Sulu’s strange actions. They are both noted to be acting out of character and that would have been a viable explanation. It isn’t why they are acting this way, but it is an interesting idea. He is mentioned to have been a good spacecraft fighter by Spock, but when they are attacked in season two, the first time, he is not present. The other time they are attacked they choose to retreat. Sulu has a more mellowed out personality compared to the more neurotic people who surround him. He enjoys fencing and is skilled in it, as stated before he was a fighter pilot. He cares about the rest of the crew members and is generally seen as trustworthy by those around him.  What we saw in “Mirror Mirror” also supports the idea that Sulu is a good guy, mainly because in the Mirror verse, he is not. From my understanding, the Mirror realm is where everything is the same, but the main characters were evil. This implies either a lot of things happening in the Mirror realm that led to people having vastly different morals or that the individual personalities and goals of the characters are swapped or moved around slightly. Realistically both probably occurred. Mirror Sulu is shown to be a bad person, he harasses women and torchers people who are below him in rank, although they did attempt to murder him. The characters, even when they are fully aware of how the people act in this world, are horrified and shocked over these actions. The normal Sulu would not take these actions, plus he’s gay. Although that doesn't mean that he would harass a woman.  Regardless, those just weren’t things that Sulu would do, which was why he was the one doing them in the Mirror realm. 

So why are these two friends? Well, a lot of their friendship is my own very liberal interpretation of the text. They interact as they are both helmsmen and sit next to each other when they have the same shift. Despite this, when Chekov is a major character in an episode, Sulu is typically either a minor character in the episode or not there at all and vice versa. In some episodes they also don’t have a lot of time to interact because they individually wouldn’t have a lot of time on screen individually. However, they do interact. One of the more well-known scenes the two share is from the episode “The Deadly Years”, where Chekov is forced to have a lot of physicals done on him and he is complaining about it to Sulu. He makes the remark “If I live long enough, I’m going to run out of samples to give” and Sulu responds with “You’ll live”. Chekov states that he will but he won’t enjoy it. They have a lot of chemistry in this short interaction, and it is one of the main things that convinced me that they are friends. The two would naturally spend a lot of time together because they work similar jobs. Although they wouldn’t always be on the same shift it is not unreasonable to assume that they would work together at least once or twice a week. It is also not unreasonable to assume that Krik or Spock would put people who get along with each other on the same shifts, it would make logical sense because it would lead to less infighting over irrelevant issues, and it would keep moral up. Unless two people distracted each other I don’t see why Kirk would purposely sperate people from their friends. Furthermore, both Kirk and Spock would be well aware of how important it is for people to care about each other. 

Having people who you care about and who care about you would make space travel and any type of work much more enjoyable, easy, and safe. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy obviously care about each other and regardless of how it is interpreted Kirk and Spock clearly love each other. A lot of what motivates people is interpersonal relationships, and it would make sense to put people who like working together, together. That unnecessary tangent aside, it has been proven that just being around a person more can increase affection towards that person. People like and trust those who they are familiar with more than the people who they are not, even if both people are strangers. Obviously, this can also work in reverse if one is annoyed with a certain person but that’s beside the point. We like things that we are familiar with, and that extends to people. So, it would not be unreasonable to assume that Chekov and Sulu would have built up some sort of repour with each other over the course of the second season of the show. Chekov also openly complains to Sulu in an incredibly casual way, and Sulu responds similarly. Although they both are generally seen as friendly, in this particular scene it is taken to a much higher level than would be normal. The two personalities aren’t necessarily contradictory or opposites, but they are clearly different. Chekov is younger, impulsive, and much more unprofessional. However most of the time when he does interact with people of higher ranks he is professional. He will make an occasional joke, but it isn’t a constant thing. Sulu, although not as professional as say, Spock, takes his work seriously and won’t make jokes during debriefings. If the two were to be put in more situations together they could easily work well together and balance the other one out. It is not hard to imagine the two running into trouble on the enterprise that get increasingly more ridiculous.  

All of that is hypothetical, which is my main problem. I have made up most of this friendship in my head and I have spent an unreasonable amount of time thinking about this thing that is not real. I often find myself liking random background characters for little to no reason apart from them having one line that I thought was funny or a few scenes that I thought were interesting. The main reason why I like Generation One Bumblebee was because it was mentioned in an episode that he was “late again”. It didn’t add anything to the story or further the plot, but it did give a small amount of character to Bumblebee and gave some insight into how the characters interact with each other. The normal length of a Star Trek episode for TOS is 50 minutes, which gives a lot of time for the characters to interact and have these small moments. The scene of Chekov complaining about all the medical tests served to show his youth in a sense. His complaints were likely meant to come off as childish and overdramatic. I am assuming that they weren’t drawing enough blood to fill one of those blood donation bags but he had done at least three physicals and two of those were back-to-back, so his complaints probably were somewhat reasonable. When Scotty was left in charge of the Enterprise during the events of ‘Friday’s Child’, Chekov makes a “thing that was definitely not made in Russia was made in Russia” joke. When Sulu and Scotty look confused, Chekov just smiles and Sulu also smiles, whereas Scotty just looks a bit annoyed with the comment. They also have a small conversation in “Amok Time” when Sulu asks what Chekov thinks about the current traveling situation. Chekov responds with a joke. The two also complain about how indecisive the commanders are being about where they are traveling. These scenes that show them making jokes together as they work make me think that they would spend time with each other outside of when they were required to work together. They make jokes with each other and don’t really get annoyed the way that the others do. In the epiosode where the enterprise is given a supercomputer that could very well replace them it is implied that both Chekov and Sulu dislike it. When Kirk tells Chekov to plot a course back to a star base Sulu is very happy and the two joke a bit and are smiling. There is also another episode where the two are very physically close to each other. I believe that Sulu was helping Chekov track something. Although two characters being physically close to each other does not automatically mean that the characters are close friends, it does say something about their relationship. They both feel comfortable enough to be working closely on a high stress project. In fact, it almost seems to make them calmer. This could also have just represented Sulu’s anxiety around the current situation, but it could also imply that the two are friends.

 But what is the actual appeal to the idea of their friendship? For me, the idea that two background characters who get enough screen time to not be completely obscure but not enough screen time to be considered a main character could have a friendship that just existed without being connected to a main character is cool. 50 minutes is a lot of time for the characters to just interact and any filler that has Chekov and Sulu together only strengthens my belief that they are best friends. If both of them are included in the episode, stay on the ship, and have at least a supporting role in the A or B plot then they will probably exchange funny looks or have a short conversation. Chekov, as a character, was meant to fill three main rolls, he needed to be Russian, he needed to be the appeal for teenage girls, and he was typically the comic relief character that was also the almost redshirt. Sulu also is sometimes placed in the ‘almost red shirt’ category. The audience knows and cares about him but he isn’t a main character. The writers will not kill off Spock, Kirk, or Bones. Scotty and Uhura also have a good amount of plot armor. Sulu and Chekov both have plot armor, but they aren’t integral to the ship functioning. There is more than one navigator and helmsman. They can be replaced, and they work in shifts. The main thing that separates them from a sacrificial security guard or science officer is that they have had their names for more than one episode. They are reoccurring background characters that the audience cares for, but they are not unkillable. Will they die? Probably not and it definitely wouldn’t be in the same way that your average red shirt would, but they could. The main way the writers can establish a thing as a threat or something we as the audience should be worried about is by having one of these ‘almost red shirts’ be impacted by it. They won’t die but they will be mind controlled or put in harm’s way. 

They are in no position of power and just have to deal with the consequences of the commanders’ actions in a way that is different from the actual people in power. Kirk goes to a planet and discovers that someone has contracted a disease, Spock, McCoy, and Kirk would be in charge of actually fixing the situation, but characters like Sulu and Chekov don’t actively work on solving the problem. In “Amok Time” they are shown to be changing the courses when Kirk goes back and forth on the Vulcan issue, but they aren’t the ones who are actually deciding what they should do. Kirk will ask Chekov a question about a navigation specific problem, but Chekov isn’t the one in charge of if or not they will go through with the plan; he is just there to give advice. They are both annoyed by how indecisive Captain Kirk was being in ‘Amok Time’ and although they will complain amongst themselves, they will never take their grievances to him directly. Nor will Kirk ask what they think about the situation because they are not the people who would know or care that much about the issue. This makes them resemble coworkers who are friends who must deal with their boss’s antics. We don’t focus on the people who do everyday jobs on the Enterprise because that is boring when compared to the adventures that Captain Kirk and Spock would go on. We still watch people do their everyday job, but what makes it interesting and fun is the setting and characters. For a show like “The Office” to work the characters need to be funny or entertaining. The main reason why people watch TV is because they want to escape from the monotony and stress of day-to-day life. If “The Office” was just about people working a typical office job, then it wouldn’t have as large of an audience because it would be boring. We wouldn’t want to have a boss like whoever the boss is in The Office (I’ve watched one episode of the office I don’t know how bad the guy is but from the clips I’ve seen all of these characters seem like the type you’d want to avoid having to spend long periods of time with) or be put in life threatening situations, but these are fake. They didn’t happen in real life and a lot of the absurdity is funny because of that. It would be much more interesting to watch the main three, and that’s why the show is heavily focused on them. However, the idea of Chekov and Sulu is funny. It may not be enough to fill a 50-minute block of TV or even a 22-minute one, but it does make for potentially humorous situations. These stories and situations would not have a large impact on anything, but the idea that they happen or could happen makes the world feel more real and a bit more fun.  Although they might not interact a lot in the original show the movies do present evidnce that they are friends. When the crew is given shore leave, Chekov and Sulu spend that time together. They get lost in Yellowstone together and the idea of them being friends is much closer to cannon than it ever was in the original show. The argument was never if or not they were friends, it was why this hypothetical relationship was good and entertaining. I personally find both characters endearing and I think that they would be friends based off of how they interact in the text. Their general personalities also serve to complement each other, Sulu is much more laid back and thoughtful whereas Chekov is impulsive and doesn’t really take things seriously, his inexperience is obvious, and he is easily startled. Sulu has been on the Enterprise much longer than Chekov and he is more used to the universe constantly trying to kill them.

  

Ultimately, both Chekov and Sulu are background characters in a show from the 60s’. What they did, their thoughts and feelings on certain matters, and individual thoughts do not matter to the narrative. They serve to fill up the world and make it seem less empty and less like the writers couldn’t be bothered to make characters to fill the roles that they fill. The conversations that they have are mostly just filler and have little substance. That, however, is a boring explanation and much less fun. It is fun to imagine these characters being friends, it’s fun to overanalyze everything that they say and do, and it’s fun to make up your own little stories for characters you enjoy. A shallow character or a shallow story can still have an impact on people because they can add depth to it. Star Trek is neither a shallow story nor does it only have shallow characters, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still fun to make stuff up. The world of Star Trek is a sandbox world, there is an unlimited number of stories a person can tell. Star Trek is one of the earliest series that had fan works that were actively labeled as such and it’s not hard to see why. Many characters are charming and have a lot of chemistry with each other. The show generates creativity and wants the viewer to think. And I did that. I thought 4k poorly worded words into existence that you managed to read. Good job!

[anonymousewrites]

Logos and Pathos (Book 3) Chapter Twenty-Two

TOS! Spock x Empath! Reader

Chapter Twenty-Two: Romulan Commander

Summary: The Romulan Commander has an unusual approach to interrogating Spock and (Y/N), and Kirk gets into more trouble.

            Spock, (Y/N), and Kirk gazed steadily at the Romulan Commander as she glanced over them in assessment.

            “Captain Kirk,” she greeted evenly.

            “Commander. I’m honored,” said Kirk.

            The Romulan Commander smiled politely, but her emotions caused it to feel like a sneer. “I don’t think so.” She rose from her chair. “But we have an important matter to discuss, and your superficial courtesies are an overture to that discussion.” She walked around her desk, and her gaze landed on Spock and (Y/N). “You are the First Officer and the Negotiations and Communications Officer. Spock and (Y/N).” The pair nodded shortly.

            The Romulan Commander turned to her guards. “I speak first with the Captain.” She glanced at Spock and (Y/N). “You may wait outside.” The guards took (Y/N) and Spock outside of the office and left her with Kirk within.

            (Y/N) wished they could have a moment to speak alone, but instead they had to stand in silence outside of the office. The room was insulated, so (Y/N) and Spock couldn’t hear anything, but that didn’t keep (Y/N) from feeling the emotions from within. They separated Kirk’s and the Romulan Commander’s auras and knew that the discussion within wasn’t going well. It was an argument.

            But that was fine. (Y/N) and Spock would adjust the plan if needed. There was a reason it was them and Kirk who had been sent on this mission.

            Finally, there was a beep, and the radio next to them turned on. “Spock, (L/N), come in.”

            The doors slid open, and the guards escorted the pair into the office once more. Kirk stood to the side, eyes narrowed, and the Romulan Commander’s emotions were still frustrated.

            “The Captain has made his statement,” she said.

            “We understand,” said Spock, and (Y/N) nodded.

            “I must admit some surprise upon seeing you two,” remarked the Romulan Commander, and (Y/N) was surprised to see the pale change in her emotions to a subtle shade of being pleased. “We were not aware of Vulcans or Celians aboard the Enterprise.”

            “Starfleet is not in a habit of informing Romulans of its ships’ personnel,” said (Y/N), a little bit protectively since she seemed so focused on Spock.

            “Quite so.” The Romulan Commander’s attention passed to them, and the same pleased warmth of her emotions remained. “And yet there are certain ships, certain officers, that are known to us. Your situations appear most interesting.”

            “What earns Spock and (L/N) your special interest?” asked Kirk.

            “Spock is a Vulcan,” said the Romulan Commander. “Our forebearers had the same roots and origins.” She glanced at Kirk. “Something you wouldn’t understand, Captain. We can appreciate the Vulcans, our distant brothers. I have heard of Vulcan integrity and personal honor. There is a well-known saying, or is it a myth, that Vulcans are incapable of lying.”

            Oh, this is definitely Romulan flirting, thought (Y/N), and their natural protectiveness was instantly awakened.

            “It is no myth,” said Spock simply. “But that does not explain why (Y/N) has your ‘special interest.’ ”

            “Celians have long been of interest to the Romulan Empire,” said the Romulan Commander. “Their empathic abilities are some of the most highly developed psychic abilities in the galaxy.” She turned to face (Y/N). “And (L/N)’s is simply known to be quite strong. There have been many reports about their abilities. Apparently, the Novisans faced a cultural turning point due to them.”

            (Y/N) remembered the Novisans—empaths who split their society between those with empathy and those without. They oppressed people without empathy, and it was an abusive society. They tried to control (Y/N), and (Y/N) had…reacted accordingly. Now, the Prince Regulus had become king with his boyfriend Elias, and the planet was beginning to heal from the years of separation.

            The Romulan Commander’s gaze flicked up and down (Y/N), and the same pleased emotion from when she looked at Spock entered her aura again. “It is apparently quite formidable and impressive to see.”

            Oh. Oh. She was flirting with both of them. (Y/N) blinked in a bit of surprise.

            “Now, to the matter of hand,” said the Romulan Commander. “What was your mission?”

            “I’m afraid you’re not my commanding officer. I don’t need to answer,” said (Y/N) pleasantly.

            The Romulan Commander glanced at them. “Your ‘wit’ is also well-known.” She turned to Spock. ‘Well, then, Spock. If you cannot lie, then tell me truthfully now, by your honor as a Vulcan, what was your mission?”

            “I reserve the privilege of speaking only when it will not violate my honor as a Vulcan,” said Spock matter-of-factly.

            “It is unworthy of a Vulcan to resort to subterfuge,” said the Romulan Commander, fairly frustrated.

            “You’re being clever,” said Spock. “That is unworthy of a Romulan.” (Y/N) smirked proudly. “It is not a lie to keep the truth to oneself.”

            “Then there is a truth here that remains unspoken.” The Romulan Commander wasn’t discouraged.

            “You’ve been told everything. There’s nothing else to say,” said Kirk.

            “There is Mr. Spock’s unspoken truth,” said the Romulan Commander.

            It is a bit unfortunate that he can’t lie. But it’s nothing we can’t work around, thought (Y/N).

            The Romulan Commander took a step towards Kirk. “You knew of the cloaking device that we have developed. You deliberately violated Romulan space with a blatant spy mission by order of the Federation Command.”

            “We’ve been through all that, Commander,” snapped Kirk.

            “We have not even begun!” said the Romulan Commander with equal ferocity. And then she collected herself, steeling her features once more. “There is no force that I can use on a Vulcan that will make him speak, nor on a Celian. The mental blocks are too strong. But there are Romulan methods completely effective against humans and human weaknesses.”

            (Y/N) straightened beside Spock. They knew they needed to keep Kirk from getting tortured. Spock stepped forward.

            “You would not resort to them, Commander,” said Spock. “They would prove ineffective against the Captain.”

            “He would not break,” agreed (Y/N).

            “Then they will leave him dead or what might be worse than dead,” snapped the Romulan Commander. “But I will know your unspoken truths.”

            “Let her rant. There’s nothing to say,” said Kirk stubbornly.

            “We cannot allow the Captain to be further destroyed,” said Spock. “The strain of command has worn heavily upon him.”

            “He has not been himself for several weeks,” said (Y/N), beginning to put everything in motion.

            “That’s a lie!” snapped Kirk.

            “As you can see, Captain Kirk is a highly sensitive and emotional person,” said Spock.

            “His emotional state is quite erratic,” said (Y/N).

            “It’s not!” denied Kirk vehemently.

            “I believe he has lost the capacity for rational decision,” said Spock.

            “Shut up, Spock!” cried Kirk, putting all the anger he could bring out into the cry.

            “We are betraying no secrets,” said Spock. “The Commander’s suspicion that Starfleet ordered the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone is unacceptable. Our rapid capture demonstrates its foolhardiness.”

            “You filthy liar!” said Kirk.

            “He is speaking the truth for the benefit of the Enterprise and the Federation,” said (Y/N).

            “I say now and for the record that Captain Kirk ordered the Enterprise across the Neutral Zone on his own initiative and craving for glory,” said Spock.

            Kirk lunged forward violently, but the guards held him back. “I’ll kill you for this, you traitors! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

            “He is not sane,” said (Y/N).

            The Romulan Commander gazed at Kirk, and (Y/N) watched carefully as her emotions swirled as she made her decision. Finally, they landed on some sort of contentedness, and she sat at her computer. She made a call to the Enterprise.

            “Attention, Enterprise,” she said. “I am speaking to you from the Romulan flagship. The U.S.S. Enterprise under command of James T. Kirk is formally charged with espionage. The testimony of First Officer Spock and Lieutenant Commander (L/N) was highly instrumental in confirming this intrusion into Romulan space was not an accident. The officers’ testimony was specific that your ship was not under orders from Starfleet Command or the Federation Council to perform such a spy mission. It was Captain Kirk who was solely responsible.

            “Since the crew had no choice to obey orders, the crew will not be held responsible,” continued the Romulan Commander. “Therefore, I am ordering Engineer Scott, presently in command of the Enterprise, to follow the Romulan Flagship to our home base. You will be processed and released to Federation Command. Until judgement is passed, Captain Kirk will be held in confinement.”

            We got the crew off the hook, and Kirk’s “condition” is believed, thought (Y/N).

            “This is Lieutenant Commander Scott,” said Scotty, making his response. “The Enterprise takes no orders except those of Captain Kirk. And we will stay here until he returns. And if you make any attempt to board or commandeer the Enterprise, it will be blown to bits along with as many of you as we can take with us.”

            No one can say Scotty isn’t loyal, thought (Y/N) fondly.

            The Romulan Commander smirked, and amusement pulsed around her. “You humans make a brave noise. There are ways to convince you of your errors.” She closed the channel.

            “Did you hear that, you coward?” said Kirk to Spock. “You’ve betrayed everything of value you ever knew.” He glared at (Y/N). “And you just go along with him! Disgraceful.”

            He is certainly having fun playing this role, thought (Y/N) in amusement.

            “Take him to the security room,” said the Romulan Commander to her men, tired with Kirk’s anger and shouting. He was forced out of the room as he struggled, and Spock, (Y/N), and the Romulan Commander were left alone together.

            She turned her attention to the pair, first gazing at Spock. “A Vulcan among humans…living, working with them. I would think the situation would be intolerable to you.”

            “I am half Vulcan. My mother is human,” said Spock.

            “To whom is your allegiance, then? Do you call yourself Terran or Vulcan?” asked the Romulan Commander, leaning forward slightly.

            “Vulcan,” said Spock.

            “And you, (L/N)? To work among humans where you can always sense their erratic emotions must be quite tiring,” said the Romulan Commander.

            “My specialty is emotions, as you know. I can handle it,” said (Y/N).

            The Romulan Commander leaned back in her chair. “How long have you served Starfleet?”

            “Eighteen years,” said Spock.

            “Fifteen years,” said (Y/N).

            “And you serve Captain Kirk,” said the Romulan Commander. “Do you like him? Do you like your shipmates?”

            “The question is irrelevant,” said Spock.

            “What is the meaning of it?” asked (Y/N).

            “You are subordinate to Captain Kirk’s orders, even to his whims,” said the Romulan Commander.

            “Our duty as officers is to obey him,” said Spock.

            The Romulan Commander leaned forward. “You are superior beings.” The flirting began again. “Why do neither of you command?”

            Spock raised an eyebrow. “I do not desire a ship of my own.”

            “I don’t want command,” said (Y/N).

            “Or is it that no one has offered you two, a Vulcan and a Celian, that opportunity?” suggested the Romulan Commander.

            “Such opportunities are extremely rare,” remarked Spock.

            “For people with your capabilities and accomplishments, opportunities are made and will be,” said the Romulan Commander. “I will see to that if you stop looking to the Federation as the whole universe. It is not, you know.”

            (Y/N) and Spock didn’t even have to look at one another to know that this was the perfect way to continue with their mission. There was no communication needed.

            “That thought has occasionally crossed my mind,” remarked Spock simply. He looked at (Y/N).

            They nodded. “I’ve considered the same.”

            The Romulan Commander leaned back in satisfaction, and a pleased aura hovered around her. “You must have your own ships.”

            “Commander, shall we speak plainly?” said Spock.

            “It is you who desperately needs a ship,” said (Y/N). “You want the Enterprise.”

            “Of course,” said the Romulan Commander. “It would be a great achievement for me to bring home the Enterprise intact. It would broaden the scope of my powers greatly. It would be the achievement of a lifetime. And it would open equal opportunities for you.”

            Spock and (Y/N) raised an eyebrow each.

            The bosun whistled, and the Romulan Commander turned to answer it before the conversation could continue. “Yes?”

            Her eyebrows rose, and then her brow furrowed. (Y/N) felt her emotions stir in confusion and worry and knew that Kirk had started the next bit of the plan.

            “I’ll come there,” she said. She stood and smiled at Spock and (Y/N). “Attend me.”

            The word usage—the same phrase that Vulcan couples said to one another—was intentional. She walked out the door, and (Y/N) and Spock followed.

            “I neglected to mention I’ll expect you both for dinner,” said the Romulan Commander as they walked. “We have much to discuss.”

            “Indeed?” said Spock.

            “Allow me to…rephrase.” The Romulan Commander paused and faced the pair. “Will you join me for dinner?”

            It was earnest and filled with her hopeful, warm emotions. She was being a bit vulnerable, and it was risky since she was a commander. She was doing her job, just like they were, but she was being earnest.

            “We are honored, Commander,” said (Y/N)

            “Are the guards also invited?” asked Spock, glancing at the men.

            The Romulan Commander turned and waved a hand. The Romulans saluted and walked away. There was her answer.

            The group started walking again, and Spock attempted to turn down a hallway, testing the importance of different corridors. They needed to know where the guarded areas were.

            “Mr. Spock,” said the Romulan Commander sternly. “That corridor is forbidden to all but loyal Romulans.”

            (Y/N) glanced at the guard in the red light. That was where one of them needed to get.

            “Of course,” said Spock easily. “We shall obey your restrictions.”

            “Our apologies,” said (Y/N).

            The Romulan Commander smiled. “I hope that one day there will be no need for you to observe any restrictions.”

            With those words, she led them down the proper halls to the room Kirk had been confined in. Bones had already been beamed over because Kirk had a medical emergency. He was scanning Kirk and tensed when the Romulan Commander entered with Spock and (Y/N) behind her.

            “Are you the doctor?” she questioned instantly.

            “McCoy, Chief Medical Officer,” said Bones.

            “Captain Kirk’s condition?” demanded the Romulan Commander.

            “Well, you can see it for yourself,” said Bones. “He’s mentally depressed, physically weak, disoriented, displays feelings of persecution and rebellion.”

            “Then by your own standards of normality, this man is not fully competent,” said the Romulan Commander.

            “No, not now,” said Bones.

            “Mr. Spock has stated that he believes the Captain had no authority or order to cross the Neutral Zone,” said the Romulan Commander. “Could this mental incapacity have afflicted him earlier?”

            “Yes, it’s possible,” said Bones.

            “Mr. Spock, Mx. (L/N), the Doctor has now confirmed your testimony as to the mental state of your Captain,” said the Romulan Commander.

            Bones stared in shock, and (Y/N) felt bad about the disappointment directed at them in his emotions. They’d give him a huge apology after this was done (and was successful).

            “He was and is unfit to continue in command of the Enterprise,” said the Romulan Commander. She looked at Spock. “That duty has now fallen to you. Are you ready to exercise that function?”

            “I am ready,” said Spock.

            “Spock, I don’t believe it,” said Bones. “There’s no price you could pay that would make him sell out.” He looked at (Y/N). “And (Y/N)? What are you doing?”

            (Y/N) was really feeling guilty, but the mission was too important to let go now. They could get yelled out and admonished for doing this afterwards.

            “The matter is not open to discussion, Doctor,” said Spock.

            “What do you mean the matter isn’t open to discussion?” cried Bones.

            “That’s enough, Doctor,” said the Romulan Commander sharply. “As a physician, your duty is to save lives. Mr. Spock’s duty is to lead the Enterprise and its crew to a safe haven.”

            “There is no alternative, Doctor,” said Spock. “The safety of the crew is now the paramount issue.” However, Spock did wish (Y/N) could be back in the safety of the ship instead of here with all the Romulans. He worried about their health more than any other’s. “It is misguided loyalty to protest any further.”

            “You traitor,” muttered Kirk, breaking his silence as he seemingly came out of his “trance.” He faced Spock. “I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you!”

            He ran at Spock, and the Vulcan grabbed his face. Kirk froze before collapsing to the ground, crying out and contorting.

            Bones caught him. “What did you do?!” he hissed. As Kirk’s body went limp, he turned desperate. “What did you do?”

            “I was unprepared for his attack,” said Spock simply. “I instinctively used the Vulcan Death Grip.”

            Bones scanned Kirk and looked up at Spock in anger, and, indeed, his aura was hot with the emotion. “Well, your instincts are still good, Mr. Spock,” he hissed. “The Captain is dead.”

            (Y/N) gasped and covered their mouth, and Spock brushed his fingers against theirs for a moment as they had to act for such a heartbreaking scenario. It was a show of support for their boyfriend.

            And as the Romulan Commander raised her brow in surprise and Bones glared at Spock and (Y/N), another piece of the plan fell into place.

Taglist:

@a-ofzest

@grippleback-galaxy

@genderfluid-anime-goth

@groovy-lady

@im-making-an-effort

@unending-screaming

@h-l-vlovesvintage

@neenieweenie

@keylimeconstellation

@wormwig

@technikerin23

@ilyatan

@nthdarkqueen

[burningexeter]

PITCH:

Attack On Titan: Deathwatch

An Adult Swim Original Series

Only On Toonami

What is it —

A full-blown American made animated sequel series to the Attack On Titan anime that is also a female-led spin-off starring Historia Reiss and Mikasa Ackerman as the protagonists.

CAST:

Trina Nishimura as Mikasa Ackerman

Bryn Apprill as Historia Reiss/Christa Lenz

Zelda Williams as Daniella Ryback

Kiefer Sutherland as Tobin Foster

Bruce Campbell as Brisco Walsh

Kirk Acevedo as Sam Vahue

PREMISE:

Four years after both the Rumbling and the Battle Of Heaven and Earth and one year after the epilogue, we find that the Queen Of The Walls is no longer Queen Of The Walls as we at first follow Historia Reiss, now going by her former alias 'Christa Lenz', who's currently residing in Manhattan, NY (yes, you read that right and you'll get the detailed explanation later) with her daughter Ymir, having put aside her crown and role as ruler of Paradis in order to give herself and her child a new life that's as ordinary as can be. But the chance at said new life and starting over doesn't come easy in any way, shape or even form as Historia is struggling to live a normal life with her kid as a modern-day person in the Big Apple for she's working an underpaid job as a hospital nurse, is already behind on rent, lives in a closed down bookstore she turned into a home and top it off, she owes debt to three dangerous people who are tied to the criminal underworld running drug trafficking in the big city.

It's through the latter that one of the three she owes payment to takes an interest in her and drags her into said underworld where after Historia betrays and (spoilers) shoots her the first chance she gets once she gets a sniff of enough money to pay off her debts and give both her and Ymir the life they want, the person reveals that not only (more spoilers) do they have grotesque regenerative and contortionistic powers but that said person is none other than Mikasa Ackerman herself.

Against her will and being given the same abilities as her, Historia is forced to not only marry Mikasa and be her wife but also be part of what Mikasa's been truly plotting only for it to unfortunately go south due to the effects of other storylines interweaving with each other and ultimately leads Mikasa down a path of redemption and letting go of Eren Yeager while it leads Historia down a path of hope and letting go of her girlfriend Ymir, her husband Wolfgang and her sister Frieda.

NOTES/TRIVIA/DETAILS:

• First things first, what's up with the modern-day Manhattan, New York setting? Here in Deathwatch, it's revealed at least here in the anime continuity that Marley and Eldia are only just ONE side to this universe as the rest of the world is perfectly fine and exactly as it is today with said rest of the world having completely ostracized Marley, their allies and Eldia in absolute horror and disgust but now after the events of the series finale, the modern world is now paying full attention to their side now that 80% of them were wiped out and the Titans are gone. This is introduced to us through Historia watching CNN on one of the hospital's flat-screen TVs.

• The show will not only go back to its grounded and grittier roots of the first two seasons of its predecessor as no matter how big and fantastical as it gets, it still remains somewhat grounded or grounded to some degree especially with the characters, action sequences and scenarios but also be done in the animation style of the first two seasons of its predecessor as well with Mikasa and Historia being in their S2 designs to which they fully acknowledge their new appearances.

• As for who the other characters are, I won't give anything away however I will only tell you about two to give you a good taste of what I'm cooking — Tobin Foster (Kiefer Sutherland) is at first what appears to be another criminal who is an enforcer keeping things in line only for it to be revealed that he's in fact an undercover FBI agent ready to take this drug operation down while Sam Vahue (Kirk Acevedo) is an escaped prisoner on the run who's not only guilty of his crime but is also used as a pawn in the chess game that the characters including Mikasa and even Historia are playing.

• Now let's get to the good stuff with Mikasa and Historia — here after the bird returned her scarf to her that Eren wrapped around her when they first met, Mikasa starts off as a totally different person but not in a good way. She's now a deadly and extremely dangerous bounty hunter who at first hunted and killed modern-day criminals and is currently working certain gangs against each other for her own gain. Top of that, her personality is different too.... she's cunning, smooth-talking, twisted, sadistic, boisterous, vile and controlling with a dark sense of humor and enjoys tormenting Historia. At least, that's how she starts off. For as it goes on, Mikasa begins to open up to Historia once she realized she and her have a lot in common with each other and starts showing a softer side to her. It's this softer side that romance begins blossoming as well in this dark underbelly. They start becoming a genuinely loving and caring couple with Mikasa doing whatever it takes to protect Historia, her beloved wife. It's shown that the two of them, despite their horrifying start at the beginning, do truly love each other and end up becoming a power couple right down to where whenever one of them is in trouble, the other is always there to get her out of it.

• Others added into the mix are flat-out horror elements, the animation being more expressive and fluid, Mikasa's body movements being cat-like, it having brutal but grounded violence on the same level of something like Oz and Bound, the fourth image above being the looks and outfits of Mikasa and Historia and last but not least also showing flat-out sex and full-frontal nudity.

• Just for fun, both Mikasa and Historia will have their bumbling, screw-up and boobish moments like these three examples throughout to show that they're anything but perfect yet it makes sense in the context of the show because Historia is getting back into any sort of actual action before she became Queen and Mikasa thinks that she's been through so much and has fought against so many odds that she makes no mistakes at all.

• Another thing just for fun is that there will be a few easter eggs here and there sprinkled in from other media that anyone whose a fan of all sorts of different types of said media can catch quickly. For example, Historia uses a black Egyptian book to beat a certain character on the head multiple times.

[hyunjining]

hi, how are you doing? :)

getting right into it: you made a comment a while back on where you could possibly write an entire essay on how Larry and Larrries changed the 'landscape of fandom'.

this post: https://at.tumblr.com/larryalbum/709204686830452736/t5742yilryne

(hopefully the link works)

Gaylorlikeme continued onto your post, going further with a real-world application, and I'm thankful that it was really put into words as such. Homophobia is the root cause of a lot backlash when it comes to anything other than a W/M relationship.

Back to what you said, it got me thinking a bit more of what that means. I just wanted to ask if you might keep me in mind if you ever write more about it or actually write an essay one day. I love to read other's thoughts, especially on this topic. As well as having a conversation about it.

I'm really new to being aware of Larry and everything that the ID Fandom has to offer so your sentence just got me wondering about how Larries could have changed Fandom as a whole when it comes to speculation and shipping versus like characters. For example: Kirk/Spock and Dean/Cas or Sherlock/John.

Yeah, it's just really fascinating. Am I on the right track of what you meant by that?

thank u so much! hope you're doing well

hi, i’m alright, thank you 💕

i was kind of joking about actually writing an essay but a lot of people have actually expressed interest so you never know lol. for now i am open to talking more about it because i find it super fascinating.

you’re pretty spot on about what i meant. i think the major backlash that larries have received (spearheaded by 1d’s team, the members of 1d and everyone associated with them) for believing that harry and louis are gay and together has affected every corner of the internet. if you interact with any other fandom, you can almost guarantee that there will be people imploring you not to act like larries, meaning not to speculate on any real person’s sexuality under any circumstances and not to “ship real people.” and of course by that they mean to never speculate that anyone is queer or in a queer relationship, because people have no problem shipping men and women together based on pap pics or brief interactions or them being literal toxic exes lmao. i mean, just look at what happened with andrew garfield and amelia dimoldenberg after that one red carpet interaction: they went viral and fans, news outlets, and other celebrities were openly talking about shipping them.

and i think this deep fear of being perceived as larrie-adjacent has created a weird and honestly harmful status quo where people refuse to acknowledge people who are very clearly queercoding but are not out/haven’t literally said the words “i am queer.” so if you’re not out, you get accused of queerbaiting, of stealing queer roles from “actual” queer people, etc. people think they’re being respectful but they end up harming other queer people and creating this pressure for everyone to come out if they want to live their lives the way they want to. that’s what happened to kit connor (and yet people still misunderstand that situation and turn around and use it as evidence to not speculate on people’s sexualities, when the whole problem was people thinking he was STRAIGHT and playing a bi character, not people thinking he was queer).

and on the topic of heartstopper, people in that fandom are literally telling each other not to say that joe locke and sebastian croft are dating when they very clearly are and it’s just hilarious to me. you can’t tell me that if they were a man and a woman, people wouldn’t immediately assume they’re dating. we can use louis’ most recent stunt (or really any stunt, especially most of harry’s) as an example here: he was papped holding hands with this girl once and there are already update accounts about their “relationship” even though there’s been no official confirmation of them dating.

and i absolutely think this attitude is because of larry. one direction became a thing right as twitter was really taking off, and the band used twitter as their main source of interacting with fans and cultivating their image online. never before had there been something like larry, where people were believing that two male members of the same hugely popular, mainstream band were legitimately dating each other and compiling evidence to support this fact. and the subsequent reaction from their team was so uniquely aggressive that it made larry even more widely known. and so, cut to today, even though 1d hasn’t been a band for almost 8 years (jesus), anyone who’s been on the internet for any amount of time knows about it. but the main thing they know, if they never look any deeper, is how utterly hated we are and how we supposedly ruined harry and louis’ friendship. and they of course don’t want to ruin the relationships of their favorite singers, actors, etc, so they’ve created the environment i previously described.

it’s pretty awful, really. especially because a large amount of larries are queer themselves. but that’s where we are.

thank you so much for your message! i hope that answered your question and i hope you’re doing well as well 🥰

[scotianostra]

19th January 1644 saw a Scottish Covenanter army of 20,000 men under the command of Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven move south into England and their civil war supporting Oliver Crowmell.

Sit doon and get comfy, this will be a lengthy post, for the start of this post has it's roots in The English Civil War it takes us right up to the Jacobite Uprisings and the split in loyalties between King and country.

The 17th-century civil war may seem a very English affair, but that is misleading – it was started and ended by Scots.

We all know a bit about the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army; the Battles of Worcester and Naseby and Marston Moor that ended with the execution of King Charles I, to me it marked the beginning of the end of the Stuarts, and it all seems a rather English affair, recently, however, historians have preferred to call it ‘The War of Three Kingdoms’, since both Scotland and Ireland were inevitably drawn into the dispute. It is easy to see why the older version prevailed for so long.

To me the internet has helped people, like myself understand history better, we can seek out so many sources so easily, at school, if you were lucky you got a text book with the one version being "gospel" but even on here I have been called out for getting things wrong, well in the eyes of the person calling me out I certainly will concede certain ground, but history as well is how you perceive it, what to put in my posts and what to leave out. I rely on some people to keep me right in some respects, and I can't hold a torch to some peoples knowledge of certain aspects of our history, I take my hat off to the likes of my friends, Marti Morrison, or Roland Obrien whose Jacobite knowledge can put me to shame, these guys live and breath the history, wear the outfits, walk the battlefields and have done for years, mere mortals like me scour the archives piecing together from many sources, like todays post, giving an understanding of events that has been lacking in the classrooms when the super info-highway was still drifting out in space.

Anyway back to the post in hand.

The English story is clear – the extravagant and naïve Charles pitted against the unglamorous and hard-headed Cromwell over a clear point of principle. The Scottish story, however, is much more ambiguous.

Indeed, if the ‘English Civil War’ might broadly be dated from 1640, when Charles I dissolved the ‘Short Parliament’, to 1660, when General Monck restored Charles II to the throne, the ‘Scottish Civil War’ could be said to have run from 1637 to 1744, and the final defeat of the Jacobite cause.

Lets start with simple question: to whom did Charles I surrender in 1646? Not to Fairfax, Essex, Ireton or Cromwell, the leading lights in the English Civil War, but to the Scottish regiment encamped at Newark, led by Alexander Leslie.

Charles, who had of course been born in Scotland, and always had a problem with the Scottish Kirk, who maintained that while the King had authority in matters temporal, they had authority in matters spiritual; and often where one ended and the other began was a point of serious contention. Time and time again I go back to pointing out the Stewart/Stuart, mantra of Devine right of Kings.

James VI as the first King to "rule" over the two Kingdoms of Scotland and England got away with having two forms of worship by not getting too involved with them, Charles however was much more headstrong, his first, and some say biggest mistake was the introduction of his own prayer books on the Scottish Kirk in 1637. It caused a riot, with one woman, Jenny Geddes, purportedly throwing her stool at the minister and shouting ‘daur ye say Mass in my lug?’ They saw it as being to close to the "Popery" of the Catholic church, it led to the drawing up a ‘National Covenant' which was a solemn agreement inaugurated to reject the prayer book and any meddling by the King in their religion. Don't underestimate this agreement a staggering six hundred thousand Scots signed the document, in any age, it stated that as long as the king protected the Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church would protect the king. There was the rub.

Charles, forgetting that the word ‘thrawn’ could have been invented to describe the Scottish Church, sorted refused to sign, leading to the so-called First and Second Bishops’ Wars, the latter ending with Montrose and the veteran of the European wars Alexander Leslie in control of Northumbria and County Durham. Charles had to recall the English Parliament for financial support – the ‘Long Parliament’ – and precipitated his war with them.

Parliament now opened negotiations with the Church. Although there were many mutual areas of agreement, the Church of Scotland held both the Independents and the Puritans at arm’s length.

Nevertheless, Westminster and Edinburgh both signed a successor document to the Covenant, the Solemn League and Covenant, which brought the Scots into the fray on the side of Parliament. Even before this, Montrose had already switched sides, concerned that the Kirk was attempting to usurp the power of the Crown.

While Charles was fighting Cromwell he still held out hope that the Scots could wield and come to his rescue, perhaps this is why he surrendered himself to Leslies army and not the Roundheads. What did for him was English gold. The Scots had been promised much and were financially insecure, so in exchange for their prisoner, the English Parliament paid Scottish debts, Leslie's army had not been paid as promised for allying themselves with Cromwell, with this settled Charles was handed over, eventually to be tried and executed.

The execution of Charles was a turning point. The English had killed the legitimate King of Scots without so much as a by-your-leave. Charles II was proclaimed King of Scots in Edinburgh, and the head of the ‘Engagers’, the Duke of Hamilton, beheaded in London.

Under the Treaty of Breda, Charles II signed the Covenant; an act he did so in supreme bad faith. He needed allies not disputations on theology. Cromwell addressed the General Assembly over the Scots defection, saying: ‘I beseech you, in the bowels in Christ, think it possible ye may be mistaken.’

When the Assembly decided they were not, Cromwell launched a punitive strike against Dunbar, capturing it from Sir David Leslie, ( his brother, Alexander by now aged and retired) beside whom he fought at Marston Moor. Three thousand Scots were killed and 10,000 captured. By the Battle of Inverkeithing, Cromwell had effective control of everywhere south of the Firth of Forth.

But the Scots were intransigent. In the last battle of the ‘English Civil War’, the Battle of Worcester, the majority of the 16,000 strong Royalist force was Scottish. Around 8000 Scottish prisoners were sent as indentured labourers to the West Indies and Canada, starting a relationship with those regions that would have significant influence in later centuries. Leslie was sent to the Tower, and released a decade later on the successful Restoration of Charles II and the death of Cromwell.

The Scots had instigated the war on their insistence that they were religiously and politically different from England. One unforeseen consequence was that Cromwell’s Commonwealth was the first time Scotland and England had the same governance, he is acknowledged as the only an to invade and control all of Scotland, a feat Longshanks, Edward I never quite accomplished.

Charles II did not heed the lessons of what had happened to his father, and his attempts to create ecclesiastical uniformity led to the ‘Killing Time’ between 1680 and 1688. Even more bizarrely, after the English Parliament invited William III to take the crown, in favour of the Catholic King James VI and II, some Covenanters fought for the Stuarts against the new regime. The misery of war and religious schism makes for strange bedfellows indeed.

At the root, perhaps, of the problem was the difference between the Scottish and English experiences of Stuart monarchy. The Stuarts had ruled Scotland since 1371 and England since 1603. They may have been weak, injudicious, opinionated, divisive and profligate kings – but they had been our kings for a much longer time.

[paulgadzikowski]

[Image description: Preview panel for the comic strip at the link below. Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Amanda Grayson of Star Trek sit enjoying root beer floats. Kirk is saying, "Starfleet informs us that the consensus on Vulcan is that we were more trespassed against than trespassing. I have a brief formal apology from T'Pau herself. Written, not taped, and I'm not allowed to show it to anyone." McCoy is saying, "Why weren't you there? If I may ask." Amanda is saying, "I've mentioned to the captain that Sarek and Spock hadn't spoken for eighteen years." Unfortunately there are not image descriptions at the main Hero Of Three Faces site. End description.] 

The Hero of Three Faces is fanfiction crossovers, but it’s comic strips with stick figures, but they’re triangles. Preview panel only. Click here for full cartoon. Or see the on-site navigation tutorial. Or see this blog’s FAQ, or my archive tumblog’s FAQ. Cartoons may contain unmarked spoilers. Cartoons linked from Tumblr 10:00 (Central US time) daily are the previous day’s new update and the posts are pinned to the top of this blog. Cartoons linked from Tumblr 22:00 daily are from the archive and the posts are pinned only during annual summer hiatus of new updates.

Thanks for reading.

[indeedcaptain]

Spirktober 2023, days 16 and 17: Public + Ritual

My brain is back online, for the most part, so now I'm working back through the days I missed. I hope that it's okay that I'm combining two. This was a fun one to write even if I did put some interesting queries into my search history. I hope you enjoy!

Also posted on AO3 here!

Warnings: explicit sex (in the form of fellatio)

☆☆☆

Kirk should have known that something was off when he informed the Undran diplomatic corps that dancing was frequently done with big groups of people or switching partners after songs ended, and they all tittered behind their large decorative fans.

He shot a look to Uhura, questioning if he had committed some social faux pas, but she tapped a finger against her lip and looked contemplative, which was not her standard expression for, “You goofed,” so he thought he was in the clear. 

“What is dancing like for your people?” He turned to the head Undran: a tall, muscular person of indeterminate sex, standing next to someone who looked nearly identical but had been identified as their spouse. He had learned that day that they were a highly physical people. Their cities had been built in the root systems of the enormous trees that grew nearly a mile tall on the surface of their planet, Cartix III, and moving through the passageways required much climbing and ducking until they reached the larger central halls. Uhura had informed him, after they made first contact, that dance was highly important to them, and that they may be asked to participate in performances. 

That didn’t bother Kirk, but the leader of the Undrans skated their fingers over their spouse’s shoulder and said, “Once you are coupled, you dance with no one else.” Their spouse interlocked their fingers together before releasing their hand. Kirk saw Uhura tilt her head to one side, like she was concentrating on listening to something. She tapped a button on her padd. Was she manually overriding the universal translator? For what?

“We would be honored if you would show us how your people dance, Captain Kirk,” the head Undran said. “We will show you how we do it, we will break our evening fast, and then you can perform as well. With whom would you dance?” 

“That sounds just wonderful,” he said. When they were off duty, Spock was his preferred dance partner, first and always, but he didn’t think his lover would enjoy being the center of attention. He would prefer to watch, and analyze, and then keep Kirk up late into the night describing his observations, among other things. “I’ll dance with anyone in the crew,” he said, and the Undrans again hid their faces behind their fans. “Lieutenant Uhura?” 

“Yes, Captain?” She was distracted. 

“Will you dance with me this evening?” 

As he spoke, her face paled, and she looked between Kirk, Spock, and the Undrans. “Oh,” she said, uncertain. “As you wish, captain.” 

Kirk frowned at her. Spock raised one eyebrow at the uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm. Uhura was a wonderful dancer, and had taught most of the crew to swing dance over the course of the previous four years. She said, “I just think there are others you would rather dance with.” 

The Undrans looked between each other, some smirking, some with wide eyes. Uhura turned to address them. “Thank you for inviting us here! I believe we may require water and rest before the performance. May we retire?” 

“Of course,” the Undran in charge of hospitality said. “Follow me.” Kirk tried to catch Uhura’s eye as she passed, but she stepped past him and Spock to trail behind the Undran in front and speak to them in a low voice. Kirk looked to Spock, who just made the facial expression that was as close as the Vulcan got to “hell if I know.” 

The Undran led them to a warren of rooms within the root system near the great gathering hall where they had been received. 

“Forgive us. The complexities of your partner system escape us, so we have simply provided the largest grouping of rooms we could provide. Please let us know if there is something that would suit you better.” The Undran inclined their head and then closed the door behind them. Kirk turned to Uhura and planted his hands on his hips.

“Lieutenant Uhura, care to explain yourself?” 

She covered her face with her hands for a moment before recovering her professionalism. “Captain, the universal translator is wrong. They use metaphor differently than we do --- it’s a known translation glitch. They think you sleep with the entire crew and they’ve asked you to demonstrate how the Federation has sex after dinner tonight.” 

Kirk couldn’t help it. He laughed. Then he saw Uhura and Spock’s solemnity and he stopped laughing. He schooled his face into neutrality and settled into parade rest. “Another unfortunate blow to my reputation,” he said. “Can we refuse without dealing grievous injury to our relations with them?”

“I’m not sure, but likely no, Captain,” Uhura said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. The three security guards they’d brought down were studiously looking elsewhere. “Sex -- dancing -- is important to them for symbolic reasons. It’s not that they’re strictly monogamous, per se, they do have polyamory, but once those bonds are forged, that’s it. They are highly unlikely to take others except in cases of violence between partners or death.” 

“Ah,” he said. Much like Vulcans, he thought to himself, and looked sidelong at Spock. Spock was perfectly neutral, hands behind his back --- which meant he was thinking deeply and rapidly, and Kirk had cause to worry. 

“Excuse us for a moment, please,” he said to Uhura, and took Spock by the elbow and led him away from the central room into one of the adjoining ones. He closed the door between them and the rest of the team. 

“I never would have agreed to this if I had realized,” Kirk said immediately. He squeezed Spock’s elbow and released him. 

“I am aware, captain,” Spock said. He clasped his hands behind his back. “I do not readily see a way to gracefully rescind the offer, given that the fault lies with us for assuring them our technology would negate the need for a translator.” 

Kirk winced. Spock crossed his arms, tapping one long finger against his lips.

“I don’t want to--- dance--- with anyone but you. You know that. But I also won’t make you have public sex for the sake of the mission, Spock.” Spock’s finger continued its rhythm, and Kirk had to drag his eyes away from it. 

“Are you opposed to public fornication, captain?” 

“I---,” Kirk started, shifting on his feet, and then paused. “Wait, why?” 

“I am simply considering the most logical course of action. The success of this mission is critical to the Federation’s continued presence in this solar system. Sex, regardless of how they describe it, is important to them, and they have asked us to participate. Are you opposed to participating?” 

Kirk crossed his arms. He pictured it: himself, and preferably Spock, doing some of his favorite activities on a raised platform in the middle of a crowd of strangers. They would be watched by people who didn’t know them as captain and commander, as Starfleet’s prized toys, but only as partners; people who would know nothing about them but the way that they knew and loved each other. His brain told him, That is inappropriate behavior, but the spark of arousal in his stomach and groin did not care about propriety. But then he thought about having to do any of that with someone who wasn’t Spock, and the arousal died immediately. 

He met Spock’s eyes. “I don’t find the idea… repulsive, if that’s what you’re asking.” He blushed slightly under Spock’s far-too-perceptive gaze: there was no way the Vulcan’s keen attunement to his emotions hadn’t picked up the transition from vaguely curious to interested. “But, Spock, I won’t do it without you. We can ask if there’s another couple on the ship who would do it.” 

“But you are interested in it,” Spock said softly. Kirk stepped towards him, wrapping his hands around both biceps. 

“But you’re not,” Kirk said. Spock stared over his shoulder for a second longer. When Spock met his gaze, though, he did not see trepidation but curiosity, and the streak of possessiveness that always made Kirk’s knees weak and dick hard even as he pretended to chafe against it. Spock raised one hand and lightly dragged the knuckle of his bent pointer finger against Kirk’s cheek and tilted his head. The changed angle transformed him from Kirk’s familiar lover to something more alien, something inhuman and feral. 

“That is a reasonable assumption,” Spock said, and he slid his hand back to thread his fingers through Kirk’s hair. “And it is true, for some things. I find that I am… unwilling to show my own arousal, my own loss of control, to individuals who are not yourself.” He tugged Kirk’s head back and gently pressed a kiss to one of the tendons in his neck. “I find that I do not mind if we show them yours.”

“Oh,” Kirk breathed, as Spock skated his mouth to his jawline and kissed him again. 

“Especially if it is by my hands,” Spock said, and the growl in his voice made Kirk shiver. “Do you want to participate?” 

“Okay,” Kirk said immediately, critical thinking skills fleeing at Spock’s consent. “Yes. However you had in mind.” Spock kissed him again before stepping back, and in less than a second he had once again become Kirk’s first officer. 

“I believe I shall inform the Undrans, with Lieutenant Uhura, that there was a miscommunication, and that you will be performing with me. I will ask them to show me the space and tell them what I require.” Spock was once again the consummate professional, even if what he was saying was something Kirk hadn’t even considered to include in his wildest fantasies. “Questions or comments, captain?” 

“Yes, Mr. Spock,” Kirk said intelligently. “Sounds like a plan.” Then Spock turned from him and swept back into the main room to find Uhura. 

Good lord. He was going to have to write a mission report about this?

☆☆☆

Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and the security complement entered the grand meeting hall four hours later, guided by the Undrans from before. Their leader and their spouse --- Kirk still couldn’t determine gender and wasn’t about to guess --- were called Carthan and Mali, and their hospitality guide was called Bello. But all thoughts of gender and their species fled from Kirk’s mind as they were led through the enormous hall. It was built beneath an enormous tree, all the soil painstakingly moved over the course of years or centuries to create an almost entirely round and smooth area. The roots were visible in the walls and arched up to the ceiling above, and lights were tied to the bark in a way that did not damage the tree or inhibit its growth. The room was set up like an amphitheatre: there were arcs of round tables, with seats all facing a raised platform at the end of the room. Kirk swallowed hard to realize that he would be standing up there later this evening. Or laying. Or kneeling? His eyes flicked to Spock, who was, as usual, inscrutable. 

Spock noticed his attention and dropped back to walk beside him. “Captain,” he said, inclining his head. 

“Mr. Spock,” Kirk murmured. “How were your errands?” 

“Successful, captain,” he said. “All is arranged. They were relieved and humored to know that your breadth of dance partners was a misunderstanding on our part. I believe they were starting to think that they did not share much in common with the Federation. But they were very accommodating of my requests.” 

“Very good, Mr. Spock. This mission may yet owe its success to you.” Kirk looked at him and dropped his voice lower. “Any hints on what I may expect this evening?” 

“I believe you said that whatever I had in mind would suffice, captain.” Spock was teasing him. Unbelievable. Whoever said that Vulcans were exceedingly serious people had never known one for more than a day. “Would you like a hint?” 

“Yes,” Kirk said immediately. Spock thought as they were led to a table near the front by Bello. He leaned into Kirk’s ear as they were seated. 

“They will be able to see every emotion upon your face. But they will not see mine.” 

Kirk crossed his legs to hide the beginnings of his erection. 

☆☆☆

The way that the Undrans made love was nothing short of mesmerizing. Sex, for them, was as intricate and choreographed as a dance would be on Earth, and Kirk thought that the universal translator could perhaps be forgiven for mixing the two concepts up. Carthan and Mali circled each other, eyes locked on each other, before they grasped hands and swung each other in increasingly complex and narrowing circles until one--- and by this point Kirk had lost track of who was who, as they had both shed the trappings of status until they were bare, and nearly identical--- straddled the other on the raised platform. Their genitals were somewhat of a mystery to him, enclosed within folds not unlike labia but infinitely more prehensile. He could not tell, even from so close up, what was occurring, but he certainly did not miss as they approached and reached climax together. Their synchronicity reminded him, actually, of when he and Spock melded during sex. When he took Spock’s hand beneath the table, he thought that Spock had thought the same. 

When they stood together, clasped hands, and bowed, the audience did not clap. Instead, they stood as one and bowed in return. Then Carthan and Mali departed and an Undran wearing an apron appeared on the stage, describing what meal they had prepared for their honored interstellar guests. Kirk blinked at the shift in tone, but only he and his crew seemed unprepared for it. 

“That was… something,” he said to Uhura, but she was still staring at the stage. 

“Did you hear what they were saying to each other?” She asked. 

“What? No,” he said. “Outside of the… the obvious.” 

“At the beginning. During their foreplay. They were affirming each other, it sounded like. Reminding each other of shared memories and what they were doing, and why.” She leaned back and wiped a single tear away. “It was quite lovely, actually.” 

“I would like to remind you that you are both allowed and encouraged to not watch our half of the performance,” Kirk said. “It would be my particular preference that you not cry, either, Lieutenant.” 

“And I will remind you, captain, that half the crew saw you get drunk at last year’s holiday party and try to jump Spock in the hallway before he carried you home, so forgive me if I’m not absolutely shocked by the idea that you have intercourse.” 

“That was one time,” Kirk muttered. But Spock, that absolute traitor, said, “Captain, there was also the planet with the pollen---”

“Impossible! All of you! To the brig for subordination!” 

☆☆☆

They stood at the edge of the little raised stage at the front of the hall, and nerves clenched Kirk’s stomach as he looked out over the number of people who were watching them. 

“I didn’t know there would be so many,” he muttered to Spock. He squeezed Spock’s hand, and Spock rubbed a reassuring thumb over the back of his hand. 

“You can revoke your consent at any time, captain,” Spock murmured to him. “Always.” Kirk leaned into him. 

“I think I still want this,” he said. “But I’m nervous now.” But then Carthan stepped off the stage, having finished whatever introduction they gave for them, and gestured to them. 

“I will take care of you, ashayam,” Spock said. “If you’re sure.” 

Kirk steeled himself and, instead of responding, stepped out onto the stage. 

The lights were not as bright as they had seemed from the side. Instead, they washed out everything that was not the ground immediately in front of the stage. The crowd vanished from his sight; his only awareness of them now was the shifting of fabric and cloth, the gentle clink of clayware against the tables, the fluttering of their customary fans. All he could see was Spock, standing on the stage with him. 

“I think that’s your line, Mr. Spock,” Kirk said, and Spock stepped into his personal space. Kirk tilted his head up to maintain eye contact, and Spock lifted both hands to frame his face, sliding his long fingers into his hair. Kirk let his eyes close as Spock closed the distance between them in a kiss. 

Kirk could feel Spock reading his emotions, gauging if Kirk still wanted this, and after a moment of adjustment, after three years of carefully avoiding public displays of affection, Kirk opened his mouth to him. At the encouragement, Spock swept in: not domineering, as he could be, but certainly not gentle. He kissed possessively, and had since the very first time: he used tongue and teeth and lips to map Kirk’s mouth, kissing until Kirk’s mouth was puffy and bruised. 

He threaded his arms around Spock’s neck, coming onto his toes to lean against Spock, and Spock wrapped one arm around his waist to counterbalance. He slipped a hand beneath the hem of Kirk’s shirt and splayed it against his back. The cool air rushed against the strip of skin now exposed, and Kirk shivered to realize that everyone in the audience could see his back, the skin and scars and muscle and fat and bone. His ardor cooled for a split second before his brain adjusted the mental image. They weren’t just seeing Kirk’s body. They were seeing Spock’s hand against him, dimpling his skin with the strength of his fingers, splaying nearly from tailbone to ribcage. The engine of his desire roared to life as he reframed what they were seeing: it wasn’t about him. It was about what Spock did to him, was doing to him. It was about what he allowed Spock to have, that he had refused to give to anyone else before him: his heart as well as his body, his mind and soul alongside his skin and bones. 

He felt Spock’s wry half-smile against his lips as his dick took a firmer interest in the proceedings. Kirk slid his fingers into Spock’s hair and pulled, breaking the connection of their lips, before he licked the tip of Spock’s ear and breathed out against it. Spock shivered against him, and when he met Kirk’s gaze lust had blown his pupils wide. Spock pressed his hand harder against Kirk’s back, reminding him, I feel what you feel. Kirk pressed their foreheads together and whispered, “What did you intend to do to me?” 

Spock whispered back, “I intended to press you against this wall, kneel before you, and take you into my mouth.” Oh, holy shit. He pulled back and assessed Kirk’s expression. “Does that meet the parameters we established?” 

Kirk nodded. Spock slid both hands under Kirk’s tunic and gently pulled it up over his head, kissing along his collarbone after it was revealed. He worried the edge of Spock’s tunic in his own hand, but Spock shook his head no. Good god, Kirk realized. He is going to be fully clothed while I am naked and then he is going to blow me on stage. Spock pressed one hand to his chest, fingertip dangerously close to his nipple, and pushed him backwards until his back was against the wall. Spock followed him, head bent to bite the sensitive skin of his neck and suck bruises into it. His hands roamed over Kirk’s chest, flicking and pinching and soothing, until Kirk’s head was tipped back against the wall and he was moaning aloud. Spock adjusted his stance to bring his thigh between Kirk’s, and he ground against the hard muscle gratefully. He found that he had twisted his hand into Spock’s hair and clenched it so tightly that his fingers were going numb, and he released it to scratch down his back instead. 

Spock trailed his fingers down Kirk’s chest and rested them at the tie of his trousers. “May I?” he asked, and kissed one of the bruises he had left. 

“Yes, please,” Kirk said, and he dropped his head back again, mouth opening as Spock pulled his trousers open and down. I should have taken off my boots first, he thought, delirious with desire, until Spock kissed the head of his dick and he stopped thinking altogether. He gave no thought to the audience any longer, just to the blessed pressure of one of Spock’s hands against his thigh, the other pressed against his abdomen, and the warmth of his mouth and lips around his dick. He knew that he was gasping and keening and moaning, but the only thing he could hear was Spock’s breathing, growing rapidly unsteadier as orgasm approached, and the slick wet noises of his mouth sliding on and off. 

“Spock, please,” he gasped, trying to warn him, but Spock did not cease. 

Two things pushed Kirk over the edge. The first was the spark of psychic energy that arced between them when Kirk pulled Spock’s hand off his stomach and threaded their fingers together. He wasn’t sure when it had gone from something he did for Spock to a necessity for him too, but he rarely came without their hands intertwined anymore. The second was that Spock released Kirk’s thigh and reached between his legs, dragging one finger along his perineum before cupping his balls. 

Kirk thrust forward into Spock’s mouth, crying out as he came hard. Spock’s hands had pinned his hips to the wall, keeping him from sliding into a puddle on the ground, and Spock gently pulled his mouth away from Kirk, swallowing before pressing a kiss to the skin at his hipbone. They rested there for a moment, chests heaving, Kirk’s head back against the wall, Spock’s head bowed against his thigh. Then, from his knees, Spock carefully pulled his boxers and trousers back up, tying them securely, before standing and retrieving Kirk’s shirt and pulling it lovingly over his head, threading his arms back through the sleeves. Kirk’s brain came back online sometime during this process, and when he dazedly met Spock’s eyes and saw Spock’s slight, satisfied smile, he grinned back. In the post-orgasm glow, he felt none of the shame or anxiety that he had half-expected: only the warmth that he felt whenever he was close to Spock, the love and pride that he felt in the Vulcan man before him.

Spock smoothed the fabric of his uniform down over his shoulders, a gesture familiar from every morning when they dressed for the day in their quarters, and Kirk leaned forward and pressed their lips together again. Then Spock pulled him by the hand forward to the edge of the stage --- Oh right, he thought, at least someone is still thinking of the ceremony --- and they bowed. From here, Kirk could see the audience that he had previously forgotten.

He studiously ignored his own crew. But the rest of the audience he let his eyes wander over: some were obvious aroused, the prehensile labia-like organ fluttering, others staring in awe or appreciation, but all of them looked at Spock with a fraction of the respect and trust that he did, and when they stood and bowed to them, deeply, he thought he might understand now why their performances were so important. 

Spock pulled him off the stage, and once they stood again in the darkness he pulled Spock to a standstill and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Spock encircled his waist and they stood there, swaying. Kirk heard Spock breath in the smell of him. All too soon, though, footsteps approached, and they broke apart at Carthan and Mali’s appearance. 

Carthan said, “I do not think we have the words to express the honor you have bestowed upon us this evening. You have shared something beautiful with us.” Then they turned to Spock and bowed again. “We are especially grateful to you, given what you said about your own species’ proclivity for privacy. That you would share what you did with us is a demonstration of trust that we won’t soon forget.” Kirk felt Spock’s surprise through their clasped hands. Carthan bowed again to both of them before departing. Mali turned to depart with them, before turning back.

Eyes sparkling, they said, “Carthan is correct in saying that we are honored that you shared your love with us. I would also like to thank you for another gift.” They glanced back over their shoulder before turning back to them confidentially. “As all genders on Cartix bear the same genitals, and the lilia are so dextrous---” they gestured to the labia-like thing near their stomach--- “we infrequently have cause or desire to innovate. But to apply one’s mouth to erogenous zones…!” They smiled suggestively, bowed once more, and turned to follow Carthan. 

Kirk gaped after them until he turned to his similarly flummoxed partner. 

“Mr. Spock,” he said faintly. “Did we just introduce an entire planet to the idea of cunnilingus?”

“It appears so, captain,” Spock said, and coughed once. “I should like to return in a few years to discover what they do with this information.” 

“Oh, you would?” Kirk said, teasing, as they turned to find their crew. “I’ll find all the voyeuristic planets you want, if that’s what you’re saying.” 

“It depends on the venue, captain. I do not believe theatre-in-the-round would be as conducive to my preferences…”

☆☆☆

[treesspeaklatin]

It's spirk ficrec time! Fics with less than 400 kudos - part 2

Part 1 here ; part 3 coming soon

These things we do not speak of - Della19 (AOS)

Basically anything written by this author is the best thing you'll read today, but this one, omg, this one. I don't have the right words to describe what it did to my heart. It's a classic falling in love - introspection - pon farr fic. The author has an amazing control of their style and of the characters, and the levels of pining are astronomical. Locked on ao3, so you'll need an account to read it.

The Sea King - killabeez (TOS MIRROR)

When I found this fic I couldn't believe my eyes. It's a mirroresque Gilgamesh au, elegant, epic and bittersweet. The mix of futuristic and mythological elements is really good. Can I say Gilgamesh and Enkidu were the original t'hy'la? There, I said it. Read this if you're looking for something different and you want to be surprised.

Root Systems - Moonfishgirl (AOS)

During a stay on New Vulcan, Jim watches Spock exist inside his own culture, and in the process he discovers something about himself (spoiler: he looooves him!). Adorable fic, rich on Vulcan traditions. Read this if you are into some good Vulcan culture and ancient t'hy'la warrior bond lore.

Five times Bones and Jim forgot they were married - Goldencoalcat (AOS MCSPIRK)

This time I wanted to include some Bones/Kirk/Spock too. This fic is adorable and a good Jim character study. It explores his relationship with his family and Winona in particular, and the reasons why he has issues with being loved. Characters are spot on. Read this if you're in the mood for hurt!Jim being pampered and loved by his two husbands.

one grave too many - leafings (every universe)

Not exactly a mirror universe, but a twisted, fucked-up universe in which the crew loves Jim in a dark and obsessive way and is willing to do anything for his sake, and I mean here Enterprise rhymes with homicide. In the midst of the dark stuff, to no one's surprise, Jim and Spock also find time for their t'hy'la shit. I live for this concept.

A heart even more your own - cicia3 (TOS)

Hey, it's me. I wanted to end with this fic of mine because I really think I wrote this in some sort of mystical fit and I'll never write something this good again lol it's a Persuasion AU with some other good old Austen shenanigans. Excruciating pining + sexual tension + romance.

{reposting because the first time it went under the radar! Please give some love to fic authors and reblog this post ❤️

[tea-earl-grey]

at long last i finished watching TOS (only like.... a year after i meant to originally watch it)!!!! now i only have TAS left and i'll have seen all of Star Trek!

some TOS opinions and takeaways under the cut:

fundamentally i'm just not a TOS fan. i watched a lot of the episodes when i was a kid so i definitely have nostalgia for them and i can recognize when episodes are good and how much the show has influenced pop culture and science fiction as a whole but just as like.... a show to sit down and watch for fun? i enjoy pretty much every Star Trek show more than TOS.

i primarily like Star Trek (and fiction more broadly) for the characters and while there are some really great character moments for Kirk, Spock, & McCoy and some one-off characters, i just struggle to find that 60s style of plot driven scifi engaging (which i find fascinating because i still LOVE 60s era Doctor Who which has much much worse production values than Star Trek and i feel like most people would say is less engaging). and to be fair, a lot of the reason i found some of the TOS plots boring was because they were the blueprint for so much other scifi media so i can't really hold it against the show.

that said, i really don't want it to sound like i hate TOS. i don't. i just think the ideas and concepts it has are better explored in the movies & future tv series than in the show itself. i totally get the appeal especially for people who grew up with it.

there were plenty of episodes i did really really like though (ones i've seen before and new ones that i've barely heard of) and my top episodes are: The Trouble with Tribbles (a childhood favorite of mine), City on the Edge of Forever (an obvious classic), Is There In Truth No Beauty (i had never seen or heard of this episode before but i loved it so much! i thought it had some really unique storytelling and i loved Miranda so much so i totally see why they brought back the actress for tng), Journey to Babel (another obvious pick), Court Martial (one i had seen before but i liked it much more now that i was more familiar with the characters), The Conscience of the King (great Kirk episode, tragic backstories, and fun stuff with Hamlet!), and The Ultimate Computer (an old scifi concept but executed really well on every level)

most of the episodes i aggressively hated were just the really sexist & racist ones. Elaan of Troyius, The Paradise Syndrome, The Omega Glory, etc. i'd say about 60% of the episodes i just... don't have strong opinions on at all. they're fine.

i do really like Spock, Kirk, and McCoy, i definitely ship mcspirk some (yes McCoy is essential to the Dynamic). Spock is a pretty obvious character to like given how he's the prototype for pretty much every alien othered character who came after tos. it's been said before but Kirk is so much of a more likeable character when you set aside the "handsome male hero womanizer" archetype and realize that in most episodes he's a very genuine compassionate and sensitive leader who's been through some great traumas. and McCoy i definitely don't think about quite as much but he's the essential "id" to the dynamic, the one rooted in humanity and bringing back a sense of individual personhood to Spock (who's a bundle of repression) and Kirk (who constantly goes through the captain arc of "my ship and my crew comes before myself")

i do (as i've said before) prefer shows that emphasize an ensemble cast so i'm always a bit :( at the lack of time we spend with Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, Chekov & Chapel. i like them all but it'd be nice for them to have some more depth.

the TOS movies still remain my favorite part of TOS era. i genuinely really love all of the movies (even Final Frontier despite it being Like That, there is a good movie hidden in there)