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indeedcaptain · 7 months

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Spirktober 2023, day 30: Cuddling

Spirktober may be over but it lives on in my heart and also in my NaNoWriMo goals. I am firmly of the belief that Spock would be a HUGE snuggler if not for the repression, so here's a little of that leaking through.

Also posted on AO3 here!

☆☆☆

The first time that it happened, Kirk laid awake the entire night. Terrified to move and accidentally wake Spock and break the moment, terrified that Spock would read his unshielded emotions in his sleep and learn the depth of his feelings, and terrified that Spock would roll away anyway and release him, he laid as still as he was capable. For the next four hours, he lay perfectly unmoving in the unexpected embrace of his best friend and tried not to think about how much he liked it.

Spock’s chest was pressed to his back, and he felt his even breathing ruffling the shorn hair on the back of his neck. His arm was slung loosely over Kirk’s stomach, fingertips dangling down, barely brushing his stomach when he breathed in. He had rolled over in his sleep --- which was a surprise, because Kirk assumed that he slept in his preliminary corpse-like position until he had rested for precisely the necessary amount of time --- and he had not hesitated before he crossed the middle line of the bed into Kirk’s space.

They weren’t even supposed to be sharing a bed. There had been a miscommunication of some sort, assumptions had been made between the diplomatic corps and the host planet’s delegation, and Uhura had apologized to them profusely until Spock had said, in his gentle, even tone, “It is of no matter, Lieutenant,” and she fell silent. But now, as Kirk tried not to breathe too deeply or enjoy the sensation too much, he wondered exactly what had been of no matter, because it mattered a lot to him.

It mattered too much to him, actually. More than was wise, more than was responsible, or appropriate, and it was the only secret he had ever kept from Spock, and as long as he didn’t fall asleep and dream he might still keep it yet.

When Spock woke up, he was so close to Kirk that Kirk felt his eyelashes flutter against the back of his neck. Spock froze, and Kirk’s heart sank as he gently but firmly extricated himself from Kirk’s personal space and rolled over. He gave Spock thirty seconds to himself before he rolled over as well, pretending to wake up.

“Hey,” he said. “Morning.”

“Good morning, captain,” Spock said, sitting on the edge of the bed, not looking at him, and then he fled to the bathroom. As the muted thunder of the sonic shower turned on, Kirk pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and tried not to groan. Intimacy with Spock, even just as friends, was always one step forwards and three steps back. He didn’t want to consider how many steps back accidentally taking your captain in your arms would put them.

☆☆☆

The second time it happened, they weren’t even sharing a bed. The jail cell that they shared was underground, with only a tiny slit in the door to let in the ambient light from the hallway. Kirk, Spock, Chekov, and their security officer, Lieutenant Aisha, had been captured by the leaders of a rebel faction and unceremoniously deposited in the only cell in their so-called stronghold before the door was slammed behind them. They sat for hours, half-heartedly attempting to raise the rest of the crew or the Enterprise on their comms, until Aisha stretched with a jaw-cracking yawn.

“Shifts?” Aisha asked.

“I’ll take first watch,” Sulu said. Kirk laid down in the corner, feeling some sort of straw or hay beneath him, and crossed his fingers that he wasn’t about to discover another allergy. In the darkness he sensed movement close beside him, and someone radiated inhuman body heat at him. He was suddenly and electrically aware of the body next to his. He wished he was less tired so he could focus more on how unnecessarily close Spock had chosen to sit, but after the events of the day he could barely keep his eyes open in the dark.

He fell asleep to the sound of Spock’s even breathing beside him. At some point in the night, he woke up again to movement behind him. A strong arm in Starfleet-grade fabric was sliding across his stomach, pulling him back against a broad chest, long legs entangling with his. Jesus Christ, Kirk thought, as his first officer settled into stillness again. His nose was against the back of Kirk’s neck, his forehead pressed into his hair, and his hand had come to rest possessively over Kirk’s heart.

The first time had been an absolute surprise. Kirk had never seen Spock so much as give someone a hug upright, let alone cuddle in his sleep. But, as he started to drift off to sleep again, he found that though his mind had not considered the idea, his heart had been hoping that it would happen again. He could feel Spock’s steady heartbeat through the fabric of his shirt, against his ribs, and the heat of his hand scorched his chest in a way that he wished would leave a mark. Despite the terms of their confinement, despite being trapped away from the ship with a fight looming on the horizon, he couldn’t bring himself to be upset about how things were going. He memorized how it felt to have Spock pressed against him, bony ankles digging into his legs, before he fell asleep.

At some point in the night he because aware that Spock had disentangled himself from him to take a watch shift, and even as he slipped back into sleep he registered that it was cold without him, and he missed him.

The next time he woke, Spock had tapped him lightly on the shoulder and said, “Your watch, captain,” as he struggled awake. The cell was still dark, and he could no longer determine what time he thought it was, but he sat up and said, “Thank you, Mr. Spock.” He leaned against the wall near where he had been sitting as Spock laid down beside him again, and he resisted the urge to place his hand over Spock’s shoulder.

Was Spock aware of what he was doing in his sleep? Was it a reflection of his conscious desires, or was it just an instinctive urge to be warm? Was it about Kirk, or was it just about having a warm body nearby?

Kirk wasn’t sure if he was ready for the answers. For now, as long as he didn’t know, he could indulge the dream that Spock might someday reciprocate his feelings. He replayed the feeling of Spock’s hand resting against his chest, and when their cell door opened a few hours later he gratefully gave himself over to the mindless repetition of fighting and pushed the evening, and his wants, from his mind.

☆☆☆

Kirk was pretty sure that this was going to be the last time. They had been huddled together in the cave for so long that his teeth had stopped chattering, which could not be a good sign. He knew that the Enterprise crew had to be looking for them, would have started a search party as soon as the ice shelf had crumbled under their feet, but they had fallen quite a ways, and the snow would have already covered their tracks. He thought there was a high chance that they would die in the cave they had found, but the fear that the idea might have inspired was partially dampened by the fact that he was with Spock, and Spock was holding him, and they were both awake.

His head was tucked under Spock’s chin, and he was essentially in his lap, with Spock’s arms wrapped around him. They had fortunately had their packs with them, and had layered all the spare fabric and emergency blankets they had over the both of them. Spock’s body heat had originally warmed them both, but as the hours passed the heat leached away until they were clinging to each other and trying not to think about the inevitable. Kirk’s body had passed the point of feeling painfully cold and was no longer feeling much of anything. He was only aware of Spock’s arms around him, and his own hands tucked inside Spock’s shirt, and the rise and fall of Spock’s chest against his shoulder. Everything else had been stolen by the ice.

“Sorry, Spock,” Kirk eventually mumbled.

“For what, captain?” Spock’s heartbeat had been slowing in the cold, like a Terran reptile’s, and his voice was quiet.

Kirk squeezed, arms wrapped as they were around Spock. “This can’t be comfortable for you.”

Spock was quiet for a long moment, and Kirk was afraid that he had fallen asleep before he said, “On the contrary, captain.” Kirk blinked. Spock reclasped his arms around Kirk, pulling him more securely against his chest, and lowered his head to rest his cheek against Kirk’s hair.

“Really?” Kirk asked, lips numb, trying to keep the balloon of hope swelling in his chest from changing his tone. “I was under the impression that you were not in favor of physical touch, Mr. Spock.”

Another brutal pause. “I owe you an apology as well, captain.”

“For what?”

“For any discomfort I may have caused you previously.”

“Discomfort, Mr. Spock?”

Spock hesitated, and he never hesitated. Kirk forced his eyes open again. He wanted to remember this conversation, be present for it, even if it wasn’t going to matter in a few hours. They were finally talking about it. “On previous missions. When we have had to take rest overnight.”

Ah. Those nights. The two nights that Kirk thought about every night before he went to sleep, alone, in his own bed, remembering the feeling of Spock’s hand on his heart. “You never caused me any discomfort, Mr. Spock. I feared that you were uncomfortable.”

“You did not… mind?” Spock’s voice had lost its surety, and Kirk felt the rumble of it against him.

Kirk laughed softly, and his breath fogged the air between them. “No. I did not mind. And I don’t mind now.”

Spock didn’t say anything, but Kirk could feel the gears of his brain turning. As Spock held him and did not pull away, he made up his mind. He thought that, here, at the end, he could be afforded a little recklessness.

He lifted his head from Spock’s chest, and it took far more effort than it should have, but he wanted to see his friend’s face. Spock raised his head to look down at him, and their faces were so close that Kirk could feel Spock’s breath against his skin. His eyes were nearly black in the dim light reflecting off the snow outside. The alien planes of his cheekbones and eyebrows were familiar and lovely.

“Spock,” he said. “I didn’t ever mind.” Spock inhaled sharply, and his eyes searched his.

“Jim,” Spock said, and the desperation with which he said his name gutted him. His eyes were dark, and fixed on him. The cold had tinged him green where the tips of his ears were exposed. “I did not consider that my contact would be welcome. I had feared that our friendship would be damaged by my actions, which had exposed the desires I could not voice.”

Kirk smiled at him, even though the motion hurt his face. “What desires were those?”

Spock pulled him closer again, settling him against his chest so Kirk’s head was pillowed in the hollow of his neck, and rested his chin against Kirk’s hair. “The desire to sleep alongside you and hold you. To be close to you. Like this.”

The balloon of hope inside his chest had expanded three times in size. “I wanted that as well,” he murmured into Spock’s neck. “I want it still.” Spock’s arms tightened around him, and he thought he felt Spock’s lips press against his forehead.

Against his best efforts, his eyes slid shut. Despite the cold, despite the dire straits in which they found themselves, he was warm. He wanted to fall asleep here and drift away, in the arms of the man he had loved for far too long. From somewhere very far away, he could hear Spock’s voice, but he could no longer make out what he was saying. He sounded upset. Kirk wanted to soothe him, to tell him everything was going to be alright because they were together, but he could not find his mouth to say the words.

He fell asleep and did not dream.

☆☆☆

The first thing he heard was the beeping of a biobed. Kirk would have known the steady thrumming of the heart monitor anywhere. He was on his back, in Medbay, and he recognized the familiar humming of his ship around him.

When he opened his eyes, it was to the tiled ceiling of a private medical room. He was in a biobed, as he had thought, with intravenous drips coming out of both arms and three blankets piled on top of him. He wiggled his toes and bent his knees and found that everything seemed to be, for the most part, in working order.

He struggled to remember how he had gotten there as he sat up, but there was nothing. In his mind, he could only imagine the cold, and the cave.

And Mr. Spock. He had been with Spock, and they had been slowly freezing to death together. Spock had told him… oh.

Kirk flung the blankets back, throwing himself from the bed. His legs responded slower than he expected and he staggered to the wall, leaning against it as he picked at the tape holding his IVs in. The biobed scanner beeping increased in volume, distressed at his sudden exit, and within seconds of the change Bones threw the door open. He crossed the room to Kirk in three huge steps, grabbing his hands, pulling them away from the IVs.

“Jim, calm down, leave them alone---”

“Where is he?” He pulled his hands from Bones’s, but Bones grabbed them again, steering him by the forearms back towards the bed. He was weaker than he thought. Since when had Bones been able to manhandle him? The backs of his knees hit the biobed and he sat heavily.

“You’ve been through some serious nerve regeneration, Jim,” Bones said. “Stay.”

“I’m fine,” he said, but he was not. Now that Bones mentioned it, he could feel the tingling and buzzing in his skin that told him he had spent a significant amount under a regenerator, and his bones ached.

“You almost died, Jim,” Bones said. He held a cautioning hand out to Jim, and after a moment Jim slouched on the bed, the fight in him leaking away as Bones’s words sunk in. Bones sat down next to him on the bed, and the slump of his shoulders told Jim that he had been on his feet for hours. Jim leaned over, pressing his shoulder against his.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I owe you. Again.”

“You owe Mr. Spock more,” Bones said, and leaned back against him. Kirk’s heart constricted painfully, and he closed his eyes.

“Is he…? Is he here?”

The silence between them felt like it lasted for an eternity before Bones said, “He’s here.”

“And he’s…?”

“He’s alive, Jim,” Bones said. Kirk let out his breath and laid back on the biobed, leaving his legs danging over the side. “It was a close thing, though. Damn desert species.”

“How did you find us? The snowstorm…”

“The hobgoblin tied you to his back and climbed out.”

“Climbed out… of the cave?”

“Of the gorge you fell into.”

“He climbed… out of the gorge? The ice gorge?”

“The very one.” Bones turned to look at him. “As soon as Spock cleared the top of the ravine Scotty beamed you on board, and it was almost too late. You were both a mess.”

Kirk covered his face with his hands and felt the skin on both burn with the contact. “How bad was the damage?”

“To you or to him?”

“Bones.”

“The worst for you was the hypothermia. You mostly had nerve damage, and your organs had taken a beating. For him, though… the hypothermia was bad, sure, but the worst was his hands. Climbing the ice shredded them. With how sensitive Vulcan hands are… I have no idea how he got both of you out. We patched them up and he’ll be fine after a spell, but he’s going to be in the healing trance for a good while.”

When Kirk thought he could speak without his voice shaking, he said, “I need to see him.”

Bones sighed, but he stood and started gently removing the IVs from Kirk’s arms. “I thought you might say that.”

Bones shut the door behind him, and Kirk was alone. Spock had also been placed in a private medical room, away from the noise and bustle of the central medbay room, and he lay perfectly still in the bed. Kirk approached, and the thick wrapping of bandages covering both of Spock’s hands broke his heart. He perched on the edge of the bed. He knew that the trance was deep enough that nothing he could do would wake him up, but he couldn’t defeat the urge to move quietly.

Spock’s chest rose and fell with a comforting and steadying regularity. In his head, he heard Spock’s voice again: To be close to you.

They had wasted so much time dancing around each other. They had almost died without knowing. Spock had sacrificed his hands against the ice to save them both, and he wasn’t going to waste the second chance that dangerous gamble had bought them.

Kirk carefully adjusted Spock’s arm, crossing the bandaged hand across his stomach, and slid into the bed beside him. He curled around him protectively, resting his head on his shoulder, sliding his hand across Spock’s stomach to press his palm to Spock’s heartbeat.

He would wait until the trance was over and Spock was healed, and then they could figure out together what came next for them. For now, it was enough to hold Spock the way that he had held Kirk before, and know that he was wanted, and wait for Spock to wake.

#spirk #spock #kirk #my writing #spirktober2023 #k/s fan fiction #kirk/spock fan fiction #star trek fan fiction #hurt/comfort #protective spock

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440mxs-wife · 2 years

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Change In Plans

Pairing: Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy x F!Reader. Other Characters: Jim Kirk, Nyota Uhura, Cmdr. Spock, Scotty, Christine Chapel, Annie (OFC, F!Reader’s BFF).

Word Count: 8608

Warnings: Mutual pining, friends to lovers, one-bed, near-drowning, allusion to sexy times, FLUFFFFF for the most part (y’all know me by now).

Summary: It’s time for shore leave from the Enterprise, and Capt. Kirk and his friends have rented a mountain cabin for some “guys time”. The Reader and her friends had plans of their own, but they mysteriously got cancelled at the last minute. Spock saves the day by suggesting the girls come up to the cabin, where the Reader and Dr. McCoy may be forced to come to terms with their feelings for one another.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dr. Leonard McCoy sat in his chair on the porch of the rented mountain cabin. He took a sip from his cup of coffee and then a deep breath of the crisp, clean air. Normally, he would be sleeping at seven o'clock in the morning, like everyone else was. However, he decided to take advantage of the peace and quiet before the hustle and bustle of the day took over. A well-deserved, two-week shore leave from the Enterprise had begun.

The doctor was bunking in one of the four bedrooms in the cabin, with the captain, Cmdr. Spock, and Scotty, Chief Engineer each having his own quarters. Jim's plan was for them to spend their time doing as most men do. That meant there would be fishing, swimming, hiking, and of course, drinking around a campfire.

Inside the cabin, the layout was an open-floor plan, with a large, modern kitchen and a dining table long enough to seat 8-10 people. The main living area boasted a plush L-shaped sofa and a flat-screen TV, the size of which could rival a movie screen.

It was Jim's idea for their shore leave to be a "Guys Only" vacation of sorts, at least that was the goal. It wasn't that the trip was meant to exclude any of the female members of his crew. In fact, each man had a woman in his life that he was either involved with, or wanted to be.

Spock had Lt. Nyota Uhura, Chief Communications Officer, with whom he'd been in a committed relationship for the past couple of years. Jim was currently working his magic on the Head Nurse, Christine Chapel. Even Scotty could be found verbally sparring with the newest crew member and your best friend, Annie, on an almost daily basis.

For Dr. McCoy, whether you knew it or not, you were the object of his affections. You were a lead member of the Stellar Sciences team, studying and mapping stars, nebulae and other cosmic entities. The two of you occasionally crossed paths in the turbolift or the Mess Hall, usually while running from one task to the next. On occasion, you stopped by the MedBay on one of your breaks to share some witty conversation with him.

Sometimes you had an opportunity to slow down and spend more than a few minutes or even hours talking together. The two of you frequently met on the Observation Deck, sharing a late-night snack. Your conversations flowed easily and covered nearly anything. Silence was a rarity in those meetings, which is why Leonard treasured those times the most. He didn't know how or when it happened, but at some point, his feelings for you stretched beyond mere friendship and into something more.

Perhaps it was because of the way your eyes lit up with excitement when you talked about a new project. Or maybe it was your smile or the sound of your laughter, and how much better he felt after being around you. It may also be your kindness, which seemed to know no bounds, always willing to help. And to him, you were just as beautiful on the outside as you were on the inside.

When Dr. McCoy returned to the kitchen with his now-empty cup of coffee, he noticed that two of his fellow vacationers were already awake. He walked over to the counter where the coffee pot was still warm and poured himself another cup. When he was finished fixing up his coffee, he turned to face his fellow cabin mates and bid them good morning.

"Good morning, Doctor," greeted Spock. "You appear to be in a most agreeable mood for so early in the day," he observed.

"That's because I woke up about an hour before the rest of you, so this place was practically silent. Aside from all the snoring, that is," McCoy smirked.

"I do not snore," Scotty retorted indignantly.

"Dr. McCoy did not specify that it was you, Mr. Scott. In fact, I did not hear anyone specifically accused of snoring," Spock noted. "Although, if one were to speculate, I am certain we can all agree that the captain--"

"Most assuredly does not snore, Spock," Kirk interjected as he walked over to the coffee pot. "Good morning, everyone," he greeted.

McCoy and Spock locked eyes across the room after the captain's last remark. Spock tilted his head nearly imperceptibly in Kirk's direction. In response, McCoy gave a subtle nod and smiled around a sip of coffee.

"So, laddies, what kind of shenanigans are we up to today?" Scotty beamed as he rubbed his hands together.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm sorry, what? Our reservations were cancelled? How--when did this happen?!?" you thundered. For your shore leave, you and your friends were supposed to be enjoying your time at an all-inclusive resort on some tropical island. However, those plans were now shattered with the cancellation, and someone else had already claimed your reservation.

"It shows in our records that someone called two days ago on your behalf and cancelled the reservation. Said you'd reconsidered and had made other plans," the clerk explained.

"But I haven't made any other plans, although I suppose I'll have to now, won't I?" you snapped.

"I am terribly sorry, ma'am. However, because it appears that an error may have occurred on our end, any deposits you made will be refunded to your account. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that may have been caused. Thank you," the clerk stated before hanging up.

You stared at the device in your hand as the light confirmed that the call had been completely disconnected. "Yeah, thanks. For nothing, that is," you muttered. After placing your phone in your pocket, you walked out of your room to rejoin your friends and share the news. "Well, ladies, it looks like the beach is out. Someone called the resort and cancelled our reservations. Anyone have any other ideas?" you asked.

"I've got one, but I'll need to make a call first, see if accommodations can still be made," Uhura answered. "It's for a cabin in the mountains. There are hiking trails, plenty of fishing and swimming at the nearby lake, a place to go horseback riding and all sorts of other stuff. Plus, campfires at night," she grinned.

"Well, it's no island in the tropics, but still sounds great!" you replied, with the others nodding in agreement. "Go make your call, we'll be right here. Fortunately, we're all pretty much packed, even though we may have to substitute some clothing choices," you chuckled.

Uhura stepped into your bedroom and closed the door. She couldn't help but smile as she pressed the contact for her boyfriend, hoping that his phone still had service.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Spock and the others were headed out to town to rent some canoes for the day. He had just walked out the door when his phone rang and smiled tenderly when he saw who it was. "Hello, ashayam," Spock answered. "Is everything all right?" he inquired.

"Hello to you, ashalik," Uhura responded with a smile. "Our plans for the beach resort were suddenly cancelled, and we were wondering something. Would you and the guys maybe want some company? Everything here is pretty well booked solid, including most of the outgoing transports. We really don't want to be stuck on the ship for our shore leave," she explained.

"That is unfortunate to hear," Spock remarked, then a thought occurred to him. "There is plenty of room here, many activities, and we can always go into town for more supplies," he reasoned.

"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to impose on your plans," Uhura replied.

"Ashayam, I would appreciate nothing more than to see you and spend time with you. Besides, it would give the others a chance to spend time with the object of their affection. Even if they are....reluctant to admit that they have one," Spock added.

"Tell me about it. I think it's about time some feelings were brought out into the open. Okay, I'll let the girls know, then we'll load up our gear and see you soon. I love you, ashalik," Uhura remarked.

"And I you. Safe travels, ashayam," Spock answered. After the call disconnected, he climbed into the waiting vehicle to begin the journey down the mountain to the lake.

Uhura closed her eyes and sent up a silent thanks that the alternate plans for shore leave will be a success. She walked out of your bedroom with a huge smile on her face. "Anyone up for a cabin in the mountains?" she asked.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "You did what?" Kirk asked, shocked.

Spock explained the situation to his friends about what happened to your shore leave plans, and that he suggested a possible solution. He was certain that his friends would agree with his decision to invite you and your friends to join them at the cabin. Unfortunately, he did not anticipate their level of resistance to such a logical alternative.

"Spock, are you kidding me?" Kirk grumbled. "This was supposed to be just us guys hanging out together. How're we supposed to do that with the girls around?" he muttered.

"I do not understand how 'hanging out' would be any different with a mixed group of men and women, as opposed to only men or only women, Captain," Spock replied.

Scotty laid a hand on Spock's shoulder, causing Spock to turn and meet Scotty's gaze. "See, it's like this, laddie. When there's no lassies around, guys can say and do things that the lassies may not approve of. Drinkin', swearin', tellin' naughty jokes, tha' type of stuff. But you bring a lassie into the mix and she don't wanna be hearin' none o' tha'. 'Cause it'll be nothin' but her scoldin' ye and tellin' ye ta stop gettin' rowdy," Scotty explained, shaking his finger at Spock.

Spock pondered Scotty's explanation for a bit. "I still fail to see why this should be a problem. I have seen Uhura and her friends engage in the drinking and sometimes the swearing, even becoming 'rowdy' at times. As her significant other, I have yet to 'scold' her for these activities. However, I have seen her friends reprimand each other when one of them engages in this type of behavior," he commented.

"You just want to see your girlfriend," Kirk muttered.

McCoy watched in amusement as his friends discussed the merits and downfalls of spending time with you and your friends. "Jim, Scotty, you're not going to convince Spock that this is a bad idea. Time to accept it and move on," he remarked. "Out of curiosity, Spock, who will be accompanying your girlfriend?" he asked.

Spock smiled briefly and stated that you, Christine and Annie would be accompanying Uhura. McCoy's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up close to his hairline at the mention of your name. "And just where exactly will these lovely ladies be sleeping? If I remember correctly, there are only enough rooms for the four of us," McCoy noted dryly.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Bones," Jim grinned and clapped a hand on McCoy's shoulder. "I'm sure we can figure something out. Uhura can bunk with Spock, Annie with Scotty and Christine with me. That leaves you-know-who, bunking with you," he smirked.

As Jim walked away, McCoy briefly entertained the notion of sharing a room with you. It had a king-sized bed, which was spacious enough that the two of you could sleep together without touching each other. Well, where's the fun in that? he silently chuckled. Leonard supposed he would wait until you arrived to start worrying about a discussion over the sleeping arrangements. He briefly considered that this may also be a sign, one that was telling him it was time to do something about his feelings for you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours later, and you and your girls had arrived at the cabin, only to find a note to say where the men had gone. It said they had rented canoes and were out fishing, but would be back sometime after noon. The four of you unloaded your bags and brought them into the cabin, along with some groceries. You left your duffels in the living room while you waited further instructions on sleeping arrangements.

Before driving up the long and winding mountain road to the cabin, you stopped at the local supermarket for some supplies. Since you would be arriving around lunchtime, you picked up meats, cheeses and various spreads for deli sandwiches. To make up for imposing on their plans, you also bought some additional supplies for burgers and hot dogs, spaghetti and chili.

On a whim, you added a two bags of marshmallows, two boxes of graham crackers and some chocolate bars to the cart. From camping trips with Annie and your family, you had learned how to toast the perfect marshmallow. Maybe I'll have a chance to show Dr. McCoy, you thought, your cheeks growing warm at the notion. A good bottle of bourbon and some margarita mix also found their way into your cart. No way am I going to spend this entire time completely sober, you decided.

Two weeks in a mountain cabin with Dr. Leonard McCoy, your late-night conversation companion. Through these evening meetings, the two of you had formed a solid friendship. He was a tall, charming, Southern gentleman to be sure, and a damned sexy one at that. Combine that with his jet-black hair to his soulful hazel eyes, and he was a force to be reckoned with.

Somewhere along the way, your thoughts turned into feelings of more than friendship with Leonard. However, you knew about his past marriage to Jocelyn and that they'd had a young daughter, Joanna, the light of his life. After the way the marriage ended, you had the feeling that he may not be ready for a relationship quite yet.

For this reason, you declined to do or say anything about your feelings for him, solid in the belief that they weren't reciprocated. If being friends was as far as it would go, you would have to accept it and cherish the time you spent together. Thus the reason for the alcohol, you affirmed to yourself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Jim and his friends returned to the cabin, the first thing they noticed was the collection of bags near the door. This indicated that their "guests" had arrived, and were somewhere on the cabin's property. Laughter from out on the back patio drew their attention and confirmed where the women had gathered. Kirk, Spock and Scotty returned their fishing gear to the storage area, while Leonard wandered over to the patio area.

"Hey, does anyone want a refill?" you called over your shoulder. Annie and Christine held up what you presumed to be empty beer bottles, signaling they were ready for more. "Coming right up--oof!" you promised. No sooner had you turned around that you ran into something solid, causing you to stumble backwards. You would have fallen, had strong, capable hands not caught you by the wrist and elbow.

"Whoa there, sweetheart, are you okay?" you heard a voice say. When you locked eyes with your rescuer, you were mortified to see that you had run smack-dab into Dr. McCoy.

You took a deep breath before allowing him to guide you back to an upright position. "I am so sorry, Dr. McCoy! Thank you very much for not letting me fall. Guess I should watch better where I'm going, huh?" you chuckled nervously.

"Aw, that's all right. Takes more than a pretty little thing like you to knock me over," McCoy grinned then winked.

"I--um--I suppose--yeah, sure it would," you stammered then quickly recovered. "Oh hey! Before I forget, we got some groceries in town before we got here. There are some deli sandwiches in the fridge for you guys. You know, if you're hungry," you added.

"That's mighty sweet of you ladies," McCoy drawled.

"Well, it's the least we can do in exchange for y'all sharing the cabin with us," you replied shyly. With a new margarita and two fresh bottles of beer in your hand, you closed the refrigerator with your hip. "Come out and join us when you have a chance," you suggested.

Leonard gave you a smile and a nod in response. Once he was sure you'd made it back out the door without further incident, he rushed to his room to get ready for a shower. He thought you were cute the way you got so flustered after running into him. Leonard decided he was going to test the waters with you, show you some of how he feels about you and hold on for the ride.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After his shower, Jim reviewed the contents of the pantry and the refrigerator. He noticed the tray of deli sandwiches and helped himself to a turkey and provolone on wheat bread. He added some yellow mustard to the bread before cutting the sandwich in half. As he enjoyed his lunch, he looked around and was surprised to see the marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate.

Christine walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of iced tea before returning to the patio. She watched Jim as he was customizing his sandwich, then she grabbed an apple from the counter. "How was your fishing trip, Captain?" she asked.

"Didn't catch much worth talking about, not enough to make a meal anyway, so we let 'em go. And it's Jim, please. We are on vacation, after all, Christine," Kirk grinned.

"If you say so, Jim," Christine chuckled. "Coming outside?" she inquired. "I'll save you a seat by me," she promised.

"On my way," Jim quickly grabbed his sandwich that he'd wrapped in a napkin and hurried to open the door for Christine. She returned to her side of the double seat lounge chair, while Jim took the other. "By the way, whose idea was it to have S'mores?" he wondered.

Uhura, Annie and Christine all immediately pointed to you. "What? Did you think I was going to let this lovely fire pit go to waste? Besides, I know the secret to roasting the perfect marshmallow," you declared loftily.

"Is that so?" Leonard questioned from the patio doorway. He was wearing a light blue StarFleet Medical T-shirt with charcoal gray sweatpants. His raven hair looked even darker, spiky in places, and still wet from his shower. He strode over and sat down in the chair next to you, then took a sip from his tumbler of bourbon. "And what, pray tell, is the secret to roasting the perfect marshmallow?"

God help me, he is one gorgeous hunk of man, you thought. You closed your eyes and vigorously shook your head. "Nope. Nuh-uh. If you want to know my secret marshmallow roasting technique, you have to find me the sticks for it," you affirmed as you leaned toward him in your chair.

"Deal. And I'll expect a full tutorial with step-by-step instructions, sweetheart," Leonard challenged. He leaned closer to you, close enough for you to see how vibrant his eyes were. The two of you stared at each other for a moment or two longer, during which Leonard's smile stretched into a grin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dinner consisted of burgers and hot dogs on the grill, with Capt. Kirk in charge of the cooking. Annie made a batch of her family's recipe for potato salad, while you opted to make Bourbon Baked Beans. This was not without protest by Dr. McCoy, who insisted that there were much better uses for bourbon than in a pot of beans. His objections were quickly silenced when he sampled a bite and grudgingly accepted your take on the side menu item.

You and Dr. McCoy were on the cleanup crew, with you washing the dishes, while he dried and put them away. Before rejoining the others on the patio, you rummaged through your bag until you found a pair of sleep pants to keep you warm and comfy. You stepped into the bathroom to change, then put your jeans from earlier back in your bag and zipped it.

"Don't you want to put your bag in a room, instead of leaving it out here?" McCoy asked.

"I could, but I should keep my bags nearby, since I'll be sleeping out here on the couch," you replied.

"What? That's ridiculous and probably won't be very comfortable either," he pointed out.

"Ridiculous or not, I'm not going to kick you or anyone out of his room, Dr. McCoy. I'll be all right," you assured him as you continued your preparations for sleep.

Leonard rolled his eyes, then walked over and took the pillow out of your hands. "There's plenty of space in my room with a king-sized bed. And I swear, on my honor as a gentleman, I will not take any unfair advantage," he promised, placing his hand over his heart. Without further comment, he picked up one of your bags. You followed with your other bag down the hall to his room.

But what if I want you to take 'advantage'? you thought, then shook your head. He's just being considerate, making sure I'm comfortable. That's all, you admonished yourself.

"Here we are, sweetheart. Which side of the bed would you like?" Leonard asked.

"Um, I'll take the right side, i-if that's okay," you answered.

"Right side it is," he grinned. After you arranged your toiletries in the ensuite bathroom, you zipped up your bag and placed it in the corner, out of the way. "Shall we?" he asked, holding out his arm for you to take. "As promised, I gathered some sticks for roastin' marshmallows," he remarked, leaning closer to you. "I'm looking forward to learning at the feet of the master," he whispered, his warm breath caressing your ear.

"Then by all means, let's begin the lesson," you replied breathily. You looped your arm through his and the two of you walked into the kitchen and gathered the supplies for the S'mores.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, there you are!" Kirk's voice boomed out as you and Leonard stepped onto the patio. "We were wondering what happened to you two," he smirked and suggestively waggled his eyebrows.

You rolled your eyes at his suggestion. "Not everything is about sex, Jim," you retorted. "But never mind that, it's time to show y'all how to properly roast a marshmallow," you remarked.

Leonard reached over and handed you one of the sticks he had gathered prior to the evening meal. The ends had been perfectly whittled to a point, with the outer bark removed and the tender inner wood exposed. He held out the stick with two marshmallows skewered on the end. "Now, teach me, O Wise One," he grinned.

"Avec plaisir, Monsieur le Docteur," you replied. "Now anyone can 'roast' a marshmallow by putting it into a flame. But, with all that sugar, you end up with a blackened, charcoal mess. And not too tasty, either." You walked around the fire pit, looking for the best heat source for the marshmallows.

Leonard watched intently as you chose the best place to start roasting the marshmallow. You sat near enough to the fire to get the marshmallow to where you wanted it, but not enough to be in any danger. Once you settled in, he knelt down behind you to observe your technique.

"See, the trick is to use the embers. That's where it's hottest, but you're less likely to 'flame out', so to speak," you explained.

From his position, Leonard observed your movements, completely entranced by the concentration and softness in your voice as you continued. He could see a reflection of the flames as they danced in your eyes.

"You kinda have to keep turning it like a rotisserie, so it's even on all sides. That way it all gets golden brown, instead of torched," you added. "A few more turns, et voilà. The perfectly cooked marshmallow," you remarked with a smile.

Leonard brought the end of the stick closer so he could examine them and to see if there were any burnt spots. "Well, I'll be. These have to be the best looking roasted marshmallows I've ever seen," he affirmed.

You carefully slid the marshmallow off of the end and immediately Leonard tried to take it from your fingers. "Ah ah ah, open up Dr. McCoy," you smirked. He stopped trying to poach the sweet treat from you and opened his mouth for you to place it on his tongue. When he broke the delicate crust, it gave way to a melted but not molten center. It also released a groan of appreciation from the good doctor.

"Now that one was perfectly roasted. Color me impressed," McCoy remarked. "Got plans for the other one?" he teased.

You were about to slide the other one off of the stick when Leonard's hand stopped you. "Allow me," he coaxed softly. Out of curiosity, you removed your hand and watched as Leonard removed the other marshmallow from the stick.

Leonard held it out in front of your mouth in invitation. Realizing he wanted to replicate your earlier move, you opened your mouth but closed your eyes. Moments later, you felt the gooey center grace your tongue when you bit down and the golden crust cracked open.

When you opened your eyes, Leonard's face was inches away from yours, his eyes crinkled with amusement. Suddenly it felt like you were the only two people out on that patio, enjoying the evening. He couldn't help the smile on his face, but neither could you resist mirroring his expression. You were just about to reach up to caress his cheek with your hand when you heard someone loudly clearing his throat behind you.

"Uh, if the two of you are done with whatever it is you're doing, how about letting the rest of us in on the fun?" Kirk heckled.

It was in that moment you realized most everyone was engrossed in the scene unfolding between you and Dr. McCoy. Your cheeks became enflamed with embarrassment. You looked down at the nearly full bag of marshmallows and immediately scooped it up. "You're absolutely right, Captain. My apologies for monopolizing the evening," you scrambled to your feet, bag in hand. You dropped it into the captain's lap as you walked by on your way back into the house.

Leonard stood as well, helplessly watching as you bolted for the door to the kitchen. He shook his head in frustration at his best friend's comments. He hoped that they didn't shatter the connection he was feeling with you. As he rushed past, Kirk grabbed his arm. "Bones, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset her," Jim affirmed.

"Yeah, I know Jim. I'm going in to check on her," Leonard assured him. When he walked in, you were standing at the sink, glass of water in your hand. "You okay?" he asked tentatively.

You gave him a smile, but he could tell it didn't reach your eyes. "I'm fine, Leonard. No harm done," you replied softly. "Don't really like being the center of attention," you chuckled nervously. "I think I'm going to turn in. Goodnight," you turned to head down the hallway.

Leonard caught your wrist, stopping you from leaving. "No, wait! Please don't go," he pleaded. "Jim was just being an ass, as usual," he added. After a beat, he tugged on your hand and gestured towards the patio with his head. "C'mon, let's go back out and enjoy the rest of the evening. Please?" he entreated.

You nodded in agreement and saw his shoulders relax in relief, then he held out his arm for you to take. "Thank you, Leonard," you responded as you looped your arm through his. He covered your hand with his own and held it snugly against his side.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When you rejoined your friends, you were surprised to see everyone with a marshmallow-covered stick in their hands. You hovered in the doorway with Leonard, observing the situation. Finally, Scotty noticed that the two of you had returned and beamed at the turn of events. "Aye, lass! Thank goodness you're here! Will ye come over and show me what I'm doin' wrong, because I keep burnin' me marshmallows!" he grumbled.

"I'll be right back," you whispered to Leonard before reaching up and pecking his cheek. You slipped your arm out of Leonard's hold and took a seat next to Scotty. "I would be happy to take you through the steps, Mr. Scott," you replied. "Show me the first thing you're doing."

Jim walked over to where Leonard was still standing, continuing to watch as you interacted with Scotty. "Everything okay, Bones?" he asked.

Not taking his eyes off of you for a second, he replied, "Yeah, Jim, everything's fine. She just got a little flustered I think, with all that attention on her."

The men stood off to the side, watching the events occurring around the campfire. "Scotty is going to drive her crazy with all of his questions," Jim chuckled.

"Nah, he won't. She's a patient woman. Thoughtful, intelligent, has a great sense of humor, beautiful," Leonard whispered the last word. He nearly laughed out loud when he saw how Scotty reacted when he was finally successful with his roasting attempts.

"So when are you going to tell her how you feel about her?" Jim asked.

At this, Leonard's head whipped around, only to be staring into Jim's knowing eyes. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

"You're a smart man, Bones, I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about," Jim countered.

"Okay, so maybe I do, but she probably doesn't feel the same way about me. Hell, she was going to sleep on the couch instead of sharing my room," he retorted.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Kirk persisted. "Maybe she didn't want to presume that you'd want to share your room. But you did talk her out of sleeping on the couch, right?" he wondered.

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Of course I did. And in answer to your earlier question, even if I did have feelings for her....I don't know when or even if I'd tell her. I wouldn't want to lose the friendship we have or the time we spend together. I don't want that to change when I find out that she doesn't care for me the way I care for her," he finished.

Now it was Jim's turn to roll his eyes. Since you and your friends arrived, he and nearly everyone else have been keeping tabs on how you and his best friend have been interacting. He could see that you've been holding back as well, probably with the same concerns as Leonard was having. Time will tell, he thought. "Bones, don't give up hope. I have a feeling that things will work out for the two of you in the end," Jim replied, clapping Leonard on his shoulder before returning to his seat.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As soon as Scotty was finished, you were surprised to see Spock take the seat Scotty had recently vacated. "I am fascinated by your approach to cooking the large mushy sugar pellets by using the sharpened end of a fallen tree branch," he commented. "Where did you learn this technique and how long have you been working to perfect it?"

Leonard felt a twinge of jealousy at how intense your conversation with Spock appeared to be. He knew that Spock was in a relationship, but Leonard wanted your attention for himself, and didn't want to share you. Besides, he'd heard Spock's questions and had to admit he was curious himself about just where you'd acquired your knowledge of the outdoors. So Leonard wandered over and took a seat on the other side of you, parking himself a little closer to you than he was before.

Before continuing, you glanced at Leonard over your shoulder and gave him a smile. Sensing what he was up to, you casually took his hand in yours and rested them both around your mid-thigh. "Oh, I've worked on it for a good many years. My family and I used to go camping on the weekends and Annie used to come with us. Usually we'd pack up and go out whenever school wasn't in session. She's the one who taught me how to roast 'em perfect every time," you smiled pointing to your best friend.

Annie raised her glass to you at the mention of her name. "Damn right I did, Sis," she affirmed.

You laughed and raised your glass in tribute as well. "Then I joined the Academy, so I wasn't going on as many camping trips with my family for long periods of time. I'm a little out of practice," you admitted sheepishly.

"I think you picked it back up without any trouble, sweetheart. In fact, I reckon I'm ready to put your teachings to use and try one of these on my own," Leonard remarked.

While he concentrated on his task of marshmallow roasting, you quietly observed Leonard. At first glance, there was no doubt that he was an attractive, good-looking man. His bright hazel eyes sometimes appeared to hold a bit of mischief. Nonetheless, they drew you in and for some reason, had yet to let you go, not that you wanted him to. And you couldn't get out of your head how supremely kissable his lips looked and how desperate you were to find out.

As the night went on, more marshmallows were roasted, more stories were told, and the closer you and Leonard got to one another. At first it was just sitting next to each other, knees gently touching and holding hands. Before long, your arm was around Leonard's waist with your head on his shoulder. His arm was then around your shoulders, his cheek resting on the crown of your head.

One by one, the couples decided to call it a night, until it was just you and Leonard around the fire. He glanced down to see that you had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and he smiled softly to himself. His heart soared that you felt comfortable enough with him to let your guard down and sleep, and that you let him hold you while doing so.

Leonard grazed his knuckles on your cheek and pressed a lingering kiss to your forehead. "You are so lovely," he whispered. "You have no idea what you do to me, sweetheart, but I'll spend as long as it takes to show you," he murmured.

He kissed your forehead again, which caused you to stir and your eyelids to flutter open. You gave him a sleepy smile then released your hold on Leonard so you could stretch. The fire was nothing more than embers at this point, but they could not be left unattended. As if he read your mind, Leonard moved to douse the fire, while you picked up any loose belongings. There were a few empty drink glasses, which you gathered in one hand and took Leonard's hand in the other.

Back in Leonard's room, you both moved about, completing your nightly routines. You climbed in from the right side and sat on the edge, waiting for Leonard to join you. He slipped into bed on his side and was just about to get comfortable when he saw you looking expectantly at him. "Something wrong, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Um....yes--no, nothing's wrong, but....," you started. His silence was indication enough that he was listening, so you continued. "I thought I should tell you that I sleep pretty close to the middle of the bed, so if you do as well, I wanted to let you know."

"Oookay....I appreciate you letting me know, but it's not a big deal. I pretty much stick to the middle myself, especially in a bed this big," he lightly chuckled.

"Oh. Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, we were pretty comfortable outside, if you wanted to continue that, I would....I would be in favor," you added.

Now he understood, and only barely resisted the urge to laugh out loud. He held out his arms in invitation, and you slipped the rest of the way beneath the blankets. You scooted towards the middle until you were enveloped in Leonard's arms, facing him. "Goodnight, sweetheart," he mumbled then closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Leonard," you replied but did not close your eyes right away. Despite only having been asleep not thirty minutes ago while outside, you didn't drift off right away. You listened for the sound of Leonard's breathing as it evened out. Thinking he was sleeping, your free hand gently brushed the hair from his forehead. "You are such a wonderful man, Leonard McCoy," you whispered. "I wish I could find the courage to tell you what it means to have you in my life. Maybe someday I will, but for now, sweet dreams," you murmured.

Leonard opened one eye and saw that you had finally closed your eyes. He smiled in his sleep, content with the knowledge that you had no idea he heard every word. It only served to strengthen his resolve to finally confess how he feels about you. He closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few days later, everyone decided to go swimming at the lake. One section of it had a man-made beach, with sections marked off for sand volleyball and other beach pursuits. There was a long pier that stretched out into the lake with a wide platform at the end. You, Uhura, Christine and Annie decided to walk out to the end and wait for the guys to arrive.

When you got there, a small group of men were already clowning around in the water. They had to have been in their 20s, but were acting like they were at least 10 years younger than that. They were taking turns racing down the pier and jumping into the water, trying to see who could jump the farthest.

You and your friends collectively rolled your eyes at their antics, and resolved to stay as far away from them as possible. The guys were bringing the chairs, blankets and the coolers with food and drinks inside for a picnic on the beach. You turned to see that they had arrived and were setting things up, so you and your girls started to head back.

The next set of events seemed to happen in a blur. Just as you decided to leave, a shoving match broke out among the 20-somethings. They were shouting at each other about something, and what began as a small disagreement between two of them soon involved the whole group.

As the anger continued to build, the men pushing each other were coming dangerously close to you. One of the men gave the other a final shove, which propelled him into you. It drove you off the side of the pier and into the lake, and you caught a lungful of air in the process.

Leonard looked up in time to see you get knocked off the pier into the water. When you didn't surface right away, he dropped everything, raced down the pier and jumped in to find you. Jim, Spock and Scotty followed down the pier, while Uhura, Christine and Annie waited on the beach, hands over their mouths in shock.

The water was slightly murky, making it a little difficult for Leonard to find you, but his eyes soon locked onto you. He wrapped his arm around you, pulled you to the surface and made his way to the pier. When Leonard reached the platform, Jim and the others helped to bring you up on the deck. Leonard hoisted himself up and crawled over to your side to assess your condition.

Leonard tilted your head to one side to drain any water from your mouth and nose that may have collected there. He tapped your cheek, first one then the other. "Come on sweetheart, I need you to open your eyes for me," he pleaded. He reached for your wrist to feel for a pulse, but didn't find one. "Her lips are blue, she's not getting any air. Hold on for me darlin'," he begged.

He tilted your head back, pinched your nose and breathed into your mouth. Then he started chest compressions, while your friends kept people back and out of the way. "Please love, come back to me," he whispered. After what felt like an eternity, you started coughing up water, so Leonard stopped what he was doing to help you sit up. Everyone around you breathed a sigh of relief that you were going to be okay.

You could feel Leonard's hand as it rubbed circles on your back, trying to calm you down from what had happened. "Thank you," you rasped, your throat raw from coughing up lake water. "For rescuing me," you added.

Leonard's hand went from rubbing your back to cupping your shoulder and drawing you closer, then kissed your temple. "Always, darlin'. Always," he murmured against your skin. "Let's get you up on your feet and onto dry land, hmm?" You nodded in agreement, wanting nothing further to do with the water that day. Leonard helped you to stand, then curled his arm around your waist for support as you walked.

Back on land, you stayed glued to Leonard's side, not wanting to leave the comfort of his arms. For his part, he seemed rather content to keep you close, to be the one to ensure your safety. He was attentive, made sure you had everything you needed. If you didn't, he brought it to you, like snacks or something cold to drink. And even though you mostly stayed in the shade, he insisted on being the one to apply the sunscreen lotion to your body. You couldn't say for sure, but you had an inkling that it was his favorite part of taking care of you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Upon returning to the cabin, everyone split off to their respective rooms to shower and change clothes. Since no one wanted to cook, pizzas and chicken wings were picked up in town, along with any other supplies. The boxes and buckets were placed on the table so that everyone could file through, load a plate, then grab a chair on the patio.

When everyone was finished, you started to put away the leftovers. Jim put an immediate stop to that, saying you had been through enough today, and that he would finish. You told him you would at least stay to keep him company, to which he did not object.

However, it was difficult to carry on a conversation, what with the events of earlier in the day and your feelings about Leonard. While Jim continued to put the leftovers away, he also kept his eye on you, but could tell that yours were completely locked on Leonard. When Jim was done, he walked over to stand behind the dining chair you occupied.

"You love him, don't you?" Jim asked.

"Yes," you rasped. "More than anything. And not just because he saved my life today, which he did, but....I've been in love with him for a long time. Not sure when it started, but I know it'll never end. It's just that we've been friends for even longer than I've loved him and I don't want to lose that. Couldn't bear it if he didn't care for me in the same way I care for him," you finished, a lone tear escaping down your cheek.

"Hey now, don't you worry and definitely don't give up. I have a feeling that things are going to work out for you two in the end. Now, go talk to him. Don't make me use my 'Captain' voice," Jim teased.

"All right, Captain Kirk. I'm headed back outside. You coming?" you asked.

"I will be shortly, just need to do something," Jim promised.

As soon as you stepped through the door to the patio, Leonard's eyes locked to yours and he gave you a heart-stopping smile. He was seated in an oversized chair and beckoned you over. You returned his smile and at first you were going to sit on the arm of the chair, but apparently that wasn't enough. Once you got close to him, Leonard reached up and pulled you sideways onto his lap, wrapping his arms around you.

"Well, this is comfy," you chuckled, then dropped your head on his shoulder. Both of you sighed deeply in content, then laughed because you'd done it at the same time.

"It certainly is," Leonard agreed. "Very comf--hey what's going on? Why is everyone leaving?" he demanded.

"Jim said he was going to set up a movie or a board game or something," Christine answered. "Are you guys in?" she wondered.

"I'm okay right here," you replied. "Len?"

Leonard looked over and noticed that his tumbler of bourbon was empty. "I think I'll pop in and get a refill. You want anything, sugar?" he asked. You shook your head and before he turned towards the kitchen, Leonard threw you a wink and a smile. Christine waited until Leonard had walked past her before flashing you a knowing grin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once inside, Leonard refilled his glass with two fingers of bourbon, then grabbed a bottle of water for you. As he browsed the kitchen, his eyes landed on the container of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies you had made earlier. He grabbed a few and wrapped them in a paper towel before leaving the kitchen.

When Leonard returned to the patio, he noticed that you had disappeared. The sun had already set, but the moon hadn't quite begun to rise, leaving the area in semi-darkness. His eyes frantically scanned the surrounding area until he noticed your lone figure a short distance from the cabin. He quickly set down the drinks and cookies and made a beeline for your position.

You heard Leonard's footsteps as he approached you from the direction of the cabin. During a bit of free time, you had found this place and determined it was perfect to observe the night sky. The weather this evening was exceptional for viewing the stars, which stretched across the inky black canvas like glitter had been spilled on it.

When Leonard had caught up to where you were standing, he picked up your hand in his. "Hey, sweetheart, is everything okay?" he asked.

You nodded and gave him a tender, almost shy smile. "I have always loved stargazing, and this seems to be the perfect spot for it. I know that when we're zooming around in space that stars are all we see, but it's different from this perspective," you remarked.

Leonard reached up with his free hand to cradle your face. "Do you have any idea how special you are to me?" he wondered. You shook your head, so Leonard continued. "After what happened today, I....can't wait any longer to tell you that I'm in love with you," he declared.

You definitely weren't expecting Leonard to say anything like that. But you had to wonder if it was the truth or an aftereffect of the day's events. "Len, are you sure about this? Maybe you're feeling this way because today was one of those intense, near-death experiences. Or you feel a sense of obligation, or--" you were cut off.

"Darlin', I swear I've loved you long before today. All those late-night talks we've had? That was me falling in love with you little by little until I finally admitted it to myself. I just didn't know how to tell you until now, and I didn't want to let another second pass by without telling you," he affirmed.

"Oh, Leonard," you whispered, tears forming in your eyes. "Someone once told me that you should fall in love with your best friend. There's no one else I'd rather love for the rest of my life than you, my best friend. I trust you with all of my hopes, my dreams....my heart. I love you, Leonard McCoy," you confessed.

Leonard dipped his head lower to yours while you stretched up on your toes to close the gap between you. As soon as your lips met, the butterflies in your stomach seemed to all take flight at once. You slid your hand up Leonard's chest and could feel his racing heartbeat when you rested your palm over it.

It was everything a first kiss should be. Velvety lips moving with each other, exploring different pressures. You peppering kisses across Leonard's face, or him latching on to one particular spot and leaving his mark on your neck. It was the culmination of so much time spent falling in love and finally feeling confident enough to declare it.

"That was amazing," you managed to say while trying to catch your breath. "You're really really good at that, you know," you added.

"Well, you're pretty amazing in that department as well. And just wait until I show you what else I'm really really good at," Leonard smirked.

"Is that so?" you asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Yep," Leonard replied. He reached down and scooped you up in his arms, causing you to shriek with laughter. He spun you around a couple of times before putting your feet back on the ground. "I love you, sweetheart," he murmured.

"I love you too, Len," you returned. You reached down and took his hand, intertwining your fingers with his as you strolled back to the cabin. When you had covered about half the distance to the cabin, you started to walk a little faster, tugging on Leonard's hand and giggling.

"Is there some reason you're in a hurry to get back, sweetheart?" he asked, hands on hips and one eyebrow raised.

You stopped to let him catch up, then you slid your hand up his chest to rest on his shoulder. "The sooner we get back, then we can be alone together....and you can show me those other things you're really, really good at," you purred.

Leonard raised his head in realization that you had a valid point. "Race you back," he taunted.

Before he could take off running, you pulled him in for a passionate, lingering kiss. As soon as you broke apart, you called, "Ready, Set, GO!!" and sprinted away.

Leonard's quick reflexes and long strides meant he easily caught up to you. He grabbed you from behind, eliciting a shriek of surprise, and held your back close to his chest. "You little minx, I wasn't ready," he growled, trying to catch his breath.

"M'sorry, Len," you pouted.

He reached up and smoothed your hair away from your forehead and tucked the strands behind your ear. "Aw, sugar, I could never be upset with you for long. Let's get to our room so we can move on to those other things you mentioned," he replied huskily. He caught your hand in his and kissed the back of it.

Back at the cabin, Uhura was standing at the sink, drinking a glass of water. She was staring out the window at you and Leonard, and smiled when she saw the two of you kissing.

Spock wandered in to the room, in search of his ashayam. "Here you are," he murmured, sliding up behind her and placing a delicate kiss to her exposed shoulder. His eyes followed hers, also witnessing the moments unfolding between you and Leonard. "They seem to be getting along well," Spock remarked.

"Mmm hmm, about damn time, too," Uhura agreed. "Good thing our plans at the resort got cancelled at the last minute, or we wouldn't have had the opportunity to come up here," she replied.

"Exactly, as I explained to the clerk at the resort--" Spock began but was interrupted.

Uhura's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a minute, that was YOU?!? You cancelled our plans?" she asked.

"Of course. How else would you have had an opportunity to bring her and Dr. McCoy together so that they could express their feelings for one another?" Spock questioned.

At that moment, you and Dr. McCoy stumbled through the patio door. You were laughing and Leonard was wrapped around you from behind, nuzzling into your neck and softly growling.

"And just what have the two of you been up to?" Uhura challenged, the corners of her mouth twitching in amusement. Spock stood next to her, his arms folded across his chest, trying to look stern.

You and Leonard caught each other's gaze then turned around to face Spock and Uhura. "Nothing," you answered simultaneously then burst out into laughter. "C'mon, let's go," you whispered. "Goodnight!" you called over your shoulder. You caught Leonard's hand and pulled him down the hallway with you, giggling all the way to your room.

Vulcan Translations:

ashayam: beloved, a beloved person

ashalik: darling; beloved

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @marvelouslytrekking @spacedancer1701 @anna-phora @hailbop1701 @writercole @lassie-bird @huffle-pissed @phoenixisred @deangirl93

#leonard mccoy x reader #leonard bones mccoy x reader #bones mccoy x reader #bones x reader #star trek aos

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mejomonster · 5 months

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All that to say ToT

1 i am juggling writing like 4 original stories right now, most with extensive outlines, and sequels outlined, so while ive got creative freedom to ADD and flesh out these stories i am also viscerally aware that every vague part of my outline is a risk to possibly veer off course and i LIKE the sequel plans so i do not want to have to change Their outlines drastically

And 2 i am contemplating finishing my old spirk fic What will they find when i am ripped apart. I have the next chapter outline. I have read my outline. Rip i decided to add pon farr to an already complicated story. Rip i decided to add Uhura/T'pring. Rip i decided to add T'pring at all, life would be easier had i mininized the cast lol. And of course. Im already juggling a Episode level A plot/B plot structure that is sort of like the DS9 episode structures, one part big political Fairies and Vulcans and the Federation and the Enrerprise as mediator, another part Spock and Kirk fwb and Chapel/Uhura/McCoy friends (or more?). And like. I remember. When i started that fic. It was meant to be pwp! Or porn with feelings rather. Point is somehow each chapter qent from 15 pages pwp to 50% p with considerahle emotional plot, and 50% big b plot, and those were some big fucking chapters. Upside is i love how i wrote. Downside is What was my mind thinking like did it KNOW did it KNOW it was planning such a LONG story why do i tend to plan such long stories

3 good bad news. I calculated if ill finish my original draft by january 1 and calculator said... if i write 9500 words a day. Upside is it said at my current rate of 2000 words a day, i will finish by January 15. So i wont pass my deadline a horrific amount. Bets are still up for if i somehow finish it by jan 1 or not. Cause of how focused i can get... i think theres still a good 70% chance i finish by then... i suspect i will hit my 60,000 word goal somehow. But i have a fear i will turn this story into a 120,000 word beast tbh. Meaning even if i hit the word count goal... the draft might not be finished -.- we will see

4 id really like to get back to writing some fanfic so like. Thats my reward if i get a draft done ToT

#rant #mejo writing #since last week all i been doing is writing and reading star trek fanfic #which. i guess my goal was to read and write for december so yay #i managed yo

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blysse-and-blunder · 2 years

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in lieu of a commonplace book: may retrospective

what's up ladles and germs, i spent the month of may out of town and jumping in and out of wifi coverage, so this post is has been a long time coming!

reading brought rebecca roanhorse's black sun with me on this trip, started and finished the whole thing on various trains in france. loved the main four pov characters, didn't quite get into it until after the first third or so, but all of the details and worldbuilding were terrific. i can never get enough of a third-party perspective on a character, so seeing serapio through xiala's narration was *chef's kiss* and helped me care so much more about him than his own pov, actually. i wasn't at all convinced by the flash-forward / flash-back introduction of naranpa's situation initially (the conversation she remembers with her parents just felt stilted), but doggone it by the time we came full circle and i saw how the dramatic irony was working, i was onboard. got a kick out of trying to place the different cites around the 'crescent sea' aka gulf, which may not have been correct but was fun.excited to see book two.

honorable mention in this section to the paying guests, sarah waters, which i bought from a charity shop for £2 while visiting bath UK (also at that charity shop: a set of porcelain egg cups!!). how different life might have been if i'd been able to read sarah waters younger in life.

listening downloaded to my phone for train rides, metro rides, walks across the countryside of different countries, etc.: florence + the machine's dance fever (2022) and the eurovision 2022 playlist. i don't have developed dance fever thoughts (except that...the aesthetic for the videos/album art feels more cohesive and possibly more successful than the album? but i did like it?) but i thoroughly enjoy 'free' and 'daffodil', and there are times when 'cassandra' really does hit. apparently she worked with jack antonoff on this album; things i learned while researching this post. i wasn't swayed by the spoken moments, all that much, but 'heaven is here' is somehow captivating? 'king' remains the standout; i do in fact need my bloody sword etc.

my eurovision thoughts are that everyone should go watch the performances by serbia (konstrakta, 'in corpore sano') and norway (subwoolfer, 'give that wolf a banana'), like, right now. watch them again if you saw them live. also here's a look at the lyrics and message of 'in corpore sano,' which, yes. and my other thought is that, this year, i actually might go out and listen to the other works by a bunch of these eurovision artists, which i realize is?? probably the actual goal of the contest???

watching finished our flag means death in my buddy's hotel room in london, watched the majority of my brilliant friend: those who leave and those who stay in various hostels with @hematiterings (series thoughts in the next post!), and tried to keep up with strange new worlds when we could. this version of spock entertains me. ofmd was good, i had managed not to be spoiled for the ending.not sure i can find a comment or common thread for these three, but, shows with friends = good. especially when you're footsore and far from home. actually i do have something, showing new trek / uhura to a nontrekkie linguistics person was hilarious.

playing fallow month.

making i may not bullet journal, but i sure did accumulate a stack of interesting things to stick into a hypothetical future scrapbook of some kind. and stickers! I made some good food the week i spent in maine (lots of chicken, an eggplant stir fry that i did have to throw out when i broke the container and got glass in the leftovers, absolutely tragic)

working on this month was the month of Archives Visits so what i made were reservations and emails and notes and pictures of manuscripts. turned out okay though :D EDIT: totally forgot but while traveling i did a zoom interview for, and then found out i had gotten, a small fellowship at my institution for next year. please clap!

#up next: iclb for the first two weeks of june #in lieu of a commonplace book #weekly roundup #monthly roundup #if we’re being precise in our definition of ‘weekly’ lmao #quarterly roundup #idk man i just work here #ilcb

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commander-quack-to-the-bridge · 2 years

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So I had a Star Trek related dream last night that I honestly feel would make a really interesting story. (Maybe once I catch up on some of my other WIPs I'll do something with it!)

I've read a couple fics from different fandoms that I'm sure helped trigger the dream where certain characters get trapped in a time loop until they are some how able to fix whatever it is the universe has decided is wrong with the timeline they are in. I feel like some of my previous posts here have made it pretty clear that I don't love the amount of shit that they threw on Spock in the AOS.

That was the premise for the dream. The Romulan's destroyed Vulcan and immediately the timeline was screwed up. It wasn't the way that things were meant to happen. Spock was the one that got caught in the time loop to fix it. By the end of it I'm fairly certain that he was of the mindset that the universe was also trying to teach him a lesson about his emotional side not being a weakness, but just another tool that he can use to help him in life. It was crazy.

I don't recall exactly what role I was playing, if I was a character from the series or if I was just some random ass redshirt that became aware of what was going on, but I ended up helping him???

The thing about the loop was that it only reset once Spock died. Everyone else could die. But if he kept living, that round kept going. It wasn't great, there were a few times that he almost saved Vulcan but then in the last second it still got destroyed. It took some time but he was able to figure out that was the primary focus, the goal, if you will.

There are a lot of little details that I can still see in the back of my mind. Unfortunately, as is typical with dreams, I forgot a lot of it once I woke up. I jotted as much down in my notes on my phone as I could but I was half asleep and some of it just made no sense. But, there was one part that I remember where, when the loop reset, that everything was wrong. We weren't reset back to Spock walking with Kirk, Olson, Sulu, and Captain Pike as Pike goes over the plan before going over to the Narada. It was almost like another world entirely? Spock began to theorize that maybe there was a limit to the number of times it would reset before it created a paradox and that entire reality just collapsed, unable to sustain the constant changes that were being made in it.

I woke up when all of the versions of him that had "died" when the loop restarted were attacking us. Somehow Uhura got there (and had gained knowledge of what was happening to him) and Spock had to fight off different versions of himself to protect Uhura because we didn't know if she would come back with us if the timeline reset again. His learning the truth completely altered all of the information that Spock had gathered so far.

It was my dream but I don't understand exactly what that last part was. Maybe a plot twist where we accidentally ended the world. Perhaps an elaborate plan to make Spock suffer even more, having to watch his planet get destroyed repeatedly, watching his friends die time and time again, all put together by Nero.

All I know for sure is that it was wild. And has potential for a good fic. I personally love the time loop trope so...who knows?

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vulcanistic-tendencies · 1 year

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S1E2 Charlie X: "To The Victor"

As her grandfather was often fond of observing, Janice was a go-getter. She had very little trouble deciding what she wanted, how she wanted it, and what she needed to do in order to make it hers. It made her a formidable adversary in most strategy games and team sports, to say nothing of the rare occasions when someone or something tried to interfere with her career goals.

It didn’t do much for her love life, though.

See, Janice was pretty. She didn’t mind that – in fact she worked very hard each morning to apply her makeup and to press and arrange her hair just so to match the latest fashion. She enjoyed looking good, and any extra effort it took was simply worth it.

But looking good meant being chased, being sought, being fawned and fought over. It meant leers and lewd gestures and lewder comments made just within earshot. It made her into a prize to be won.

Well, Janice was no one’s fucking prize, and if anyone was going to be winning anything, it was her.

Enter Lieutenant Nyota Uhura.

When Janice had been assigned to the Enterprise as Captain Kirk’s person yeoman, she was less than thrilled. She’d had her fair share of unwanted suitors of every class and gender, but in her experience, high-ranking men tended to be the worst.

It came as a pleasant surprise, therefore, when Kirk turned out to be friendly, charismatic, and unfailingly professional both on and off the bridge. His gaze and touch were never anything but completely appropriate and respectful. Beyond that, he had a presence about him that could instantly set everyone at ease. Honestly, if he hadn’t been extremely off-limits due to their respective ranks and positions aboard the ship, Janice may have been tempted to test some decidedly less-than-platonic waters with him.

Ah, well. Maybe in another life.

Kirk’s command crew was fairly easy to work with as well. Granted, First Officer Spock could often be blunt to the point of rudeness, and Chief Medical Officer McCoy was something of a serial flirt, but on the whole they were harmless. Janice even found herself becoming fast friends with Lieutenant Sulu, who shared her sardonic sense of humor and took a genuine interest in her painting hobby after catching her hard at work in an empty rec room during her second week. (She did her best to reciprocate by showing interest in his botany projects, though in truth some of the more mobile specimens were…unnerving to her.)

Then, there was Nyota.

If Janice was pretty, Nyota was gorgeous. There was a softness to her features, an almost ethereal kind of beauty that was only enhanced by the gentle grace with which she moved. Her smiles were wide and bright, her voice smooth and musical whenever she spoke. And when she sang…

Well. Janice normally wasn’t one to wax poetic, and maybe that was for the best because Nyota Uhura was certainly not in need of any poetry. She supplied all of it quite skillfully herself.

Perhaps that was what Janice found so intimidating. Nyota was a woman self-possessed; by no means just a beauty, she was also sharp as a tack, fleet of foot and wit, and surprisingly – dangerously – mischievous when the mood struck her.

She was the first person Janice had ever encountered who truly gave her pause. Not because she wasn’t sure what she wanted when it came to Nyota, but because she wasn’t sure what she could have.

Enter Charlie Evans.

What struck Janice the most about Charlie was his sincerity. He was awkward, sure, and clearly a little out of his depth when it came to understanding and adjusting to the culture of the Enterprise, but who could blame him? His life up to that point had been a blank slate – totally unburdened by social rules and customs – and as such his actions and words bore an honesty that was as refreshing as it was unnerving.

He was sweet. Genuine. A good kid. All he really needed was some guidance.

Just not from Janice.

The very moment they met, she could tell she was going to have trouble with him. His eyes – wide and bright and ever so confused – landed on her like the glowing light of a meteorite on a collision course. She knew those eyes. She knew very well what they meant.

She also knew that she was unequivocally the worst possible person for him to hitch his poor naïve adolescent wagon to. Sure, Janice was nice – she was polite and professional and friendly, but she wasn’t…gentle. She wasn’t sweet or tender or patient. Not like Kirk could be.

Not like Nyota was.

She tried, of course. She tried to be soft for Charlie. She tried to ignore the weight of his eyes on her. It didn’t work. The meteorite still came. It still careened right into them with the sharp sound of a palm hitting flesh.

And then, Janice simply wasn’t.

Reenter Yeoman Janice Rand.

She didn’t talk about Charlie after everything was over with. She wrote her report, because that was her job, and she submitted to a brief psych eval, because that was Dr. McCoy’s job, and that was that.

From what she could tell, Kirk and the others who had been present for Charlie’s departure were of a similar mind. Better not to dwell.

And yet…

And yet Janice could not keep the image of Charlie’s wide, earnest eyes out of her head. The simple, terrible truth he spoke so plainly to her.

(“You can understand, can’t you? You know about being with somebody? Wanting to be?”)

Yes, Janice did. She did, and yet for the first time in her life, fear and doubt had kept her frozen in place.

Well, no more of that.

She found Nyota alone on the observation deck, watching the stars and humming softly to herself. Despite her new resolve, Janice hesitated in the doorway.

Charlie had been alone for too long. He didn’t know how to work around the needs of others, how to cope with rejection when it came. Janice – well, she didn’t like rejection, but far better that than this hopeless pining she was doing now. Life was just too damn short to waste time like that.

And so, Janice went to go get her.

#op:ficpost #s1e2 charlie x #star trek tos #janice rand #nyota uhura #charlie evans #bisexual janice rand #holy shit guys #the idea for this came easy but after the first like page it fought me HARD #anyway as you can tell I subscribe to the sims' logic of sexuality when it comes to star trek #which is to say that no one really talks about it because it's the 23rd century and everyone's just kind of vaguely bi/pan #listen just let me dream okay #so yeah I really liked this episode and I also really liked the rec room scene with spock and uhura and janice #so i thought I'd play around with the idea of janice being a little bit in love with uhura and how charlie's story intersects that #star trek

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no-te-lo-voy-a-dar · 1 year

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Star Trek TOS S1 Ep 01 The Man Trap

there is so much happening in The Man Trap i feel so confused but delighted - imagine u watched the Pilot and then suddenly the next episode EVERYONE but Mr. Spock are different. the whole crew is and you have no idea why but okay then i guess?? and then you have Captain Kirk sitting looking all smug and pretty while his ship surgeon is doing some routine examination

THEN we go back to the ship and Spock is being attempted to be engaged in talk by Lieutenant Uhura (flirting? pretty sure it was an attempt at trying to flirt) and while Spock clearly understands the goal Uhura has he keeps his speech formal and "logical" but then gets clearly confused by the implication of Vulcan having a moon because it doesn't??? wha-??? THEN she goes to immediately be baffled by Spock's lack of response to the announcement or one death from the landing party because "Captain Kirk could be dead and he's the closest thing to a friend you have!" like I'm 😀😀😀

THEN i see how different Doctor McCoy's and Kirk's dynamic is here? where Doctor McCoy was actually being scolded/admonished by Kirk because as a captain he has dead men now and I'm reminded these guys are in their late thirties - or that's the conclusion i reached

more things happen and i get to see the botany lab and Sulu is there and there's a sentient plant that's obviously a hand with a glove and more things and it's hilariously endearing be at it's the 60's but it's charming

momentary angry moment at the subtitles saying [foreign language speaking] or something but :)))

THEN Kirk and Spock are beamed down and working together and Captain Kirk runs in a silly little zig-zag and Spock scoots over, close to Kirk and then scoots back and Kirk crawls over to a rock and 😭 these are grown men why are they being adorable to me????

then there's a whole mess on board of the ship and then they have a talk about someone being the last of their species and I'm thinking of the movies and while Spock is not the last it still tugs at my brain and then Spock is injured and Kirk runs to the medbay to check on him and it's the first time we see his blood is green but I'm being distracted by Spock's eyelid makeup i have no shame

then Kirk tries to get rid of "the crªture" while in McCoy's room and offering it some salt that looks like paracetamol tablets and calling it like it's a dog AGFHSHFHSHFHS "come on Nancy, come and get it!" while the Doctor is In Distress™ AND THEN Spock shows up and it's all "!!!! ITS KILLING THE CAPTAIN SHOOT IT!!!!" and just tossing himself between Kirk and "Nancy" and when McCoy says he won't shoot Nancy Spock starts to go HAM at it by punching it several times like "SEE?!?!" and then he gets yeeted across the room and is just slumped there and then Kirk is screaming in pain and McCoy finally shoots it

THEN we get to the bridge and when Sulu calls for the Captain and he doesn't react he looks at Spock and Spock goes to talk to Kirk and I'm like 🤨? but then Kirk is "thinking about the buffalo" and km wondering about Tarsus IV because he's been in a position where it was just to survive and being the only ones, right? and then the episode ends :D and the credits have scenes from the Pilot episode for some reason

#im going insane already #star trek tos #star trek tos s1 ep01 #gaal talks #gabe watches star trek

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noodledragonoverloard · 7 years

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The Stars are Red

A/N: Um, I don’t really know what all to put here. This is the first time I’ve really written something and posted it, so don’t expect anything spectacular. If you don’t want to read it, you don’t have to. I basically wrote this as a wedding present for @impalaanddemons , but the words wouldn’t work. So yea.

Pairing: Scotty/ reader (crush, not full fledged)

Warnings: inexperienced writer (intense shrug), possible cringe fest

Prompt: Star Trek crew listen/ sing sea chanties (no idea how to link things, sorry)

Summary: Uhura sneaks into your room while you’re writing and ‘confronts’ you about it. (The song is called The Lighthouse by Birdeatsbaby [weird name ikr]. There isn’t any karaoke version, but basically I based the pitch and mood of the lyrics off of her.)

The soft scratching of pen on paper filled your room, the flowing words occupying your mind as you placed them into the archaic medium as you sat at your desk. If anyone confronted you about it, you would vehemently deny it’s existence. These words were yours to keep, not anyone else’s. They were your release. Your freedom from the past.

It’s been a week since crashing on Altamed and the run in with Krall, both of which you could’ve done without. Most of the crew kept bombarding you and the rest of the main crew that were forced to remember what horrors they had to endure. For some, like the captain and his friends, those experiences have now grown into a list. A list that will always haunt them, that much had been made crystal clear.

Being a close friend with Uhura during both of your cadet days, you had been introduced to Kirk, Bones, Spock and the rest of the main contributors to keeping the ship in mint condition; including your neighbor Scotty. Throughout the five year mission you’ve caught on to a few key indicators for everybody, and things have begun to spiral down for everyone. Jim had recently began to join Bones and Scotty at the bar, attempting to quell his sorrows in the liquid inhibitors the vast galaxies had to offer. Spock and Uhura took to music and literature, allowing themselves to lose themselves in other’s pain to mask their own, even if they denied its existence. Chekov found it the best to transfer to another ship, one that held his girlfriend, much to everyone's surprise. It also was now common to see Sulu video chatting Ben and Demora on his breaks, much to everyone’s poorly hidden pleasure.

Forcing yourself back on track, you pick up the pen once again, allowing the lines to ease and ebb alongside the notes filling your mind. This was your coping mechanism. Writing music. It had always been something you had a knack for, but you could never push yourself to perform them, much to your parents’ dismay. You made sure to keep the old fashioned pocket sized notebook safely hidden on your person. Knowing how the crew acts, it wouldn’t surprise you if they tried to sneak in your room to play a prank. Heavens know know many times Jim has done that to poor Bones and Sulu already.

Loe and behold, irony has decided to strike as Uhura, somehow, someway, snuck into your room and snatched up your notebook as soon as you finished the last conjoined word and note. Jumping from your seat out of fear and rage, you raced after Uhura. Taking drastic measures, you snatched a pillow from the couch, chucking it with enough accuracy to close the door to the halls. Not taking this new variable into account, Uhura met the metal with a resounding thunk, cutting off her laughter short.

“Uhura!!!” You belted out, not caring if anyone heard you lay a verbal beat down on your friend, “What the heck?! Why’d you sneak up on me?”

With a muffled groan, Uhura gently gathered herself, more than a little wobbly from the head on collision. Momentarily feeling a sense of sympathy in her pain, you stabilized the hazel skinned woman as you guided her towards the couch. Once she was seated, you took the the notebook from her hands and placed it on the table as you searched the replicator’s database for an ice pack option.

“I didn’t try to sneak up on you.” She began, pausing long enough to reach across the table to retrieve the book again, flipping through it behind your back as she continued, “I’d been trying to get in for a few minutes before I gave up and asked Scotty to go through his room to get to you. The bathroom door was unlocked, by the way. You might want to fix that, or don’t, it’s completely up to you.”

You weren’t an idiot. You knew what she was implying all too well. She knew you had a crush as soon as you laid your eyes on the Scottish man during his unique appearance during the Nero incident and was far from done teasing you about it.

Thankfully your blush was hidden from her sight, forcing yourself to focus harder to find the elusive ice pack as you quipped, “ Don’t make me reconsider whooping you to kingdom come. You’re severely tempting me.”

“Fine. Fine, I’ll stop.” was all you could make out through her laughter.

Gracing her a view of your now blush-free face, you deadpanned in retaliation. “If you’re going to lie to someone, do make it convincing. That was just pitiful.”

With a melancholy sigh, she retorted back jokingly, “I know. It wasn’t my best work. Though these are really good, though I can’t really tell what it is.” Brandishing the scribbled in notebook in the air, opened at the last page you wrote in.

Groaning softly, you placed yourself next to her as the two of you traded the items in your hands. Gazing down at the ink filled papers staring back at you, attempting to gather both the will and the correct words to explain.

“You remember in history class when they did that unit about how, in the past, we used to sail with wind power and cloth sails?” With her hesitant nod, you continued, “Well, I decided to look up some more information about it, and I found some pretty interesting things. They used to shift the direction they were going by shifting the cloth with ropes and rudders, This took a lot of people working in time with each other to work correctly. To keep pace with each other, they made songs to sing, called sea chanties, together so that they would all be in pace or to just ease away boredom.”

Chuckling softly, you lifted the book a bit as you explained quietly, “These are some shanties I wrote. Some are happy. Some, not so much.”

“Sing one.”

Reeling back in shock, you stuttered out, “E-excuse me?!?”

“You heard me,” Uhura deadpanned in retaliation, “Sing the one you finished writing. It was really good. Besides, I’ve never heard you sing before. You’ve made me curious.”

Vehemently shaking your head, you managed to get out, “No you don’t. I suck at singing.”

“Then let me be the judge of that, then.” The woman emphasized with a nonchalant shrug, clearly not going to relent.

Taking a deep breath, you arose, walking over to your personal datapad. After typing in a few words and phrases, the speakers sung out the notes of a piano, filling the room with a sense of grief. Returning back to the couch, you picked up the notebook with shaky hands, nervously letting out the first few lines.

Seventy clicks to the station we limped

on the morning after the night before

Losing yourself in the mixture of your emotions and the music, you forgot that you weren’t alone. Your voice grew louder as you began to savor the notes you sang, falling into a steady beat.

Seventy minutes to safety

her hull like Titanic, it’s more than i can bear

Drawing out the last syllable, you allowed your voice to strengthen, funneling in the anger you felt for Krall and all he made you and your friends endure.

How we heard

of galaxies vast

We’ll make it bend We’ll hunt for truth The words seemingly left your mouth hypnotically, verbal punches of pain cloaked in mock sweetness. And how we fought We fought for days But no one came To save us

But our faith will protect us

You no longer listened to the piano, lost in the words and emotions spilled on the pages before you. You fought your voice into submission, whispering out the last line, before picking up again for the anticipated high.

All these times we were warned by each other The danger. Temptation We guide you home now You lowered your head solemnly, forcing yourself to remember all the people that had died or left over the years, even though they had been warned.

Our many brothers are sailing and clawing through the cosmos We’re praying this finds you well Dragging out the last word, you repeated the chorus again, preparing your voice for the upcoming strain.

Oh how we heard Of galaxies vast We’ll make them bend

We’ll hunt for truth

You began to drag out the words, letting your voice grow and grow, letting your sorrow and anger out through the notes. We’ll hunt for truth And how we fought We fought for days But no one came To save us

The crescendo had come. Lifting your voice the the highest notes your voice could handle, the words sounded almost ethereal, whisping throughout the room.

And oh

Can you live this one out

to the stars

And everything that we have lost

Figuring out

How to boldly go forward again

Allowing yourself to come down from the emotional high, you looked down at the page again, only one line remaining. The phrase that you had written at the top, choosing to call it by. Taking a deep breath, you softly sang out.

The stars are red

Uhura’s enthusiastic clapping broke you from your stupor. Now realizing how lost you got in yourself, you blushed a deep crimson, lowering your head in embarrassment. In response to your actions, she only laughed at how deep of a red you became.

With a few minutes of vehement assurance that it wasn’t bad, Uhura went back to her room in a rush,claiming to be tired after a long shift. Deciding not to think too much into it you followed her lead and headed to bed, wanting to get a decent amount of rest before your next shift.

Looking back, about a week later, you should’ve known something was up. Because, here you were, at your station, listening to your voice being played over the ship wide speakers as you were docking. Realising that a certain scotsman could hear, you let out a low groan. With a deep sigh, you took out your personal datapad again, opening the text section. Finding Uhura’s name, there was only two words spelt out.

‘You’re dead.’

#Star Trek #Reader/ Scotty #Uhura is friend goals #Present #@impalaanddemons

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fireinmywoods · 3 years

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Man, do y’all ever think about how Leonard could have just......NOT done this?

I’m not talking about “smuggling his emotional support maniac onto a battle-ready starship in flagrant defiance of rules, regulations, and basic professionalism,” because he very obviously could not have not done THAT.

No, I guess what I’m asking is why he actually had to drug Jim. From the time he administers the vaccine right up until Jim finally Yakety Saxes his way onto the bridge with Leonard and Uhura in hot pursuit, we barely see anyone else even glance Jim’s way despite the fact that he is acting a whole-ass fool, and we certainly don’t see anyone questioning, scanning, or otherwise assessing him. The medbay staff Do Not See It when Leonard knocks him out and lets him fall backward to crack his head open on that hard-ass biobed, and if anyone notices Jim’s sausage hands blowing up while he’s unconscious, they apparently conclude that it’s a big old helping of somebody else’s problem. (Real top-notch patient care there, Starfleet. Thank goodness you sacrificed every notion of privacy and confidentiality in your medbay design presumably with the goal of making it easier to keep an eye on all your patients at once!)

Hell, even the poor schmuck pictured above who gets mean girled by Leonard outside the shuttle pretty much just takes his word for it that Jim is genuinely sick. (And, for that matter, that Leonard is his attending physician.)

Call me crazy, but you know what else might have worked? “Hey, Jim, act like you’re sick so I can get you onto the ship. Yeah, sure, what the hell - get weird with it.” Kinda seems like this would have accomplished the exact same thing Leonard wanted without violating patient agency, risking an adverse reaction, or misusing Starfleet pharmaceutical supplies, and as an added bonus it would’ve kept Jim lucid and ready for action should the need arise, which it almost certainly would, since they were - sorry, what was it exactly that you said to this poor dude just trying to do his job, Lenny boy? Warping into a crisis? Yeah, feels like that would be a good time to NOT have anyone unnecessarily incapacitated.

But then again, we’re talking about the same guy who went through a bad divorce and decided the only reasonable course of action available to him was to DIE HORRIBLY IN SPACE. So naturally when he’s faced with this new dilemma, he’s like: “Hmm. What’s the most absolute ratfuck crazy way to go about this.” Sure there are other options, but where’s the DRAMA. How is the world supposed to understand that this is a watershed moment in his emotional journey if he doesn’t raze his whole goddamn life to the ground, you feel me? I mean really blow that shit to kingdom come. You know, the way all normal well-adjusted adults constructively process emotional duress! What, like he’s supposed to take literally five seconds to weigh the likely consequences of the options available to him and choose the one with the highest anticipated payoff and minimal risks? Please. As if you’ve never impulsively poisoned, abducted, and almost accidentally killed your best friend while probably torpedoing your own nascent career and breaking, like, SO many laws. Grow up.

#how did this man convince fandom for so long that he's the reasonable one tragically burdened by the stunts & capers of his reckless peers #you FOOLS #he's been wild as hell from the beginning right out in front of god and everyone #as an immensely wise woman once said: when someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.#he's BEEN showing us #believe him!!!!!!#mccoy #my god i love him so #kirk #mckirk #otp: bedside manner #star trek #aos #q

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brilliantlycute · 3 years

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My favourite Star Trek quotes:

In honour of Star Trek`s 55th birthday:

“This vessel... I give, she takes. She won`t permit me my life, I`ve got to live hers.” - James T. Kirk

“I have been, and always shall be your friend.” - Spock

“You treat her like a lady... and She`ll always bring you home.” - Leonard McCoy

“I`ll have him eating out of my hand, and I`ll meet you at the rendezvous point. Oh! and Admiral: all my hopes.” - Nyota Uhura

“WHATTAYA STANDING AROUND FOR! Ye not know a jailbreak when ye SEE one???” - Montgomery Scott

“Those two men on trial I served with them for a long time. I owe them my life a dozen times over. (...) they`re in trouble and I`m going to help them; regulations be damned.” - Hikaru Sulu

“We are on an enemy wessel; I do not wish to get shot down on the way to our own funeral.” - Pavel Chekov

"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” - Jean Luc Picard

“Fate protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise.” - William T. Riker

“Confidence is faith in oneself. It can`t be easily be given by another.” - Deanna Troi

“It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are. It does not matter that we will never reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards.” - Data

“You know, I`ve never seen a sunrise... at least, not the way you see them.” - Geordi La Forge

“Perhaps today is a good day to die! Prepare for ramming speed!” - Worf

“If there is nothing wrong with me, maybe there`s something wrong with the universe.” - Beverly Crusher

“When a man is convinced he`s going to die tomorrow, he`ll probably find a way to make it happen.” - Guinan

“That is the exploration that awaits you: Not mapping stars and studying nebula, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence.” - Q

“The most profound discoveries are not necessarily beyond that next star. They`re within us, woven into the threads that bind us, all of us, to each other.” - Jonathan Archer

“You think that the loss of a colleague or a friend doesn`t affect us? It does, but if we give in to those emotions, they overwhelm us. You`re the ones to be envied.” - T `pol

“You can all go straight to Hell!” - Charles ´Trip` Tucker III

“Deception and surprise can be just as potent as brute force.” - Malcolm Reed

“It took a while, but I finally found my space legs.” - Hoshi Sato

“If you`re going to try to embrace new worlds, you must try to embrace new ideas.” - Phlox

“I lived on Earth for more than thirty years (...) I developed an affinity for your world and its people.” - Soval

“The real world doesn`t always adhere to logic: Sometimes down is up, sometimes up is down, and sometimes when you`re lost, you`re found.” - Michael Burnham

“I saw hope, in the stars. It was stronger than fear. And I went towards it.” - Saru

“At the quantum level, there is no difference between biology and physics (...) spores. What are they? (...) They are the building blocks of energy across the universe. Physics and biology? No; physics as biology.” - Paul Stamets

“It`s never good-bye (...) Nothing in here is truly gone. I believe in you, Paul. I love you. Follow the music, Paul. Look for the clearing in the forest. Open your eyes.” - Hugh Culber

“When people who are supposed to care about you don`t listen to you, it`s frightening and it`s lonely, and it makes you feel like you are crazy or like you`re like not even there. I get that.” - Sylvia Tilly

“Battle is not a simulation. It`s blood and screams and funerals. We don`t start shooting on a hunch. And we don`t take innocent lives, period.” - Capt. Philippa Georgiou

“It`s going to hurt. And I`d like to hear you scream, now.” - Emperor Philippa Georgiou

“Be bold. Be brave. Be courageous. Black Alert.” - Christopher Pike

#star trek #star trek day #star trek 55th year aniversary #55 years of star trek #tv quotes #movie quotes #star trek quotes #i know i`m missing more there are just so many great ones

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solarscholarsofmagick · 4 years

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Saturn in Aquarius: 2020-2023

Beginning on March 21, Saturn entered the revolutionary sign of Aquarius for a brief month and a half preview and will retrograde back into Capricorn until the end of September. On December 17, it will re-enter Aquarius until March of 2023. Saturn is known as the planet of limitations, boundaries, responsibilities and hard lessons, and up until now has been making its way through the restrictive and authoritarian sign of Capricorn since the beginning of 2018. Though Saturn is the ruler of earthy Capricorn and identifies well with that controlling energy, it doesn’t always do its best work in this sign. Traditionally, Saturn also rules the airy free-flowing sign of Aquarius and tends to be very comfortable in this sign, despite how different they may seem. When Saturn enters this humanitarian sign, it evolves into a higher version of itself, capable of bringing much needed equality and change into the world. How do we know this? Well, let’s take a look at the last few Saturn transits through Aquarius – from 1991 to 1994, and before that, from 1962 to 1964.

Let’s begin with Saturn’s transit through futuristic Aquarius back in 1962. Right off the bat, as Saturn entered the sign, the first automated (unmanned) subway train in New York City began running. Aquarius rules technology and automation, so this stood out to me as a very modern Aquarian development already. Also in 1962, Spacewar! was developed and released as the first computer game, featuring two spaceships fighting it out. Each spaceship was controlled by a player, meaning it was not only the first computer game, but also the first multi-player game for computers. Fitting, as Aquarius rules groups as well as spaceships and technology.

In the early 1990s, there were also some major technological advancements, specifically related to the internet and computers. In 1991, at the beginning of Saturn’s transit through Aquarius, Apple released the PowerBook, the first modern laptop computer, which was a huge development in the computer world and has influenced our modern computers significantly in their portability and design. The WorldWide Web was technically invented in 1989, while Saturn was transiting Capricorn, and it was exclusively meant for information-sharing between scientists in institutions around the world at that time. However, in April of 1993, after Saturn had entered Aquarius, CERN made the “www” software public, accessible to anyone with a computer. This is significant because Aquarius represents freedom and equality, and though it was still mainly the upper class that could afford computers at the time, this movement away from intellectual elitism essentially opened the internet up for free public use like we have today. In 1992, ViolaWWW was released, and was the first web browser to become popularized by users. It was also the recommended browser by CERN until it was replaced by Mosaic in 1993, the first web browser to display images with text rather than in a new window.

In the upcoming transit of Saturn through Aquarius, we can expect to see even more advanced technology developments. Many people are expecting Artificial Intelligence to really take off in the coming years, as well as 5G technology and space travel on a grander scale. Smart devices and appliances are becoming more readily available and more advanced.

The future of technology was on the minds of many in the early 1960s, reflected in ABC’s first color animated TV series, The Jetsons, premiering in September of 1962. Not only does Aquarius rule color television and cartoons, but the futuristic utopian vision held by The Jetsons is also very Aquarian in nature. Television also welcomed the eccentric and beloved Addams family in 1964 with ABC’s premiere of The Addams Family. This television classic questioned social norms of the time, specifically the values of the traditional mid-century American family, which were quite conservative at the time. This series became a symbol of the counterculture in television, a typically Aquarian concept. Another incredibly popular futuristic TV show that technically started during Saturn’s transit through Aquarius, Star Trek began filming in November of 1964, during the last couple months of Saturn’s journey through this sign. Star Trek is also notable for this transit due to the fact that it was one of the first television shows to give women, especially black women, prominent and respected roles. The character Lt. Uhura, the ship’s communications officer, was played by Nichelle Nichols, a black actress. At that time, black women typically only appeared in television as servants and maids, so this was a revolutionary change not only in television but in the civil rights movement as well. In fact, when Nichelle Nichols considered quitting the show to pursue a career on Broadway, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. met with Nichelle, convincing her to stay on the show as a part of history.

Television in the early 1990s during Saturn’s next transit through Aquarius was just as influential on culture as the television of the early 1960s. One of the first TV shows that comes to mind when I think of the 90s in television is the classic sitcom Friends. Though this show technically didn’t air until Saturn had moved into Pisces in 1994, the concept of the show resonates very closely with Aquarian themes. For one, the name “Friends” is representative of Aquarius, the sign of friendship and camaraderie. David Crane and Marta Kauffman, the show’s creators, began developing Friends in late 1993 under the early title of Insomnia Cafe, as Saturn made its way through the last 10 degrees of Aquarius. Though it initially had mixed reviews, Friends grew to become one of the most popular and beloved television shows of its time. Another well-loved show of the early 90s, though aimed more towards a younger audience, Bill Nye the Science Guy first aired in 1993, and embraced the forward-thinking Aquarian scientist archetype. Science in general is ruled by Aquarius, sign of innovation and discovery, and this show was designed to teach children about the realities of science and observation. One TV show I thought I should mention here as well is The Real World, which first aired on MTV in 1992, and is credited as being the birth of the “reality TV” genre of television, though it was edited quite often in favor of certain situations and reactions that didn’t quite reflect reality. It received a lot of criticism as well for not ever casting an Asian man in nearly 30 years on television. Reality TV is also very much a Saturn in Aquarius concept, as Saturn rules realism, and Aquarius rules television in general.

Aquarius is also the ruler of cartoons, as I touched on earlier, so it’s only fitting that I discuss a few cartoons of the early 90s. The trend of “cartoons for adults” was beginning to take off around this time, after The Simpsons paved the way in 1989 with its adult humor and hidden messages about adult life. One of the more “mature” cartoons that comes to mind when thinking of Saturn’s transit through Aquarius in the early 1990s is The Ren & Stimpy Show. This show first aired in 1991, and was quite grotesque in its animation style, featuring detailed animated close-ups with which other shows later followed suit. It was especially adored among college students due to its bizarre animation style and dark yet quirky humor. Another “adult cartoon” that began while Saturn was making its way through Aquarius is Beavis and Butt-Head, which first aired in 1993. This cartoon had mixed reviews and stirred up a lot of controversy with its seemingly idiotic social criticism, but became a staple of early 90s adult television nonetheless. The social criticism in this show is representative of Saturn in Aquarius as well, as Saturn portrays a harsh, critical nature, and Aquarius is a sign of society and social groups. Rocko’s Modern Life was yet another cartoon series that was aimed for young adults rather than children, and achieved moderate success after its initial release in 1993. This show was known for highlighting adult situations through cartoon animation- combining the adult responsibilities and themes of Saturn with the off-beat cartoony Aquarian personality. One last cartoon I’d like to mention in this segment of adult cartoons is Animaniacs, which first aired in 1993, and quickly became a hit with both children under age 11 and adults over 25. The large following among adults even led to one of the earliest Internet fandom cultures, another Aquarian concept.

Television in the coming years will likely circle around again to some of these rebellious Aquarian ideas, and it’s likely that TV will become even more entwined with the Internet over the next few years, as online streaming is more common these days than watching cable TV.

Saturn’s movement through Aquarius was a big part of the civil rights movement of the early 60s as well. The sign of Aquarius is a sign of freedom, equal human rights, and disrupting the status quo, which essentially were a few of the main goals of the movement. In fact, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a 10th house Aquarius Mercury, which is why we remember him best for his “I have a dream” speech, which he delivered August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. for the 200,000+ people who gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington. During the time he was writing and revising this speech, Saturn was transiting his Mercury in Aquarius as well. Later in 1963, on October 22, roughly 200,000 students stayed out of school in Chicago to protest segregation of African-American students in schools. This was a major peak of an ongoing battle to desegregate schools across America, again acting out the Aquarian values of equality and social justice.

In the early 1990s, this theme re-emerged through the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. A video went public in 1991 of five white Los Angeles police officers severely beating Mr. Rodney King after pulling him over for speeding. The riots began on April 29, 1992 after a trial jury acquitted four of the officers, enraging thousands of Southern Californians who took to the streets in anger. By the end of the riots, in early May, sixty-three people had been killed and thousands more were injured or had been arrested. The 1992 Rodney King riots went on to inspire the folk song “Like a King” from Ben Harper’s debut 1994 album Welcome to the Cruel World, which was released just after Saturn transited into Pisces; therefore, the songs were written and recorded while Saturn was in Aquarius.

In the coming transit of Saturn through Aquarius, we can expect to see another revolutionary movement, particularly watching the Black Lives Matter movement, because the hashtag was born while Saturn was in Scorpio, meaning Saturn in Aquarius will be coming up on a Saturn square for the birth chart of the movement.

Furthermore in music, there were a few major developments in the early 1960s while Saturn was in Aquarius that stood out to me. First, in the early to mid 60s, Joan Baez was beginning to make a name for herself in folk music during the American folk revival. Then in 1962, Peter, Paul & Mary released their debut album, which reached #1 on the US album charts. During the same year, Bob Dylan released his self-titled debut album of cover songs, and later went on to release his first original album The Times They Are a-Changin’ in 1964, towards the end of Saturn’s journey through Aquarius. These politically-charged folk artists all peaked with the folk revival during Saturn’s transit through Aquarius, which makes sense, as folk music is Aquarian in its nature, typically discussing issues of politics, inequality and other “radical” ideas of change. In fact, these artists also all performed “We Shall Overcome” at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963.

Another emerging group that stood out to me from this Aquarian transit was The Beatles. This incredibly successful rock group released their first couple of songs, “Please Please Me” and “Ask Me Why,” in January of 1963. By the next month, their single “Please Please Me” was topping the British rock charts. The Beatles released their debut studio album, Please Please Me, in March 1963, and by May had landed on the top of the UK album charts, staying there for 30 weeks, only to be replaced by their second studio album, With The Beatles. By October of 1963, the media began using the term “Beatlemania” to describe the frenzied behavior exhibited by Beatles fans across the globe. Many of their live performances were accompanied by the sounds of screaming fans and general hysteria. Fanatics, by the way, are also ruled by Aquarius. In February of 1964, The Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, drawing a record 73.7 million viewers. The crazed audience clearly depicts the “Beatlemania” phenomenon in full swing. But how do The Beatles relate to Saturn’s transit through Aquarius? First off, The Beatles were one of the first mainstream groups to market to the younger generation of teenagers rather than to their parents. This was a big shift in the music industry, as typically it was the older audience with all the spending power, whereas now, young teenage girls were a powerful force in the music market. Though their earlier songs avoided heavier social topics, it became obvious later in their career that The Beatles were a huge part of the birth of counterculture and anti-establishment ideas. In 1964, when the band was informed that a venue they were scheduled to perform at in Florida in the US was segregated, they refused to play unless the audience was integrated. Many more conservative countries refused to allow The Beatles to perform at all, in fear that their progressive counterculture ideas would “infect” their younger population. Even the United States attempted to ban all British acts in 1965, as they saw their emerging rock ‘n’ roll culture as “dangerous” to the youth of the nation. The Beatles were also highly progressive in their music style, and incorporated many new and unusual recording techniques into their albums. This ongoing theme of progressive thinking and “peace and love” apparent in the music of The Beatles is very in line with the nature of Aquarius.

Later, in the early 1990s, grunge bands were the new emerging music trend. A number of grunge rock bands all released major hit albums around the same time: right around Saturn’s transit through rebellious Aquarius. In 1991, Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten, followed by Nirvana releasing their second album Nevermind, and then Soundgarden with Badmotorfinger– all within a span of two months! All three albums were incredibly successful, and resonated strongly with the Aquarian counterculture and anti-establishment ideas brought out by the earlier generation in the early 1960s. Then in 1992, Alice in Chains released their second studio album, Dirt, which is considered by many to be their best work. Also released in 1992, Stone Temple Pilots debuted with their first studio album, Core, which received mixed reviews, though it went on to win a Grammy in 1994 for Best Hard Rock Performance. Nirvana received a lot of attention and success in the early 90s as well, and Kurt Cobain was dubbed “the voice of a generation” by many. Similar to The Beatles influence on counterculture, Kurt Cobain’s darker lyrical content touched many listeners’ hearts on a deeper level than the earlier hair metal had been able to.

In the next few years in music, we’re likely to see younger emerging artists, similar to Billie Eilish, who has an Aquarius Moon, taking over the scene with some revolutionary new ideas and social commentary in their lyrics.

Though Aquarius is a masculine sign, I’ve also noticed a pattern with emerging feminist movements during these transits due to the focus on equal human rights. The second wave of feminism began picking up speed around 1963, when two major works of feminist writing were published: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Both works were largely critical of the typical role of a female as a domestic housekeeper/mother figure in 1960s society. These works encouraged women to pursue careers that they felt passionately about for the first time. Also in 1963, journalist Gloria Steinem became a prominent figure in feminist culture after going undercover as a Playboy Bunny and revealing the poor treatment and underpayment of the waitresses at the Playboy Club.

In the early 1990s, during Saturn’s next transit through Aquarius, the third wave of feminism began to emerge. While second-wave feminism dealt primarily with issues surrounding equal opportunities for [predominantly white] women in the workplace, this third wave of feminism dealt with issues regarding intersectional feminism, violence against women and reproductive/sexual freedom. A trend of reclaiming “derogatory” female terms (for example: bitch, slut, whore) began largely with the Riot grrrl movement in punk music, popularized by female-constructed bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile, as a way of expressing feminine identity on their own terms.

Feminine power is already on the rise again, with Uranus having moved into feminine Taurus a couple years ago and still having several more years to go on that transit. Women in power will do great things with that power, and more women will come to be in power over the next few years with Saturn in this sign. Whether it be individual political power, or power in numbers, women around the world will come together and rise to power from now until 2023. Another trend I expect to see play out while Saturn transits Aquarius these next few years as well is that of gender revolution. With the gender roles of the past melting away, a revolution is roaring around the corner, and gender queer/LGBTQ+ identifying people will likely score a few big victories in the upcoming Aquarian transit.

Another theme I noticed through Saturn’s transit of Aquarius in the early 1960s was a theme of national independence and freedom. In August of 1962, the colony of Jamaica became independent, freeing Jamaicans from the United Kingdom after 300 years of British rule. In October that same year, Uganda also became independent from the UK. Then, in 1963, Kenya declared independence from the UK as well. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic and Zanzibar both experienced major revolutions during this time frame in search of freedom. This trend continued in the early 90s, with many countries, including Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia, all declaring their independence from the USSR in 1991.

It’s likely that we will see many more uprisings and movements towards independence, including the United States’ Pluto return in 2022/2023, which is expected to be a revolutionary moment for the history of the country.

These are the kinds of themes we are likely to see re-emerging until March 2023, while Saturn roams through free-spirited Aquarius. Technological innovations are going to be increasingly involved with our lives, as the internet of things develops further. Television will trend towards witty humor and social criticism, as it did the previous few times Saturn was in Aquarius. Civil rights movements will be center-stage, writing more groundbreaking history into our textbooks, while the future leans towards figures who are genderqueer, females, diverse, and/or of color, rather than in favor of the cis-gender/heterosexual white male. Mainstream music will take on its own social commentary within the industry. Independence of the individual as well as the nation will be stressed in the coming years. Saturn feels confident in this sign, and we should too, moving forward into Saturn’s “Age of Aquarius” with hope for a better future.

#witchblr #witch #witchcraft #witches of tumblr #pagan #paganism #pagans of tumblr #wiccablr #wicca #wiccan #wiccans of tumblr #divination #astrology

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caitlinsfandomthoughts · 3 years

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Watching Star Trek TOS For the First Time! Season 1 Reaction

I’ve been a TNG, DS9 and Voyager fan for maybe 10 years but had never watched TOS until I decided that I would. And then I realised I couldn’t live with the possibility of the internet not being able to know my incoherent rambling reactions if it so desired. Most of these were written the day after I saw them but with the early ones it was later so sorry if I don’t remember your favourite.

Season 1:

The Cage: Be still my beating heart why must number 1 leave the show? Why?! Imagine a world in which Majel Barrett got to continue to be her in the Star Trek universe instead of Lwuxana (sorry I don’t love her) and Nurse Chapel. She’s so beautiful I love her. And she gets to where pants and be the second in command. While the episode for sure has sexist moments it does seem like there was more of an actual effort to present to future as having gender equality. When you compare this to the ultra mini skirted version of the actual show, it does feel like executives went through it to make it more marketable. It’s been noted by others that she is quite similar to what Spock’s character became: the cold, logical one, while Spock smiles in this episode. While I ended up loving Spock I still would’ve loved to see a woman in that kind of role, especially in the 60s. Although I’m not sure she would’ve been treated that well.

So Vina can’t like, get medical treatment from Starfleet doctors who know how to put a human body together? No? We’re just gonna leave her there? She’s too ugly? She’s better off living in a fantasy world where she’s pretty? Ok then…

The Man Trap: I don’t even really remember this one so I’d have to rewatch it.

Charlie X: Charlie sees women and becomes an incel, Kirk has to try and teach him not to be. This is a decent goal that somehow culminates in a space boxing match. Kirk loses his shirt. Sexual tension is presumably resolved. Uhura sings.

Where No Man Has Gone Before: The pants are back. Man becomes some kind of god and Kirk beats him up if I remember correctly.

The Naked Time: This is where The Naked Now comes from. This one was less sexual, which is probably a good thing, and less drunk, which is too bad cause I love drunk Crusher and Picard trying to focus on work while their brains won’t brain. Highly relatable mood. This one is where the immortal line “sorry, neither” comes from, spoken by Uhura in response to Sulu calling her a “fair maiden.” According to the internet that was an ad lib and I so hope that’s true cause it’s amazing. Also according to Spock Sulu is a “swashbuckler at heart” which is cool and all but I wish we got to find that out by him actually being a character that we know the personality of rather than a background diversity guy who gets to say a couple of lines sometimes. Also each to their own but shirtless Sulu is infinitely more attractive than shirtless Kirk.

The Enemy Within: Bad. Women at Warp podcast said it best, it’s bad because they say the evil Kirk is still Kirk and is needed for him to be a good captain/person. This could’ve been ok if he didn’t do something so irredeemable, or they could’ve not had him be defined as a true and necessary part of Kirk, but you can’t have both and sell it as an ok message. Rand not being able to look at ‘good’ Kirk after really makes it feel real, her acting in general makes it feel too real.

Mudd’s Women: Women take beauty pills that make them have makeup on and men find them too ugly to marry without them even though they are still beautiful. Also said women were kinda slaves but don’t worry about it! *hand waves*

What Are Little Girls Made Off: I don’t know what the title has to do with the episode. This is the episode where Nurse Chapel is introduced even though she was in a previous episode. And she’s taken more seriously than I thought she would be. Kirk gets an android version of himself made by a guy who he already doesn’t trust and doesn’t predict that maybe that’s not a good idea. Apparently to make an android all you need to do is put one person and one dummy on a giant plate and spin them around real fast. If only the guy who wanted to take apart Data in Measure of a Man knew.

Miri: Problematic. I think the crush angle could’ve worked if it was one sided, but Kirk played into it and it was creepy, and you know, also manipulative, assuming Kirk doesn’t actually feel the same way and is using it to get her to help them. That’s my more charitable interpretation anyway. Also McCoy doesn’t know how vaccines work. Also this episode doesn’t know what puberty is, or rather when it starts. If the virus is supposed to get to you then, that starts round the preteen age. Miri is older than that even though she’s not an adult.

Dagger of the Mind: This was the first one where I was starting to quite like it and it was feeling a little more like Star Trek to me (I know this is the first Star Trek but there’s a certain way 80s/90s era Star Trek feels to me). I really liked the beginning where it was setting up this whole maybe prisoners become violent because of how the prison treats them thing and that it was challenging the viewpoints of some of the main characters, although McCoy was already team prisons are bad and I love him for that. It then went more into the lobotomising asylum type story which was still ok. The guy turned out to be a doctor rather than a prisoner which I didn’t like cause I wanted the prisoners to be humanised. Although you could’ve done a “see anyone, even ‘innocent’ non criminals can be turned violent with this treatment” but they didn’t really emphasise that.

The Corbomite Maneuver: I don’t remember this. Kirk playing poker with some alien I think. Edit: I’m been informed this is the one where the alien turns out to be a lollypop guild kid lip-syncing to an adult’s voice, which I do remember, and probably thought it was some kind of sleep-deprived fever dream.

The Menagerie Part 1 & 2: I laughed so much when they wheeled Pike out and I finally got the Futurama reference in Where No Fan Has Gone Before. I mean I obviously knew the whole thing was a Star Trek Reference, but I had never seen that specific imagery before and now the joke makes sense! Also Pike wanting to go back there seems kinda wrong. I mean they say he’s a vegetable mentally I think but he doesn’t seem to be? I can kinda get that he’s got more incentive to be there than Vina who could probably be helped by Federation doctors but also, he hated that place and spent the whole episode trying to get out of it and it doesn’t feel like a fitting ending for him.

The Conscious of the King: And here begins Star Trek’s love affair with Shakespeare. The only thing I have to say really is, if I didn’t mishear something… a father and daughter played Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? A married couple. And no-one thought that was weird? She was the daughter of a dictator though so there was an Ivanka Trump vibe.

Balance of Terror: Romulans. Spock wasn’t sure that they were related to Vulcans till this ep, though he suspected it. How far back did they split for it to be unknown? I like that the Romulans were sympathetic and we had scenes with them just in their ship from their perspective, and they had some conflicting views with each other. And I really like how Spock was suspected as a spy cause racism and of course he wasn’t and saved that guy cause he’s the better person. That said I found this episode pretty boring and I don’t know why. I kinda wish it turned into a witchhunt situation and was more about the racism on the Enterprise, kinda like The Drumhead from TNG.

Shore leave: Wtf was this episode?! And I don’t ask that because the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland showed up, or that it was a random holodeck planet episode, that’s fine. When the White Rabbit appeared I was just like, ok it’s going to be one of those episodes, that’s fine. Holodeck episodes are fun, I don’t even mind a random magic alien or two appearing for no reason to wreak havoc, say by making everyone larp as Robin Hood, that’s all Star Trek, that’s Star Trek doing a Star Trek, what I didn’t like is this episode goes nowhere! McCoy sees the White Rabbit, we’re off to a good start, Sulu “Swashbuckler at Heart” sees an old gun that he geeks out on, cool. Kirk sees some woman of course. Also there’s some guy fending off a tiger. Random female guest star of the week rather than letting Uhura be part of the story gets her uniform torn by some guy. Then she imagines a princess dress and if that were me as soon as I realised I could think things into existence I would just imagine all my dream clothes. Kirk imagines an old student friend who is attempting very hard to be Irish (thank you Colm Meany for saving us from this).

Anyway so the planets a holodeck cool. And I’m like, Spock should beam down, I wanna know what he’ll see, this is where the episode could get interesting. And then it happens, but nothing happens, they don’t even make much of a deal of him not seeing anything. But then I thought what if! What if Spock didn’t beam down and this was another imagination?! What if he was some alien with some ulterior motive OR better than that we get to see Spock as imagined by whoever was thinking of him. You could go down a very fanfic road if it were Kirk’s imagined or desired view of him, or maybe you could show different people’s perceptions and then they still suspect he’s not acting like himself even though it’s how they see him, but its not quite right, cause it’s not actually how he is. Or at least I thought they were going to find out what was going on. But NOPE none of that happens. Instead leprechaun guy shows up again and Kirk just wonders off to fight him for the next fucking millennium! The uniforms they wore at the academy seem like they were made out of better quality material than that of a Starfleet captain’s. Poor Kirk must be having to replicate new uniforms every other day. Then they laugh I think, and sexual tension is presumably resolved. Then the aliens show up and are like yeah this planet is a holodeck we thought you’d like it also McCoy died but he didn’t and I’m like THEY DIDN’T CONSENT TO THIS. But then they decide to party.

It reminded me of a Red Dwarf episode called Better Than Life where they knowingly go into a virtual reality game which is basically the same as this planet. But over time Rimmer keeps sabotaging what he imagines cause he hates himself so much his brain won’t let him have nice things. And it’s still a comedy, but there’s an opportunity for exploring the character’s psyche with this setup that wasn’t done here and that made it boring.

The Galileo Seven: This episode was good!! In contrast to the last one it delivered on promises it made, it had a satisfying ending, it’s probably my favourite so far. The whole time I was like this should be about how Spock can be wrong and logic isn’t everything to be a good commander. But given the quality of the previous episodes wasn’t that great and Spock was always right about everything I didn’t trust them to do that. BUT I WAS WRONG. I thought it would be about how just because you don’t have emotions doesn’t mean you can disregard those of the crew. But instead it was about how he couldn’t predict their enemy wouldn’t act based on emotion rather than logic. And then he admitted he was wrong and helped the guy bury the other guy, and then they were about to die and McCoy was like at least I’ve lived to hear Spock say he fucked up. And then Spock jettisoned the fuel so that it might act like a flare but it gave them less time and I was like no you’ve learned nothing! Don’t just do things that severe without asking your crew. But then after they were saved it was described as an act of desperation rather than anything logical and Kirk was like that’s an emotion isn’t it? You acted on emotion? And Spock was like well yes but I’m not gonna say it like that.

I like that emotion was good actually. I think it’s a fine balance between the message of its ok to be different and using Spock as an analogy for racism, and inadvertently neurodiversity, but also not buying into the idea that emotions = weakness and lack of emotion, or emotional repression = objectivity. Even if you don’t factor emotion into your decisions (which would be impossible unless you don’t experience emotions at all) it doesn’t mean that you don’t have personal biases in your perspective. So I’m glad Spock was wrong for once.

The Squire of Gothos: This is Q this is Proto-Q. He does all the same things that Q does; he shows up in clothes that are way out of date (and he thinks they’re from 900 years ago when they’re clearly early 19th century) and he flirts with the captain. Oh and he has powers, maybe they were computer powers, but not all? And he goes on about humans being brutal, warmongering people but he’s kinda into it. He fights Kirk but there was actual tension so it wasn’t annoying like the one with the Irish guy. And then it turns out he was just a kid exactly like the Futurama episode, except he is a kid not 35. I think him being a kid makes the flirting seem weird though.

Arena: Kirk and the Gorn at Tanagra. Kirk fights a lizard because aliens wanted to encourage them to not fight by telling them to fight. I thought maybe these lizards could be proto Cardassians but then I thought they can’t be they don’t talk, but then he spoke so I thought they could be, but then he was the one who was invaded and was only defending his people so I thought they couldn’t be, unless that was actually just lies and justifications in which case they definitely would be, but then that would undermine the message of the episode so I guess not. I wonder how many leaders have killed each other before these alien’s negotiation tactic actually worked.

Tomorrow is Yesterday: This was fun. There were a lot of twists and turns. I wonder if it was before or after the moonlanding. Every plan just makes it worse and more and more people keep getting exposed to the future. Kirk could’ve easily just closed the door and beamed back at the end but instead opts to punch like six people. (I think this is where “a woman?” “Crewman.” Comes from).

Court Martial: What if Kirk actually did it though? Would that be more interesting? Maybe. At least here he has an age appropriate love interest. She’s prosecuting against him which is surely a conflict of interest. AND she has a uniform with a longer skirt! And it actually looks good, like it looks like an actual dress that she can sit down in and it still looks like a dress and not a crumpled up shirt. It’s elegant but it’s still short. I could see this being an option (for any gender) as a dress uniform but it would still make no sense when they’re serving on a ship.

Return of the Archons: I am LIVING for Spock in a medieval style hood. It’s giving me Peter Cook in a Mother Superior’s wimple in Bedazzled vibe, it’s not quite on that level of beauty, but it’s close. For some reason Sulu returned from the planet in 18th century gear but then everyone else is dressed like it’s the 19th century, with some medieval robes thrown in, and this annoys me more than it should. Maybe it’s because he’s a swashbuckler at heart. Apparently they had a completely peaceful society except for the nightly purge they seemed to have going on that is never mentioned again.

Space Seed: KHHANN! I liked this a lot until the end. I want to know the lore behind Data’s Dad having his middle and last name. Edit: Actually only the middle name is the same and the last name is just similar. I still think there’s lore there (excuse the pun), probably he’s a descendent of his cult followers or something. The story seemed to be eugenics bad and also the type of guy to basically be a eugenics cult leader would be super manipulative and abusive but just charming enough in a relationship. It does a pretty good job of showing the abuse in his relationship with the historian woman, how he switches between being loving and I guess charming, and flattering to being abusive and degrading. I wish that the historian woman could find someone that she can explore domination and submission with consensually cause that seems like it would be what she really wants. Anyway but in the end they just let him go? Like he tried to take over the ship but they were like here have a colony. They compared the place to Australia when the colonists arrived at Botany Bay and that it could be... I forget what the word was but basically ‘civilised’ and No NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO STOP RIGHT THERE NO Australia was already populated and didn’t need eugenicist cult leaders who were demonstrably bad to show up make it ‘better.’ AND THEN the historian is given the choice to go with them and she does and its framed like it’s good? Or at least ok? When they just did a pretty decent job of showing how abusive and manipulative he was and she had redeemed herself by turning against him? So I get that they probably wanted to bring him back although they’re probably not gonna bring her back, but they could’ve easily had him escape instead.

A Taste of Armageddon: Suicide machines. I forget the rest.

This Side of Paradise: SEX POLLEN! Well it’s more fall in love pollen, I guess, for one character. There’s a woman and there’s the music and the soft focus and BUT WAIT then the camera cuts to Spock not Kirk! Because she has taste. It’s about this point that I think the ‘Spock’s the most popular but Shatner wants to remain the star so we’ll emphasise their character’s relationship thus inadvertently inventing slash fic’ might’ve started. It’s time for a love triangle! She makes Spock get the sex pollen, which is not getting consent, and then he falls in love with her and is climbing trees and is all happy. Kirk can’t get a text back from Spock. Then Kirk and two others get the pollen except Kirk didn’t, but he did, but anyway I thought everyone would be horny but they weren’t they were just brainwashed. Soon Kirk is all alone on the bridge, then he gets the pollen and is happy to live as a poly triad but then he gets angry and it’s gone. Then he calls Spock to the ship and approaches the situation in the only way Kirk knows how: Homoerotic punching! So they fight for not long enough and then Spock is cured but he’s a little sad, there’s sadness in his voice, it’s not quite so matter of fact. Then Spock’s gf gets sad and the sex pollen is gone too, Spock might still have feelings for her but he has responsibilities to the ship and “to that man on the bridge” which if he was saying to just mean once again the whole ship, and its mission and the captain in a professional sense, seems a little redundant, which would surely be illogical.

The colonists get sad that they haven’t done anything for years because the sex pollen made them unambitious but I would argue maybe the sex pollen was right and you were better off just vibing. This episode was more interesting and less silly than I thought the creator of sex pollen would be. At the end Spock says that for the first time in his life he was happy. While every other character could still easily become addicted to a thing like that they could at least know they would experience happiness or any feelings again in their life, for Spock it was going back to nothingness.

Devil in the Dark: Spock calls Kirk Jim which I don’t think he has before, when he’s talking over the communicator and he’s worried he’s in danger, there’s some actual fear or urgency in his voice. Also the moment that got me was when Kirk wanted to send Spock back the ship cause he didn’t trust him to kill the creature and Spock was like “but… I’m not really as useful there I am here… so…” If I was writing it I would’ve played that up more but anyway, I like that they didn’t kill the creature. I like that McCoy said the thing. And also said “I’m starting to think I can cure a rainy day.” He’s my favourite.

Errand of Mercy: It’s kinda becoming the Kirk Spock show now, I like the ship but I miss McCoy. I like that the passive pacifists who Kirk was so angry with were actually more powerful. And KLINGONS! Oh yeah the orientalism, the yellow peril, it’s… it’s there all right. They were played a lot colder here, a little Cardassian maybe, still bloodthirsty but I don’t believe this guy has to do it himself to feel honourable, he can kill for sure but he’s fine ordering someone else to do it and being a chessmaster too.

The Alternative Factor: God this one was boring. But it does have a man with the worst beard wig I’ve ever seen. Now he’s stuck fighting the bad version of himself or something to save the universe. So remember that when you’re watching later Trek series, all of this could suddenly be destroyed if one of them gets tired.

The City on the Edge of Forever: UHURA GETS TO GO ON AN AWAY MISSION! Aaaand she doesn’t get to do anything :/ The usual three go back in time! To the 60s again! Oh wait… that’s meant to be the 30s? Oh. That’s some tall hair that lady has for the 30s. But at least said lady is a character, she’s a little perfect but she does things, she has strong beliefs, she might be written a little idealised, but she is still written like a person compared to almost every other Kirk love interest. “He says it (captain) even when he doesn’t say it” is an interesting line. So she has to die, I still think they could’ve just convinced her that you don’t make friends with fascists but ok. They never say what the Clark Gable movie is.

Operation Annihilate! Kirk’s brother dies, and so does his sister in law, leaving his nephew without parents. This is never resolved and the episode ends with them laughing about how Spock got his eyesight back.

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snoweylily · 4 years

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So TIL that not only is Sulu’s original actor, George Takei, actually gay in real life, but when he got married he chose to have a best woman rather than a best man and that woman was Nichelle Nichols aka. the original actress for Uhura and if that isn’t best friend goals i don’t know what is

#star trek #Hikaru Sulu #Nyota Uhura #george takei #nichelle nichols

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andromeda-sapphire · 4 years

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Saturn in Aquarius: 2020-2023

Beginning later this month, on March 21, Saturn enters the revolutionary sign of Aquarius for a brief month and a half preview before it retrogrades back into Capricorn until the end of September. Then at the end of the year, on December 17, it will re-enter Aquarius for the long-haul until March of 2023. Saturn is known as the planet of limitations, boundaries, responsibilities and hard lessons, and up until now has been making its way through the restrictive and authoritarian sign of Capricorn since the beginning of 2018. Though Saturn is the ruler of earthy Capricorn and identifies well with that controlling energy, it doesn't always do it's best work in this sign. Traditionally, Saturn also rules the airy free-flowing sign of Aquarius, and tends to be very comfortable in this sign, despite how different they may seem. When Saturn enters this humanitarian sign, it evolves into a higher version of itself, capable of bringing much needed equality and change into the world. How do we know this? Well, let's take a look at the last few Saturn transits through Aquarius - from 1991 to 1994, and before that, from 1962 to 1964.

Let's begin with Saturn's transit through futuristic Aquarius back in 1962. Right off the bat, as Saturn entered the sign, the first automated (unmanned) subway train in New York City began running. Aquarius rules technology and automation, so this stood out to me as a very modern Aquarian development already. Also in 1962, Spacewar! was developed and released as the first computer game, featuring two spaceships fighting it out. Each spaceship was controlled by a player, meaning it was not only the first computer game, but also the first multi-player game for computers. Fitting, as Aquarius rules groups as well as spaceships and technology.

In the early 1990s, there were also some major technological advancements, specifically related to the internet and computers. In 1991, at the beginning of Saturn's transit through Aquarius, Apple released the PowerBook, the first modern laptop computer, which was a huge development in the computer world and has influenced our modern computers significantly in their portability and design. The WorldWide Web was technically invented in 1989, while Saturn was transiting Capricorn, and it was exclusively meant for information-sharing between scientists in institutions around the world at that time. However, in April of 1993, after Saturn had entered Aquarius, CERN made the "www" software public, accessible to anyone with a computer. This is significant because Aquarius represents freedom and equality, and though it was still mainly the upper class that could afford computers at the time, this movement away from intellectual elitism essentially opened the internet up for free public use like we have today. In 1992, ViolaWWW was released, and was the first web browser to become popularized by users. It was also the recommended browser by CERN until it was replaced by Mosaic, the first web browser to display images in line with text rather than in a new window, in 1993.

In the upcoming transit of Saturn through Aquarius, we can expect to see even more advanced technology developments. Many people are expecting Artificial Intelligence to really take off in the coming years, as well as 5G technology and space travel on a grander scale. The Internet of things is also on the rise, with smart devices and appliances becoming more readily available and more advanced.

The future of technology was on the minds of many in the early 1960s, reflected in ABC's first color animated TV series, The Jetsons, premiering in September of 1962. Not only does Aquarius rule color television and cartoons, but the futuristic utopian vision held by The Jetsons is also very Aquarian in nature. Television also welcomed the eccentric and beloved Addams family in 1964 with ABC's premiere of The Addams Family. This television classic questioned social norms of the time, specifically the values of the traditional mid-century American family, which were quite conservative at the time. This series became a symbol of the counterculture in television, a typically Aquarian concept. Another incredibly popular futuristic TV show that technically started during Saturn's transit through Aquarius, Star Trek began filming in November of 1964, during the last couple months of Saturn's journey through this sign. Star Trek is also notable for this transit due to the fact that it was one of the first television shows to give women, especially black women, prominent and respected roles. The character Lt. Uhura, the ship's communications officer, was played by Nichelle Nichols, a black actress. At that time, black women typically only appeared in television as servants and maids, so this was a revolutionary change not only in television but in the civil rights movement as well. In fact, when Nichelle Nichols considered quitting the show to pursue a career on Broadway, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. met with Nichelle, convincing her to stay on the show as a part of history.

Television in the early 1990s during Saturn's next transit through Aquarius was just as influential on culture as the television of the early 1960s. One of the first TV shows that comes to mind when I think of the 90s in television is the classic sitcom Friends. Though this show technically didn't air until Saturn had moved into Pisces in 1994, the concept of the show resonates very closely with Aquarian themes. For one, the name "Friends"is representative of Aquarius, the sign of friendship and camaraderie. David Crane and Marta Kauffman, the show's creators, began developing Friends in late 1993 under the early title of Insomnia Cafe, as Saturn made its way through the last 10 degrees of Aquarius. Though it initially had mixed reviews, Friends grew to become one of the most popular and beloved television shows of its time. Another well-loved show of the early 90s, though aimed more towards a younger audience, Bill Nye the Science Guy first aired in 1993, and embraced the forward-thinking Aquarian scientist archetype. Science in general is ruled by Aquarius, sign of innovation and discovery, and this show was designed to teach children about the realities of science and observation. One TV show I thought I should mention here as well is The Real World, which first aired on MTV in 1992, and is credited as being the birth of the "reality TV" genre of television, though it was edited quite often in favor of certain situations and reactions that didn't quite reflect reality. It received a lot of criticism as well for not ever casting an Asian man in nearly 30 years on television. Reality TV is also very much a Saturn in Aquarius concept, as Saturn rules realism, and Aquarius rules television in general.

Aquarius is also the ruler of cartoons, as I touched on earlier, so it's only fitting that I discuss a few cartoons of the early 90s. The trend of "cartoons for adults" was beginning to take off around this time, after The Simpsons paved the way in 1989 with its adult humor and hidden messages about adult life. One of the more "mature" cartoons that comes to mind when thinking of Saturn's transit through Aquarius in the early 1990s is The Ren & Stimpy Show. This show first aired in 1991, and was quite grotesque in its animation style, featuring detailed animated close-ups with which other shows later followed suit. It quickly became a cult classic, especially among college students, who adored its bizarre animation style and dark yet quirky humor. Another cult classic "adult cartoon" that began while Saturn was making its way through Aquarius is Beavis and Butt-Head, which first aired in 1993. This cartoon had mixed reviews and stirred up a lot of controversy with its seemingly idiotic social criticism, but became a staple of early 90s adult television nonetheless. The social criticism in this show is representative of Saturn in Aquarius as well, as Saturn portrays a harsh, critical nature, and Aquarius is a sign of society and social groups. Rocko's Modern Life was yet another cartoon series that was aimed for young adults rather than children, and achieved moderate success after its initial release in 1993. This show was known for highlighting adult situations through cartoon animation - combining the adult responsibilities and themes of Saturn with the off-beat cartoony Aquarian personality. One last cartoon I'd like to mention in this segment of adult cartoons is Animaniacs, which first aired in 1993, and quickly became a hit with both children under age 11 and adults over 25. The large following among adults even led to one of the earliest Internet fandom cultures, another Aquarian concept.

Television in the coming years will likely circle around again to some of these rebellious Aquarian ideas, and it's likely that TV will become even more entwined with the internet over the next few years, as online streaming is more common these days than watching cable TV.

Saturn's movement through Aquarius was a big part of the civil rights movement of the early 60s as well. The sign of Aquarius is a sign of freedom, equal human rights, and disrupting the status quo, which essentially were a few of the main goals of the movement. In fact, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a 10th house Aquarius Mercury, which is why we remember him best for his "I have a dream" speech, which he delivered August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. for the 200,000+ people who gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington. During the time he was writing and revising this speech, Saturn was transiting his Mercury in Aquarius as well. Later in 1963, on October 22, roughly 200,000 students stayed out of school in Chicago to protest segregation of African-American students in schools. This was a major peak of an ongoing battle to desegregate schools across America, again acting out the Aquarian values of equality and social justice.

In the early 1990s this theme re-emerged through the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. A video went public in 1991 of five white Los Angeles police officers severely beating Mr. Rodney King, who was black, after pulling him over for speeding. The riots began on April 29, 1992 after a trial jury acquitted four of the officers, enraging thousands of Southern California residents who took to the streets in anger. By the end of the riots, in early May, 63 people had been killed and thousands more were injured or had been arrested. The 1992 Rodney King riots went on to inspire the folk song "Like a King" from Ben Harper's debut 1994 album Welcome to the Cruel World, which was released just after Saturn transited into Pisces, therefore the songs were written and recorded while Saturn was in Aquarius.

In the coming transit of Saturn through Aquarius, we can expect to see another revolutionary movement for POC, particularly watching the Black Lives Matter movement, because the hashtag was born while Saturn was in Scorpio, meaning Saturn in Aquarius will be coming up on a Saturn square for the birth chart of the movement.

Furthermore in music, there were a few major developments in the early 1960s while Saturn was in Aquarius that stood out to me. First, in the early to mid 60s, Joan Baez was beginning to make a name for herself in folk music during the American folk revival. Then in 1962, Peter, Paul & Mary released their debut album, which reached #1 on the US album charts. During the same year, Bob Dylan released his self-titled debut album of cover songs, and later went on to release his first original album The Times They Are a-Changin' in 1964, towards the end of Saturn's journey through Aquarius. These politically charged folk artists all peaked with the folk revival during Saturn's transit through Aquarius, which makes sense, as folk music is Aquarian in its nature, typically discussing issues of politics, inequality and other "radical" ideas of change. In fact, these artists also all performed "We Shall Overcome" at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington in 1963.

Another emerging group that stood out to me from this Aquarian transit was The Beatles. This incredibly successful rock group released their first couple of songs - "Please Please Me" & "Ask Me Why" - in January of 1963. By the next month, their single "Please Please Me" was topping the British rock charts. The Beatles released their debut studio album, Please Please Me, in March 1963, and by May had landed on the top of the UK album charts, staying there for 30 weeks, only to be replaced by their second studio album, With The Beatles. By October of 1963, the media began using the term "Beatlemania" to describe the frenzied behavior exhibited by Beatles fans across the globe. Many of their live performances were accompanied by the sounds of screaming fans and general hysteria. Fanatics, by the way, are also ruled by Aquarius. In February of 1964, The Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, drawing a record 73.7 million viewers. The crazed audience clearly depicts the "Beatlemania" phenomenon in full swing. But how do The Beatles relate to Saturn's transit through Aquarius? First off, The Beatles were one of the first mainstream groups to market to the younger generation of teenagers rather than to their parents. This was a big shift in the music industry, as typically it was the older audience with all the spending power, whereas now, young teenage girls were a powerful force in the music market. Though their earlier songs avoided heavier social topics, it became obvious later in their career that The Beatles were a huge part of the birth of counterculture and anti-establishment ideas. In 1964, when the band was informed that a venue they were scheduled to perform at in Florida in the US was segregated, they refused to play unless the audience was integrated. Many more conservative countries refused to allow The Beatles to perform at all, in fear that their progressive counterculture ideas would "infect" their younger population. Even the USA attempted to ban all British acts in 1965, as they saw their emerging rock 'n' roll culture as "dangerous" to the youth of the nation. The Beatles were also highly progressive in their music style, and incorporated many new and unusual recording techniques into their albums. This ongoing theme of progressive thinking and "peace and love" apparent in the music of The Beatles is very in line with the nature of Aquarius.

Later, in the early 1990s, grunge bands were the new emerging music trend. A number of grunge rock bands all released major hit albums around the same time - right around Saturn's transit through rebellious Aquarius. In 1991, Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten, followed by Nirvana releasing their second album Nevermind, and then Soundgarden with Badmotorfinger - all within a span of two months! All three albums were incredibly successful, and resonated strongly with the Aquarian counterculture and anti-establishment ideas brought out by the earlier generation in the early 1960s. Then in 1992, Alice in Chains released their second studio album, Dirt, which is considered by many to be their best work. Also released in 1992, Stone Temple Pilots debuted with their first studio album, Core, which received mixed reviews, though it went on to win a Grammy in 1994 for Best Hard Rock Performance. Nirvana received a lot of attention and success in the early 90s as well, and Kurt Cobain was dubbed "the voice of a generation" by many. Similar to The Beatles influence on counterculture, Kurt Cobain's darker lyrical content touched many listeners hearts on a deeper level than the earlier hair metal had been able to.

In the next few years in music, we're likely to see younger emerging artists, similar to Billie Eilish, who has an Aquarius Moon, taking over the scene with some revolutionary new ideas and social commentary in their lyrics.

Though Aquarius is a masculine sign, I've also noticed a pattern with emerging feminist movements during these transits, due to the focus on equal human rights. The second wave of feminism began picking up speed around 1963, when two major works of feminist writing were published - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Both works were largely critical of the typical role of a female in 1960s society - that of the domestic housekeeper/mother figure. These works encouraged women to pursue careers they felt passionately about for the first time. Also in 1963, journalist Gloria Steinem became a prominent figure in feminist culture after going undercover as a Playboy Bunny and revealing the poor treatment and underpayment of the waitresses at the Playboy Club.

In the early 1990s, during Saturn's next transit through Aquarius, the third wave of feminism began to emerge. While second-wave feminism dealt primarily with issues surrounding equal opportunities for [predominantly white] women in the workplace, this third wave of feminism dealt with issues regarding intersectional feminism, violence against women and reproductive/sexual freedom. A trend of reclaiming "derogatory" female terms (for example - bitch, slut, whore) began largely with the Riot grrrl movement in punk music, popularized by female-constructed bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile, as a way of expressing feminine identity on their own terms.

Another theme I noticed through Saturn's transit of Aquarius in the early 1960s was a theme of national independence and freedom. In August of 1962, the colony of Jamaica became independent, freeing Jamaicans from the United Kingdom after 300 years of British rule. In October that same year, Uganda also became independent from the UK. Then in 1963, Kenya declared independence from the UK as well. Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic and Zanzibar both experienced major revolutions during this time frame, in search of freedom. This trend continued in the early 90s, with many countries, including Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia, all declaring their independence from the USSR in 1991.

It's likely that we will see many more uprisings and movements towards independence, including the USA's Pluto return in 2022/2023, which is expected to be a revolutionary moment for the history of the country, over the course of the next few years.

These are the kinds of themes we are likely to see re-emerging until March 2023, while Saturn roams through free-spirited Aquarius. Technological innovations are going to be increasingly involved with our lives, as the internet of things develops further. Television will trend towards witty humor and social criticism, as it did the previous few times Saturn was in Aquarius. Civil rights movements will be center stage, writing more groundbreaking history into our textbooks, while the future leans towards gender queer/female figures of color, rather than in favor of the cis-gender/heterosexual white male. Music will take on its own social commentary within the industry, perhaps birthing a new genre of sorts. Independence of the individual as well as the nation will be stressed in the coming years. Saturn feels confident in this sign, and we should too, moving forward into Saturn's "Age of Aquarius" with hope for a better future.

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#saturn #aquarius #2020 #blog #astrology blog #astrology #astrology readings #astrologer #me #mine #witchblr #astro witch #astro #saturn in aquarius

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