#alexprime

[alexprime]

Last year, I went skydiving in uniform. 🖖🏻🖖🏻🖖🏻

[alexprime-kohnar]

Hi Alex! I love your fic! So so good! I hope the comfort section is coming soon!!!

Quick question: who would you think would kiss the other first in a romantic setting? Spock or Jim?

Thank you so much! And yes, the comfort is definitely coming! I actually believe that Spock would crack and make the first move. That isn't to say he would do it well, but I think he'd absolutely do it first. I like to think that he would attempt to embrace his humanity for Jim's sake, and that he would push past his severe emotional discomfort in an effort to be what he thinks Jim wants—human, emotional, romantic, sexual, etc. Whether that is or isn't the reality is a different story. For Jim's part, I think he would hold back until he was sure of Spock's comfort level, so as not to risk 'overwhelming' him by being too forward. As well, Jim is well aware that Spock will (usually) follow his lead on anything, regardless of any personal feelings about that direction. Not only is there a rank-based power imbalance between them, but Spock will do just about anything for him, and that puts Jim in a tricky position. If he made the first move, I think some part of him would always wonder whether Spock was only reciprocating because it was Jim who started it. TL;DR: I think Spock would make the first move—badly, and without any finesse—but the moment that he expressed that desire was sincere, Jim would surge forward like a damn tsunami and take the lead from there.

[alexprime]

Lady Loki — An 1870's Variant

IT IS FINISHED! Despite having 365 days to make the cosplay, I started making it exactly six days before my local Comic-Con. Thankfully, I'd already finished the bustle cage and petticoats, but all visible parts of the costume were completed within a six day period. I wasn't able to do all that I planned for it, such as the skirt trimmings, the ruffle pauldron, some of the braiding and embroidery, but I was able to get the majority done—enough to be convention ready, at least! So, without further ado, I present my 1870's Victorian Loki Variant!

Some WIP shots:

[alexprime]

Let's talk about Spock's Body Temperature! A great many fanfics have him as being warmer than the human average, even hot to the touch. Fanfics can write Spock however they wish to (and I adore reading all the different interpretations!) However, according to TOS, Spock runs quite a bit cooler than humans do! Alright, so Spock ends up in Sickbay a fair amount during TOS, and every single time you see the Body Function Panel behind him, it seems to show a different reading. Confusing, annoying, frustrating, especially as we all know that TOS canon can be... fluid. One potential explanation for the fluctuating readings is the very reason he's in sickbay to begin with: he's sick or injured. Pretty much every time he's in a sickbay bed, he's either hurt, ill, or recovering from being hurt or ill. ... Except for ONE time, during his physical in the episode 'The Naked Time'. I've made a handy little graphic for this below:

Spock claims the readings on the panel in 'The Naked Time' are, "Perfectly normal for me, Doctor, thank you." Which would mean that his shown temperature should be accurate as well. Therefore, Spock's body temperature is approximately 92 Degrees Fahrenheit / 33 Degrees Celsius. This means that Spock actually runs quite a bit cooler than the average human temperature. As a fic reader, I adore reading different portrayals of Spock, and reading descriptions of him running hot can be lovely! However, as a fic writer myself, one thing I've really come to love is the contrast between Spock's personality to his temperature! I'll let the following quote from my fic, K'oh-nar, explain the reason why the contrast is fun to play with:

[Excerpt from Chapter 11:] Spock’s hand in his own was slack, but it was comfortable to hold now. He recalled how cold the Vulcan had been; how cradling those hands in his own felt like cupping ice. The fingers had been purple from the temperature, and he’d had the worst fear that moving them too suddenly would snap them off like icicles. They were back to normal in his grip; he examined the differences between them idly, marveling at the contrast of Spock’s olive skin against his own tan. The skin was cool—cooler than human body temperature—but that was normal for Spock.

Some part of him had always found that odd. He was used to it by now, but he remembered it had been startling to find out that Spock ran colder than humans did. It just… didn’t seem fitting. Everything about Spock always felt so warm to him; gentle, calming, kind. It was present in the soft brown of his eyes and the private not-smile he wore when being teased. There was nothing—not a single thing—about Spock that had ever seemed cold to him. Other Vulcans, sure; he hardly associated warmth or tenderness with the likes of the woman T’Pring, or her beau, what’s-his-name. The one with the stinkface. Stan? Stonk?

He'd described him as such to Spock once, using those and other colorfully insulting names. In turn, he had been delightfully and memorably treated to the subtle, nearly unnoticeable spasm of Spock choking on his tea.

[alexprime-kohnar]

Odd little fact: It should come as no surprise that I love writing about Spock's experience of Vulcan societal conditioning, and the harmful, long-term effects it's had on him. Unfortunately, there's not much information about the pressure, expectations, and perfectionism mentality that Spock might have experienced growing up, nor the resulting consequences it has had, or might potentially have, moving forward through the Human-centric Starfleet. To explore that in detail, I had to look for an IRL Human equivalent. And so, when I research how Vulcan society might feel to one incapable of conforming to it, I don't actually look up Vulcan Society at all. I look up Cults. Specifically, I look up the experiences of those who have escaped different kinds of cults, and the way it's impacted their lives both pre and post escaping. The pressure and expectation to conform, the fear of being wrong or outcast, the rigid adherence to group norms so as not to be othered, and the difficulty transitioning to life after leaving. It's a terribly fascinating topic to dive down, but definitely a heavy one. It's sparked a number of ideas for future chapters (and future fics), and it's been really interesting to arrange and apply some of that information to Vulcan society as a while, and Spock's specific experience of it.

[alexprime-kohnar]

Chapter Napping (and feline interference)

When I'm feeling stuck on a chapter, I do something that I call 'Chapter Napping'. I set an alarm for 30 minutes, set my phone to record audio, and then lay in bed with my two cats, just as if I were about to take a long nap. I close my eyes and picture the scene I'm having trouble with. The characters, the lines, the location, the dialogue; I force myself to be right in that moment and I play the scene out in my head. Each beat of it, from beginning to end, in as much detail as I can manage. And then, when I've got it firmly in mind, I start talking out loud. I'll spit out whatever I'm seeing, what I'm feeling, what the characters are saying—anything that stands out to me. It's almost always dialogue, but occasionally it's character motivations, or introspection, or transitional movements, or physical actions. Once I've built a bit of momentum, I'll usually let my brain loosen up and play with the scene, let myself wander around in the idea of it and test out ideas. I don't worry about how I sound, I don't worry about finishing my sentences, I don't worry about whether what I'm saying even fits the character saying it. I just dictate out whatever comes to me. (Inevitably, something I picture will rabbit hole off to different scenes/future chapters, or even a different story altogether. I say those aloud too, but I do try to reel it back in to the scene/chapter I'm having trouble with.) When my alarm goes off (or my inattentive-type ADHD ass gets bored of laying there), I save the recording, upload it to my computer, and then run it through a Speech-to-Text transcriber. ... Except, because my two cats become fucking 15lb+ demons who insistently put their assholes right up in my face when they aren't the sole focus of my attention, half of the transcript ends up being me scolding them, cooing at them, yelling at them, or otherwise mumbling nonsensically to them. The transcriber doesn't differentiate between Brainstorm Talking and Alex-Yelling-At-Her-Cats Talking. I'll usually go in and pick out what I need from it, but with how Chapter 29 is supposed to play out, it's sort of hard for me to tell this time around.

[alexprime-kohnar]

My laptop background keeping me motivated.

[alexprime]

Lady Loki — An 1870's Variant (WIP)

So, once again, I am on my bullshit and have waited until exactly one week to make my cosplay for comic-con this year. I started it last year, but ended up hating my fabric choice so much that I abandoned the project. I am now redoing it completely from the ground up. I modified my Lobster Tail pattern (Truly Victorian TV163) to be longer, as well as have more of a slope shape to the back. I have also made the first of three petticoats ( TV170). I... also somehow managed to sew the entire fucking bottom ruffle on inside out. I do not have the time or the will to go back and seam rip the bitch out, so it lives that way now. 🤡 There's always something. Today, I make the green underskirt, which is the first part of the costume that will actually be visible. I have seven days to make this entire fucking thing.