The Conlang Hobby Gone Awry

This started out as a conlang blog. It is now mostly ROTTMNT and Star Trek: TOS. No shame.

[spawksstuff]

95 07 - This Month in De History

DeForest Kelley Still the Real McCoy. Star Trek Communicator

[wafflewarrior111]

So... I found this and now it keeps coming to mind. You hear about "life-changing writing advice" all the time and usually its really not—but honestly this is it man.

I'm going to try it.

[missroserose]

I love the lawyer metaphor, because whenever I see “John knew that...” in prose writing I immediately think “how?  How does he know it?”  Interrogate your witnesses.  Cross-examine them.  Make them explain their reasoning.  It pays dividends.

[heck-in-a-handbasket]

All of this, but also feels/felt. My editor has forbidden me from using those and it’s forced me to stretch my skills.

[flightofstars]

Death to filter words.

[elosilla]

[ecchymosess]

UM EXCUSE ME THOS E ARE FUCKING PIXELS HOW

[street-trash]

Seize the Day was a calendar program made by in 1994 by Buena Vista software. It features graphics that at the time, were revolutionary because of the way they handled color cycling. These images were static bitmaps, but by changing color values, they appear animated. What is also impressive about these images is that they had full day night cycles built in, rendered also through color cycling. A few years ago, a html5 version was made. A copy was uncovered online and there is a way to use the program through DOSbox. As well, one of the original programmers for the project, Iam Gilman, has thought of the idea of remaking it, open sourced, for modern machines.

[xeppeli]

thanks for writing a more elaborate explanation. i’ve seen these pictures be spread like wildfire without mention of the technology behind it.

[flightofstars]

NaNoWriMo Inspiration. Thank you for feeding me as I write my gnome-fae fantasy adventure, OP.

[flightofstars]

Novel Review: [Star Trek] Doctor's Orders by Diane Duane

Please, for the love of God, read Doctor's Orders by Diane Duane.

#50 – Doctor’s Orders by Diane Duane

My absolute favorite book.  The basic premise is that Captain Kirk decides to torment McCoy by leaving him in charge of the Enterprise while he goes down to a planet’s surface.  Unfortunately, he then disappears.  Then a Klingon ship shows up, and Dr. McCoy has to use his wits as a doctor and a psychologist – rather than as a commander – to keep them all alive until they can find the captain.

Rating: Strong 5

Highlights (some spoilers):

This book could have gone very south if the author had taken the typical route and had the “inexperienced commander” make any number of humiliating errors, all the while facing the scorn of the crew.  Refreshingly, some of the strongest elements of the story are that McCoy 1) realizes he’s in over his head and seeks guidance immediately, 2) reacts admirably, with all the ability that one would expect from a senior officer in Starfleet, 3) is still strikingly human and himself in the best possible ways, 4) HAS THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE BRIDGE (including, and perhaps especially, Spock), and 5) always acts as a doctor first, which makes his method of command surprising, fresh, and extremely entertaining.

The alien species in the novel are unusually convincing and well-contrived.  Dr. McCoy’s interaction with them is grin-worthy too; he pets one and calls it “son.”  The creature, whose name is unpronounceable, purrs and cuddles with him a bit.

One of the strong points of the novel is the keen insight the author lends to the Spock-McCoy relationship.  The doctor – whose esteem for his Vulcan comrade has only ever been very thinly veiled by his gruffness – really demonstrates his faith in Spock, while Spock himself is gracious and supportive, but in a way that is just as subtly presented as in the series itself.

McCoy HATES command; however, his lack of military training doesn’t stop him from using the skills he does have, as a psychologist, pragmatist, medic, and as an incredibly convincing liar.  It’s a surprisingly potent combination.

Uhura has to edit McCoy’s recordings to Starfleet.  Tact was never one of the doctor’s strong points.

Kaiev, the Klingon commander who threatens the Enterprise, is my favorite original character ever.  He and McCoy become buddies.

McCoy uses their own psychology on the Klingons.  First, he grins liked a madman and blithely announces that he killed the famous “Kirk” and was now the captain (which the Klingons believe, as this is apparently a fairly typical form of advancement).  Then the doctor alternates between flippancy and aggressive posturing.   By the end of it, poor Kaiev is convinced that McCoy is a lunatic barbarian who had murdered his captain and would be as likely to blow them both to bits as to continue giggling madly from his command chair.  Everyone is surprised at how effectively this renders the usually hostile Klingons edgy and cautious.

One of the highlights of this interaction is McCoy’s diagnosis of Commander Kaiev’s chronic medical condition, the revelation of which so startles the Klingon that he almost kills his whole crew in order to find the “spy.”   Right.

In all seriousness, McCoy’s concern for his adversary as a doctor is a sterling and earnest portrayal of his deeper character, which will always manifest – first and foremost – as a healer.

Favorite scene in the book:  McCoy and Kaiev’s conversation in which the doctor revealed that he has no background whatsoever in command.  Sincerely, I cannot remark enough on how interesting this dynamic is.

[flightofstars]

Leonard McCoy Guide: Season 3 - Episodes 6-10

#6 – Specter of the Gun An ill-advised mission to explore a new planet ends badly when the landing party is condemned to die by the advanced species that lives there.  They are sent to their execution… in a showdown on the OK Corral.  Yes, you heard me – Star Trek cowboys.

Rating: 3

Highlights:

There’s a wonderful little scene in which McCoy procures some medical supplies from an enemy.  On display: his uniquely quiet and resolved personal strength.

Spock actually compliments the doctor, commenting on his ingeniousness when he is able to create a bomb out of primitive materials.  McCoy goes o_o!

To rescue his comrades from the limits of their all too human minds, Spock melds with Kirk, Scotty, and Dr. McCoy.

Tags: Fearless-McCoy, Mind Meld, Omnipotent Being

#7 – Day of the Dove An alien who feeds on hostility lures the Enterprise and a Klingon crew together and isolates them on the ship with primitive weapons. It provokes feelings of hatred between the groups, and plans to lock them in eternal combat. Only by resisting prejudice and stopping the fighting can the true enemy be defeated.

Rating: 2

Highlights:

The first indication that something is wrong comes from McCoy, who makes a strangely OOC comment about the Klingons being guilty just because they are Klingons.

The unknown alien seems to be exploiting McCoy’s nature. Clearly angry, he calls the Klingons butchers as he treats the sword wounds of injured personnel.

Spock and Kirk get a big clue about what the alien is doing to people’s minds when McCoy, who is usually very anti-violence, harangues them, telling them to start acting like military men and fight the Klingons to the death.

Having been told about the game being played with them, a somber McCoy says, “If we are pawns, then you are looking at one who is extremely sorry.”

McCoy sword fighting!

The final confrontation is Kirk, Spock, and McCoy + Klingon Commander. Amusingly, the Klingon commander’s “call to peace” is a bald statement that Klingons do not need alien interference to hate humans. :)

Tags: Landing-Party, Sickbay, Medical Tunic, Mentally Assaulted, Moved to Violence, Hostile Alien

#8 – For the World in Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky One of the genuinely excellent tales spun by the series – both poetic and entertaining, character driven and balanced between plot and sub-plot.  In artistry and completeness, It’s only surpassed by “The City on the Edge of Forever.”  The premise is that the Enterprise must redirect an asteroid on a collision course with a populated world, but finds that the rock is actually a spaceship which has, for centuries, cradled the last remaining people from an otherwise extinct race.  The catch? They don’t know that they’re on a ship, but believe the asteroid is the whole world.  Meanwhile, McCoy, who we discover is dying from an incurable blood disorder (Xenopolycythemia), attracts the interest of the high priestess.

Rating: Strong 5

Highlight:

A rare McCoy-centric episode.

There’s a must-see scene when Nurse Chapel insists that Dr. McCoy share his illness with the captain.  He shouts at her but then deflates, and his quiet use of her first name (“Christine”) when he promises that he’ll give a full report really speaks to how close they are, in spite of their usual professionalism.

Kirk and Spock’s separate reactions to finding out their friend is dying make the whole episode worth watching.  It’s all very subtle, of course – no talking, just touching and looking – but a lot manages to get across anyway.

The priestess’s marked interest in McCoy is warming rather than nauseating, and her straightforward declaration after requesting permission to be blunt – “I would like you to stay here as my mate” – combined with his boggled reaction, makes for a really lovely scene.

McCoy gets married again, but instead of a ring, his spouse inserts an “instrument of obedience” in his head.  Then the devise nearly kills him when he attempts to send vital information to Jim and Spock.  Yeah.

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Cure-Find, Sickbay, Triumvirate, McCoy-Romance, Self-Sacrifice, Landing-Party

#9 – The Tholian Web Following what appears to be Captain Kirk’s death, Spock transcends command of the Enterprise, whose people are slowly going mad and becoming violent.  McCoy, grieving and also affected, proceeds to question him at every turn, resulting in some truly ugly confrontations.  However, a timely intervention via the Captain’s final wishes makes them partners determined to rescue the ship.

Rating: 5

Highlights:

In spite of the fact that Spock and McCoy spend much of the time fighting, the intensity of their battle is captivating to watch.

Dr. McCoy gets attacked by a frenzied technician.  He is being choked on a tabletop before Nurse Chapel finally comes to her senses and rescues him by knocking the man unconscious.

Captain’s Kirk’s last message: Amazing. Does he ever know his friends.

McCoy’s final violent outburst at Spock, which is followed immediately by his apology, vow of support, and then subsequent collapse from the effect of the disease.

Spock does have a sense of humor, which he proves by collaborating in a spectacular ruse with McCoy, in which they deny ever having seen Kirk’s final message.  Poor Jim visibly deflates…while the other two smirk behind their hands.

Tags: Spock-McCoy Tag Team, Spock-McCoy Banter, Hurt/Comfort, Bridge-McCoy

#10 – Plato’s Stepchildren This episode revolves around a concept that I had fairly longed to see – the idea that, at some point, some race/species/ruler would insist on keeping a certain brilliant Starfleet physician around, by force if necessary.  However, it also contains several nauseating scenes of humiliation and torment that are distinctly not comical.

Rating: 5

Warning: I rarely issue an outright warning, but beware; there are parts of this episode that truly disturbed me.

Highlight:

The Platonian leader is suffering from a massive infection. As the medical tricorder cannot read Platonian biology, McCoy must create a treatment from scratch.

Platonians have powerful telekinesis. See McCoy get thrown against walls and be yanked around by their ability.

Parmen decides McCoy must stay, but Fearless-McCoy refuses. For this, he is literally anchored in place.

Kirk’s response to Parmen’s demand is resolute. He refuses to leave McCoy.

Parmen tries to persuade the doctor by humiliating his friends. This is one of the most upsetting scenes in the entire series. I can barely stand to watch it.

Forced to witness their suffering, McCoy looks ready to give in, but Kirk gives him an order: No matter what Parmen does, the answer is still no. McCoy closes his eyes, looking anguished.

I can’t bear to see Spock forced to be emotional, and neither can McCoy. He begs on Spock’s behalf, to no avail.

Want to get nauseated? Watch Kirk and McCoy hover helplessly around a distraught Spock, who can barely control himself.

For the sake of the others, McCoy wants to give in. However, Kirk refuses, and together they make a plan to use the Platonian mental aptitudes for themselves.

The final scene of the episode is famous, as is contains one of the first interracial kisses on television, between Kirk and Uhura. However, this kiss is deeply non-consensual and I find it extremely disturbing for that reason. McCoy can’t stand seeing women mistreated either, and breaks down completely, agreeing to do anything Parmen wants.

There is no cannon aftermath for all this, of course, but I can imagine how much therapy was involved. And poor McCoy is the only psychologist.

By the way, I wrote a story based on this episode called "So True a Fool Is Love." It’s an alternate version: What would have happened if Kirk and Spock had been forced to leave McCoy with the god-like psychopaths? Nothing good. Side note: Although the tone of this episode is serious and the kiss between Kirk and Uhura is non-consensual on both their parts (so gross), the actual story behind how television’s first scripted interracial kiss came to be is pretty funny (Shatner and Nichols tricked the studio execs). In fact, if you aren’t aware of Star Trek’s entwinement with the Civil Right’s Movement and its status as a favorite show of Martin Luthor King Jr., it’s worth reading about!

Tags: Landing-Party, Fearless-McCoy, Medic-McCoy, Cure-Find, Nurse Chapel, Assaulted, Mentally Assaulted, Triumvirate, Hostile Alien

[shmuzzieheart]

The backrooms are a failing brain trying to hold onto even the most basic of memories, even as they warp and decay.

The backrooms are generative AI trying to capture something real but only achieving a malformed, mindless imitation.

The backrooms are stagnation, an unwillingness to step into the new and uncomfortable effort of changing, instead running through the same old routine even as it starts to fall in on itself.

The backrooms are nostalgia cannibalizing itself, trying to remake and remake what it already knows without making anything new, until the familiar is so bastardized it's barely recognizable.

[amazonclimber]

The backrooms are a malignant teratoma, a tumor in reality. Something fundamentally wrong, spreading through the spaces in the universe, pressing into the things that should exist. You see a tooth, an eye, and it chills you to the core, because you wonder why it’s there. But that’s a fundamental misunderstanding. There is no why, just the chaotic result of creation gone awry.

[iftadwascool]

[nudistcat]

My computer's password keychain is pretty much as confused as McCoy about what to do with the information.

[trek-tracks]

They need their enrichment

Source

[takofukkatsumi]

Reblog this and tell me what was your biggest crying over a piece of fiction. You can be vague if you don't want to spoil.

[danzinora-switch]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"At current speed, how many years would it take us to get to Vulcan?"

"We wouldn't reach Vulcan in our lifetimes."

Chapter 4 of pon-farr's-worst-timing is up!

[danzinora-switch]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/86037021/chapters/235173041#workskin

Once again, Tumblr-links are broken, so this is me trying to say 'hey, chapter 5 is up'.

[aenslem]

STAR TREK | The Immunity Syndrome

[muirmarie]

thinking about kirk picking spock to go in the immunity syndrome instead of mccoy, thinking about kirk learning that mccoy was dying in for the world is hollow, wanting mccoy to stay on the ship but relenting with a if that's what you want, saying doctor mccoy i order you to return with us, thinking about kirk saying you're not staying mccoy no matter what he tries in plato's stepchildren, saying no matter what he makes me say or do the answer's still no, thinking about kirk saying patient? our friend is dying in the empath, saying you cannot let him die, saying if all you understand is death, then here are four lives for you, thinking about kirk saying i'm sorry, bones in the man trap, thinking about kirk saying bones, it wasn't your fault in operation annihilate, thinking about kirk saying bones, bones in this side of paradise, thinking about kirk saying sickbay? doctor mccoy? bones? bones in the mark of gideon, thinking about kirk saying that still doesn't explain the death of my ship's surgeon in shore leave, thinking about kirk and mccoy. thinking about kirk and mccoy!!!!!!

[danzinora-switch]

thinking about Kirk reactivating McCoy's contract in Starfleet just to have him back as his cmo on the enterprise. Bones, I need you, badly! Thinking about Kirk bringing McCoy with him to the planet in 'A Private Little War' I need you with me, advice I can trust, thinking about Kirk willing to stay behind in the mirror-verse, waiting, waiting for McCoy, ready to beam the others back but not leave him alone in hell, thinking about Kirk choosing McCoy to join the landing party in his estimation in 'the Ultimate Computer' where the M-5 disagreed, about Kirk choosing McCoy for the landing party in 'Return to Tomorrow' even though Sargon did not request him, of Kirk choosing McCoy over Edith Keeler in that final moment of 'The City on the Edge of Forever', McCoy! Leonard McCoy? and the reason he followed him through the Guardian of Forever anyway, how he dove and barely missed him, Bones, no! how Kirk repeatedly wants him by his side, again and again and again and-

[todaysbird]

I wanted to use what ‘reach’ I may have here to share the Carolina Wildlife Center’s urgent plea for donations. If they are unable to raise $75,000 to cover ongoing and future care of their wildlife patients, the center will have to close July 20th, 2026. The services provided by CWC to the community are incredibly valuable, and without them, many wild animals will suffer without the care they need.

Original post

Link to donate

[chiko-akihari]

I'll be offering loose sketches of random songbird or any bird of choice for any donation over $10, or $20 for colored sketches. My asks/messages are open for sending over receipt + request, and all the details (including ETA) can be found on the kofi listing for this!

There's a few others also doing commission in exchange for donation in the reblog as well if you're interested

[bastardlybonkers]

crossover episode!

[mkthedingus]

Toddler Mutant Ninja Turtles (Part 43)

Previous || Masterpost || Next (Coming Soon)

When I was finding references for Draxum's apartment in this chapter, I noticed that there were tons of motivational posters hung up in his room. I already knew that Mikey helped set him up in his apartment during Repairin' the Baron but it never occurred to me that Mikey helped him decorate it. My favorite enthusiastic son and unenthusiastic father duo

[thefishismine]

Some McCoy characterization from the books I’ve read so far

- great listener and observant, he picked up on a lot of what to do while in command in Jim’s absence just by remembering conversations they’ve had and watching Jim interact with the crew on the bridge

- gets anxiety attacks so bad that he starts shaking and he knows breathing exercises to calm himself down when this happens

- not a morning person. at all.

- really good at making everyone around him feel at ease in tense situations by making them laugh and just genuinely being a friendly guy

- keeps dark chocolate in his desk drawer because it was a gift from a friend and he shares with his head nurse

- he’s really sweet and polite and very much a Southern gentleman but he’s also SO sarcastic, Doctor Sassmaster McCoy

- he’s level-headed at the best of times but he’s always been good at shouting and oh boy he’s got quite the temper (but that’s nothing new)

- doesn’t do well with loud, sudden noises (like the red alert siren)

- nearly flunked out of college anatomy and was generally not a good student, he would bring home failing report cards from school

- used to be really introverted and shy in high school

- blushes when he’s embarrassed

[brighhton]

warmth