#yes this is a kirk and spock quote

[walkman-cat]

i had to :}

(i love these panels)

[bluesngolds]

As @gunstreet once said, The Apple is Spock’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day.

[lead-acetate]

Jim: *goes for a firm handshake as ey're introduced to Spock*

Spock: *accepts with a light blush*

Nyota: what the fuck Jim no you can't just do that that's illegal! you've just met xir! me and Michael did not even look at each other's hands before the third date and she's not even actually Vulcan!

[xirayn]

Robin: [trying to convince Nancy to not to something reckless]

Jonathan: She has a point.

Robin: Don't agree with me, it makes me uncomfortable.

[lenievi]

re: this post and Kirk and Pike and their drinking habits

Kirk doesn’t seem to drink alone. At least we never see him drink alone as a captain. Aboard the ship, it’s always McCoy who brings him or pours him a drink in order to make Kirk relax. He often brings the alcohol as a comfort, as a way to make him talk. It’s almost a ritual that is always initiated by McCoy for Kirk’s own sake. McCoy does it as a friend, but he also does it from his position as Kirk’s doctor.

“Sometimes a man’ll tell his bartender things he’ll never tell his doctor.”

Pike doesn’t have anyone like that. Pike presents himself as everyone’s friend, and he makes sure it’s him who’s there for everyone, and that reflects even on the times when he’s in his own quarters talking to Una or Spock and it’s him who’s being “comforted”. At those times, it’s still Pike who plays a host and offers them a drink. For his own sake because they won’t do it for him. He pretends they’re his bartenders since that role doesn’t belong to anyone, and he needs to pour himself that drink.

Una is almost like Pike’s McCoy but not really. At times, Spock is almost like Pike’s McCoy but not really. He’s like twenty years younger than Pike and inexperienced, among other things. Neither of them have the option to question him and press him in the way that McCoy can with Kirk because neither of them can relieve him of his command. And M’Benga doesn’t seem to want that role.

Mister Spock, the man on top walks a lonely street. The chain of command is often a noose. is as real for Pike as it’s real for Kirk. Pike just has a more open personality and a way to captain the ship that make him seem less lonely on the outside.

[spocksbrainworms]

*rubs our autisms together*

[liminalmemories21]

Comfort Fanfic Reccs

Okay, following on from @black-quadrant's post yesterday about comfort fandoms - what are your old school comfort fics? The ones from fandoms that haven't been active in yeeeaaars, but you've read so many times you can practically quote them.

With Six You Get Eggroll by @cesperanza (Due South - Fraser/Ray K - post series)

Ray burst out laughing. "Benny! You've developed a sense of humor!" "Yes, Ray." Fraser lowered the gun and showed him an amused look. "Six immaculate conceptions will do that to you."

Hide of a Life War by @etharei (Teen Wolf - Derek/Stiles)

“We have received confirmation that there is a hostage situation in progress at a warehouse compound two hours out of Los Angeles, following a multiple-vehicle pileup on Highway 101 this morning...” The one in which Stiles has lived to (legal) adulthood and, along the way, become a bit of a badass himself.

Illogical (√π233/hy7) by @waldorph (Star Trek Reboot - Kirk/Spock - AU)

If Kirk was a maths genius, and never took Pike up on the dare to do better, but still managed to get to Starfleet? This is what that would look like.

Domestic-verse by @gyzym (Inception - Arthur/Eames)

People you kiss in an airport baggage claim and then don't talk to for thirteen months shouldn't be able to exist, let alone make your chest do the things Arthur's chest is doing. There are rules.

The Age of Aquarius by @cesperanza (West Wing - Josh/Donna)

"You know," Toby said, pulling a cigar out of his inside coat pocket and regarding it thoughtfully, "I never found your relationship with Donna particularly baffling. I just figured you ran on sexual frustration like the rest of us."

Drastically Redefining Protocol by @rageprufrock (Merlin - Merlin/Arthur - AU)

In which Prince Arthur meets Merlin and all hell promptly breaks loose.

Don't You Shake Alone by @dsudis (Generation Kill - Nate/Brad)

Nate looked exactly like Brad always pictured him: exhausted in the full life-in-a-combat-zone sense of the word.

Retrograde by LtLJ (Stargate Atlantis - mostly Gen - eventually McKay/Shepard)

The Atlantis expedition has been lost for three years. SG-1 goes to find them, and arrives just a little too late.

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled by @seperis (Smallville - Clark/Lex)

Clark decides on a change of lifestyle. Lex decides on a change in the status quo. And the world's doomed.

Lust over Pendle-verse by AJ Hall (Harry Potter - Draco/Neville - yes, I know JKR is trash, the fic is still excellent)

Lust Over Pendle is a comedy of manners set in the Golden Age detective thriller genre, and is presumed to take place after the end of the seventh Harry Potter book, and, therefore, after the fall of Voldemort.

open tag, but specifically calling out some people I know have been around fandom for a while @alchemistc, @dadvans, @walkinginland, @freneticfloetry, @cecilyv, @sloganeer, @screamlet, @irispurpurea, @rcmclachlan, and @hereghostslive

[eco-lite]

Some fun little things from Sanctuary by John Vornholt:

[Text ID: “A gentle rapping on the door awoke Captain Kirk, and he sat up in the unfamiliar bed to see Spock sitting on the settee across from him, looking quite elegant in a gold-embroidered robe of royal blue. The Vulcan might have been awake for hours, judging by the alertness in his eyes and the sun streaming through the cheery lace curtains. McCoy was still snoring away in the other bed, even after the rapping sounded again.” End ID]

This classic quote I’ve seen around… So… he was just sitting there? In his gorgeous elegant robe?? Okay sure.

[Text ID: “Kirk could see that both Senites who were in attendance that day were hovering around the large party in the dining room, so he turned to McCoy and screamed at the top of his lungs, ‘How dare you call me that!’ ‘But that’s exactly what you are!’ yelled McCoy. ‘And I’ll call you that any time I like!’ ‘Oh yeah!’ thundered Kirk. ‘I’ll make you eat those words!’ By now, the Senites had come running, and several of the new arrivals were peering out the curtained windows at the loudmouths on the veranda. ‘Now, now,’ said Spock with reasoned assurance, ‘anger never solved a problem. Let us order some wine and have a toast.’ ‘I can’t drink with him,’ snarled Kirk, pointing a finger at McCoy. ‘Did you hear what he called me?’ ‘No, I did not,’ Spock answered, truthfully. ‘He called me a…what was it?’ ‘A pompous windbag,’ the doctor replied. ‘That was it!’ shouted Kirk. ‘Those are fighting words!’” End ID]

Shatner would eat this up if it was in an episode.

[Text ID: “The Andorian continued, ‘For the immediate future, the three of you are considered a domestic unit. I hope that is acceptable?’ ‘Most of the time,’ Kirk said with a grin.” End ID]

Yes! They are a domestic unit! Do not separate them! (They’re in a community where abandoned ships are used as homes for families. The trio is living in the shuttle they crash landed in, which they refer to as a “shuttlehome” from this point. 🥹)

[wwillywonka]

spock crying in the the motion picture novelization

as i was watching star trek the motion picture today, i found myself wondering how closely it and the book align only to find that the essential scene, the thesis statement of the tmp story, where spock draws a direct parallel between v'ger and himself while crying is simply... not in the book. i know the version that's more widely available now is the director's cut and that said scene wasn't even in the original theatrical release, but the movie is simply incomplete without it. so! i decided to write out the scene as if it were in the book! please enjoy my take on a prose version of spock's beautiful speech

“Spock?” Then, when his Science Officer did not answer, “Mr. Spock.”

Kirk rose from the captain’s chair and made for the console where Spock sat, facing away from him towards the screen that displayed Vejur’s activity.

“I think -" Kirk began.

Then, Spock turned towards him in his chair, hand releasing from its resting place against the thin line of his mouth. He was — crying. A single, shimmering tear was streaking down his left cheek. His eyes, usually so dark and, since his return from Vulcan, so indecipherable, now shone brightly under the dim, warm light of the bridge. His eyebrows crinkled inwards, not in contemplative thought but, and Kirk would have never guessed, worry. It seemed that open, unashamed emotion left over from Spock’s mind meld with the intruder had not yet dissipated, though Kirk was unsure if Spock’s tears were more Vejur’s than his own.

Spock nodded his head, lifting it a little towards his captain, slightly accusatorily. There was no attempt to hide, no apologetic aversion of gaze. It seemed as if he were telling Jim, “Yes, believe what you are seeing, Captain.

“I have returned.”

Kirk felt McCoy step into place at his side, the doctor’s eyes settling on the now multiple tears pooling down Spock’s face. The captain shared a look with McCoy, acknowledging their mutual concern and astonishment towards their friend.

“Not for us,” Kirk finally stated.

“No, Captain. Not for us.” Spock’s voice, if perhaps a little softer than usual, was confident, steady, calm. Certain. “For Vejur.”

Spock raised his hands, intertwining the fingers in a familiar, thoughtful gesture, but kept them suspended in the air, fidgeting.

Commander Decker approached, too, eyebrows furrowing as he took in the image before him. Kirk showed no sign of acknowledging his presence, the captain’s attention entirely focused on his friend.

“I weep for Vejur as I would for a brother," Spock continued. "As I was when I came aboard, so is Vejur now. Empty, incomplete, and searching. Logic and knowledge are not enough.”

Kirk thought back to every argument, every insistent remark Spock made during their initial five-year mission about his lack of emotion, about his fundamental inability to consider anything else but logic and careful reasoning. Were these out of desperation, a need for the humans of the old Enterprise crew to accept his words as fact so that he, too, could cement their validity? Maybe in Spock’s mind, the more times he declared it, the closer it would be to coming true.

“Spock,” McCoy cut in, colliding reality with Kirk’s thoughts and Spock’s poetic words. “Are you saying that you’ve found what you needed, but Vejur hasn’t?” Decker spoke first. “What would Vejur need to fulfill itself?” Spock moved his gaze towards the main screen, just past Kirk’s head in his line of sight. “Each of us, at some time in our lives, turns towards someone: a father, a brother, a god… and asks, ‘Why am I here? What was I meant to be?’” He took in a sharp breath. “Vejur hopes to touch its creator-“ And now, he lifted his gaze, meeting Kirk’s eyes. “To find its answers.”

“‘Is this all that I am?’” said the captain, quoting Spock’s words from their conversation in sickbay. “‘Is there nothing more?’”

[t0ast-ghost]

The last one… it’s been coming for awhile…

Here’s my thoughts on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

(Spoilers for- well— everything)

- Before watching this movie I was trying to figure out why they chose this name and was told by my mom it’s a Shakespeare reference which.. I should have guessed

- “A Nicholas Myer Film” Cool! Now we know who to blame or bow to

- The music is so fucking intense I’m worried now

- I know Christopher Plummer is famous, I can’t place the face though and I want to say I know the name from the muppet show

- WAIT. Michael Dorn… WORF

- Wanna let y’all know that there was a guy (Harve Bennet) who wanted to create a completely different sixth movie that would’ve been more like a prequel where they recasted everyone to have an “academy era” movie with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy shenanigans. Gene Roddenberry didn’t fucking like that idea (cause only he knows how to cast apparently)

- explosion :)

- Teacup that tells you what ship you’re on. I now understand why everyone hates Quark trying to spread his own brand when Starfleet clearly is trying to push their own into every single crevasse

- HIII SULU HIIII

- It’s nice that they gave him the ship he kept saying he was hoping for in voyage home

- I won’t make a fart joke out of “gaseous planetary anomalies” and I definitely won’t say that Q did it

- DAMN NOT THE TEACUP. NBC Hannibal would fucking hate this movie

- Forgot how much I freaking love George Takei and I am so happy they gave him more stuff to do in this movie

- Falling… for about 7 seconds which is about 4 seconds more than normal

- Fairly certain that’s Janice Rand (5:32) (edit: it is! Hi Janice!!!)

- “We have no need for assistance,” and “Stay out of the neutral zone,” sounds like challenge

- Kirk says “What are we doing here?” STARRRING IN THE SIXTH STAR TREK MOVIEE BABEYYYY

- Scotty bought a boat, Uhura teaches seminars at the academy, I love hearing about their lives, keep going

- “Where’s Spock?” Asked in the saddest wettest voice. Kirk’s got his priorities straight. Er- well- not straight exactly but they’re there

- Them trying to hide that the “special envoy” is Spock when Kirk is sitting there looking at him like this

- Sorry babygirl not taking in any of that information. I am taking in those beautiful eyes tho <3

- Ooooh starting this one off with Kirk and Spock on opposite political sides

- Kirk being the one who has to offer the olive branch probably because Spock thought he could trust him to be on the side of peace (which was a miscalculation cause he’s probably still pretty angry with the whole “you Klingon bastards killed my son” thing…)

- “I remind you this meeting is classified” as everybody splits off into chattering gossip

- Kirk actually getting angry at Spock for “volunteering” them. The giant empty room with Kirk in the shadows and only Spock in the light (plus that random person standing in a dark corner for some reason) augh the mise en scène is wonderful

- I don’t even know how to unpack all that. Kirk so prejudiced against the Klingons (finally taking a more antagonistic stance) and saying “You should have trusted me” WHICH IS WHAT SPOCK HAS ALWAYS DONE. Because he trusted that Kirk would ultimately want peace no matter how battered and broken he became.

- They changed Spock’s ears, made the points more curved into themselves

- Why does every new lieutenant like quoting regulations to Kirk? How many does he just regularly break?

- OH FOR FUCKS SAKE WHY DOES HE LOOK OVER AT SPOCK SO SOFTLY

- I love how shape her hair is (draw it draw it draw it dammnit)

- Whenever creating a Star Trek movie you need someone on the production team who loves the ship departing from space dock scenes

- “I can never forgive them for the death of my boy.” Kirk says my boy

- Okay yes, Valeris should have knocked before entering his room but Kirk should also know to lock his door when he’s talking to his diary

- Why is Valeris so involved in this movie? First she’s talking to Kirk and now we’re following her to Spock’s? Strange (my guess. She’s evil.)

- “It is a reminder to me that all things end.” Like your life. Twice. Also that’s a nice sentiment and all but it’s so sad with the context that even his own original timeline ends

- “Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Valeris, not the end.” YEAHHH OLDER SPOCK he’s got a more balanced view on the world and himself

- OKAY I absolutely adore the costume design, especially for Gorkon. Like the golden clips in the hair? The red suit adorned with studs and the giant silver necklace?? The beard??? Amazing

- I like that there’s a “chief of staff” for the Klingons. It’s like the manager at a party city

- “They all look alike” BRO THEY MOST FUCKINGLY DO NOT

- I love the chief of staff being so confused over what the napkin roll thing is. I feel that.

- Ah yes my favourite meal. Blue. With a side of orange of course.

- “I offer a toast. The Undiscovered Country…” Welp. He said it. Time to wrap up the movie

- YEP ITS SHAKESPEARE BABEYYY (thank you Spock for saying that it’s Hamlet, act III, scene I, cause I didn’t wanna look it up)

- “You’ve not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.” Quoi???

- Spock actively trying to stop Kirk from starting a war

- I think this is such a good part where the Klingons are trying to state their worries. The gradual (or not so gradual) need for assimilation to be apart of starfleet. This is a particularly big problem for the Klingons because so much of their culture has been entwined with violence which Starfleet seems almost hellbent to take away. As well as hearing troubling language such as “human rights” thrown in their faces

- IM SORRY. Kirk. You didn’t. You didn’t just compare someone to hitler.

- Spock looks actually so fucking pissed at Kirk

- “If there is to be a brave new world, our generation is going to have the hardest time living in it.” Gorkon dropping all the good lines

- McCoy just standing there adjusting his outfit and looking like the most tired man alive

- “I’m going to sleep this off.�� “I’m going to go find a pot of black coffee.” Both Kirk and McCoy leaving Spock :(((

- The shaky swoop of the camera as Kirk and the rest of the bridge realize that somehow they just fired on the Klingon vessel

- Don’t care about the rest of the movie I just love the scene where everything starts floating on the Klingon vessel

- AUGH THOSE SPACE SUITS OKAY I DO STILL CARE

- Love me some good ol’ bad 3D graphics blood

- Times like this I wish I’d never skipped my tlhIngan Hol classes

- Floating dead Klingons. What. A. Scene.

- Aw Fuck Dude. The one guy getting gravity back online and everything falling to the ground and blood splattering and AUGHHH. Every time I think this scene can’t get better, it does!

- HIII MCCOY!!! He got to rush onto the bridge just to ask “are we firing torpedoes” and I appreciate that :)

- Kirk and Spock fighting over who should go to the Klingon ship and Spock saying “perhaps you’re right” and then putting his hand on Kirk’s shoulder made me more nervous than it should have. Darn you Wrath of Khan! You’ve given me trust issues. (but you're telling me this isn't supposed to look like a nerve pinch???)

- Also Kirk ultimately still trying to maintain peace. It’s his knee jerk reaction to this. He’s got what he’s said he’s wanted when incased in his own emotions about loosing his son but he knows it’s not right

- and finally, yay! McCoy gets to go on the mission!

- The actor for the Klingon that greets them is so good at the rage mixing with grief and sadness

- McCoy to the rescue!!

- Either Klingon blood is pink (like in that one game) or they wanted to keep it pg-13

- “He’s gone into some kind of damned arrest!” McCoy proceeds to straddle the Klingon on top of the table so he has leverage to do proper CPR… I have no thoughts on this that I’d like to share

- I do not believe McCoy’s punches would be strong enough to restart a heart. I’m sorry but they look so puny

- The blood bubbling as Gorkon dies is so fucking good oh my heart

- This is all happening at 2:00 fucking AM??? No wonder Kirk is tired

- “I sympathize, Mr. Scott.” Love when they make Spock say he ‘understands’ or ‘sympathizes’

- SAREKKKK!! Hehe hiiii

- “We are experiencing technical malfunction. All backup systems inoperative.” “Excellent. I… I mean, too bad.” A banger scene from Uhura and Chekov

- Rosanna DeSoto as Azetbur (the Chancellor’s daughter) plays the part so well. Again their portrayal of grief and anger while trying to get to peace is so fucking amazing. LOOK AT HER FACE

- Maybe I’m not so happy about McCoy being on this mission after all…

- The giant circular judgement chamber is so fucking cool

- MICHAEL DORN 🫵

- The sparking gavel <3

- I love the beginning of a translator translating all the Klingon’s words

- WORF IS THEIR DEFENDANT???

- That one Klingon that laughs at McCoy’s joke, wanna be friends?

- “You say you are due for retirement. May I ask, do your hands shake?” “Objection!” “I was nervous!” “No. You were incompetent.” This is like watching reality tv for me. That’s some good drama

- phew thank goodness they’re not killing McCoy. He’s too pretty to die

- The back and forth slow zoom in on McCoy & Kirk and the judge didn’t have the intensity they were going for but I appreciate the effort

- “Better to kill them now and get it over with.” That’s nice Scotty

- Oh shit Spock loosing both of his husbands in one sentencing. That cannot be good for the economy

- “An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains however improbable, must be the truth.” Ancestor? You mean fucking Arthur Conan Doyle?? Or Sherlock??? Either way that’s a hecking lore drop

- They’ve got a murder mystery aboard the Enterprise, this is my dream

- Hey babe, new Klingon dog beast just dropped (Jackal Mastiff)

- I let out an audible “aww” of pity when I saw McCoy wrapped up in a blanket

- I can’t believe I’m only halfway through this movie what is even happening anymore

- Had a brief pause to voice crackedly yell a little bit. Something along the lines of “I do not care. I do not care! I don’t care! I just want Spock- I just want them with Spock! I do not care!” And then let myself breathe for a second or two (and then made chicken nuggets). The outburst was born of a deep sadness from the fact that they can’t just be happy and retired together. Ok, back to the movie.

- Martia just handed Kirk a blunt change my mind

- “Somebody up there wants you out of the way.” of course, it can’t just be about actual politics between the Klingons and Federation, it has to actually be about Kirk and somebody trying to kill him. Dang it.

- “But the killers may still be among them.” …wait a damn minute.. you’re saying there’s imposters- *pulled away forcefully*

- I love how every commanding officer comes into the kitchen absolutely furious that someone fired a phaser

- On that note: why is there a kitchen? And why are they preparing various cooked birds? Who’s having a banquet tonight?

- What kind of bullshit evolution puts a species genitals in their knees?

- Hate how Kirk just lets McCoy go treat the highly dangerous being alone

- “Spock was right” NO SHIT HE’S LITERALLY AN ANCESTOR OF SHERLOCK

- YASSS SULU!!! Now get your rest you beautiful man

- Spock will literally leave no stone unturned for his husbands

- Either Martia has some really good prosthetics in the cave or she’s wearing someone else’s skin… NEVERMIND haha she’s just a shapeshifter

- Chekov was so proud of himself dammit. Too bad he was so utterly wrong

- Also Valeris is so expressive, kinda loving it

- The planet seems kinda nice in the daylight.. minus the dead body I’d say it’s pretty similar to winters in Canada (yes I made the joke, please delete it before posting) (edit: nope <3 just like Canada. Made your bed, lie in it)

- “Leave me. I’m finished.” Goddamn this man’s worst enemy is the cold. Both times McCoy just gives up and tells Spock or Kirk to leave him (First time being in All Our Yesterdays)

- “If they’re even looking for us.” Bones. Spock would literally NEVER leave the both of you. That aside the rest of the Enterprise crew also loves you like crazy

- Everyone laughing on the channel with the Klingons is so funny

- Holyy shit. Is Kirk going to fight.. himself???

- McCoy angel <3

- “I can’t believe I kissed you.” Yeah. Me neither. You didn’t actually have too.

- Poor McCoy holy cannoli oil. He’s knocked out and when he wakes up immediately gets trampled by two versions of his husband

- HIIII JACKAL MASTIFF HIII

- “Since you’re all going to die anyway, why not tell you.” When I go to watch the cinema sins video (I know I’m sorry) on this movie I bet they’ll say “klingonposition” or smt like that here

- If it’s just Chang that wants Kirk dead that’s so disappointing

- McCoy looks over and sees this

- “What you want is irrelevant, what you’ve chosen is at hand.” SPOCK IS ANGRYYYYY SPOCK IS PISSSED

- Please someone let McCoy take a shower, he stinks

- WAIT VALERIS WAS THE ONE SITTING IN THE DARK CORNER OF THE ROOM IN THE BEGINNING

- The distorted wavy angle that almost feels like it’s going side to side dutch angles with each of Spock’s footsteps as he nears Valeris

- I WOULD HAVE SCREAMED IN THEATRES

- Valeris is fucking crying omg what the actual fuck

- I honestly don’t know how to take that apart. I’m still shocked and screaming a little. The reactions from each crew member being just absolutely horrified

- I’m still reeling from that but I gotta acknowledge the fact that Spock says “I prefer it dark” when Kirk enters his quarters. So did I as a teenager and my mom would tell me it was bad for my eyes

- “You and the doctor might have been killed.” “The night is still young.” They are three months from retirement. Goddammnit let them just get to be retired together on a farm or condo or smt. I don’t give a shit just let them rest.

- “Spock, you want to know something? Everybody’s human.” NO THEYRE NOT IN THIS CONTEXT. That was kind of a big point made in this movie. I think the point you’re trying to make is ‘everyone in the whole galaxy forever will always make mistakes.’

- “Doctor, would you care to assist me in performing surgery on a torpedo?”

- Chang just said, “ah the games afoot” why are there so many Sherlock Holmes references in this one? Like I know they have a hard on for famous literature but this one is named after a Shakespeare quote. Just saying it’s a bit crowded.

- They really wanted McCoy to say smt doctory while making the torpedo so they chose “we’ve got a heart beat”

- I think it would’ve been better if Chang said to be or not to be in Klingon like they did at the dinner table

- So they saved the day? Yay? Kirk and McCoy should legally not actually be there- oh they’re all clapping for them who cares

- SPOCK GETS TO SAY GO TO HELL

- Kirk did not just fucking quote Peter Pan. Shut the fuck up.

- McCoy’s look says it all. And by that I mean just let him retire with his husbands. Oh my goodness.

- Just for my mom I'm mentioning the flared pants (Spock and McCoy look kinda goofy tho)

- Ohhh so this is where they change it from “where no man” to “where no one”

- And the Enterprise rides off into the sun. What kind of Grease ending is that?

Awwe okay all of their signatures at the end was a nice touch

I don’t have much more to say here, I forgot how fun but time consuming it was to do these thought posts. I really really appreciate everyone who likes these posts because it means y’all took the time to read this which is just something so meaningful to me.

Thank you all so much <3

Masterpost

[very-bad-poetry-captain]

TOS book review McCoy edition – Dreams of the Raven

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

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

To summarize the book in two sentences:

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

Official plot summary:

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

This book is for you if you:

would love to study McCoy under a microscope

enjoy exciting mystery plots

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Criticisms/things I’d change:

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

Highlights:

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

Final McCoy meter: 9/10 would read again

[snek-of-eden]

Star Trek AMV Masterpost (ongoing)

I feel like amvs are so often forgotten in fandom culture, so here's a list of my favourites! All are on YouTube, and all credit goes to the original creators. the links should take you straight there. (the majority of these are spirk, but there's definitely variety!!) some of these are pretty popular, others obscure, but they're all amazing and you should totally check them out. My all time fav ones are marked with a 💙.

Spirk:

Star Trek || A Thousand Years - [Kirk/Spock] -- this one is super well known, incredibly crafted, a beautiful homage to TOS Spirk and their journey that fades seamlessly into AOS through Spock Prime's memories 💙

Kirk/Spock - If I Were Gay -- absolutely hilarious TOS amv that feels like a parody, I laughed my ass off. all the suggestive scenes and hella funny lyrics to accompany it

Kirk & Spock │Renegades -- amazing x ambassadors song, the lyrics fit them so well and the colouring was spot on. TOS going through the original series and the movies!! 💙

Kirk & Spock │ Come right back to you -- exploration of TOS spirk's bond interspersed with show quotes and the most melancholic soundtrack. shed a tear at this one

Spock and Kirk Feel Again - A Star Trek Music Video -- absolute BANGER of a One Republic song, a TOS amv focusing on Spock and Kirk (with some stunning song parallels to Spock's emotions and the lyrics!)

Star Trek TOS | Two Slow Dancers - [Kirk + Spock] -- would you like to cry today? do you want to sob into your pillow? then this is the video for you. Mitski and TOS Spirk together is a gorgeous combo, and the editing is /on point/

Star Trek - Can't Help Falling In Love (Kirk/Spock) -- an oldie but a goodie, Jim and Spock's ballad of love all throughout TOS and the movies

Keep Holding On (Kirk/Spock) -- its the combo you never knew you needed! glee and Star Trek!! show tunes, glitter, and a completely TOS movie based amv about the events of Search For Spock and The Voyage Home

Running Up That Hill (Kirk/Spock) -- Kate Bush cover and Star Trek TOS? yes fucking please. don't diss the Kate Bush, people. ITS NOT CRINGE HERE. all your swoon-worthy, love-for-the-ages spirk content, some suggestive scenes spliced in the middle, a lot of amok time hehe

K/S (Kirk/Spock) - FUN -- adrenaline inducing AOS spirk fighting amv set to Troye Sivan!! some seriously talented editing and a very pretty AOS colouring

Spirk 'Blank Space' -- christ, this video was what got me to actually watch AOS. One of the only AOS amvs I cherish with my whole heart. the song is a cover of Taylor Swift's Blank Space - and imo it's even better than the original. I've ranted about the editing on a lot of these but this one just about takes the cake. fucking gorgeous 💙

Spock/Kirk - Blue (Star Trek TOS/AOS) -- angsty af and set to Halsey's 'Colors', this one'll get you sobbing. more slow-paced. also, both TOS and AOS!!

Spock / Kirk - Stay {TOS/AOS} -- Hurts is such an underrated artist but so many of their songs are spirk coded!! Very pretty edit, lots of parallels

Kirk/Spock - Landslide -- Fleetwood Mac and some lovely melancholic TOS movie reminiscing about Kirk and Spock's relationship as they're growing older and losing their youth

Kirk/Spock - Wait for It -- calling all Hamilton fans, this one'll be right up your alley. TOS fading into AOS and focusing primarily on Kirk and Spock's dynamic through Spock's perspective. fast paced and fucking wicked

Star Trek: Kirk/Spock || Hold on -- the obligatory Hold On amv (I feel like every fandom has one lol). AOS, spirk, some great angst here!

James T. Kirk:

James T. Kirk | I'll Be Good -- absolutely STUNNING exploration of AOS Kirk's character and psyche, done with gorgeous editing and colours and scene selection. I'm not a huge AOS fan but I played this on repeat for a week. Song is I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young, which is incredibly Jim Kirk coded. so so amazing 💙

Icarus | Jim Kirk [HD] -- snappy cuts and a great portrayal of AOS Kirk. Spirky undertones but nothing explicit. super poignant lyrics

Little Talks - Captain Kirk Tribute: A Star Trek Music Video -- captivating, beautifully edited amv by First Officer Nims (who make some of the best amvs I've watched), one of the most meaningful TOS Kirk videos I've had the pleasure of finding. It's constantly in my head, in my heart, in my soul. 10/10 💙

{James T. Kirk} BI BI BI -- all y'all bi Jim truthers, this one's for you. all of Jim's fruitiest moments from TOS (and behind the scenes) gathered into one camp edit and set to the glorious sounds of NSYNC!! featuring "are there men on this planet", "they seem to be bisexual" and Jim nearly kissing McCoy ;) 💙

jim kirk's babiest moments | fanvid -- not exactly an amv but it's close enough!! exactly what it says on the tin - TOS Jim being the most babygirl ever, pouting, flirting with spock and bones, fighting people by throwing himself at them, and much more. go watch it, you'll thank me

Spones:

What's On Your Mind | Spones || Star Trek [TOS] -- a masterfully put together and downright hilarious eighties-themed spock/bones TOS amv!! (featuring both Nimoy and Kelley's voices in the actual song recording)

Spock & Bones • Hopeless place -- two words: RIHANNA COVER. it's short, its AOS, it's fuckin Rihanna. what is there not to love? I have nothing more to say. go listen to Rihanna

The Night We Met || Spones -- Lord Huron and TOS Spones amv, it's just a general lovely video, great editing and the lyrics fit them so well. I felt Lots of Emotions watching this, and so will you

[Star Trek] Spock/McCoy - Please Don't Leave Me -- beautifully put-together video for TOS' Spock and Bones. It's giving so much 'we're divorced but still in love' energy. painful and funny and the bridge of the song is just *screams incoherently* 💙

You Had A Bad Day -Spock/McCoy *Slash* -- sobbing at this one, TOS and absolutely chefs kiss. scene selection is on point, it tells a full story. creator has found what I consider to be the holy grail of Bones' best angsty moments

Star Trek In General:

Star Trek - This Is Me -- I will be preaching about this video for the rest of my fucking life. think of every positive adjective you can; they all do nothing to describe how wonderful this amv is. Greatest Showman is good on its own... when you add Star Trek into the mix something beautiful happens. an absolute anthem of positivity and inclusivity and everything Star Trek is at its heart. Clips taken from every show, but especially DS9, Discovery and the AOS movies!!! probably my favourite on the whole list 💙

Star Trek || I'll keep coming -- very very well done HD AOS amv about the whole cast. feels like a movie. the creator has put so much effort into this and it pays off!! great homage to AOs as a whole

Star Trek | You Are Loved -- AOS tribute to the soundtrack of Lights by Sleeping At Last. Perfect cuts, great lyrics, big fan

[Star Trek: TOS] Party Rock Anthem -- the video for those who want to bust their ass laughing. superb chaos, you will have no idea what's happening and it will be fabulous

Star Trek DS9 - Last Friday Night -- the DS9 group bullshitting around and having a whale of a time for almost four minutes straight. ever wanna show a friend just how weird Star Trek really is? this'll do it. it's like if three hundred punch drunk aliens threw a queer party! wahoo!

Assorted Others:

Garak x Bashir - Hooked -- sexy, dangerous, catchy garashir amv with perfect beat drops and lyrics to die for. fucking sweet, I have this on repeat

Undisclosed Desires | Deep Space Nine -- DS9 Bashir/Garak slash, amazing editing and a sick ass song. Really shows off their - again - dangerous dynamic and the 'I can make him better' 'I can accept his violence' aspects of their relationship

King of Shadow ★ Garashir -- a more intimate, kind-hearted look into Bashir/Garak's relationship, less fast-paced and on-edge. Superb and filled with lies and whispers. love this one!

ϟ twenty years || Jim|Spock|Bones [TOS] -- melancholic but still quick-paced TOS McSpirk exploration. goes through the original series and the movies

Scotty/Uhura- "Hey Soul Sister" -- sweet and utterly adorable lil scotty/uhura amv. fluff fluff and more fluff!! big fan, I am such a simp for the cuteness omg

Garak/Bashir | ST: DS9 | Some Boys -- back on the dangerous garashir shit, this is the stuff of my best nightmares. amazing editing and the song choice is spot on. I've had the single by Death Cab For Cutie on Spotify repeating for a week *heart eyes*

Kathryn Janeway || Soldier -- I'm a big Voyager fan, and this is the perfect tribute to Janeway. It shows exactly how her character works, getting right into her head, and the whole thing is action packed. Paced spectacularly and argh just amazing

Those are some of my favourites!! Please go check some of them out! There are so many more, and the list is growing every day. AMV creators are amazing and I'm kissing you all on the forehead. thank you for your service 💙. I'm in the process of making a public YouTube playlist with all of these on it, so if you want to have that I'll probably link it eventually!!

[trekmupf]

"We're all mad here" 🐇👸🔫🐯

Pro

The famous massage intro

Sulu and McCoy taking a lovely little walk together

Sulu is such a botany nerd; I love these small character moments

McCoy thinking he's loosing his last marbles

Spock literally thinking that humans go on shore leave to run up and down meadows like dogs

The way Kirk smiles when he thinks Bones is pranking him is lovely

Kirk's facial journey when he realizes McCoy and Spock played him

The first time Kirk calls McCoy Bones

The way the running is filmed and the way they run – and boy do they run in this episode

Sulu, gun enthusiast

The easy friendship between Kirk and McCoy- the way they joke and laugh with each other is so beautiful

McCoy is so beautiful in this episode, I could screenshot every second. He smiles so much and is so at ease, I mean

Continuing what we know from E3 Kirk wasn't the super cool Bro at the academy but actually the bookworm people bullied

Kirk saying that Ruth hasn't aged a day since they last were together ages ago, and the actress being the same age as Shatner when we see her... canon Kirk being into older woman okay.

McCoy rolled a natural 20 on charisma

me @ yeoman Borrows being super into McCoy's flirting: same girl same

Also I actually like that for once McCoy is the one having a little romance and getting to flirt / be desired, which is rare (because he's older and not the leading man; Tumblr, of course, disagrees)

every time the tiger is on screen I remember that Shatner literally wanted to fight it and it makes me laugh

fake character death trope! (also Bones is a beautiful corpse)

Spock like no offence lady, I'm to gay for this, Spock out

“Did you have fun guys?” “Yes we did Mr Spock” wink emoji implied, like you guys know it sounds like you had group sex right

the setting and scenery is beautiful and a nice change

the score underlines the whimsy and lightness of the episode

the premise is so silly but works well. I miss episodes like this on modern TV, just some downtime with no large scale danger, war or plot, just silly crew shenanigans that gives us more time to spend with our guys

sometimes Sci-fi has great special effects, and sometimes they just hold an antenna really close to the camera and call it a day and I love that

I'm Yeoman Borrows; Look at him being all happy

Con

McCoy's death has no lasting impact on anyone, it's just a short time plot device and then gets shelved for more adventure / silly time; Even though he does come back, I wish it wouldn't have been so trivialized here

weird wind chime sound effects of the planet

Finnegan as a character is super obnoxious and too over the top (which is saying something in the episode with Alice in wonderland)

especially the second confrontation takes ages, especially as we now have more pressing matters in the narrative

treatment of yeoman Borrows (We already know weird things are going on based on what McCoy saw, yet Kirk doesn't believe her and shows zero empathy towards her distress), also her main purpose is damsel in distress

Kirk is a bit slow to unravel the mystery and almost stupid at times? It might be excused by him using the opportunity to let go of his responsibility and being with Angela / letting out his anger with Finnegan

the amount of references and jumping between visions is too jumbled and all over the place, which is why the pacing is off. some bits are so short, they'd better be cut (Rodriguez side adventure) and some just go on (Finnegan)

Counter: Shirt rip Kirk

Quote: "You've got your problems, I've got mine. But he's got ours, plus his, plus 430 other people" - McCoy about Kirk Moment: Opening Scene, where Kirk thinks Spock is massaging him and being super uncomfortable when its a female crew member

Summary: Silly and light episode with no deeper meaning but some great character moments, funny scenes and further development of the interpersonal relationships

In another universe this is a classical painting

Previous Episode - Next Episode - All TOS Reviews

[kcscribbler]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

Aw, thank you so much @justabigoldnerd! I feel weird about self-reccing, but I don't think I've ever actually thought much about my favorites, so. This should be fun.

In no particular order, and taken only from stories currently posted to AO3:

Loki Series

Ready or Not

Summary: In which the waiting is over, and the war begins.

Oddly enough, the last two chapters of this arc are my favorite of all the 150K+ words in the Storyteller series. It was difficult to say goodbye to this series, because I poured a lot of love into it, but I told the story I wanted to tell, and I love where it ended. (Chaptered)

Star Trek: Alternate Original Series

2. What's in a Name, Chapter Six

Summary: Five times Nyota Uhura called Jim Kirk something other than Captain, and one time he was glad to return the favor.

Chapter Six is set many years after the events of Star Trek: Beyond, focusing on what a potential movie-era in the AOS might look like. I wanted something with the bittersweet vibe of the TOS movie era, but more sweet than bitter, and I think I achieved that. It was also written during a period of upheaval in my own personal life, with a lot of uncertainty about facing the future, and I think that emotion transferred. (Oneshot)

3. The Captain's Log, Redacted, Chapter Five - Distress Signals (Shields Up, Red Alert)

Summary: Or, The Ongoing Saga of "Well That's Not Going in the Report."

Chapter Five is definitely an unashamed demonstration of the Found Family trope, which to me is the defining feature of all my AOS fic. I was very pleased with how this one turned out. (Oneshot)

Star Trek: The Original Series

4. A Night in Sickbay

Summary: Or, The One With the Nightmares Added scene after the curtain falls on Journey to Babel.

I've written a lot of missing scenes from the series, but this one's always been a personal favorite. I think the older I get, the more I enjoy the quiet, gentle stories as much as the more dramatic ones. (Oneshot)

Star Trek: The Original Series & Sherlock Holmes (ACD Canon)

5. However Improbable

Summary: "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Captain Spock, ST:VI; original quote Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four. Two universes, two worlds, one link threatening to destroy them both.

Yes, I wrote a novel-length crossover between two very unlikely universes, many years ago as a just-for-fun NaNoWriMo exercise. Yes, it's ridiculous and niche. Yes, it's still probably my favorite story I've ever written. (Longfic)

[anonymousewrites]

Logos and Pathos (AOS Edition) Chapter Eleven

AOS! Spock x Empath! Reader

Chapter Eleven: Volcanic Attacks

Summary: Kirk gets in trouble for saving Spock, (Y/N) and Spock talk their issues over, and Starfleet faces a new threat.

Mouse Note: I'm back! And I'm back with terrible terrible chapters

            “Spock, (L/N), I’m telling you, this is why he called,” said Kirk excitedly as he, (Y/N), and Spock crossed the laws of Starfleet HQ to meet with Pike. They had all received a summons, dressed in their official uniforms, and headed out. “I can feel it!”

            “Your feeling aside, I consider it highly unlikely that we will be selected for the new program,” said Spock.

            “Why else would Pike want to see us?” asked Kirk.

            “There could be a different type of mission to send us on,” said (Y/N). “We don’t have seniority.”

            “Oh, forget about seniority!” said Kirk. “They gave us the newest ship in the fleet.”

            “I can still think of numerous possibilities,” said Spock.

            “A five-year mission!” exclaimed Kirk. He really wanted the assignment. “That’s deep space! That’s uncharted territory! Think how incredible that’s gonna be.”

l

            “ ‘Uneventful,’ ” said Admiral Pike, quoting the datapad in his hands.

            (Y/N) felt the soft anger and disappointment in his aura. Something was wrong. This was a meeting because they had messed up. And, unfortunately, (Y/N) knew precisely what it was about. Oh, dear.

            “Admiral?” asked Kirk.

            “It’s the way you described the survey of Nibiru in your captain’s log,” said Pike.

            “Uh, yes, sir, I didn’t want to waste your time going over the details,” said Kirk, clearing his throat.

            “Tell me more about this volcano,” said Pike. “Data says it was highly volatile. If it were to erupt, it would wipe out the planet.”

            “Let’s hope it doesn’t, sir,” said Kirk.

            “Something tells me it won’t,” said Pike.

            “Uh, well, sir, volatile is relative,” said Kirk. “Maybe our data was off.”

            “Or maybe it didn’t erupt because Mr. Spock detonated a cold fusion device inside it right after a civilization that’s barely invented the wheel happened to see a starship rising out of their ocean!” said Pike, his aura rising with anger.

            (Y/N) winced. He knew everything.

            Pike looked at Spock. “That’s pretty much how you describe it, is it not?”

            Kirk and (Y/N) looked at Spock.

            “Admiral—”

            “You filed a report?” interrupted Kirk accusatorily. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

            “Why didn’t you tell us?” said (Y/N).

            “I incorrectly assumed the Captain would be truthful in his captain’s log,” said Spock.

            “Yeah, I would have been if we didn’t have to save your life,” said Kirk.

            “And that is the very reason I felt it necessary to take responsibility for the actions—”

            “Take responsibility. Yeah,” scoffed Kirk. “That’s so noble, pointy, if you weren’t also throwing us under the bus.”

            “ ‘Pointy?’ Is that a derogatory reference to me—"

            “I do wish you had told us, Spock, even if we do have a duty to be honest,” said (Y/N). They understood why he did what he had, but his continued ungratefulness for having his life saved and not communicating with them was frustrating.

            Spock looked at them, and his heart twisted. He should have spoken to them, but he still wasn’t sure how to express himself when it came to nearly dying and the way he had realized he was no longer going to be with them. It had all been to much, but now…his lack of communication was harming them.

            “(Y/N), I—”

            “I don’t want to hear it right now,” said (Y/N), facing Pike.

            He cleared his throat and stood, supporting himself with his cane. “Well…I clearly have to remind you all the Starfleet’s mandate is to explore and observe, not interfere.”

            “Had the mission gone according to plan, Admiral, the indigenous species would never have been aware of our interference,” said Spock. He had reported what they had done because it broke mandates, but he wasn’t sorry for helping the people of Nibiru survive. (And he was trying to show (Y/N) that he did understand why they had all acted).

            “That’s a technicality,” said Pike.

            “I am Vulcan, sir. We embrace technicality,” said Spock.

            “Are you giving me attitude, Spock?” said Pike.

            “I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously, sir,” said Spock. “To which are you referring?”

            Pike’s jaw clenched at the response and looked at (Y/N). “(L/N)? What do you have to say about the situation? You had no report to submit, but you’re in charge of diplomatic affairs. You understand the gravity of a starship being revealed to a developing species.”

            “Sir, we worked to keep people from dying. Both the Nibiru people and Commander Spock were at risk. Our actions saved them all,” said (Y/N). “And yes, some people could say my…emotional ties to Spock dictated my actions, but I would have done the same for anyone on the Enterprise, so, again, this was merely our duty to each other.”

            “So you don’t think you did anything wrong?” said Pike.

            “No, we broke the Prime Directive,” said (Y/N). “And I acknowledge that. However, it has been broken other times and not ended poorly for the races affected. It is likely the people of Nibiru will just develop some sort of new religion. Those occur naturally in history, so it is possible our interference won’t be a large problem.”

            Spock fell head-over-heels in love with (Y/N) once again as they spoke so logically. Unfortunately, he had not seen the situation as they did, and now he wished he had properly discussed things with them. Perhaps if he included some of their conclusions in his report, they would not be in so much trouble.

            Pike took a deep, deep breath, and (Y/N) felt his disappointment and frustration in them all float like a fog.

            “Commander, Lieutenant, you are dismissed,” said Pike.

            (Y/N) and Spock turned and left.

l

            (Y/N) and Spock sat in their shared room, silent as the transfer documents appeared on their holopads. They had seen this coming; they had known at least Kirk would be removed from being captain and their own positions on the ship would be at risk, but seeing it happen was still…exhausting.

            “U.S.S. Bradbury,” read Spock.

            “U.S.S. Reedmore,” said (Y/N). They swallowed. “We’re not—we’re not on the same ship.” It had been so long since they had been separated.

            Spock shook his head shortly, but he didn’t like it either. He didn’t want to be apart from them. “We’re not.”

            “…I know we’re arguing, but I don’t want to work apart from you,” said (Y/N) quietly.

            Spock dared to move closer and took their hand. He pressed two of his fingers to theirs and allowed them to feel his love towards (Y/N). “I do not want to argue with you.”

            “You wanted me to leave you to die, Spock. You wanted us to just let you die. I don’t want you to think your life means so little to your friends. To me,” said (Y/N). To lose him would destroy them. (Y/N) loved him so deeply.

            “I know that you care,” said Spock. “I know that.” He shifted closer. “And I should have spoken to you about the issue. Your points in the meeting with Pike were logical. I should have heard your thoughts.”

            (Y/N) let out a sigh and faced him. “You should have. But I understand why you made the report. I just—” They pressed their fingers against him again “—I don’t like that you were so willing to die.”

            Spock nodded. He leaned in and kissed them. Separating, he leaned his forehead against theirs. “I’m sorry, T’hy’la.”

            “It’s alright, Spock. I understand,” said (Y/N). “I’m just…going to miss you.”

            Spock felt unpleasant emotions surging into his heart, and, unable to speak the right words to make him or them feel better, he just leaned in and kissed them again. (Y/N)’s eyes fluttered closed, and as Spock pulled them closer and their hands tangled in their hair, their actions spoke of silent promises to always love one another, no matter what happened.

l

            (Y/N) and Spock lay beside one another as the evening light of San Fransico filtered in through the windows. (Y/N) lay with their head on Spock’s chest, listening to his pulse and letting his aura lay around them like a comforting hug full of love. Spock had one hand around their waist, and the other traced patterns on the back of their hand softly.

            For all that they argued, they fundamentally loved one another. That would never change. Even if they were separated.

            Their communicators trilled, and Spock closed his eyes in frustration. (Y/N) sighed. Starfleet called.

            They sat up and checked their respective messages.

            “Emergency Session, Daystrom,” said Spock.

            “I’ve got the same one,” said (Y/N), glancing at him.

            “It seems we must go,” said Spock, rising to grab his uniform.

            “Not even a proper moment to rest,” sighed (Y/N), rolling out of the bed.

            “No,” said Spock. “But whatever this is, we will face it together.”

            (Y/N) smiled. “We will.”

l

            “Spock, (L/N),” said Kirk as the three encountered one another and got into the elevator.

            “Captain,” said Spock.

            “Nope, not Captain. First Officer. I was demoted,” said Kirk.

            “We were reassigned,” said (Y/N).

            “To different ships?” Kirk frowned. The pair were an unbeatable duo. It was stupid to split them up.

            (Y/N) nodded.

            “Though it is fortunate that the consequences were not more severe,” said Spock.

            “Spock, dear, please,” said (Y/N), sighing.

            “Captain, it was never my intention—”

            “Not Captain,” repeated Kirk, frustrated. He faced Spock. “We saved your life. You wrote a report, I lost my ship, you and (L/N) are being split up.”

            “Commander,” amended Spock as they stepped out of the elevator. “I understand now that I should have acted differently.” His talk with (Y/N) had made that clear. He wasn’t saying he had been wrong, but he could’ve done better.

            “I’m familiar with your desire to follow the rules, Spock, but, you see, I can’t do that,” said Kirk.

            “Spock, Kirk, we’ve been through this already,” said (Y/N), a headache coming on from the argument. “We all know it couldn’t have gone differently without lying completely, and Spock can’t do that. We were going to face consequences for what we did.”

            “So Spock actually understands why we went back for him?” said Kirk, whirling on Spock.

            Because he’s our friend and/or partner, and we love him.

            Spock opened his mouth, but someone else stepped up, and all three officers looked at him.

            “Commander Spock? Frank Abbot, U.S.S. Bradbury. Guess you’re with me,” said Abbot.

            Spock glanced back at Kirk and (Y/N), wanting to remain with his real captain and his t’hy’la. “Yes, Captain,” he said.

            Abbot nodded and walked away.

            Kirk was silent before looking at (Y/N) and Spock. “The truth is…I’m going to miss you.”

            Spock opened his mouth, but in front of so many people, he wasn’t sure what to say. Kirk sighed and walked off. (Y/N) touched his arm.

            “He just needs time. He’ll understand eventually,” said (Y/N) softly.

            “Thank you, T’hy’la,” said Spock before they were interrupted.

            “Lieutenant (L/N)?” said another officer, stepping up. “I’m Captain Lindsey Moren, U.S.S. Reedmore. The meeting is about to start if you want to come with me.”

            “Yes, Captain,” said (L/N), giving a look at Spock before following. “Captain, may I ask why I was requested to come to this meeting? It seems to be just Captains and First Officers.”

            “My First Officer is looking over the ship,” said Moren. “I suspect we’re discussing a recent terrorist incident, and I want you to be appraised of it since an empath understanding it will be helpful for further investigations.”

            (Y/N) nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” They stood next to Moren around the city.

            “Thank you for convening on such short notice,” said a man, walking into the room.

            “Admiral Marcus, sir,” greeted Abbot.

            “Be seated,” said Marcus, and everyone sat down. “By now, some of you have heard what happened in London. The target was a Starfleet data archive.” A holograph appeared to show photographs and videos of the incident. An explosion rocked London in it, sending clouds of smoke and debris up around the nearby area.

            Marcus spoke in a clipped, angry tone. “Now it’s a hole in the ground and forty-two people are dead. One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet officer, who confessed to carrying out this attack, that he was being forced to do it by this man, Commander John Harrison.” The picture of a man appeared, staring out of the picture sternly. “One of our own. And he’s the man responsible for this act of savagery.”

            Anger, fear, and sadness clouded everyone’s emotions due to the horrible incident, but Marcus’s fury flared higher than all the rest.

            “For reasons unknown—,” something flitted beneath the surface of his anger, but it was gone before (Y/N) could register it among every other emotion, “—John Harison has just declared a one-man war against Starfleet.” Marcus leaned forward and looked at all the people present. “And under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You are here tonight to represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region. And in the name of those we lost, you will run this bastard down.”

            (Y/N) frowned. Starfleet usually pushed for judgement and imprisonment, not just being hunted down. Though maybe this was just what needed to happen so he could be brought before the law. Still, Marcus’s anger held behind it fear—(Y/N) had finally found it. He, and Starfleet, it seemed, were afraid of Harrison.

            “This is a manhunt, pure and simple,” said Marcus. “So let’s get to work.” He leaned back again. “Earth’s perimeter sensors have not detected any warp signatures leaving the system so we know he can’t be far. You will park your ships in blockade formation then deploy search vehicles and landing parties to run down every lead. This man has shown a willingness to kill innocent people, so the terms of engagement are simple: if you come across this man and fear for your life or the lives of those nearby, you are authorized to use deadly force on sight.”

            Again, the proponent of violence. (Y/N) felt uncomfortable as the assignment felt like it turned towards deadly force more than anything else.

            “What’s in the bag?” whispered Kirk to Pike, examining the photos and videos.

            “James, not now,” shushed Pike.

            “It doesn’t seem odd to you that he’d target an archive?” continued Kirk. “It’s like bombing a library.”

            “Chris? Is everything okay over there?” said Marcus.

            “Yes, sir. Mr. Kirk is just acclimating to his new position as First Officer,” said Pike.

            “You got something to say, Kirk, say it,” said Marcus. “Tomorrow’s too late.”

            “I’m fine, sir. My apologies,” said Kirk, deflating at Pike’s disapproval.

            “Spit it out, son, don’t be shy,” said Marcus.

            “Why the archive?” said Kirk, gesturing to the screen. “All that information is public record. If he really wanted to damage Starfleet…this could just be the beginning.”

            As Kirk touched on the archive, Marcus’s anger flared, and (Y/N) furrowed their brow. It was an usually strong reaction. Yes, it could be recalling the injustice of the attack, but…

            “The beginning of what, Mr. Kirk?” said Marcus.

            Spock’s eyes remained on (Y/N). He had noticed their reaction and knew it was them noticing something. He wanted nothing more than to go to their side and discuss whatever they’d noticed. But the conversation continued, and he was left sitting silently as Kirk continued.

            “Sir, in the event of an attack, protocol mandates that senior command gather captains and first officers at Starfleet HQ, right here,” said Kirk. He paused. “In this room.”

            (Y/N) felt the fear flash through him as their eyes widened.

            “It is curious that Harrison would commandeer a jump ship without warp capabilities—”

            A red light shone into the room, and (Y/N) stood in alarm as fury deeper and darker than any anger they had ever felt flooded the room.

            “Move!” they shouted, every instinct screaming danger.

            Boom!

            The jump ship outside the window fired. The windows exploded, and several pieces of technology lit up with sparks. Several officers screamed as they were hit, and the impact of all the shots threw (Y/N) to the side. Cries were still going up as officers tried to cover one another. (Y/N) gritted their teeth, rolled over, and pulled the nearest injured officer to the corner of the room behind pieces of the desk.

            “Stay here,” they said, looking out over the room, still lighting up with phaser-fire.

Their heart twisted as they saw Captain Moren’s body lying unmoving. She was dead. Other people lay similarly cold and still. Harrison had murdered more people. (Y/N) took a depe breath to focus through the fog of terror.

            “We need an air defense team! Daystrom Conference Room!” shouted Pike into his communicator.

            (Y/N) focused on him as guards ran into the room. Several were immediately shot down. Kirk covered his head beneath the desk as glass shards rained down everywhere.

            Spock, where’s Spock? Where’s Spock? (Y/N)’s mind raced with the terrifying thought that Spock could be a body lying dead before them.

            Their eyes landed on him, and they immediately began moving. (Y/N) ducked as they ran, and they rolled out of the way as another shot landed in the column behind them.

            Nearby, Pike was thrown to the side. Without proper use of his legs, he was left to drag himself towards safety. (Y/N) diverted to grab him, and Spock, having spotted them and Pike, ran towards them.

            Bzzt!

            A short hit Pike square in the chest. (Y/N) let out a cry and grabbed him. Spock was by their side in a moment, and they desperately pulled their former captain to safety.

            As they worked, Kirk had grabbed a gun and was working on taking down the jump ship as it shot officer after officer.

            In (Y/N) and Spock’s arms, Pike took deep, shuddering breaths. Blood soaked into his uniform from the shot to his chest, and (Y/N) choked on a sob as Pike’s feelings turned to a deep fear.

            He was dying.

            “Admiral…” said (Y/N) softly, their fear and gathering grief not abating as the jump ship spun out of control and crashed to the ground.

            Pike swallowed, and tears began to gather in his eyes. (Y/N) and Spock couldn’t stand to watch him in pain. Spock touched his face, and (Y/N) took Pike’s hand. They let his emotions—his fear and sadness and pain and anger and all the rest of the chaos—flood through them. They swallowed back their sobs as a single tear fell from Pike’s eye. His face relaxed, and as (Y/N) took on his emotions and Spock shared them, Pike was allowed a moment of peace.

            His last breath was not in pain.

            Spock took his hand back, and it shook slightly as he did. (Y/N) stared at Pike, no more emotions radiating from him. He was gone.

            Pike was dead.

            Footsteps ran up behind them, but (Y/N) didn’t turn around. Kirk, who had defeated the jump ship, stared in shock and horror. He knelt in a panic and felt Pike’s pulse. Nothing. Tears burned his eyes, and Kirk let out a sob, burying his face in Pike’s shirt. His second father was gone.

            (Y/N) stared numbly at Pike, his emotions still lingering in their system, the pain of death swimming through them.

            Spock carefully pulled their hand away from Pike and held them tightly. As soon as Spock touched them, (Y/N) let out a sob, and all of the emotions—theirs and Pike’s—came rushing to the surface. Spock closed his eyes and held them tighter. (Y/N)’s sobs contained his grief as well.

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[renownedtholianpunctualityyyyy]

~Premise~-Themed Pencils🌈✨

So I got these pencils custom made a little while ago, just for funsies. I was recently rearranging art supplies and figured someone on here may get a kick out of seeing them? Hah

They’re references to some of my favourite/iconic emotional Kirk/Spock moments/exchanges. I mean there's plenty, but these were short, sweet, and would fit on a pencil under a character limit. And they’re some of my favourite episodes, too, so…

Standard ‘#2’ HB Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. Pastel variation.

More info/quote sources under cut.

For reference, in order, the quotes/moments are from:

S01E10 — The Corbomite Maneuver SPOCK: Has it occurred to you that there's a certain ... inefficiency ... in constantly questioning me on things you've already made up your mind about? KIRK: It gives me emotional security.

S01E16 — The Galileo Seven KIRK: You're not going to admit that for the first time in your life, you committed a purely human, emotional act? SPOCK: ...No, sir. KIRK: Mister Spock... you're a stubborn man. SPOCK: ...Yes, sir(!).

S01E23 — A Taste of Armageddon SPOCK: A feeling is not much to go on. KIRK: Sometimes a feeling, Mister Spock, is all we humans have to go on. SPOCK: Captain... you almost make me believe in luck. KIRK: Why, Mister Spock... you almost make me believe in miracles.

S01E29 — Operation -- Annihilate!* SPOCK: I have my own will, Captain. ...Let me help. KIRK: I need you, Spock... but we can't take any chances. We'll keep you confined for a while longer.

S02E01 — Amok Time SPOCK: [...] Live long, T'Pau, and prosper. T'PAU: Live long and prosper, Spock. SPOCK: I shall do neither. I have killed my captain... and my friend.

(*Worth mentioning this phrase is also mentioned in the previous episode S01E28 —City On The Edge Of Forever, which is why it was so notable. Said by Kirk, when he's talking to Edith Keeler. In essence "Let me help" is akin to (or better than) saying "I love you". But I personally think of Spock saying it in "Operation -- Annihilate!" when I see the phrase, because he's saying it to Kirk in desperation. That whole scene is amazing.)

[Transcript text taken from http://www.chakoteya.net Thank you kindly. Lightly edited by me for formatting/pauses. ]