Being Friends With Tom Paris And Harry Kim:

Ah yes, the true mark of an alien…

EYEBROWS

kirk's response to spock saving him in 2x5 is not normal... he's so angry (to cover up his concern). i think its interesting that he says "do you realize how much starfleet has invested in you?"-- I think kirk often legitimizes how he feels about spock by invoking starfleet. it's so obvious that he was shocked, and he doesnt want spock to die, but he can't say that. and then his little "but.... thank you" at the end??? it's so heartfelt aahhh

i also love that spock didn't think of warning jim of the plant (like jim suggests). he also 'in a moment of clumsiness' takes the poisonous plant darts in his chest instead of jim. i think it's pretty clear that he was too emotional to think clearly upon watching his captain in danger.

En el cual estos tres weyes son regañados y estos deciden abrir la boca + Janeway :)c

In which these three dorks are scolded and they decide to open their mouths +Janeway :)c

ID of the three pages under read more:

[First Image description: Comic is in a simple cartoon style. Harry, Tom and B'elanna, are in the captain's ready room, standing in line with their hands behind their back. Janeway is standing upright with a stern expression in front of them, she scolds them saying "So... I expect you three to follow a better behaviour, I don't expect to be dissapointed... Is that understood?". Harry, Tom and B'elanna, looking to their sides with expressions of discomfort reply "Understood, Ma'am." Harry by accident says instead "Mom". The three of them realize what Harry says and Harry starts to sweat nervously. Janeway stops looking stern and raises her eyebrows. END ID.]

[Second Image description: Harry, Tom, B'elanna and Janeway are in the middle of the captain's ready room drawn in stick figures. A spotlight is shining on top of Harry, Tom and B'elanna, Harry sweating and standing straight while Tom and B'elanna are peering at him. Janeway then asks "...Did one of you... Just call me mom?". The art style returns to be cartoony and Harry immediately tries to answer "No, ma'am", but B'elanna interjects saying "YES, MA'AM". Tom also tries to interject, instead saying "Yes, mom-... Shit", and then looking down flustered with Harry peering at him with a smug grin and B'elanna exclaiming "HA!" at him.]

[Third Image description: Janeway crosses her arms and looks at them with a fond expression, she then shrugs and smiles saying "Come on, 'Lanna, don't make fun of my kids". Tom covers his face with his hands muttering "Whyyyy", While Harry pats him in the shoulder condescendingly. B'elanna flusters at the nickname and exclaims "Mo- CAPTAIN" and becomes more flustered. Harry and Tom both peer at her from their previous positions with smug grins. END ID]

Ah yes, the true mark of an alien…

EYEBROWS

Omg this needs to happen. As a musician I volunteer as tribute

in these trying times i have made up the concept of a star trek musical

Miscellaneous things about the first half of Amok Time that I love:

Initially, Spock won’t tell Jim what’s wrong. He asks Jim for leave, that he needs rest and needs it on Vulcan. He asks Jim to accept that’s all he will say. Jim does and alters course to Vulcan. At this point the Altair ceremony is still over a week away, and a 2.8 day delay is not a problem at all, but I love how respectful Jim is of Spock’s privacy. He pries at first and even has a little angry outburst, but calms himself down almost immediately and stops asking when Spock explicitly asks him to.

The ceremony has been advanced 7 days. They don’t have time to go to Vulcan. Jim obviously doesn’t like it much, and takes the time to comfort Spock about it: he offers sympathy, he jokes, he reassures Spock he’ll get his leave ASAP. It’s palpable how much he cares.

That night, Jim can’t sleep. He comms the bridge to ask how late they’ll be if they do divert to Vulcan real quick: this thing Spock won’t even really tell him about is more important to him than obeying direct orders. Remember he has no idea it’s life or death here yet. He just knows that Spock wouldn’t have asked like that and been so secretive if it wasn’t really important.

Jim here finds out that Spock has already ordered a change of course. Jim’s obviously pissed, it’s all over his body language, but he’s uncharacteristically calm when he confronts Spock about it. He knows something is very wrong here. Spock tells him he doesn’t remember changing course, but believes Jim when Jim tells him he’s done it. Jim believes Spock doesn’t remember without a second thought. Again he asks what’s going on once, and no more after Spock tells him to stop asking. 

Jim does order Spock to go to sickbay, but can you blame him? Memory loss? Really? Something is clearly very wrong with Spock’s health. He makes it an order in order to get Spock’s cooperation, but his wish for Spock to get a physical comes from a place of concern. If Spock won’t take care of himself, Jim will force him to.

Bones does his physical. Jim now knows Spock will die in 8 days if they don’t get to Vulcan. He immediately goes to ask again what’s happening, and he justifies it by saying, after the smallest hesitation, that it’s because Spock is an enormous asset to him. He doesn’t know Spock’s logic is impaired, and he thinks this might be the easiest way to get through to him: it’s unemotional, practical reasoning, to appeal to Spock’s logical side.

Spock replies that’s it’s too personal. Jim orders him to explain. This is the second angle that would normally work with Spock: if not logic, then duty. Spock refuses, says some things transcend duty. Jim changes tactic, he says he will keep it completely confidential: this is a different angle, based on trust and friendship. Spock finally caves here, and tells him everything. It’s fascinating, isn’t it, that Spock won’t answer to logic or duty, but he will answer to a personal request from Jim, to the promise this secret stays between the two of them.

Jim asks Komack permission to go to Vulcan, but refuses to explain or even hint at why, keeping the promise he made to Spock. The word is no: Jim is therefore doing it anyway. When they hear the no, Bones is like “welp, that’s it then” but Jim immediately replies “no it’s not.” Immediately. He has his motives: there’s two other ships going to altair, nothing will really happen if they’re one day late, but Bones is adamant that Jim will get fired if he disobeys. Jim doesn’t care. He knows, he didn’t need Bones to tell him, he’d already made up his mind.

Basically, just Jim caring for Spock an insane amount already, to the point that the first half of the episode to me is almost more homoerotic than the second. Jim’s big sacrifice of the Enterprise in SFS is already here in “Lay in a course for Vulcan. Tell Engineering I want warp eight or better. Push her for all she’ll take.” and “I owe him my life a dozen times over. Isn’t that worth a career?”

confessions in ten forward

All other comic lines can leave this is my new favorite one

I’m SORRY???

Thinking of Deep Space Nine as "the Dark Star Trek" without digging into what made Deep Space Nine work is so reductive. Like when people discuss Star Trek being "dark" now people bring up "DS9 was Dark and you loved that! Trekkies would hate it now!"

Deep Space Nine didn't work bc it was Dark and it wasn't Dark out of nowhere. Deep Space Nine is intimately tied to TNG in a way no other series is with another (Voyager could've been just as rooted in DS9, but. Y'know. Wasn't). Not only in characters, but that the show is so devoted to exploring deep cuts from TNG: the Bajorans, but also the Ferengi, long dismissed as failed villains, and the Trill, one-off aliens-of-the-week who DS9's writers turned into one of Trek's major species. The central thesis of DS9 isn't that the Trek Universe Is Fucked Up Actually. It's that things get more messy and complicated when Starfleet has to stick around and not dash off to another planet at the end of the episode

DS9 is darker than other Treks, yes, but DS9 is also the warmest, with the most grounded, human characters, not in spite of the fact that two-thirds of the cast are aliens but because of it. The writers treat alien characters as not representatives, but individuals. They treat everyone as individuals, with foibles and flaws, not as perfect, straitlaced future people. DS9's dark episodes are darker than other Treks, but also it's more willing to get silly and emotional. Only DS9 could do the "Sisko confesses to a conspiracy to get the Romulans in the war" episode, but also only DS9 could do the "a holographic lounge singer tries to get Odo and Kira together" episode right after it. Boiling the entire series down to "Deep Space Nine was the Dark Star Trek! Grimdark!" is...just not it