#wonder if the doctors original species was like that

[celestetcetera]

Isn’t it interesting that the no-things have an easier time copying alien concepts over human concepts?

They understand the complexity of the Doctor’s origins just fine. They comprehend the Flux event. They seem to get regeneration enough not to misrepresent the Doctor’s current face (though part of that is plot convenience).

It’s the human things – the things from within our universe – that they struggle with. A consistent shape. Object permanence. The amount of knowledge a human can keep in her mind at once. Doublethink. Slowness.

They understand the Doctor much better than Donna. And doesn’t that make perfect sense? After all, they’re both from outside our universe.

[ellecdc]

I went to get my teeth checked today and kept on thinking abt how Lily would be a great dentist. Gentle hands, nonjudgmental, would be so accommodating to any requests or requirements you have like noise cancelling headphones or something…. And she would be soooo against the trend of recommending treatment purely based on cosmetics rather than need. Like we have doctor Remus how about dentist Lily 😂😂

you know what? this was so cute that I had to write it - also, the conversations between reader and Lily are real-life conversations I've had with dental hygienists so be nice to me, I'm still recovering hahhaah

dentist!Lily Evans x reader who goes for a routine checkup

CW: written with a fem!reader in mind and references to a medieval woman accused of witchcraft but should be gender neutral/no pronouns used otherwise, reader has a brother for plot purposes, reader had braces growing up for plot purposes, reader has a bar on the back of their teeth for plot purposes, also.....reader doesn't floss DON'T JUDGE

You were lying back on the large vinyl-covered dentist chair pondering what exactly it was about dentists that caused so many people anxiety.

This was obviously a distraction, though, as wondering why dentists were so fear-inducing was far more comfortable than thinking about how anxious you felt right now.

You supposed that as a species, humans were wholly dependent on their mouths; it was how they ate, how they emote, a method of air intake, and also how they communicate. For hunter-gatherers, an injury to one's mouth could very well have led to dire consequences.

Of course, something happening to one's mouth wouldn’t necessarily leave them completely helpless in today's day in age with modern medicine.

And though you may not have been a hunter-gatherer, you were also decidedly not a medieval woman accused of witchcraft awaiting your trial by ordeal. But the longer it took Dr. Evans to join you - leaving you ample time to consider the various torture looking devices while reclined on this chair that looked like it could sprout restraints at any moment - the more you began to feel an awful lot like a medieval woman accused of witchcraft awaiting her trial by ordeal. 

The sound of the door clicking shut interrupted your spiralling as you tried to sit up straighter in your chair only to slide back down to your original position. 

But perhaps this wasn’t your trial by ordeal; perhaps they’d already gone ahead and executed you and you were actually sitting in heaven’s dentist office because surely the beautiful woman adorned in scrubs standing before you with long, thick red hair which had been artfully plaited away from her face was an angel? 

You realised belatedly that you’d been sitting there with your mouth agape staring at her instead of confirming your name for her.

“Yes! Yes, erm, sorry.”

But the angel - Dr. Evan’s, she introduced herself as but insisted you just call her Lily - simply waved you off and pulled a stool over to sit beside you. 

“No need to be sorry! Between the constant whirring of machines and my penchant to speak a mile a minute, it can be hard to keep up sometimes. So! You’re here for a routine cleaning?”

You nodded dumbly at her as she pulled a surgical mask up over her mouth and nose, mesmerised by the way it seemed to accentuate the brilliant green of her eyes which only appeared even greener when she smiled at you.

“Alright, well let’s take a peek at what we’re working with here, shall we?” She asked as she encouraged you to lay back after putting a bib on you like some nappy-wearing child.

Oh god; you didn’t know an angel was going to be looking in your mouth! You were expecting some grey-haired bored doctor with a superiority complex; now an angel will know you don’t floss!

“Wait!” You shouted abruptly, startling the angel doctor and encouraging her to put some space between you, though she schooled her expression very quickly. “Okay, listen, I’m sorry. But you see, I had braces as a kid, and they put these bars behind my teeth! You know, to keep them from shifting? And they’re great - so great, no complaints truly; they’ve done their job, see!” You paused to bare your teeth at her like some socially awkward chimpanzee. “No shifting at all. But! But, you see, my teeth are so sodding close together now - again, totally fine! - but between that and the glue and the bar, it’s sodding impossible to floss. Oh shit I just said sodding to a doctor! Oh my god I just said shit! I’m sorry! I just don’t want you to think I’m some plebeian who doesn’t care about dental hygiene because I do! But I honest to god, hand to my heart walked around with a piece of floss stuck between my teeth for three days after I tried last so I just...sorry…”

You fought to catch your breath and it took you possibly too long to realise the angel doctor Lily was laughing at you; the mask impeded the smile but the crinkles in the corners of her emerald eyes and the gentle shaking of her shoulders gave her away. 

“I’m so sorry, I honestly thought you were about to tell me you were going to throw up on me - which would be fine! Worse things have happened quite frankly.” She chuckled as she seemed to relax back into her stool. “Why don’t we take a look?”

Burning with embarrassment, you did as you were told and opened your mouth immediately, wondering if it was at all possible for her to feel your jack-hammer pulse through the barely there fingertips pressed to your jaw as she peered into your mouth. 

“Well honestly, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of build up anyway! I wouldn’t have known you’d not been flossing.”

“Wait, really?” You asked then, causing her to move her gaze from your mouth to your eyes. 

“There’s a little bit of plaque but nothing out of the ordinary! Basically what I would expect to see from someone coming in for a routine check up.” She confirmed before taking one of her torture devices (a dental scraper) to your teeth as you watched her auburn brows cinch closer together. “Your teeth really are close together.” She murmured mostly to herself.

“I wasn’t lying.” You defended quickly, earning you a bright and bubbly laugh from the doctor. 

“Sorry; force of habit. I hear a lot of ‘I absolutely brush my teeth twice a day’ and ‘I floss regularly’ when I can easily see that neither of those things are true.”

After she had explained what she was going to do, you spent the better part of the appointment with her fingers shoved into your mouth. 

“I do not envy your orthodontist; you have a very small mouth.”

You snorted inelegantly at that as she removed her hands from your face. “My brother would disagree.”

You were rewarded with another tinkering laugh as she inspected her cleaning. “Don’t worry about the flossing hun; I’d rather you come in and have me do a cleaning for you than to hurt yourself or damage your teeth trying to floss.”

“I’m not in trouble?”

“Even if I did have the authority to scold you, you would not be in trouble. But I hope to see you in another six to twelve months for another cleaning!” She said as she walked backwards from the room with one last (now maskless) smile in your direction.

Suddenly, dentists didn’t seem so scary, and you found yourself rather looking forward to your next appointment.

[king-paimon]

Houseki no Kuni Chapter 106 Thoughts: Bon Voyage...

Hello all. I hope these last few months have been kind to you in some way. These months have been... a lot. Some very good things happened, and some very bad. I wish we lived in a world were tragedies were just fiction, but that sadly isn't the case. I won't elaborate, but I promise, I'm okay. I just hope 2024 improves, though I know for many others, just hoping isn't enough.

I'm sorry for this late post. Once again, real life had me so distracted that I honestly forgot about Houseki no Kuni's chapter coming out this month. I only remembered when I saw activity around my older HnK posts.

Well, I finished reading the chapter and it was very beautiful and sad in different ways. I'll share more of my thoughts, though I don't think it'll be as long or detailed as my previous ones to be honest... Though I could be wrong! We'll see how it fairs. And who knows? Maybe I'll make another post to dissect this chapter further. But for now, I'll just write whatever comes to mind and try to make it as coherent as possible. I hope you like it. And as always, please feel free to share your own thoughts!

Here we go!

Thunderous Spectacle: The Final Journey

Once again, Ms. Haruko Ichikawa decided to flex her art skills by making beautiful, bombastic illustrations that encapsulates the chaos that is happening on Earth. And the ship departing looks straight out of a sci-fi movie; my mind went to Star Trek when I first saw those pages. Maybe Dune would be more appropriate; I actually don't know, I haven't read or watched Dune, though I hear it's very good.

I wish I had more to say about the visuals for this chapter, but I think they speak for themselves. I will say though...It's moments like this when I marvel... this was originally about a silly gem child trying to find their place in the world. And this is how their journey is finally coming to an end. Almost nothing is recognizable. This certainly was not how I thought this story, or specifically Phos' story, was going to unfold. I wonder if this was Haruko Ichikawa's plan from the beginning? Who can say...

Speaking of plans... Let's talk about Phos's and Eyeball's conversation.

Manipulation or Consideration: Humanity's Parting "Gift"

That was an interesting conversation Eyeball and Phos had when they were finishing up putting the little pebbles onto the ship. I think I remember stating in the last post how I thought it was odd that the Lunarians had this ship prepared for Phos. I'm glad this was somewhat addressed, but the conversation reveals that there was more behind this literal Deus ex Machina ship.

(I will never stop calling it that)

So if I'm understanding Eyeball's logic, Adamant and the Lunarians were considering Phos in the end? That after Phos fulfilled their last duties to the remnants of humanity that they'd be given the chance to leave the planet with whatever species came about before the planet died- Oh. Wait.

Wait.

Was this the thing that Adamant and Aechmea were alluding to back in chapter 96???

Oh my goodness, I think it was.

As I was typing this and going over some of the saved pages I had from the previous chapters, I saw the one with Euclase and I suddenly remembered their weird conversation with Adamant and Aechmea. I also remembered wondering what the heck they meant in the later chapters since their plan for Phos seemed to only be self serving.

HUH.

( Please let me know if I'm way off! For all I know, I could be making stuff up, but oh my goodness, when I made that connection AAaahh)

This was not how this portion was originally going to go, but there you go. I was going to talk about how twisted but not surprising how calculated everything was from the the Lunarians and the other ruminants of humanity's end. And I was also going to mention how the Doctor also fit into this since she was also calculated and manipulative in her own ways. Despite the different forms it takes, humanity didn't seem to change much in this world...

I was also going to originally say that the Deus ex machina ship feels like a backhanded "gift" for Phos, especially after everything that happened to them. And though I still feel that way, after thinking back to chapter 96, I'm now starting to see Phos's perspective of this gift. That despite everything that they put them through, Phos's former families still left this parting gift for them so they could live on elsewhere after they are long gone and when Phos was free from their duties. It's still a backhanded gift in my opinion, but it showed that they cared... at least a bit.

And the fact that their plan also included Eyeball is just wow. I do not blame his small, comedic outburst for that realization. He was manipulated too from the getgo!

At least in the end, Phos chose not to go into the ship. Phos intended to burn that bridge. Even though this thought was implanted by Sensei, Adamant, and the Lunarians, Phos still made that choice on their own and they are owning it. It's bittersweet, though, because regardless of whether or not they stayed or went, Phos's decisions were still a result of them being manipulated one way or another. Pretty much a lose-lose kind of situation, but at least the choice that Phos chose in the end still aligned with what they wanted in they end.

They are giving Eyeball and the little pebbles a chance for a fresh start while Phos can finally end the cycle... By taking humanity and himself to bitter end...

Or does he?

Goodnight, Phosphophyllite

The final farewell between Phos and Eyeball was touching. In a last minute decision to give Phos closure and in an act of true salvation, Eyeball took the last piece of Phos with him. The true remaining piece of Phosphophyllite. To me, this action felt more earnest and heartwarming than the Deus Ex Machina Ship (but that's just me).

What will happen with that piece of Phosphophyllite? Who knows? Maybe that piece will gain sentience and live a peaceful life with the pebbles? A life free of all the constraints as well as the freedoms that was intentionally and unintentionally reinforced within societies created by the former remnants of humanity? I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

As for the Phos that was left behind? The Phos that we've watch evolve from the beginning to end? They will finally rest.

They will finally, and truly be free.

(Albeit in a seemingly not so pleasant way?? Well, they weren't complaining so maybe the lava and other harsh elements isn't hurting them. I hope that's the case.)

I had the feeling that this chapter will be the last time we see Phos, or at least this version of Phos, and it would be a sad but proper send off.

But after seeing THIS at the end, I'm not so sure:

Of course Haruko Ichikawa decides to be cheeky with that little note. Ma'am. Why did you say this???

Is this her roundabout way of saying that Phos is kind of back to square 1? Of being the lonely, jobless Phos who no longer has a purpose and is left with nothing to do but "think." That's pretty funny/messed up joke if that's what she's hinting at.

But again, we'll have to wait and see.

WELP. That's all I have for you all. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'd love to hear what you thought about this chapter. We're nearly at the end of this saga. We're are almost there...

Please be worth it.

[gretchensinister]

Babylon 5 rewatch, S1 E10: Believers

There was a big gap between episodes in the original airing schedule!

It's Jehovah's Witnesses who are the real-world group that don't permit blood transfusions, right? I know I didn't know that when I first watched this episode.

I wonder what kind of cultural training doctors like Franklin get; I feel like it would be very necessary/complicated when treating many different alien species, even to a lesser degree than a people not permitting any surgery.

I love the idea of spaceships in the future being named after science fiction writers.

It's not important to the plot, but I wonder what the planet of the family with the medical plotline is like that made travel to Babylon 5 the best option for medical treatment, especially because they're not interested in going outside their cultural boundaries.

That is something to think about, how this individual medical case could result in a diplomatic incident.

I realize I don't know that much about how much parental wishes vs. medical intervention works anywhere on Earth.

Ambassador in general referred to with "she"!

All of the ambassadors' refusals are really a summary of their current characters.

Asking the kid what he wants! Finally, a hurdle cleared.

Actually, that's a really GOOD question--what happens after the surgery if that means the kid loses his spirit in that culture?

I keep forgetting to comment on the raider plotline IDK I'm just not that interested in the raiders; they're faceless. I hope Ivanova is having a nice day out--oh.

NOW what's going to happen to the kid???

I don't think...I don't think this is actually going to resolve how you want Franklin. And...no, no it did not.

(I do wonder how this culture deals with accidental, non-life-threatening cuts.)

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Someone recently claimed that the new Davies era of doctor who has no more wokism* than the show used to.

Now, maybe I've just changed in the past few decades, but from what I've heard of the 60th anniversary specials it does seem a tad more concentrated. Cherry-picking SPOILERS, sweeties.

- Donna got married offscreen. To what I can only assume is the last black cab driver in London.

- Her kid is trans. Specifically, non-binary, female presenting, says the wiki.** - In the next episode, we learn the Doctor is gay/bi when he thinks Sir Isaac Newton is hot. I'd smugly say this bit has no real relevance, but...the actual scene does carry the episode theme of accidentally changing reality. It's just the queer bit that seems tacked on. Though it does carry forward themes from 10s era. - Sir Zack himself is played by a half-Indian actor. It's not exactly hard to tell. I'm assuming they're running on Bridgerton logic. https://twitter.com/frozenaesthetic/status/1731332492282429950 - This episode is basically just Donna and the Doc exploring a weird location, and running into monsters, who happen to look like them. It would be a bottle episode, except for the large vfx budget. And yet ol' Rusty somehow managed to awkwardly wedge in an  progressive issue. - In the next episode, the villain explains how he's just exploiting the divisions that already exist in human society, including cancel culture. - no wait he's got a point. Jpg - This is ironic, given that Davies and/or his broadcasting house masters are pretty blatantly on the team that a) coined the word,  b) cancels people the most often, and c) defends the idea of Internet lynch mobs*** (***as long as they're left wing. If not, they're *ist "trolls", even if they're just complaining about the latest sacred cow.) Maybe the Davies was criticizing his own team. * Because the Toymaker was kind of racist back in the day (white dude dressed like a stereotypical Chinese dude), Davies made the new version a bit racist "as a callback to his original, problematic depiction back in 1966." - TVtropes, ref. DW Unleashed. On the other hand, the Toymaker also mocks and dresses as several other cultural archetypes. All the ones I've seen were white European ones. He just does this to everyone, apparently. - Toymaker also weaponizes the Spice Girls hit "Spice Up Your Life". No, I will not explain. Though I will note that a line about the "Yellow man in Timbuktu" was apparently drowned out in the episode. Probably for being a tad spicy. - One new UNIT character is a lady in a wheelchair. When the new Tardis - no, I will not explain - has a wheelchair ramp, she happily points it out. Which makes me wonder why the blue box would be so limited, considering it often deals with alien species. - Also, the same actress played a disabled Companion in the Big Finish audio dramas. I'm not sure why it was considered essential to do so in an entirely audio format, but there have been controversies over this sort of thing before (EG Artie on Glee, various racial voice acting controversies). - At this point, casting Ncuti Gatwa as 15 doesn't even register. Not really a blip on my radar. Black Doc? Whatevs. His sonic screwdriver has Rwandan words on it? So? I go to church with lots of Africans. Heck, I'm a black immigrant to ol' Blighty myself, just from the other side of the pond. Ncuti is, chronologically speaking, more British than I am. - Though given that he's Rwandan-Scottish, there may be some debate on the "British" part. - Wikipedia says the actor is pretty left-wing, but the actor seems good so far, so I'm willing to give him a sha-

Oh, come ON!

Maybe the original person speaking was comparing it to the Chibnall “history has always been a whitewash” era, which had a character who was a paper thin Trump satire. A tad ironic, when the whole point of bringing Davies, Tennant, and Tate back is to play on nostalgia.

*Tangent: that word was apparently voted  the most annoying words in English. Which is kind of hilarious if you know that it was originally created to self-describe certain progressives. And the "you can't even define that word!" meme was almost certainly ripped off from the right wing "what is a woman?" Meme. ** This is apparently because she's part Time Lord, through Donna. It seems a tad interesting to me that a few works featuring non binary characters happen to make them enby due to some sort of supernatural (Omniscient Reader) or sci-fi (SW Squadrons) influence which the vast majority of IRL enbies don't have. ...As far as I know.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Doctor Who - The Legend of Ruby Sunday (spoilers)

So, Sutekh, huh? Not who I would have expected to come back, but I'm interested in what happens. I wonder if they're going to incorporate Sutekh's background from his original appearance or if they're going to retcon him into always being part of the pantheon. In his first appearance in the Pyramids of Mars in the classic series, Sutekh was the last of the Osirians, a species of god-like aliens. Sutekh was the mightiest and tried to wipe out all life in the hopes of preventing the chance something could evolve that would be more powerful than him. It took the sacrifice of the rest of his species to seal him away. The Osirians have showed up in the expanded universe since then.

Doctor Who has a spotty history with its various god-like beings. A lot of EU media calls them Great Old Ones and says they're survivors from the universe that predated the current one and still operate on that universe's more magic-like laws of physics. The Big Finish audio dramas have a 7th doctor story arc which has the Elder Gods, who come from various other universes and play games over whole worlds. Various creatures from the show have been placed in the Great Old Ones and Elder Gods categories, such as the Toymaker, the Great Intelligence, the Gods of Ragnarok, and Fenric. Sutekh was always (afaik) left with his show origin in the EU. Now RTD is introducing his own take on the various gods in the pantheon and has put Sutekh there as well as the Toymaker and the Mara. It could be that the Great Old Ones, Elder Gods, and pantheon are all different names for the same thing or that being a member of the pantheon earned through having that kind of power and they don't all have the same origin.

Its funny how this episodes Sutekh being a CGI smoky jackal monster is a worse special effect than the costume they used back in 1975. If you haven't seen the Pyramids of Mars, go watch it. It's one of the standouts of the classic series.

The Susan red herring made me wonder if Susan should come back as a character. I wouldn't be opposed to her coming back to the show. Her actress is still alive and has reprised the role in the audio dramas.

[curemoonliite]

so there's this census thing on neopets that attempts to calculate the most popular pets and it's always bothered me for some reason that i was never able to fully put my finger on until today. even as a child, i always felt like something was wrong about it.

i have a cybunny. she was created as a lenny but i used a morphing potion to turn her into a cybunny. i don't remember when, but i remember she's been a cybunny for way longer than she was ever a lenny. it took me five minutes to even remember what she used to be, because to me, what matters is that she is a cybunny. so case closed, baelia_1 is a cybunny.

except the census doesn't agree. according to the census, a cybunny can't be a cybunny unless it was always a cybunny. morphing or zapping it into one doesn't count. and "real" cybunnies are rare, only available one day out of the year. if you don't have the right birthday, the right origin story, it doesn't matter if you walk like a cybunny and quack like a cybunny, you aren't.

and you'll never be.

from a coding perspective, i get why the devs can't keep constant track of who gets morphed and who doesn't. it's an impossible task! but from a worldbuilding perspective, it shows how completely arbitrary censuses like this would be if everyone could change their form at will. the only reason it would matter in a world like neopets is if, say, a lenny could get a disease that a cybunny couldn't, so you'd need your doctor to know what species you were born as. but otherwise, no one gives a shit if you were alab (assigned lenny at birth) except for elitist assholes who think your way of being a cybunny puts their way of being a cybunny at risk!

and that's how neopets accidentally radicalized me at age 12 by making me wonder "who cares what some census says you are" and made me realize how ridiculous transphobia is by using pound chat logic!

[sandymybeloved]

*Doctor Who fans, please note I'm using Time Lord and Gallifreyan interchangably here, if you want to argue with me about it that's fine, one of these characters cannon species is shakey but I specifically wanted to include them, basically, if you can argue a character is from Gallifrey, they are not misplaced on the list

the correct answer is below the cut, DO NOT LOOK UNTIL YOU HAVE VOTED!

There is no Time Lord named Hadrojassicmaxarodenfoe, I took the name from a different Doctor Who alien, the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe, a large purple blob of a alien who lives in the ceiling of the top floor of a satellite controlling Earth's news, here are the rest

Romanadvoratrelundar AKA Romana:

travelled with the doctor for almost three full seasons, complete with a regeneration into a new actress

Morbius:

you may have known Morbius as a real character in Doctor Who, but did you know he looks like this in his one televised appearance The Brain of Morbius, a serial disturbingly important to Doctor Who continuity as it gave us The Morbius Doctors, hand waved away as future incarnations of the Doctor of Morbius' regenerations until 2020's The Timeless Child confirmed them as the Doctor 44 years later

Omega:

What's under the mask you ask... Absolutely nothing, Omega has no physical body, he remains alive through only insisting he exists

Rassilon:

Look, I have been a fan of Doctor Who since I could walk, and there's still no way I could explain Rassilon even to myself, he is whatever the story needs. Dead, alive, good, evil, maybe I just don't pay enough attention but I do not understand him one bit

Drax:

A time and space travelling mechanic

The Meddling Monk:

its a crime he's only in one televised story

Susan Foreman

The Doctor's granddaughter and original companion, this is the character who's species is not clear, because she left long before the Time Lords or their planet, Gallifrey, even existed in the show

Professor Chronotis

apologies to any Dirk Gently fans who were caught out by this one. In the late 1970s, Douglas Adams was the script editor for Doctor Who, he wrote a story called Shada, which they started filming, but due to strike action never completed, Douglas Adams repurposed many of the ideas he had for Shada into his other works, most notably Dirk Gently's Hollistic Detective Agency, Professor Chronotis being one of them, a time traveller teaching at a university. You may be wondering why I include character from a story that was never televised, but Shada has so many reconstructions and adaptations in other Doctor Who media its now more easily accessible than many episodes from the 1960s

[kosmos2999]

In what ways did William Shatner's portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk differ from the way the character was originally written?

You really have to look at the difference between Captain Christopher Pike (portrayed by Jeff Hunter in the first Star Trek pilot, “The Cage”) and Captain James Kirk (portrayed by William Shatner in the second Star Trek pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”) to see the evolution of the Captain in Star Trek.

As originally written, the Captain of the USS Enterprise was a rather dark, tormented man who was already thinking of resigning his Starfleet commission (in the pilot episode) because he was fed-up with the demands of leadership. That was Jeff Hunter’s portrayal of Christopher Pike.

^^^ Jeff Hunter’s Captain Pike appeared as almost a reluctant commander. He was introspective and self-doubting and mostly humorless, and he didn’t want the responsibility of issuing life-or-death orders and leading others into deadly situations.

He didn’t like women on the bridge, either, except for his First Officer Number One (because she had no obvious feminine personality).

Pike was also aggressive. He barked most of his lines, he glared a lot, and he was even violently intimidating (choking a frightened and physically-frail Talosian, for example, and directly threatening to burn a hole through the alien at close range).

^^^ If looks could kill, right. No wonder the Talosians concluded that humans were "too violent and dangerous a species for our needs.”

NBC rejected the first Star Trek pilot for several reasons, including Jeff Hunter’s Christopher Pike, who was considered too intense, angry and not very likable. Gee, wonder why?

Could it be because Jeff Hunter’s controlling wife was often on the set, badgering Hunter as well as the producer and director? That probably made Hunter’s job many times more difficult, and I think it showed in his performance.

When NBC requested a second Star Trek pilot, it was decided to rewrite some characters and do away with others. For example, First Officer Number One was entirely removed from the script; Spock was promoted to First Officer as well as Science Officer; Doctor Boyce (Ship’s Physician and bartender) was also eliminated from the script and replaced with a more down-to-earth country doctor (this was Doctor Piper, who quickly evolved into Doctor McCoy); and Christopher Pike was to be rewritten as a kinder, gentler, more likable Captain.

However, there was a contractual problem, inasmuch as Jeff Hunter had signed to do only one pilot and a series (if NBC bought it)…but he didn’t sign to do two pilots and a series. Gene Roddenberry and Desilu Studios really wanted Jeff Hunter to continue working on the show, but they knew they’d have to cajole Hunter (and his overbearing wife) into signing for a second pilot.

So, Roddenberry called Jeff Hunter in for a post-rejection screening of The Cage to discuss character revisions and signing another contract for another pilot. This is where it got messy.

Desilu production head Herbert Solow was at the screening and described it best:

“In the eyes of the New York and Los Angeles television world, Star Trek was already a failure. But we knew differently and looked forward to running the completed pilot for our star, Jeff Hunter. We hoped it would convince him to do another pilot. Gene and I waited in the Desilu projection room for him to arrive. He never did. Arriving in his stead was actress Sandy Bartlett, Mrs. Jeff Hunter. We traded hellos, and I nodded to Gene. He flicked the projection booth intercom switch. ‘Let's go.’

“As the end credits rolled, and the lights came up, Jeff Hunter's wife gave us our answer: ‘This is not the kind of show Jeff wants to do, and besides, it wouldn't be good for his career. Jeff Hunter is a movie star.’ Mrs. Hunter was very polite and very firm. She said her good-byes and left, having surprisingly and swiftly removed our star from our new pilot.”

–Herb Solow, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story

So, Jeff Hunter just vanished from Star Trek. He wasn’t fired, as some claimed…he quit. Or, more precisely, his beast of a wife quit for him. Two years later (1967), after Star Trek was a success, Jeff Hunter divorced his wife.

As it happened, there was another actor invited to that same screening (quietly taking notes), and that actor was Bill Shatner, who was waiting in the wings when Jeff Hunter opted out.

Thus entered the new Captain of the Enterprise, James R. Kirk.

^^^ Yep, he was actually named James R. Kirk in his first Star Trek appearance: It says so on his tombstone in “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the second Star Trek pilot.

Shatner’s Kirk was basically just the opposite of Hunter’s Pike. Captain Kirk was thoughtful but not deeply introspective; he was not tormented but was supremely confident and never self-doubting; he loved his ship and crew, but was willing to take life-or-death risks with both; he was perfectly comfortable with women on the bridge (or just women in general); and he could be humorous, if a little irritating.

^^^ Captain Kirk was a more likable, humorous and confident alternative to Christopher Pike.

Captain Kirk, unlike Captain Pike, was always a ready negotiator, offering an olive branch first and only turning to violence as a last resort; indeed, even in violent scenes, Kirk was typically defending himself.

In short, Shatner portrayed Kirk as a role model for kids. Shatner fully realized that Star Trek was a kids’ show, first and foremost, so he played a kid’s idea of a starship captain…and nailed it.

It became apparent from the second pilot onward that Kirk’s human warmth was a perfect balance for Spock’s icy Vulcan logic (which evolved as the first season of Star Trek progressed). Their dynamic became pure gold for the series and the movie franchise.

^^^ DeForest Kelley’s emotional and quick-tempered Doctor McCoy assumed the role of a counter-character playing against Spock, while Kirk became the reasonable middle-man between the two, and so was born the legendary trio.

By Charles Austin Miller, Investigative Journalist and Publisher.

Found at Quora:

[tyravenholme]

Doctor Who Theory: Bi-Generation

So I've been following the newest series recently like so many others and am loving the current run of Doctor who, especially the last episode as of this post 73 Yards which once again touched upon the fact that ever since the 14th Doctor played a game at the edge of creation, the rules of reality have been changed ever so slightly to now allow for the supernatural, to allow myths and urban legends, fairy tales and folk tales to become reality.

This made me think about the 60th specials what the 14th bi-generated into the 15th and how immediately after the 15th Doctor explains that they have bi-generated, but follows it up with "There's no such thing, it's just a myth, but look at me."

No, I've got two theories regarding this, the first is an explanation. Because the rules of reality have slightly changed and there was apparently a myth among time lord society of one regenerating into two, it makes sense that the first regeneration after the 14th Doctor changes the rules of reality is one based on a myth. I previously thought it was because the Toymaker was having some sort of influence over everything, but now it's becoming more obvious that it's far more than that.

But then I remember a quote which is simple "Myths and Legends all start from somewhere." So where did the myth of bi-generation come from. Given how wild the Doctor's own personal history has become in recent series and how Time Lord society enjoyed keeping their secrets, it made wonder what if be-generation has actually happened before and in the one being that was capable of doing it, the origin of regeneration.

The whole Timeless Child story line revealed that time lords only became such because they found a child from another universe entirely, a child who could regenerate indefinitely as it was their natural (so far as we know) biology. The Timeless Child eventually became the Doctor through much shenanigans, with their memory being wiped and forced to believe certain untruths which even to this day is debatable given the Toymakers line about making the Doctor's history a jigsaw.

Anyway, given the power of regeneration was an ability taken from another species entirely, it's possible the Time Lords didn't know the full scope of abilities tied to it. What if while Tecteun was experimenting on the Timeless Child, one of those regenerations became a bi-generation. This would implant the origin of the myth because it was something that actually happened once, but given Time lord secrecy, they made it so it would remain hidden - but of course, secrets never stay secrets forever.

This of course makes you wonder two things: Where's the other Timeless Child and why is bi-generation even a thing to begin with?

Let's tackle the second question first: We're never given a reason as to why the Timeless Child arrived in this universe, did they happen here by chance or were they sent here? It's unclear, but I wonder if maybe they were sent as a refugee, a survivor of a dying species, the last of their kind, or maybe not. What if they were sent as an Ark for their species, a special variation that would carry on their legacy, one who would not only live forever (maybe) but also at times divide into new beings, no longer being the only survivor? A bit of a thin theory because if they were intentional sent, why send a child to be the survivor of your species? Though if it's an accident, then bi-generation is natural and not engineered, and if that's the case, maybe it's just how this particular species reproduces - though it's been made clear the Doctor has had children so they can procreate in a more traditional way as well.

Honestly, the reasons and explinations could be even wilder than what I've thought up and it may be years before we get any answers.

So, let's tackle the other question. If the Timeless Child bi-generated, where's the other Child? Well, there was one such character we've met once before in classic who that was apaprently the Doctor yet not, an incarnation between their 12th and final regeneration, except, we've not gone passed that point with the Doctor so it no longer makes any sense - though technically you could argue that 12th and final could be any number in between.

I'm referring to the Valeyard, a variation of the Doctor that was explained as being a future version of themselves - or at least, that's what everyone was told.

What if the Valeyard is actually the other half of the Timeless Child, led to believe they are the future incarnation of the Doctor, led to believe that they are at the end of their cycles, and if they want to continue living, continue existing, they must help the Time Lords against the Doctor - we've seen and known the Time Lords can extend regeneration cycles, grant whole news ones, and even bring Time Lords back from the dead (The Master more than once)

I'm not entirely sold on the idea of the Valeyard being the other Timeless Child - but it would be a fun way to bring back that character and then drop a reveal that the Timeless Child bi-generated and they were the other half that came from it - OR even wilder, maybe the Master is the other half of the Timeless Child (hugely unlikely, but a fun thought to think about)

Anyway, those are my theories, though I could probably go on for longer. Looking forward to the next episodes of the current series and hope we get answers as to why the hell the actress Susan Twist keeps popping up in every episode.

[freneticsir]

seriously? Closed species? Give me a break. They're nothing but a bunch of Avatar wannabes, lacking any originality whatsoever. It's infuriating to see talented artists wasting their skills on such a dumb and pointless concept. And DON'T even get me started on how they feed off people's consumption addictions and profit from the least original idea imaginable. Ugh, it's enough to make me want to create my own so-called ""illegal"" alien furry just to mock the whole ridiculous closed species trend

the TIMING and the irony of WHEN the notif from your post popped out on my screen while I was watching this video ~

wait when you discover that I also ‘waste my talent’ on drawing kinky NSFW furry commissions to make a living. and all commissioners I had so far - are all wonderful people who respect artist’s hard work.

if you want talented artists to not ‘waste their talent’ on ‘unworthy things’ - you’re absolutely welcomed to support them financially and help them to direct their talents towards their actual dreams and ambitions. for example: my TRUE dream since 2014 is to create an animatic series about my alien OC Isay. you can help me to direct my talent towards this dream by subscribing to my Patreon. if I ever achieve at least 500$ monthly income from Patreon - I will finally be able to focus on my original story releasing instead of frantically seeking one way after another to make a living.

just support your favorite artists financially if you want them to stop ‘wasting their talent’. otherwise, you don’t actually give a single shit about artists. you just want them to provide you a free entertainment medium YOU prefer.

P.S.: Sirises - are my alien original species and a crucial part of that exact story which I’ve been developing since 2014 but never had an opportunity to share a single piece of it due to being too busy while trying to survive. my main OC Isay - is a Siris, a main character of this animatic series in question, and my meaning of life. if I’m as autistic artist with depression, PTSD, ADHD and numerous health issues including one that requires surgery can somehow monetize Sirises in the moment of my life when I have NO OTHER WAY to make a living at all due to being a war refugee in a foreign country - I will monetize them to survive so I be able to move towards my dream.

P.S.S.: art - is a luxury item, not a necessity like food or meds. no one forces people to buy commissions, adopts, MYOs (Sirises by the way have a plenty of free options to obtain but of course you’d never bother to check), action figurines, games, physical music albums etc etc etc. it’s always person’s decision and person’s choice how to manage their earned money. and if this little purchase makes person happier and doesn’t harm anyone, and if I can provide this little piece of joy to someone while also making a living myself - why fucking not? it’s their choice, it’s their business. not yours. not mine either. it’s not my place to validate or invalidate the way other adult people manage their income. my place and my only responsibility - is to make sure that I myself have money to pay my rent and bills, to buy my meds, antidepressants included, and food, to visit a doctor, to prepare to my gallbladder removal surgery, to manage my iron deficiency anemia. to survive. and to fulfill my dream.

and it’s not your place to judge me and the ways I make a living,

Monsieur Privileged Anon the Cowardly.

[poisonousquinzel]

yall, y'all, there's a whole part in this book where Harleen's trying to hold little group therapy sessions with some of the female inmates and Ivy is one of them and in the last session Harleen gets drugged via her tea and while they're all originally against her, Pamela saved her in the end after her defense and adamant protests to the idea she was using them.

I’m hallucinating. It didn’t happen. “Oh, but it did happen,” Pamela Isley said, no longer bored. “You’re not hallucinating.”

How did I speak aloud and not know it, Harleen wondered, watching as Pamela got up from her chair.

Pamela was smiling as she came toward her. “Did you know that roots can break through metal pipes buried in the ground? Even crack the foundation of a house?”

All the women were getting up now. Then Pamela was looming over her, with more vines growing out of her hair. Harleen’s cup slipped out of her fingers and fell on the carpet with a distant thump.

The tea, Harleen realized.

“You know, I’m a doctor, too, even if it’s not the kind you are,” Pamela said. Her low voice was practically a purr but there was nothing soft about her expression. “Brand new Dr. Harleen Quinzel. It’s so obvious this is your first job.” She gave a short laugh. “What did you tell yourself you were doing—trying to make a difference? Striking a blow for the looney sisterhood? Or can you actually admit you want to use us Looney Ladies of Arkham to get famous by writing a trashy true-crime book?”

“No! Stop!” Harleen pleaded. It was an enormous effort to speak but she had to get through to them. “I didn’t want to use you—I wanted to show how you’ve all been used! By the police! By the justice system! And most of all by Batman!”

Harleen saw Pamela Isley push herself in front of the other women just as everything went black.

“How did I get out of there in one piece?” she asked.

“Pamela Isley,” Dr. Leland replied, refilling the glass for her. “She saved you.”

Harleen shook her head, thinking she hadn’t heard right. “No, Isley was the ringleader,” she said, sipping the water more slowly this time. There was still a funny taste in her mouth from the tea, or whatever it had been. “She freed the others so they could all attack me.” She felt for her necklace and discovered it was still around her neck: another miracle. “Mary Louise was hitting me with this incredibly heavy doll when I passed out.”

“The doll’s head was stuffed with rocks,” said Dr. Leland. “Pamela Isley loathes and despises all of humanity, singly and as a species. But apparently she loathes and despises you less than everyone else. Quite a lot less. She held off the others and called for help. All four are confined to their cells indefinitely. And, needless to say, they won’t be participating in any more group sessions. Nor will any other patients.”

“But I don’t want to look weak,” Harleen said. “I won’t have any credibility with the patients if they think Pamela Isley can knock me on my butt whenever she wants.”

“Don’t worry about Poison Ivy,” Dr. Leland told her. “Remember, she hates you less than the rest of us. That’ll work in your favor. A lot of inmates follow her lead, and they’re not all women.”

And then when that stupid rose shows up in her office, she's thinks it's from Ivy at first and I'm

This was meant to bring her joy. It seemed like forever since anyone had done something like that for her.

Get a grip, girlfriend, said a small, sensible voice in her head. It’s a flower, not a pile of gold bullion or the Hope Diamond or even a pay-raise. Did you notice that’s a plant? Remind you of anyone?

All the little hairs on the back of Harleen’s neck stood up. Would Pamela Isley—Poison Ivy—try something else so soon? Or was it a peace offering? Sorry we tried to kill you. I won’t let it happen again.

Oh, God, what if Poison Ivy didn’t merely not hate her but wanted to be friends? What would that be like?

Imagine.... imagine how things would be different if it was from Ivy and it was a like little potted Rose plant (so the little plant would actually be alive) I cannot, I physically cannot function

[peterchu42]

How Doctor Who is secretly fantasy

One of the things I enjoy most about Doctor Who is that it looks like sci-fi on the surface but as you get deeper and deeper into it, it begins to resemble fantasy more and more. For example according to Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible, the Time Lords are sterile and reproduce using genetic Looms because of the Pythia's curse. No technology, no virus, it's just a magical curse.

The original genre of the Doctor Who universe was fantasy but the Time Lords created history in such a way that magic couldn't exist. Basically, they did a magic spell to destroy magic. Hypocrites. (Christmas on a Rational Planet) This history was bound by what the Time Lords could comprehend, it's why there are so many humanoid species out there, they couldn't understand most of the non-humanoid ones. The Time Lords eventually came to view themselves as functions of history, given form through the Looms, barely biological at all. (The Book of the War)

When Gallifrey was destroyed in the EDA book range(long story), the chains that it had imposed on history were shattered and magic began to seep back into the universe: Beasts/Mal'akh(Adventuress of Henrietta Street), spirits(City of the Dead) and magic time travelling dogs(Timeless) but Gallifrey's destruction lead to the Doctor's hearts decaying in his chest(Adventuress of Henrietta Street). The only reason he survived is because a heart was ripped out of his chest and later implanted into Sabbath's which linked their lifeforces meaning that neither could die as long as the other was alive. This was only discovered after the Doctor's chest was crushed by a sandbag.(Camera Obscura)

Anyhow, after that extended wander through the books, the relevant thing to the show is that it's happening again. The fantastical is seeping back into the universe, this time due to the Doctor invoking a superstition at the edge of the universe in Wild Blue Yonder, we've already seen goblins in The Church on Ruby Road, I wonder what could come next?

[roxannepolice]

ok. so. i saw ur tags on my chameleon arch = self destruction breakdown and i literally cannot tell you how fucking ecstatic i was!!! i loved the parallel you drew to the master as well. like that one post that says something like “when the master became human he became basically good and the doctor became a bit of a dick”, you pointed out a connection i never would have made on my own!! i do think you’re right in saying that maybe the master has the potential to save people, and that made me readjust how i looked at the humanisation process meta-wise. i think that john smith is functionally a sort of warped version of the doctor rather than an opposite, because the opposite of the doctor is in many ways the master. in that same vein professor yana is also a sort of warped version of the master, because to me the master is dedicated to saving themself and the doctor (because they’re gay (joke) (not really)), whereas yana ended up saving everyone. yana is a much more radical change from the master and it might honestly be in part because he’s spent so long as human — he says he was a child when he was found — and john smith only really lived for about two months so he never got to develop in strict opposition to the doctor. we do get to see a small glimpse of that future, which you can argue is a direct opposite of at least one aspect of the doctor, i.e. inescapable never ending loneliness and the inability to have long term relationships like that, but ultimately there’s a bit more nuance than i originally saw. anyway THANK YOU FOR THE TAGS

For the context, here are the tags:

Thank you so much for writing! Yeah, I do think that maybe it's not as simple as Doctor automatically being a dick when human and the Master being a good person when human, but the warping (great choice of word!) is definitely there and the reversal struck me as very intentional. I think the chameleon arch very much fits into the whole nature vs. nurture dispute (which is why it reminds me of Blaine-Slitheen reversing into an egg; like, yes, it's still the same life being lived but is it really the same person getting a second chance?). John Smith is basically an AI generated higher middle class mid 30s edwardian Englishman. A very advanced AI, but essentially AI generated. He only has the necessary memories and accepts the premises of his circumstances as this is all his "programming" allows him. I've seen someone ranting if we are to understand the Doctor is subconsciously racist and I would answer no!, if John Smith was supposed to blend into 2000s society he would view Martha quite differently from how he does in the episode (and I can't not share my cracky Toddler!Smith AU).

On a deeper lever there's the question of whether the Doctor is essentially, regardless of circumstances, more conformist than the Master, more willing to accept the dumb prejudices of the society he lands in, and this is hard to answer as well! As you pointed out, the Yana we meet is more "organically formed" than John Smith, that is he was actually raised for a few decades instead of being a ready made 30-something man. And the society he was raised in is specifically the end-all, final form of all sentient existence. There are no more discoveries to be made, no new peoples, species and worlds to meet and explore, no paradigm shifts left and now I wonder if his genius stems partially from the fact that everything he would learn was somehow flowing into a subconscious "wait, I've already learned that and was good at it". And the best part is there is still some of the Master's pragmatic survival of the fittest attitude in Yana, for all his selflessness, as in the moment he waves off another lost soul in search of Utopia. Just as John Smith still has the pull towards rescuing that baby in a stroller.

Again, for me this is all about nature vs. nurture (fuck off with the Doctor has always been the Doctor and always never used guns idea). The Master audio kind of simplifies it in which one is Death's champion, but metaphorically it makes the point clear: under different cirumstances the Doctor would have been the Master and the Master the Doctor. And neither would be what they are if the other wasn't what they are.

[colemansdimple]

I've always had these fic ideas that would come out of nowhere but I never had time to write them down. I think with this blog I can do it, although they will be very very very short. Hope it turns out alright. Wish me luck! 🤞

Midnight tune

By colemansdimple

She was late. She knew it was foolish to care. That it wasn’t meant for her anyways. But this face, it seems to carry a burden or..as she like to think sometimes...a responsibility. This face, this body, was important to him, perhaps the most important of all, although he didn’t remember. Didn’t remember the person she copied it from.

Still she tried to look her best. As she walked inside the pub. She picked a quiet place not far away from the stage but not so close as to make him notice her.

She had a job to do. Her responsibility. Whenever her species copied a being with a consciousness they could maintain a connection to that person, so they could copy them again if needed.

When she first copied the original owner of that face things were so different, she thought she was fighting for the liberation of her people but in the end she only made things worse for them. He changed her mind, and he knew the moment she did it because she was wearing the face of the most important person in the universe to him.

When she heard that Clara Oswald was no more she looked at herself in the mirror. It couldn’t be. The connection was still there although much weakened. Clara was still alive...ish. She had dreams of her, dreams of visiting so many planets she soon lost count. It was wonderful. She missed the planets, she missed the stars. She was stuck on earth for so long now that Clara’s dreams were her only means of traveling again. She didn’t want to lose that connection. She couldn’t bear.

But those dreams all ended with a longing..a feeling as if someone should be there, but wasn’t . And then she realised what it was: Clara missed her Doctor as much as she missed the outside of this boring little planet.

It took a while until Clara herself realised their connection in her own dreams. When that happened the first thing she asked was how he was.

“Why don’t you see for yourself?”

“I can’t ...I just... can’t ...it’s complicated but he can’t see me anymore or he will remember and come after me and if he finds me...if he finds me...i might never let him go again and then...this universe is certainly doomed... and I can’t let that happen.”

So Bonnie and Clara made a pact. Clara would show her as much planets as she could. And Bonnie would show her the Doctor whenever he was on earth, which for Bonnie’s unluck, was all the time now apparently. It seems the Doctor would not travel anymore. He took a teaching job at the local university by day and played guitar in the local pub by night.

And that’s the place Bonnie is right now. The same pub she goes in every night. And she waits. She waits until midnight. He always plays that song at midnight. The same song. As if he’s waiting for someone to walk in and recognise it and claim it as their own. But no one ever does. The only person who could is currently in galaxy 42 , close to the next planet she will be visiting. Her eyes are closed as she focuses hard on a telepathic connection of billion light years away. She can see him.

He seems a bit older somehow. He’s not wearing those sunglasses anymore so she can see the dark lines under his eyes. He’s making that face as though he’s trying to make sense of all the pudding brains noises as they laugh and chat and drink around him. He always liked to play inside the time vortex where everything was quiet. He makes them see all the power of his crossed eyebrows. She gives that sad smile that makes her dimple show. And she listens.

It is midnight on earth. He will play her song again.

[hummingbird-of-light]

Ninth story for @badthingshappenbingo ~

Title: The Perfect Specimen

Fandom: Star Trek (AOS)

Character(s): Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Original Alien Character, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, James T. Kirk, Keenser

Relationship(s): Montgomery "Scotty" Scott/Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (mentioned), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott & Keenser

Rating: M

Words: 1,657

Prompt: Stalking

Warnings: Psychological Horror, Angst, Kidnapping, Humans as products

(You can also find this story on AO3)

~ The Perfect Specimen ~

It was already past midnight when Montgomery Scott made his way back to the hotel. He had been out with Keenser, but the wee Roylan had said that he would stay at the club a little longer. After all, it was their last night on the planet.

It had really been a great shore leave and although the engineer had been separated from his silver lady, he had managed to enjoy the time. Which was also thanks to a certain doctor.

Scotty smiled at the thought of the man in whose hotel room he had spent most of the last few nights. At first he had been a little nervous, but in the end it had really been a good decision to finally tell Dr. McCoy about his feelings for him.

But for the last night, they had both decided to stay in their own rooms. After all, they had to get at least some sleep to be fit to continue the mission the next day.

A strange feeling spread through Scotty's stomach as he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. He wheeled around, looking over his shoulder, but there were only a few people walking through the night streets. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him.

The Scotsman quickly shook his head and continued on his way. Over the last few days, he had often had the strange feeling that someone was watching him or staring at him. But... that was probably normal on the planet. After all, humans were a rarity in this place. The Federation had accepted the planet into its fold not so long ago, but all the locals were still very hospitable. This was also evident from the many different species they encountered in the capital. It was a great planet.

Scotty sighed. Maybe he was just tired and imagining things. And yet... he just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following him.

The engineer was just turning into a less busy street when he suddenly heard a noise behind him.

"Let go! Hey, let go of me, you creeps!"

As quickly as he could, Scotty wheeled around and what he saw made anger boil up inside him.

Two large males were trying to pull a female of their species into a van. The female was a beautiful lady dressed in blue. Her white hair stood out next to her purple skin.

Scotty clenched his hands to fists and walked back, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Oi! Ye heard what the lass said, didn't ye?"

All three of the purple species looked at the Scotsman in surprise. While the female's eyes were wide, the males only grinned superiorly.

"Of course we heard it. But why should we care about it?"

These bastards! Did they really think they could treat a lady like that?

"Well, where I come from women are treated with respect and-"

The Scotsman didn't get to finish his sentence, because the moment he was close enough to the van, the male creatures suddenly let go of the woman and grabbed him by the arms instead.

"Hurry up. Pull it in."

Scotty couldn't believe it when he heard the female being's voice. It... had been a trap! The men had only pretended to kidnap the woman in order to get to him.

The Scotsman stood no chance against the strong beings when they bound his feet together and tied his hands behind his back. As much as he tried to kick and punch, he was simply helpless.

"Wonderful. A perfect specimen of this new species. A... human, isn't it?"

The lady's grinning face appeared in Scotty's field of vision and he spotted pointed gleaming white teeth.

"How incredibly... exotic."

A shudder went through his body as long fingernails touched one of the engineer's cheeks and brushed gently across it.

"Look, lady, kidnapping a Starfleet officer is a violation of Federation law. If ye don't release me immediately, then-"

Scotty fell silent and suppressed a cry of pain as his counterpart giggled and pinched his cheek.

"Oh, how adorable. It thinks we're abiding by the laws that apply on this planet now, huh? Well... I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you there, human."

Scotty bared his teeth angrily. Who did this woman think she was?

"Ms. Farie, ma'am, we should leave for the shuttle as soon as possible."

One of the males turned to the woman - Ms. Farie - and she just rolled her eyes.

"Well then. Chop, chop. Start the car. I'll take care of the goods myself."

When Scotty heard the word 'goods', his stomach turned. The way that woman said it...

The henchmen quickly left the back of the van and only a short time later Scotty felt them start to move.

"I-if ye want to blackmail my captain or Starfleet, then-"

Once again, Ms. Farie laughed.

"Oh, sweetheart, no. I just want you for now."

Only now did the Scotsman realize that his blood was on the female creature's fingernails. He shuddered as he watched a long, dark red tongue lick up the liquid. Ms. Farie let out a surprised sound.

"Mmm, that's really good. I bet the meat tastes just as delicious."

Scotty's eyes widened in shock. 'Goods', blood, meat - surely this woman couldn't be...

"You know, sweetheart, I just love this planet. So many different species visit it. And every time I visit here, I pick a new one and take a specimen with me."

Slowly, Ms. Farie stood up and wandered around the back of the van. She went to a screen on one of the walls and activated it.

Scotty's breath caught in his throat at what he saw.

Photos. Photos of him and other members of the crew.

"I've been watching you for a while now. I don't know, but you... are just perfect. When I saw you, everything was just right. Size, proportions, body fat. The perfect specimen for a tasting."

The blood froze in the engineer's veins and he shook his head slowly.

That... this woman couldn't be serious! He wasn't a piece of meat!

"Y-ye... this is crazy! Release me immediately!"

Scotty tried again and again to pull at his restraints, but he couldn't free himself. His heart was racing with panic, but his captor didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"Listen, sweetheart, my restaurant is the most culinary on my entire home planet. My guests always expect a variety of dishes. And I think that Human will definitely win them over."

That couldn't be true! It all had to be a cruel joke!

"Help! Can someone hear me! Help!" Scotty screamed as loud as he could, but Ms. Farie just giggled.

"Save yourself the trouble. The walls are soundproofed. No one will hear you."

No... no, no, no! That couldn't be true!

Ms. Farie slowly sat back down on the ground, a tricorder of sorts in her hand. She ran it over the Scotsman's body, a grin on her face.

"Well then... let's see how much of you we can use. What tasty dishes can we whip up from you?"

The lady moved her head back and forth thoughtfully and looked at the screen of the device.

"With the number of guests who have registered for the tasting... A nice soup to start. And for the main course... hmm... roast or steak, what do you think, sweetheart?"

Scotty's voice caught in his throat. He wanted to do or say something, but he was completely helpless. He stared at Ms. Farie with frightened eyes.

He wasn't a piece of meat! He was not an animal to slaughter!

"Oh, I guess I'll decide that on the spur of the moment. But I'm quite sure we can make a lovely wine from your blood, don't you think?"

Slowly, the woman leaned forward and ran her smooth tongue over the gash her fingernails had made. Scotty's whole body trembled.

"P-please... don't."

But Ms. Farie wasn't even listening to him. She sighed dreamily.

"Hah, this is going to be a lovely dinner. I can't wait."

Scotty shook his head in panic as he felt the van come to a halt.

"Oh, I think we're there already. Well then..."

Smiling, Ms. Farie ran her fingers through Scotty's hair once more before standing up and walking to the door.

Scotty felt his heart almost jump out of his chest. He had to do something! He had to get out of here!

"The ride went so fas-"

Scotty narrowed his eyes in confusion when he heard his kidnapper stop talking. He turned his head to see what was going on.

"What the-"

"Get out of the car, ma'am, you're under arrest for kidnapping a Starfleet officer."

When he heard the familiar voice of Lt. Hendorff, Scotty couldn't help but let out a shaky sigh. They had found him! His crew had actually found him!

It wasn't long before Scotty was free of his restraints. His knees trembled as he got to his feet and the security personnel had to support him on the way out.

Kirk and McCoy were already waiting for him there.

"Scotty!"

"Thank God! Are you okay?"

The Scotsman nodded slowly as he hugged both friends.

"A-aye. But... how did ye know-"

He had lost his communicator with the tracking chip during the abduction. So how had the crew found him?

A smile appeared on Kirk's lips and he nodded his head to the side.

"Keenser must have had a strange feeling and followed you after all. He saw you being pulled into that van. And then he immediately pulled out all the stops to get us to look for you."

Scotty nodded understandingly before falling to his knees in front of Keenser and simply hugging him tightly.

"Thank ye, wee man. Thank ye so much."

Keenser only grunted and wrapped his short arms around his friend. For Scotty, he would do anything.