#part of the reason he feels like he can't be on vulcan is because he was raised w vulcan culture & traditions -- which he stil follows! bc

[fluentisonus]

while we're talking about it though that's something really fundamental to spock's character I think in a way I don't always see discussed, that by joining starfleet he's making the explicit and intentional choice that he'd rather be seen as a perfect example of an alien amongst humans than as an imperfect vulcan amongst vulcans. I see this framed a lot as him being more accepted in starfleet than he was on vulcan, and I really don't think that's the case at all: he's still very attached to vulcan, and we see all the prejudice he has to face and how little he's understood in starfleet. but what it comes down to is that he'd rather exist in a place where no one understands him and so he has nothing to prove -- even if that means being very alone -- than in a place where he's surrounded by the familiar & meaningful but everyone can see the ways he can't quite fit. if that makes sense

#obviously in the end he's not alone bc he has them all but that was never a guarantee or even something he could have hoped when he joined #thoughts #star trek #tos #I don't like how the vulcans are treated in a lot of discussions around spock imo. there's a weird angle everyone seems to have that he's #better off with humanity & with humans that I think is simply not true #like I'm not trying to deny that he had it rough there or say that they were always kind to him but this impression of them all as rigid & #xenophobic is a bit. eh #part of the reason he feels like he can't be on vulcan is because he was raised w vulcan culture & traditions -- which he stil follows! bc #they mean a lot to him -- and he feels like he can only do that all properly away from vulcan #which obvs isn't really a great solution either #but I think a lot of people misunderstand the whole learning that emotion is okay sometimes from tmp as retroactively justifying that #humans were right about emotionals & vulcans were wrong. which is like the opposite of the point. the point is that he can have both #& they don't have to mutually exclude one another and he can be a good vulcan while also being comfortable with being half human #he wouldn't be happy being human either. #and there's nothing inherently harmful about vulcan beliefs he just had to come to an understanding of them that made sense to him #& that worked for him rather than forcing himself into a misunderstanding of them that didn't suit him #anyways.

[carrotsofthepirabbean]

I will say I think part of the reason OG Kirk isn't more popular on Tumblr is because he can't be crammed into the 'If one part of a ship is the unemotional logical one the other one MUST be the bouncy himbo sparkle softboy' cliche. Kirk can be goofy and has a good sense of humor, he teases and laughs, but speaking in Lord of the Rings terms, Kirk isn't Pippin, he's Aragorn.

Which is SO much tougher for the 'must distill every variety of character into the same 5 different people' crowd on Tumblr. There isn't an 'Aragorn' slot because 'incredibly complicated' isn't descriptive enough for cliche. Like yes, he's charming, but it's the quiet sort of charming. Yes, he's a strong athlete and a fighter, but he's fundamentally a shockingly huge nerd and spends his private time reading poetry and thinking about philosophy and what it means to be a leader. Yes, he's haunted, but he has a fundamental hope that keeps shining through. Kirk's got a serious job, and he's a serious person. He's an Adult kind of adult. He's one of the last survivors of a horrific genocide. He's killed people with his bare hands.

Spock wasn't bowled over by how bright and shiny and cuddly Kirk was. Because underneath everything, there's a fundamental sadness and loneliness to Kirk, and a simmering possibility of rage that most people would consider Abnormal. And Spock shares those qualities, though for different reasons. The thing that really shakes Spock (besides Kirk's iron sense of loyalty) is that there are times where KIRK is more coolheaded and professional than Spock is. In everyday terms, Kirk is easily and confidently emotional in a way Spock was always taught was a weakness, but when the shit hits the fan Kirk gets this shine of cold, calculating, James Bond-like brutality/practicality that not only meets Spock's Vulcan control, it will at times go PAST it. Surviving that genocide gave Kirk access to both a level of iron-willed 'do whatever is necessary to live no matter what' and a level of genuinely bloodcurdling rage that, when death is on the line, reads sometimes like a Vulcan on steroids. In a battle-type situation Kirk has absolutely looked at Spock and snapped like 'for god's sake, control yourself', and that is some whiplash a Vulcan doesn't just get OVER.

At the very start OG Kirk is already both wildly famous for and frighteningly good at being a commander, better than Spock is by miles, which forces Spock to confront his self-hate fueled 'Vulcans are better' prejudices over and over again until Spock has a starry-eyed admiration for Kirk that knocks him so hard into love that Spock's teeth rattle. Kirk isn't Some Soft Boy that grows on Famous Vulcan Spock against his will. Kirk is the most talented Starfleet officer in generations- He's Horatio Nelson, except not an imperialist asshole. Spock is (at first) just Some Science Guy who managed to nail one of the most coveted jobs in Starfleet.

Like, what is Tumblr going to do with a Kirk (who is supposed to be the bouncy soft boy half of Spirk) who looks coldly at an alien who is killing people and without hesitation goes 'I am a military man, we have a mission, we don't have time to understand motivations, kill that thing' and calmly walks off? And then Spock, (the unemotional logical one) is the one going after him going 'please, this is a thinking creature, it could be scared or hurt, think of its feelings, at least let me try to talk to it'. And like, the big lesson of the episode is KIRK being convinced by Spock to care more and be more empathetic?

Like, that's not some shit Tumblr can fit into its 'five acceptable personalities for every single ship ever'. There isn't a category for 'one is the logical one and the other one is the guy in charge on the battlefield that the men point their swords at while yelling "to the king!"'

But, it does make me a bit sad, because god, the relationship between Kirk and Spock is unique. Because Kirk is SUCH a freak. If there's a fictional personality grouping Kirk is a part of it's like Kirk, Chris Evans' Captain America, Aragorn, and nobody.

I super agree! AOS Kirk fits the bill more for the ship dynamics tumblr focuses on (and I do really love Chris Pine's performance, not half because it was what introduced me to Star Trek in the first place), but I do find TOS Kirk more intriguing because he has such layers. He's scarily competent, youngest captain in Starfleet and it's not like you get in that position by being a sunshine flower boy - he's got a streak of cold practicality that, yeah, is super apparent in Devil in the Dark. But he's also warm, loving, and physically affectionate with his closest friends, professional with his subordinates and his duties, calculating with his enemies, and overall an exceedingly intelligent individual who does not take his position and responsibilities lightly. And in terms of his relationship with Spock, it was all those things that drew Spock's respect and interest, and not (checks notes) his being a "bouncy himbo sparkle soft-boy". He's just a wonderful character <3

#I do however love a good 'spock blushes cause jim is physically affectionate' thing though #as is clearly apparent in the last drawing i posted. but i love jim for being a responsible and mature leader #including the kind of cold and practical decisions he makes #as well as being a warm and affectionate man #god i do fucking lvoe that man god help me #ask #star trek #jim kirk #star trek tos

[your-name-is-jim]

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

This became a pretty long post, sorry.

I noticed something that I haven't seen before in Kirk/Spock analysis, so I'd like to talk about it. As I said other times, I'm aware that Star Trek fans in over half a century have probably already written everything about the most popular ship, but that's not going to stop me from adding my own words. :)

What I want to talk about is in the episode Whom Gods Destroy. I feel like this episode is pretty underrated among K/S shippers. Nowadays, it might be because of this part:

"Kirk and Spock call each other brothers, this episode tries to no-homo them!"

Short answer: No, it doesn't.

Long answer: This is not what I actually want to focus on, but I understand that it's important, so I'll try to give an explanation. When we watch TOS, we always need to remember when it was made. I know it's not easy (trust me, I made that mistake too), but unfortunately we can't forget that, in the '60s, homosexuality was still considered a mental illness (if not worse, depending on the people/country), and portraying it in a positive way in a mainstream American show was NOT an option. At the time, it wasn't uncommon for queer people to call each other "brothers/sisters" as a socially acceptable way to say "we love each other", "we're each other's most important person", "we have something special that is different from friendship".

Does it mean Kirk and Spock say "brothers" when they mean "lovers"? Not necessarily, of course, but we need to remember that, unlike contemporary shows where two men can actually claim to be brothers to mean "we're close but not gay", in the past it could have meant "we're close and maybe also gay". I'm not saying it's canon, but the interpretation is valid.

As you can see, Garth strongly disagrees with Kirk and Spock when they say they're brothers. :D Unfortunately, it's from the wrong reason: he's claiming that they only have a captain-first officer relationship, without feelings involved. And the episode definitely wants us to think that he's wrong! Kirk and Spock love each other! They have very special feelings for each other, feelings that the word "friendship" wouldn't completely convey. I choose to interpret their "brotherhood" in that positive way, also keeping in mind that Spock does say Kirk is speaking "somewhat figuratively", so he's aware they're not actual adopted siblings. :)

Of course, I can't forget to add what every K/S fan knows: if we consider Roddenberry's novel canon (or at least canonically relevant to a degree), Vulcans use the same word, t'hy'la, to say "friend", "brother", "lover" or a combination of at least two of them. That just makes everything easy! Every time Kirk and Spock call each other "friends" or "brothers" in canon, we can just assume they mean t'hy'la. Checkmate! :D

Okay, back to Whom Gods Destroy. If that episode isn't as "no homo" as we initially thought, what makes it so good for K/S shippers to the point that I'm writing a long post about it? Well, a couple of things. The first one happens before the "brothers" speech, and it's this:

In context, Marta claims to write poetry, so she recites one of "her" poems… which is very obviously Shakespeare. Star Trek writers chose one of the most famous English sonnets of all time on purpose, and it's clear because they made 100% sure every single person watching the episode wouldn't miss it:

So, okay, she didn't write it. We got it. It's Star Trek and its Shakespeare references, nothing new.

Is that all? Hm, I'm not sure. Because Shakespeare's sonnet 18 might be extremely famous, but it's not the only famous poem Shakespeare wrote. And even if it was, since the characters were going to point out that "hey that's Shakespeare" anyway, why did Star Trek writers chose that sonnet specifically? Why did they choose one of the sonnets Shakespeare wrote for another man, to express his beauty? To express his love for him?

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.     So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,     So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

They could have chosen one of the sonnets Shakespeare wrote for a woman. There are a lot more! But no, Marta quotes a love poem by a man for another man, and the camera shows us this:

Just two bros, sitting together, listening to Shakespeare's words about a young man's beauty 'cause they're not gay.

Now… I know, I know. Even nowadays, Shakespeare is too famous to be universally accepted as queer. There's always going to be academics who think "those sonnets were platonic!"; at the time Star Trek was made, I wouldn't be surprised if almost everyone thought "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?" was about either platonic love or love for a woman (the latter used to be a theory too, but it was proved wrong). On the other hand, the queer reading has also been discussed for centuries, and supported by famous academics too, like Oscar Wilde. So even in this case, we can't really know what Star Trek writers had in mind. Did they just pick the most popular sonnet without thinking too hard? Did they try to add gay subtext to the scene? Well, it certainly looks gay to me. :)

And now, the best part! What, you thought it was over? Nope, I said I was going to talk about "a couple of things", and Shakespeare was just the first one. Because if you think that his sonnet was probably not meant to be gay in context, and after that Kirk and Spock call each other brothers, and that's also not gay in your opinion… well, maybe we can add a little more fuel to the potential gay subtext.

So, what is Marta doing here? Quoting poetry again.

Right after their conversation about brotherhood and the loyalty of a crew, Garth gets mad at Spock ("Remove this animal!"); Garth's men bring Spock away, and Garth asks Kirk the password to get to the Enterprise. He tells Kirk that he'll make him beg for death. That's when Marta suddenly starts reciting another poem. This time, though, there's a big difference from the first one: the audience can tell it's probably another reference because of her previous behavior, but it's hard to recognize. It's not Shakespeare. It's not even the most popular poem by that author, and she's also quoting it a little wrong.

This is a subtle reference. The average Star Trek fan doesn't know what it is. I also didn't. So, of course, I got curious, and this is what I found:

A. E. Housman, English poet (1859 – 1936)

XIX.

In midnights of November, When Dead Man’s Fair is nigh, And danger in the valley, And anger in the sky,

Around the huddling homesteads The leafless timber roars, And the dead call the dying And finger at the doors.

Oh, yonder faltering fingers Are hands I used to hold; Their false companion drowses And leaves them in the cold.

Oh, to the bed of ocean, To Africk and to Ind, I will arise and follow Along the rainy wind.

The night goes out and under With all its train forlorn; Hues in the east assemble And cocks crow up the morn.

The living are the living And dead the dead will stay, And I will sort with comrades That face the beam of day.

Alfred Edward Housman is another English poet, but very different from William Shakespeare: he lived just a few decades before Star Trek was made. Why choosing him? Maybe because he wrote a lot about men dying during a war, and it's relevant because Garth killed a lot of people and wants to bring war to the galaxy. We will probably never know, but after a little research, I realized that Housman is definitely an interesting-- no, a fascinating choice.

As I said before, the poem Marta recites doesn't look like one of Housman's most popular works, and it's hard to find something specific about it online. It doesn't even have a title, that "XIX" simply means that it's the 19th poem in the volume it's part of. So what is so fascinating about it? Well…

The title of the volume is "Last Poems". I didn't use Wikipedia as my only source, but in this case, I think it can explain context better than me:

OH.

So the poem Marta is quoting in front of Kirk, the poem she wants to know if Kirk likes, is not just a poem about death: it's part of a volume a man wrote for the man he was in love with.

Wait, again? There are two poems in this episode, and both of them are by male authors who wrote them for the man they loved? That doesn't really look like a coincidence anymore.

It's subtle, for sure, especially the second one. The average person watching the episode probably doesn't recognize Housman, doesn't know anything about his life. The average person in front of their TV sees Marta trying to seduce Kirk right after "her" poem, so everything looks heterosexual, right?

Yeah, that's what it looks like. But it's the surface, nothing more.

Because unlike Shakespeare, I didn't find discourse about Housman's sexual orientation: there were probably rumors about his homosexuality when he was alive as well, and after his death, it wasn't really a mystery. A Housman reader, even in the 60s, probably knew.

So, yes, this episode has two poems. Two poets that in different times wrote for a man they loved. Could it be that Whom Gods Destroy is also, at least partially, about love between two men? Well, I basically already said it when I talked about the "brothers" conversation, but let's think about it again. Except for the last few minutes, Kirk and Spock are the only two characters from the main cast on that planet. There's another man, Dr. Cory, who knows Kirk. Kirk seems to care about him… but not enough to risk something while the doctor is tortured in front of his eyes. Also, Dr. Cory isn't present when Marta quotes the poems. The first time, Kirk and Spock are together, and the second time happens not long after this scene:

They try to make Kirk like the girl, but does he really care?

Nope, he just wants Spock back.

They are "brothers (somewhat figuratively)" who trust each other deeply, and even if their enemies try to distract Kirk, it's obvious what he really wants.

It's him and Spock. Spock and… him?

Hmm...

Okay, that's better. :D

At this point of the series, they're so close that Kirk doesn't even consider the possibility that Spock might not recognize him immediately.

Luckily, none of them dies and their feelings are mutual, so they can be happier than Housman. Maybe they'll read his poems together. Or Shakespeare, that's always an option.

[Pictures from s3 e14 - Whom Gods Destroy]

#spirk #k/s #kirk x spock #star trek tos #star trek the original series #spock #james t. kirk #tos spirk #william shakespeare #a e housman #I'm sorry I wrote so much #well no I'm not really sorry but thank you for reading until the end #my gifs

[souurcitrus]

I want to talk about Kallark, Gladiator, because I like him a lot. Not as person, but more as a cool character.

He's present in the new ep of X-Men 97, don't have many lines and just standing there and being cool most of time. But, seeing Charles discussing with the Shi'ar about their government made me think about Gladiator's role in all of this, specially after he agreed with Charles about 'idealism being a sign of insanity', and because of his past.

I'm gonna try to put it into words as best I can. It's too long and i just want to ramble about one of my favorite underrated character(s).

Gladiator is the praetor, he's known for being extremely loyal to the Empire, to the person that sits on the throne, no matter who it is. Yet, hes known for being honorable and having respect for those who beat him up or have high morals, that includes Lilandra, for her kindness, Rachel, Charles and Cyclops (though we know he would not hesitate to fight them if it meant protecting the empire)

Right, he's too prideful, but that's because his powers comes from his confidence on himself. And what bugs about me in his character is that he's too loyal to this government, and they're the solely reason he's the last one of his species and he knows that what they do is wrong.

In War of Kings: Warriors we see Kallark thinking about his past while under the rule of Vulcan.

The Shi'ar are a imperialist and colonizing government. They invade other planets and force these civilizations to kneel under their ruler, and depending of the planet, these can people will end slaves for the Shi'ar without rights. This happened to Kallark's people.

The strontians are/were a very powerful species that even the Shi'ar were scared of their power, but they're mostly gone now, with Kallark, his son Kubark and his cousin Xenith being the last living ones.

Kallark was born to be a soldier and trained to serve the Shi'ar Empire, together with his peers, other strontians of his age, his close friends. And all of them were loyal to the Shi'ar, wanting to prove themselves worthy of being part of the Imperial Guard.

Of course, Kallark was chosen because he was the most dedicated. The only thing the Shi'ar didn't liked about him is that he would often leave the missions to save his peers.

So they test his loyalty by making him attack his own people and kill them to see which one he would choose, his family or his duty. In the end he ends dooming his people by doing exactly what the Shi'ar asked, and it's fucked up.

The elders even say that they knew that Kallark could never turn his back to his duty, because "he's a good soldier". His family dies knowing he had chosen the Shi'ar and not them, his friends die disappointed on him.

The flashback ends with Kallark wodering if he would still follow Vulcan if it meant the fall of the empire, and Kallark decides that he would, because Vulcan is the Emperor and Kallark is loyal to the throne.

And that's what makes me hate him! He's too loyal. To the wrong cause. He's so loyal to the empire he ends up forgetting things he actually cares about, like Lilandra's love for him and his own son.

He loves them deeply, he cares for his people, his friends from his home planet, his friends from the Imperial Guards, his soldiers, his son. However, he can't let go of being a soldier.

We don't know much about his past or what the Shi'ar Empire did to Strotia, but it's clear they forced and pushed their ideals and rules on the young strontians to turn them into loyal weapons. And after years and years of serving the crown, Kallark can't change.

He's fully aware of the atrocities the royal family, the elders, the people in the power do to other civilizations, yet he stays by their side.

That's why when he agreed with Charles in X-Men 97, and Charles started explaining to them how their system was harmful, I was wondering if Kallark feels guilty. If it even crosses his mind what he had done to his own people.

In the comics, when Lilandra is desposed from the throne and the elders try to kill her, Kallark, who has been working for Vulcan until now, despite hating doing so, stays on Lilandra's side.

He loves her, it's obvious, he respects her and knows she only has the best interests in her heart. He even refers to her as 'Majestrix Lilandra'. He mourns her death later, he goes in a blind rage massacre, he kills everyone in sight and Black Cloak even says 'it would be painful for him to live without her'.

Later in Watxm Annual, an issue that focus on Kubark, his son, he shows how much he cares for him, how much he loves and is proud of Kubark's strength and grow.

When Kubark shows he's unhappy in his situation, being the only strontian in a school where every student must stay with their own species, Kallark doesn't listen to him. Kubark says he wants to be unique and choose his own path, Kallark denies, because it's 'not the way of the empire'.

It reminds me that Kallark, who grew up brainwashed to obey the Shi'ar, to believe that being a soldier is his only choice, expects his son to do the same.

In the beginning, Kubark did want to be a soldier like him, he hated being on Earth because he believed his destiny was to be a warrior. Then he learned he would be lonely if he did and he decided he wanted to be a hero. To be himself. And to choose.

Kubark choose to be loyal to his friends and make his own choices. Kallark did not.

So, if he's willing to change his mind and leave his job as praetor aside to protect someone he loves like he did to Lilandra, why he can't do the same for Kubark?

In the end he allows Kubark to go back to Earth. Later Kubark is back on Shi'ar, so we don't know if he was allowed to stay on earth just until he graduated. But he allows Kubark to go back and be himself, because be loves him.

But he stays the same. He never changes. He keeps making had decisions and committing mistakes and doing bad things for the empire.

Kallark is a Shi'ar by citizenship, but he's a Strontian, he's not considerate a Shi'ar, and he might not even have the same rights the Aerie Shi'ar have. He might be the most loyal and powerful soldier of the Empire, but he's nothing more than a strotian, and nothing more than a soldier. He's a soldier first, then majestor, a father, a friend.

Later when I discovered about his past and started to read about him I just made the same questions all the time: Why he never tried to change the way the Empire works? Why he never changed the bad things that the Empire did?

It would be interesting if the writers acknowledged that (that would be expecting much from Marvel). Kubark shows that he cares for Earth and his friends, that he's genuinely good and wants to do goods things. It would be interesting to see him trying to fight his father's ideals and the Empire.

It will never happen. Both these characters are underrated and were already forgotten by the writers, but I wanted to see it.

#i just want to ramble #too many thoughts #kallark #kubark #gladiator #kid gladiator #praetor gladiator #Shi'ar empire #lilandra neramani #marvel #x men #watxm #x men 97

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 072 - The Ship that Waited

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 3 Episode 21 - E²

Somewhat unusually we open with some old Vulcan Woman. Apparently, another 7 million people are dead, and this Vulcan needs to find Archer. What is happening?

After the intro, we cut to T'Pol on Enterprise, and Trip is stopping by for Neuropreasure, but because of T'Pol's heightened emotional state, she's reluctant to spend time with him. Apparently she hasn't left her quarters unless she's on duty.

Really really strangely, Enterprise encounters another Starfleet NX class ship. It can't be the NX-02, because it's still under construction, and then, the name of the ship comes on Screen: It's another Enterprise.

The crew of this second enterprise, captained by a Vulcan warns them that they'll be thrown back in time if they travel forwards. A perfectly reasonable explanation for how this has all come about, even if the attempt to stop it happening transgresses the First Law of Time.

Apparently the Lorian's Enterprise has ways to modify Archer's Enterprise to reach speeds as high as Warp 6.9, which definitely gonna be helpful! Archer and T'Pol don't believe Lorian however, so they got o Phlox to check DNA and apparently Lorian is Trip and T'Pol's child, which is a bit of a huge reveal!

Lorian got a nice scene with Trip. Apparently Lorian's Enterprise's Trip died when he was young, and the scene is kinda sad. Archer also got to spend time with his great granddaughter, and even with a much older T'Pol.

Lorian is an absolutely amazing character. He's sort of a reflection of the path Archer started going down in Damage. Just like Archer there, he's filling to sabotage Archer's Enterprise in the name of his mission, and justifies it with "We have no other option". Hopefully, this serves as a wake up call for Archer.

A firefight between both enterprise ensues, and Archer's solution of Transporting Lorian's Enterprise's key components onto our own enterprise was a genius way of getting around their equal firepower.

Lorian's Enterprise's sacrifice at the end, to keep fire off of Archer's enterprise was a really touching ending, and redemption for his character. I hope this isn't the end for him, but it seems like he either went down or it's mission erased itself from history. I would make a Faction Paradox reference, but not even most Whovians would understand that.

This episode was really good. Both crews interactions with eachother were brilliant, and the premise of this episode was a very creative way of furthering Trip and T'Pol's relationship. This episode feels a lot like Eleventh Doctor episode "The Girl Who Waited", just with less tragedy to it, and that is a high compliment. This was a really good episode.

#whovian watching star trek #star trek #star trek enterprise #star trek ent #star trek: enterprise #enterprise #ent

[bumblingbabooshka]

What if you met someone who was so similar to you in so many ways but the divergence was too great to bridge the gap? What if you didn't speak to your mother for ten years and then met a man who had her eyes, her sure and steady hands, the same reverence to his tone when he spoke about logic and every so often your brain stumbled and replaced the word with 'honor'?

What if you recognized yourself in other ways? You both dropped out of Starfleet, didn't you? You both laid awake at one point, hearts pounding, wishing with everything that you weren't born the way you were - then everything would be better, then everything would be alright. Then you could be in love, then your father would love you. What if you were both sent away - to a monastery, to a temple, to become upstanding members of your societies. Your mother giving you a firm hug, squeezing you too tightly as you tried to squirm away (with a desperation that spoke to more than simple adolescent embarrassment, a shame that had already hardened into hatred) and his father leaving without a word or parting touch, the banished don't need to be bid farewell. Something took hold in him. Nothing did for you. (failure) It might have, but you ran away. You're always running B'Elanna. Afraid you might learn something? (failure) Afraid you might be wrong? You can't be human - what if you can't even be Klingon? What if the very thing you've hated and rejected all your life doesn't even want you? What if you stop and look back and see that nothing's chasing you - that you're not even worth it? B'Elanna hears that Tuvok's program was messed with, pranked by Tom and Harry. She feels bad (but there's something else isn't there? A vicious satisfaction. You're watching the worm be put into the sandwich with a keen eye, aren't you?) but doesn't say much. Later, she goes into a holodeck to fetch Tuvok for something necessary and notices that he's fixing his temple program. "You don't need to do that, you know." Tuvok doesn't respond, raising his eyebrow. B'Elanna looks away from him, at the half-edited program. She commits the lines of code to memory, her heart pounding. She feels irritated for some reason. She laughs very lightly. "I mean...we're thousands of lightyears away from Vulcan." Whoever you're praying to can't hear you. (B'Elanna crying herself to sleep: When I wake up please give me a smooth forehead, when I wake up please bring daddy back home, when I wake up please make me human - please.) (B'Elanna watching her mother out of the corner of her eye, hating her every movement, every breath, every line of prayer she shouts out - never for a moment doubting. Never for a moment wavering.) How stupid can you be? "Thank you, Lieutenant Torres." Tuvok says and B'Elanna can swear she hears him lean on her rank more than he needs to - can swear she sees his gaze flit up to her cranial ridges. It's a clear dismissal, not an acknowledgement of what she said. She turns. "Do you only perform rituals under pressure, Lieutenant?" B'Elanna attempting to go limp as her mother drags her up the road towards a circle of chanting Klingons. "I don't want to! Why do you always make me go with you?" Her mother's grip, unwavering. Her eyes locked on their target. They never look away like B'Elanna's do, they're never aimed downward. "Because if I didn't you'd never come."

B'Elanna turns, startled by the direct acknowledgement. She grips her PADD tighter. Tuvok stares at her and his eyes are so familiar it makes her heart race a little, blood rushing to her face. He's laughing at her. He's judging her. He's staring and he knows exactly what he sees. The only times her mother looked down were to catch B'Elanna's eye as she laid on the floor - knocked there or collapsed into a heap. You don't understand anything. How stupid can you be? "I don't believe in rituals." B'Elanna tells Tuvok. Tuvok's gaze travels - not out of necessity but to make a point. His brow raises and he purses his lips slightly. 'Hm,' his expression seems to say. 'How strange.' "What?" B'Elanna snaps. Tuvok looks at her again, eyes widening slightly as if confused by her shapened tone. Then the expression is gone and he is perfect again. "In my experience, Klingons tend-" "I guess I'm not like other Klingons." B'Elanna cuts him off. She's half human isn't she? Why doesn't anyone ever call her that? "...You're upset." "No, I'm not." B'Elanna lies, turning again. "That's all I needed from you, bye." Tuvok doesn't say anything, his customary stance, so B'Elanna walks across the room to leave but before she does she sneaks another glance at him. He's gone back to correcting the errors in his program and the look of concentration again reminds her of her mother - but also her. She's seen that face in the mirror as she tried a hundred different styles in an attempt to hide her ridges, felt it from the tension in her brow as she laughed and flippantly said she didn't know a word of Klingon: "It's just a bunch of noise to me, really." - as she tried to erase her connection to that side of herself however she could. There, across from her, Tuvok (with the same desperation) is trying to hold onto it. What is a shackle to one is a lifeline to another. She remembers when Tuvok attempted to teach her to meditate before they both quietly ended the sessions and Chakotay stopped asking about them. She remembers how Tuvok's room was so full of Vulcan things: Candles, tapestries, jewelry boxes full of little trinkets and wall ornaments etched with Vulcan script. He must have replicated it all. How long did it take him to fill his entire quarters like that? B'Elanna's room is utterly devoid of anything Klingon. The one time Tom suggested it she suggested they put up an old Hollywood poster instead. She stared at the leading lady's forehead and pointedly didn't touch her own. No, anything Klingon would suffocate her - kill her. A little taste of home was poisonous. How was Tuvok fine? How isn't he suffocating? How is this logical? "Sorry about your temple...thing." B'Elanna says. "It wasn't very...you know." "Why are you apologizing?" Tuvok asks, not pausing his work to look at her. B'Elanna shifts her weight, crossing her arms. "I don't know." "I have no feelings to hurt." Tuvok informs her. She thinks about how she would have turned out if she had stayed still in that monastery. Would she have something to hold onto? Would it be better than the freedom to float? Would she be happier? Would she be able to look straight ahead and not care about people calling her turtlehead or putting worms in her sandwich or forcing her monks to recite ferengi limericks or leaving her, always leaving her? Would she able to stand on her own and say it didn't hurt? "Right." B'Elanna says, one foot out the door. "Of course."

#B'Elanna Torres #Tuvok #st voyager #I hope this makes sense I literally just did stream of consciousness writing to secure the vibe in my mind #What if your co-worker who you were on a ship with ostensibly for the rest of your life reminded you of #your mother - your bullies - and yourself all at once?

[skimblyspones]

Also re. The last post. I admit I feel a little weird and extra keen on explaining myself mostly bc I see the aromantic hcs usually applied to Spock and while I totally see where those are coming from, I personally read spock as kind of a hopeless romantic with a repression issue, even without factoring spones in.

Like. With Jim, he has dozens of failed romances and he's always sad but we never get much in the way of explanation besides "oh he has a greater love for the Enterprise" meanwhile with spock he keeps falling in love with Humans and enjoying the feeling but he can only let himself experience those feelings when under influences of drug flowers or weird time travel rules; a repeated facet of his character, and indeed of vulcans, is that their emotions are very much still there and as potent as any human's, but their physical strength is so much greater that they need to temper their emotional responses and, debatably, their very connection to their emotions. Add in Spock being half human and his inescapable racialization amongst both humans and vulcans, especially being half human while raised and taught on Vulcan, and you have a rather prime recipe for shame and repression, and to me that is where Spock's baggage is.

And the appeal of Spones becomes, then, how damn obsessed Bones seems to be with making spock emote. A lot of ppl read the dynamic as antagonistic, and I get where that comes from, but frankly I think a lot of the time Bones is the only one pushing back against the harmful mindset spock has locked himself into; imo, while Bones will paint with a broad brush and call vulcans unemotional, I don't think he fully believes that, if for no other reason than because he lives on a starship with one.

He's challenging spock on the latter's own assertions that Vulcans don't experience feelings, an assertion we know and are shown time and time again is bullshit. Frankly, to be able to sustainably temper your emotions with logic to the extent we see most other vulcans do it would likely require a pretty strong base connection with them. Not to get all CBT in here but as someone who benefitted greatly from DBT in terms of emotional response and behavior, you need to know and accept how you feel if you want to properly manage your response, and to me that's what it seems is probably what most vulcans actually do.

Spock does as well to some extent, but his experience as a half-human undoubtedly meant isolation from his peers, and a feeling of being uniquely indisposed to Vulcan culture, and overcorrecting from mindfulness into frequent repression.

And I think Bones picks up on that, bc he's friends with Jim who also tries to make himself experience what he just doesn't, in opposition to Spock who tries to stop experiencing what he just naturally feels. And while with Jim, it'd take him realizing for himself what he actually needs, something Bones can't really help with, when it comes to Spock they both know he's having these emotions. And like I think that's where spones ppl come at it differently than others, bc as we see it Bones isn't just bullying Spock bc he's a dick or paternalistic or racist or what have you; Bones is pushing back specifically against Spock's self destructive methods of emotional repression. He knows Spock isn't engaging in mindfulness so much as he is flat out refusing to acknowledge his emotions and emotional needs, and is trying to tough love him into acknowledging that. Whether you think he goes too far in it is up to personal interpretation, but it's my hc that Spock deciding to pursue Kholinar at the end of their 5 year mission was their breaking point pre movie-era make-up for a reason.

All that to say, for me personally, Spock having romantic attraction is an important part of his character when it comes time to dissect him, bc it is one of the most obvious narrative devices to highlight the conflict his character was built to embody between passion and the ideals of reason and detached rationality.

#spock #star trek meta #spones #is discussed

[anonymousewrites]

Gjslshkdha

Amanda immediately recognizing her son likes someone but also being able to recognize MC liking Spock bc they're both so obvious and I have a feeling she'll start shipping them

MC getting to participate in the "meeting the parents" and Spock's moment of "embarrassing stories told to significant others"

Love MC being considered stoic for a Celian and Spock emotional for a Vulcan, they truly complete each other.

I can't wait for more interactions between Melope, Alekta, and MC. MC going into starfleet despite their family thinking they were destined for more, mirrors Spock's own story. I think you've mentioned Celians are overall accepting and MC doesn't seem very sensitive about the matter so it doesn't seem like they have tension/weren't supported like Spock but it would be fun to explore how theyre a "prodigy" and surpass most Celian empathic abilities (plus I always love extra information about MC).

First, yes, Amanda is observant and knows her son she clocked it immediately. And Sarek respects MC for the same reasons Spock originally did: they’re a hard worker and good at their job.

and yes, because MC was focused on their job, they are comparatively stoic.

MC being a prodigy will definitely be explored in the episode dedicated to Celia that I’ll make up in the third book. A quick explanation was that because they have such high empathy levels, people thought they’d go into a usual Celian job or be a creative type. Going into Starfleet was considered strange because they were so into emotions and their heart that science seemed off the table. MC surprised everyone, and for a little while they were confused about why they weren’t in the government at Celia or joining to become a therapist or something similar, but eventually their family came around.

that being said, MC does have some conflicted parts of their past. They’ve been seen as a pretty face or an airhead during their time at the academy, but they overcome that. It’s part of the reason they don’t like it when a lot of people flirt with them and why they liked Spock. He always saw them as more.

#anonymousewrites #anonymouse #logos and pathos #ask answered #ask #answered

[salarta]

What are your thoughts on Lorna’s family relationships after Trial of Magneto?

I ignore Trial of Magneto because it had Lorna acting horribly out of character toward her father.

Recent comics have been trying to push a false narrative of Magneto being an overbearing father and trying to control Lorna, and Lorna resenting it but feeling obligated, that does not match any of their history.

If Magneto truly felt like he needed to be controlling, why hasn't he done more with Lorna in the past decade?

The real core of their modern relationship goes back to when they were on Genosha. During that time, Lorna had no idea Magneto was her father, and Magneto didn't tell her. She joined Genosha because she believed in the goal and felt she could do good things there, and Magneto didn't try to control or exploit her with their family connection.

Marvel's ignoring that. Just like they've ignored her surviving the Genoshan genocide for nearly two decades. And in fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the two are connected - that creating a half-assed rift between Lorna and Magneto is there to assist in not acknowledging the genocide as a crucial moment in Lorna's life. Considering all of it happened around Lorna learning who her dad is, and being seen as a sovereign princess of Genosha. Much easier to pretend Lorna's Genosha history doesn't matter if she's disconnected from everything related to her time there.

I'd also have to say that if Lorna had to hate anyone in her family, Magneto makes the least sense out of all of them. Who makes the most sense? Her sister, Wanda.

Wanda caused M-Day. For Lorna, that meant getting depowered at the already lowest point in her life when being a mutant was nearly all she had left. Lorna even nearly got herself killed by running out in front of a Sentinel because she hoped it would reawaken her powers. Getting depowered subsequently led to Lorna first being turned into Pestilence by Apocalypse, then getting hunted down by an anti-Apocalypse cult, then (because of the cult) having to go into space where she then got tortured by Vulcan. All of that happened because Wanda depowered her, and she did nothing to Wanda to warrant her depowering.

If Lorna's going to act that pissed off at her father and jumping to accusations of murder because he's too controlling, then shouldn't Lorna absolutely abhor Wanda? Magneto didn't rob her of her identity and set her down a path of getting repeatedly abused.

Bear in mind: I'm not saying Marvel has to go that route with Lorna and Wanda. I'm fine with them being good with each other. I can see Lorna of all people understanding Wanda wanting to do good things and the situation going wrong. But if Lorna's going to act mad at anyone and accuse them of being horrible, Lorna has more reason to do that toward her sister than her father.

That's why I disregard Trial of Magneto. It didn't take actual Lorna and her actual relationship with her father into account. It just took Lorna and slapped a bunch of OOC behaviors and reactions on her. And I can't help thinking part of the goal may be to cut her out of the family or marginalize her presence on it by making it look like she wants nothing to do with her father over bullshit reasons.

I also don't reblog stuff from Trial of Magneto or the recent X-Factor run for this reason, aside from if I'm using it for a point I need to make. I don't share stuff that I don't support.

#polaris #lorna dane #x-men #marvel

[deepspacedukat]

Story time? About my dreams? It’s more likely than you think.

Anyways remember that Macet, Daro, and Telle dream I had?! My brain did a remix while I was awake (yay for daydreams) that added Boheeka. Which is fine but!!! I ended up married to Akellan 💜💜💜 but apparently he was friends with Madred and liked to be cuckholded sooooo there was an ‘interrogation’ that used him and a bunch of his glinns(?). But that was after the free use party at Macet’s which had some of my friends and the guests were: Daro, Telle, Boheeka, Tekheny Gamor, Dukat (obviously 🤣🤣 because I was rereading your whole lizard list), and Madred. Anyways one of my friends ended up going home with Tekheny (I can’t spell I’m sorry) after. And also banged Ari! So yay! And another ended up with Madred. I got to ‘interrogate’ her first as a way to see if I wanted to join. But anyways we apparently got so good at it there was a real one with an actual suspected traitor! Don’t worry, Akellan got in on all of the ‘interrogations’ he just had to wait his turn for a very long time.

And then as I was falling asleep I had a pon farr dream with Taurik? There was a center unmated or Vulcans who’s partners couldn’t help for health or travel reasons went to and I got paired up with him.

Apparently my brain somehow meshed these together while I was dead asleep into me being somewhere deep in Cardassian space with a gul who had absolutely broken me. I blame stayneurotic’s keevan and the spy part 4 (which popped on my feed, I’ve only read part 4) because I read that during lunch. I WOKE UP about this one! Legit woke up, went back to sleep and continued it. Idk how because that never happens but it was AMAZING. 11/10 would recommend insert Chef’s Kiss emoji here times 36.

I’m not gonna like I read the mirror fic with Dukat 3 times yesterday and Bird of Prey twice. Why do I feel like Dukat insinuates Damar would be down to participate again in activities involving the reader??? I think it was my horny brain😭😭😭😭

Btw that McCoy as the only human scenario??? Definitely in love with it.

-Horta-in-Charge

OH? MY? GOD?? *fanning self* I–

I'm fucking dead or feral or something about that dream/daydream! Omfg I...I have many emotions...and most of them are dirty.

*ahem* I guess I should try to be coherent, holy shit. Uh, okay. So. The Cardassian part of all that: I'm absolutely drooling oml. I can't even express how lovely all of that sounds. Taurik and the pon farr combo: Amazing! *chef kiss* I love this for you, and I approve of the combo. He's a v pretty Vulcan!

Since you mentioned it: I'm absolutely out of my goddamned mind over @stay-neurotic ‘s “Keevan and the Spy” series. It’s so fucking good, and I cannot praise it enough! 10000/10 *chef’s kiss* If you need, horta, I can link you to the series on AO3. It’s so fucking good and I’ve read through it more times than I should probably admit. Actually, I’m just gonna link it anyway, because I have no self-control and I love it. HERE! I love how that influenced your dream, though! Omg that sounds like it must’ve been such a fun time.

I’m glad that you enjoyed both “Eyes Wide Open” and “Bird of Prey”! And you’re not imagining things. I wanted that to be the impression that was given, even if it’s kind of like a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of undertone. I was giving myself a sort of lead-in for a sequel in case I ever decided to write one. That way I wouldn’t have to find some way to add in heavy exposition and transitional stuff if I did decide to write a sequel. Let’s hear it for lazy sequel writing lol.

#deepspacedukat asks #horta in charge

[calliethetrekkie]

15. Top 3 favorite alien crewmembers?

16. If you could steal the basic plot of an episode for one show and apply to another which would you choose?

19. You can undo one plot point, which do you choose?

Oh wow, I didn't think I'd ever get an Ask for that meme haha. But alrighty, let me see here...

15. Top 3 favorite alien crewmembers?

Spock

Deanna Troi

Worf

Now that list might change when I eventually get past TNG, but for now that's where I am.

16. If you could steal the basic plot of an episode for one show and apply to another which would you choose?

Huh... good question. I did mention on my main how I would LOVE to see a TOS version of the TNG episode Attached. Specifically I mentioned Spock and McCoy in part for shipping reasons, but even in a general sense they'd be by far the most fun and interesting to see in that dilemma. It would also allow them to develop more of an understanding, so you have character development as well. The episode in TNG didn't do it for me because I don't ship Picard and Crusher whatsoever and while I like their general relationship, the episode didn't really provide anything new for me to care about. But I would be ALL for it if it was int hat scenario or any combo of the Triumvirate really, I just think that Spock and McCoy would be the most entertaining/interesting considering their bickering XD

19. You can undo one plot point, which do you choose?

Good question... well, of the series I've seen thus far:

TOS: The upside to TOS is that for the most part if you don't like something, you can safely ignore it due to the show not being continuity heavy. If I had to get rid of something... I'd undo the stupid 'women can't be Starship captains' bullshit from The Turnabout Intruder. Which I'm fairly sure most everything that takes place in TOS or earlier also ignores it and for good reason because for a future society to have that kind of rule is so stupid. It's only there cause 60's sexism, and it feels like the episode was trying to prove that 'see? women are too emotional and unstable to be captains'. You can certainly put a new view on it in the modern times, I've seen plenty that still work. But for a show that was progressive in so many ways, its treatment of women in general could be horrendous, and the fact that the series ended with it is a shame.

AOS: There's SO many things that I would undo if I could. If I have to pick one... I'd get rid of Vulcan's destruction. I still don't get the point of why they did that except to give Spock angst. It and fridging Amanda like they did just felt overly cruel and didn't really have any impact in the long-run. Spock had enough angst cause of being half-human and the bullying he received, was destroying his whole planet and race and killing hos mother necessary whatsoever when you had plenty to work with? No. It didn't. You could have had Vulcan attacked and massive casualties and damage, the extent it went was just too much imo.

TNG: I wanna list almost everything in Generations... but I haven't seen it in full so I'll stick to things in the show I've seen. In which case, I pick them killing off K'Ehleyr. An interesting, badass female character with her own struggles who really shined in her two episodes... and they fridge her for Worf's character and to dump a kid on him. While the scene in itself is well done, and you feel the agony and rage that Worf feels when he finds the body (thank you Michael Dorn), I was so freakin' angry it's not even funny. It had long-term impact, I'll give it that, but I'm still angry about it. I wish it had at least been done as an ending of K'Ehleyr's story and give her that agency, not just for Worf's character plot.

#ask #Anonymous #tng #tos #aos

[fromacatastrophe]

Here's a guide that no one asked for and I doubt anyone will read, to my Skyrim dragonborn OCs. They don't exist in the same timeline (except for when I am imagining funny memes that are too hyperspecific for me to even bother making).

Dalinan : 7' tall orc alchemist who refuses to make/use any sort of poison whatsoever. Favors the bow. Absolute dogshit at stealth unless she has access to her invisibility potions. Half-raised by her cousin. Not from a stronghold and has complex feelings about lacking that cultural connection. War Trauma ™ (child soldier edition). Dutiful to a grim fault. Tends to have extensive and increasingly ludicrous back-up plans for if/when things go awry. Resting bitch face but an absolute softie. Will adopt you if she detects emotional vulnerability (inherited that trait from her cousin, who recently took over the Riften orphanage for reasons only Maven Black-Briar knows in full). Absolutely detests leeks, 0/10, worst vegetal ever. Ends up in a poly relationship with Taliesin and Caryalind. When Cary is ready to go home in a decade or two they both go with him (he takes some convincing, but neither she nor Tali would ever let him go alone). She becomes captain of Cary's personal guard + Tali becomes an advisor; there's no end to the speculation about the relationship between the three of them but no one is going to risk actually asking. Dalinan showing up to formal events in ancient snow elf armor and bearing Auriel's bow and shield is the kind of power move that intimidates even people who don't care a fig about the whole Dragonborn business. And shhhh about lifespans okay, we're going to pretend that orcs age like other mer. Shhhh. Let the lady grow old with her partners.

Amejja : khajiit arsonist. tiny. is on the run from a hefty bounty in cyrodiil. claims that her victims deserved it. plays the 'but this one is just a little kitty. a birthday cat. are you going to arrest me on my birthday, guardsman? sad meow?' card to get out of soooo much trouble. decides that Taliesin is her fun uncle; he's honored and also mildly terrified of the prospect of her meeting his sisters (the mayhem would be legendary). learning to shout is the #1 best thing that ever happened to her. fire shout? AMAZING! dragons? eh. big scaly cats. 'surely we can come to an agreement, can't we my cousins???' super annoyed that she actually has to kill Alduin. when Delphine asks her to kill Paarthurnax she attacks her instead because fuck you that's why. flirts with joining both the thieves' guild and the dark brotherhood but betrays and destroys them both over feeling slighted by them. Decides that being dragonborn = being Miraak's baby sister; decides to rescue him. this confuses the Miraak. Besties with Lucien and Khash (both are mildly afraid of her in a fond sort of way), friendly rivals with J'zargo. Extremely distrustful of anything to do with dwemer ruins or machinery, but tolerates it for Remi's sake (some hissing is involved). Will absolutely destroy anyone/anything that harms Scrap. Doesn't join the Dawnguard. Will purr to heal you (purring is a healing spell) but you'd better appreciate it! She's a young gal with wanderlust who just wants to see the world (and set parts of it on fire).

T'Vreyne : Vulcan, Starfleet officer, aro/ace NB, vegetarian, here via daedric tomfoolery/a shuttlecraft mishap. Doesn't initially speak Tamrielic Common and so communicates mostly through frustrated charades and extremely reluctant touch-telepathy until they learn (...from Tali and Gore, so you can just imagine the vocabulary T'Vreyne ends up with). Their background is in security with a specialization in EOD and they've been working as a 'special collections' (read: highly hazardous artifacts) archivist since The Accident. Has significant scarring, chronic pain, and a prosthetic arm due to The Accident. Prefers stealth to avoid unnecessary conflict, then magic/shouts to de-escalate if possible, and then if violence is unavoidable favors a simple one-handed sword. Absolutely refuses to use enchanted equipment due to the whole Soul Cairn of it all. Mistaken for an Altmer by everyone who isn't Altmer; Altmer tend to assume that they're a [derogatory term for mixed-heritage mer]. Has zero (0) respect for Elenwen & thinks she's utterly incompetent; reads her for absolute filth at the truce conference. Other than negotiating the truce does not interfere with the civil war whatsoever (prime directive and all that). Their EOD experience comes into play during the College of Winterhold questline. Becomes close friends with Teldryn during the whole Miraak thing. When Starfleet finally manages to contact them, they choose to stay on Nirn instead of going 'home'. Settles down in Raven Rock and eventually invites Teldryn, Taliesin, and Gore to move in. Occasionally one or more of them will get the itch to travel, but that's home now and they always end up back there before long. T'Vreyne will not be telling you where all those elder scrolls and black books are stashed unless you have a good fucking reason (they've come full circle and once again find themselves to be a special collections archivist whoops).

#Skyrim OC: Dalinan #Skyrim OC: Amejja #Skyrim OC: T'Vreyne

[the-broken-truth]

The Strings That Bind Us ~ The Lord Meeting

Summary: Mother Miranda called a Surprise Lord Meeting and is insistent that Vulcan attends. What could she want?

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Vulcan

[2 Months After The Village Trip] [Vulcan's been working for Donna for 3 Months Now]

"Are you certain that you want to leave that male with Donna, Mother Miranda? I could find a better use for him in House Dimitrescu." Alcina said as she took a puff from her long cigarette.

"Must you start with this again, Alcina?" Heisenberg exhaled "Miranda gave the human to Donna because of their obvious history...as much as I wish she didn't; that man has the makings of an Alpha in his blood."

"Any man that would put down your rabid dogs is worthy enough to continue the Dimitrescu Bloodline. I've been seeing him around the village - sometimes with Donna and that...doll of hers. Kinda unfair that my little sister gets to have that interesting specimen to herself." Alcina pouted in her chair as she took another puff of her cancer stick.

Miranda was quiet for the most part while waiting for Donna - the dollmaker was usually the second one here (The first being Moreau). The sound of footsteps made everyone look at the opening to see The Dollmaker make her appearance and she wasn't alone - Vulcan stood there in his House Beneviento Suit with a smile on his face, Donna's arm laced in his like a gentleman leading a lady, and Angie perched on his shoulder as if she was his companion instead of Donna's. The Lords and Village Leader watched as Vulcan led Donna to herself and waited for the dollmaker to seat before he moved to stand behind her to the right of her chair, standing tall, his hands behind his back - Angie still on his shoulder.

"Now that we are all present - we can begin the meeting." Mother Miranda began as she looked at her 'children'.

Broken Truth: #FuckMotherMirandaShe'sABitch.

"What is the reason for this meeting, Mother Miranda? You didn't specify in your call to us." Donna asked as she looked at her adopted mother.

"The reason I didn't specify was that this meeting is about you and...your male." Miranda said - making Donna and Vulcan's eyebrows raise.

"Us?" The both of them said.

"Yes, Child. Tell us - what exactly does this 'Vulcan' do for House Beneviento? Is he truly as well of as servant as you claim?" Miranda said as she looked in Vulcan's direction - who just looked into her eyes without any kind of fear but there was respect present in his eyes; was it because she was Donna's Mother or the Leader of the Village? That was unknown to her.

"Vulcan is an incredible addition to House Beneviento - he cleans very well, the meals he cooks are unlike anything I have ever tasted; but then again, he did travel all over the world and picked up some interesting recipes. He is always there for me rather I need something or if I just need someone to talk to; what's more, he gets along with Angie very well and that makes me very happy." Donna said as she looked at the doll on Vulcan's shoulder, who nodded to her creator.

"She's got a point..." Moreau spoke but was soon cut off.

"Shut up, no one asked you, freak." Karl said.

"That was impolite, Lord Heisenberg." Vulcan's voice spoke up, making everyone look at him.

"What did you say?" Karl asked.

"I said that was impolite - impolite and uncalled for. Lord Moreau has just as much right to speak as you do; besides, he is your brother, you should be kinder to him." Vulcan said as he glared at Vulcan, who glared at him back.

"Just who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do? You're just a servant - a nobody - and that freak isn't my brother, nor is Lady Super-Sized Bitch or that Ugly Ass Psycho Doll!" That made Vulcan's eyes widen and his fists clench.

"Take that back...right now." The amber-eyed man growled out.

"What?" Karl scoffed.

"I don't care what you say about me, but you will not disrespect my lady or Angie; Lord or not. Take it back, now, Karl Heisenberg." Vulcan growled even more - his fists clenching and eyes seem to be getting darker - they were almost blood red. Miranda's eyes seem to widen as it looked like there was a golden glow coming from under the sleeve of Vulcan's right forearm.

'What is he?' She wondered.

"That's enough, Vulcan." Donna spoke out, making Vulcan look at her.

"But Lady Beneviento, he..." Donna raised her hand to silence him.

"Please, Vulcan. It's quite alright." Donna said again in her soft voice.

"If that is what you wish, Lady Beneviento." Vulcan went back to standby mode.

"It is." Donna confirmed.

"Now that is over... Donna." Miranda spoke.

"Yes, Mother?" Donna asked as she looked in her mother's direction.

"I wish to have a House Dinner - with House Beneviento as the hosting house. I want to see just what it is that your male could do." Miranda said as she looked at Vulcan.

"I'd be honored to show you my skill, Madam Miranda." Vulcan said with a bow of his head.

"Obedient, Strong, Good-Looking, Can Cook, Clean, & Submissive without argument - Such an interesting specimen you have, Donna. Little sister, are you sure you wouldn't mind lending him to me for a year?" Alcina said as she looked Vulcan up and down.

"Alcina, you are not getting Vulcan so find another male to continue House Dimitrescu with." Donna almost snarled at her sister.

"Come now, you can't part with him for one year?" Alcina pouted.

"No. Now stop asking." Donna said. "Is that all, Mother Miranda?" Donna asked as she rose to her feet.

"Yes - the House Dinner will be in one week; I look forward to seeing what it is he can do. Lords dismissed." Miranda said. Donna took Vulcan's arm and he led Donna and Angie out of the room, ignoring the looks of the other Lords and Village Leader.

'Just what are you, Vulcan?' Miranda asked herself.

[Meanwhile - Back At House Beneviento]

"A Lord Dinner? This is going to be troublesome." Donna said as she sat at the table, Angie in her lap to make her feel better.

"What's so wrong with a Lord Dinner?" Vulcan asked as he placed down a cup of tea with some lemon cake squares before Donna.

"Mother Miranda uses Lord Dinners to make sure all is right but I sometimes think she uses it to snoop on our lives. Last time, we had a Lord Dinner at Castle Dimitrescu because of Alcina's Daughters - it was not pleasant." Donna said as she removed her veil and placed it on the table.

Vulcan looked at his lady's face with concern when he saw just how worried she was about this Lord Dinner.

"Then, I'll make this a pleasant Lord Dinner but before I get started, I want to know - do you trust me to go out on my own for a while tomorrow?" Vulcan asked, Donna looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Go out? Just what are you planning?" Donna asked.

"If I want this Lord Dinner to be as grand as I wish it to be - I need to know what is it the other Lords and Madam Miranda prefer. I'm going to go to each of their locations and ask them then go shopping for the right things." Vulcan explained.

"What? No, that's not a good idea, Vulcan. You know Alcina wants you - she'll try to seduce you into coming to Castle Dimitrescu." Donna began.

"I would never turn away from you for her or another, Donna; you know that. I've been here for 3 months, you can trust me." Vulcan said as he kneeled before Donna as she sat in her chair and gathered her hand in his.

"I do trust you, it's the other lords - Karl wants to join him... I don't know about Moreau, he's likely the only Lord I do trust out of all of them." Donna said as she looked down as their touching hands.

"Then I'm asking you to trust me - trust me to come back to you and know that I would never turn away from you, Donna. I've come too far to find you, now that I'm here and I serve you; I'm happy and I would never let you go like I had to when Mother Miranda took you away from me." He brought her hand to his lips. "Please, trust me to come back to you. Trust me to stay faithful to you and only you and Angie." Vulcan's words made her blush and look away before she took an exhale.

"Very well, Vulcan. I will trust you to do what you must to make this Lord Dinner a grand one just...please don't let them take you away from me."

"As long I draw breath, I shall return to you, Donna; believe that." Vulcan looked into her eye and leaned forward before placing a small kiss on her lips.

Donna's widened before she began to settle into the kiss her servant gave her, returning it and closed her eye to enjoy it. Once they broke apart for air, their foreheads touched as they looked into the windows of each other's souls...before their moment was ruined by a giggling doll.

"Does this mean I have a Father now?" Angie asked, making Mistress and Servant blush bright red.

"Angie!" Donna and Vulcan blushingly yelled at the doll; Angie got her giggles that night.

#donna beneviento #donna beneviento x reader #donna beneviento x male oc #resident evil 8

[writingsfromstarfleet]

Spock - Affirmations

♫ - When I’m Small - Phantogram

For the ever lovely @groovyfluxie who’s always got the Spock content for me, I hope you enjoy! Hugs! ♡

Attempt after attempt, try after try. No matter how hard you'd try, it just wouldn't work. Experiments were exactly that, unpredictable and liable to fail, but you couldn't even get it to begin to work. You were working on a part for the ship that Scotty had asked you to put together, mentioning that if it was successful it could enhance the power relays in the engineering sector. You felt the pressure of having to get it right, and your anxieties over it began clouding your ability to work. Sighing, you threw it down.

"Why won't you work? Why can't I get this right?" you muttered under your breath. You played around with various parts on the desk, leaning your head on your free hand. Rounding the corner was Scotty, who looked at your dejected state with concern.

"Are you alright there, Y/N?"

"Scotty," you started, tone quiet and down. "Should this work? Answer me honestly, theoretically should this work?"

"Aye?" His response came more as a question and you laughed dryly.

"So it's me then. It's me that can't do it."

"I wouldn't say that now, Y/N. You're smart, I'm sure ye can do it, I wouldn't have you here if I didn't believe in ya." He placed a comforting hand on your shoulder and smiled. You sent him one back, though it didn't have the usual shine your smiles had.

"Thanks, Scotty. I wish I believed you, I really do.." your voice had trailed off to merely a whisper by the end of your sentence, and Scotty had frowned.

He stuck around a little longer, idly performing tasks that he wasn't actually doing; more he stayed to make sure you were alright, to watch you, given you seemed to be taking the failure of the experiment to heart. He'd come to call you a good friend and he didn't like to see you any less than happy. Scotty heard you muttering curses under your breath, the clank of metal hitting the desk and sighs emitting from you in succession. He walked off with the only plan he could think of in the moment.

Meanwhile, you were still trying your hardest to fasten the remaining two bolts together, but they simply would not do so. Effort was not lacking, and you had been hunched over the mess of metal and wires for the best part of two hours.

"I'm done, I give up" you declared to no one in particular; the room was empty anyway. Throwing the tools down, you placed your head in your hands and groaned.

"That is rather unlike you, Y/N."

Spinning round, you were faced with Spock, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded. You stood, making your way over to him without saying a word. He unfolded his arms and pulled you against his chest. Your arms folded around his waist as Spock's arm rested around your shoulders, his free hand running through your hair to calm you.

Spock had always been your rock, and in the time you had been together, he was your best support. Nothing was ever an issue, and when you had a problem, Spock always had a solution. He wasn't vocal about love, not uncommon for Vulcans, but in his actions and efforts, you knew that he loved you, just as you did him.

Feeling a few tears fall, you pulled your head up to look at him.

"I'm- uh, I'm sorry."

You went to pull away from him, knowing he wasn't very big on PDA, but he kept you in place, leaving a kiss atop your head.

"You do not need to apologise, Mr. Scott asked me to check that you were alright. Apparently, you are stressed about this experiment you are working on?"

Taking Spock's hand, you led him to the table you were working at and sat down, gesturing to the mess in front of you.

"This. This pile of-"

"What was the issue with it?" Spock interrupted, knowing that if he let you start that sentence, you wouldn't have finished it until you were angry and in tears. Over the time you had been together, Spock had picked up on your tendencies to overthink, and to overreact in some cases, though luckily he knew how to handle such events.

"It just won't work!" you exclaimed, throwing your hands up in a defeated motion. "Scotty said it should, so I've put it down to the fact I'm useless at my job."

"That is untrue, Y/N. You know that."

"Well, explain this then, Spock. I can't do it even though it can be done, and this isn't even half of it; this is the easy part! Perhaps I shouldn't be here, I'm not cut out for this. I'm far too stupid to-"

"Y/N." Spock's voice now was stern, and he knelt down in front of you and took both of your hands in his, brushing his thumbs across the back of your hands. "Listen to me. You are not a failure because of this, it does not define your whole career. It is an experiment, is it not? Experiments are known to fail, often times they do not even work in the first place."

"But-"

"Therefore I see no reason for such stress," Spock continued, not allowing you a self-deprecating rant. You, yourself, are remarkable. Intelligent, smart and hardworking; never have I quite met such a person as you. I know you can do this, and I know you are smart enough to make this work despite the challenges it poses. Please remember how wonderful you are, Y/N. You can do this, you are not stupid nor should you be anywhere else. You belong here with us and I have every faith in you here and now that your anxieties over this will not win."

By the end of his little pep-talk, your tears had ceased falling and instead you had a sweet smile on your face. Spock looked at you with such love, and you believed his every word, knowing in your heart of hearts he was being truthful. You brought your hand to his face, cupping it gently. He placed his own over yours.

"What would I do without you, Spock? I love you."

"As do I, you."

Pulling a chair up, Spock sat next to you and you frowned.

"Do you not have duties elsewhere, Spock? I appreciate your company, don't get me wrong, but usually you have other things to do at this time" you enquired, giggling a little as you picked the pieces back up.

"They can wait until we have finished working on this."

Surprised, you leaned over and kissed his cheek. Spock rarely would forgo duties, such actions in his eyes were not logical, however it warmed your heart as you watched him work alongside you. Your train of thought drifted as you silently worked together; you could do this. Scotty believed in you, Spock believed in you, Jim believed in you. Now it was your turn.

Spock's previous words became affirmations you told yourself each time you started getting stressed again, though hard it may have seemed to believe in them wholeheartedly. But you knew, despite everything, you knew that with Spock by your side, you could do anything.

#star trek #star trek imagine #star trek x reader #star trek the original series #star trek tos #the original series #tos #spock #spock imaginem #spock x reader #x reader #imagine