Rec: Star Trek Reboot
I am not a fan of keyboard mash. I can't remember ever wanting to keyboard mash. Guys, THIS FIC MAKES ME WANT TO KEYBOARD MASH.
Observations, by anon_j_anon
Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Spock, R, WIP, currently ~200k words
OK. I will try to be coherent. This is a hugely intelligent, beautifully constructed story told by Spock, regarding his time onboard the Enterprise following the Nerada crisis as he attempts to analyse and understand those around him. First person Spock is very rarely ever done well, but this is the complete exception to the rule. It's told in short chapters that range in length from a couple of hundred words to a couple of thousand. Sometimes they're little moment-in-the-life-of snippets, sometimes they're part of an arc and the chapters run into one another, and sometimes adjacent chapters don't at first appear to be following a theme and then it all links together later. The author also includes what she terms "annotations" and the ends of some chapters, which are part DVD commentary, part footnote and often very interesting.
Writing Spock in his own words has got to be one of the biggest challenges in any of my fandoms, but this story gave me insights into his character that I never even knew I was missing. This story will take you from discussions of Pre-Warp English to logical axioms. At various times, Spock identifies with the modern artist Kandinsky, quotes from the old testament, and compares his relationship with Jim to calculus. And it all works, in ways that are sometimes surprising. Also, this is science fiction in the sense that there is actual science in with the fiction -- the author has done her research and slots it seamlessly into the story in such an amazing way. The chapter at the beginning of the Balance of Terror section... You'll know what I mean when you get there... *boggles*
Which brings me to the TOS episode re-writes. anon_j_anon takes episodes from TOS and reboots them in the spirit of the film, and it's done in such a way that if you don't know the original epi it doesn't matter, and if you do you just sit there being impressed. My knowledge of TOS episodes isn't vast, but I think I've spotted most of the references, and the author also includes links to Memory Alpha in her annotations for the curious. My absolute favourite arc is The City on the Edge of Forever, which is rebooted to 2009 Manhattan. Just, complete and utter love.
There is a lot that I love about this story, but one of the things I love most is the character development: Kirk, Uhura, Bones, Sulu, Chekov and even Nurse Chapel are all the subject of Spock's continuous analysis. I particularly like the portrayal of Spock's growing friendship with Bones, his complete confusion at times, and the way they come to understand and respect each other. The relationship between Jim and Spock is very slow build -- nothing happens physically between them until chapter 114. But the journey is wonderful, beautiful, poignant and quietly emotional, with the author's spiralling style fitting Spock's gradual realisations perfectly. The action is fast-paced and relentless, but keeps that emotional thread and by the time you've finished you'll feel completely wrung out in the best way possible. And it still isn't finished, which means that even when you've got up to the date with the 130 chapters already posted, there will still be more to come! Win!
All of this is not to say that this is a perfect story. The phonetic spelling of Scotty, Chekov and Bones's speech can get very irritating. Kirk at times is a little OOC for me, and the sheer number of profanities he utters in the early chapters grates on my nerves no end. Spock's relationship with Uhura can at times be a little too sweet for my taste. BUT, overlooking these things is really, really worth it. This fic has enriched my life, and I don't say that lightly! I can't recommend it enough. Go, read, and then come back and talk about it with me :)
~
Serving under Captain James Tiberius Kirk will be a markedly different experience. Already there are several points where he diverges from the structured command style of Admiral Christopher Pike. I anticipate that it will be some time before I am able to optimize my performance and carry out my duties at my personal standard of efficiency.
The observations I made concerning Admiral Pike and his First Officer, Number One, do not seem to apply to my situation. Their relationship was marked by implicit trust, candor, and an intimate, intuitive knowledge of the other’s thought process. None of these qualities are present in my current situation with the captain, nor do I foresee such developments in the near future. Furthermore, the effort I made to understand Admiral Pike and the extensive data I gathered on his character are now irrelevant. Captain Kirk and Admiral Pike have few human characteristics in common.
How is it possible that this alien species is able to sustain such extensive psychological diversity? Is there any clear advantage or disadvantage?
~
"Do people ever surprise you?" she asked as the door shut behind us.
"Daily. The rules under which human emotions operate differs so greatly from the tenets of Vulcan logic that I often find myself unable to comprehend human thought and action. However, humans tend to establish certain patterns of action, habits and personality traits, which allows me to anticipate some behaviors, though the principles guiding them, if they exist, are beyond any form of logic."
She smiled and sat down beside me. "No, I meant, do you ever think you know everything about a person, and then they do something unexpected?"
"No. I am rarely able to map the entirety of an individual human’s routines and character. Even then, a person who is completely predictable seems to be an anomaly among humans and, according to psychological studies of your species, a sign of mental illness. Some degree of the eccentric and unorthodox is considered to be necessary.”
A most perplexing quality, as those who fall on the opposite end of the spectrum are considered to be unsound as well.
~
"Nyota, what commonalities exist between your experience grasping pre-warp English and you opinion of the captain?"
Another pause. Watching Nyota craft a sentence, one that will capture the idea she wishes to communicate, is fascinating. I rarely see humans put so much thought into what they say.
"I went back and looked at some of the old literature and poetry of the time. I'm not sure why I did it, but I flipped through the textbook, and read through my old notes again. This time, I saw details that I missed. The flexibility of pre-warp E is its greatest weakness, but also its greatest strength. It gives incredible power to the speaker, who can use, or misuse, the language. But it also places a responsibility on the listener. They must interpret the message correctly, draw upon other knowledge to judge the truth and motives behind the speaker's words.
"It occurred to me that Jim might be the same way."
~
Observations, by anon_j_anon
Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Spock, R, WIP, currently ~200k words
OK. I will try to be coherent. This is a hugely intelligent, beautifully constructed story told by Spock, regarding his time onboard the Enterprise following the Nerada crisis as he attempts to analyse and understand those around him. First person Spock is very rarely ever done well, but this is the complete exception to the rule. It's told in short chapters that range in length from a couple of hundred words to a couple of thousand. Sometimes they're little moment-in-the-life-of snippets, sometimes they're part of an arc and the chapters run into one another, and sometimes adjacent chapters don't at first appear to be following a theme and then it all links together later. The author also includes what she terms "annotations" and the ends of some chapters, which are part DVD commentary, part footnote and often very interesting.
Writing Spock in his own words has got to be one of the biggest challenges in any of my fandoms, but this story gave me insights into his character that I never even knew I was missing. This story will take you from discussions of Pre-Warp English to logical axioms. At various times, Spock identifies with the modern artist Kandinsky, quotes from the old testament, and compares his relationship with Jim to calculus. And it all works, in ways that are sometimes surprising. Also, this is science fiction in the sense that there is actual science in with the fiction -- the author has done her research and slots it seamlessly into the story in such an amazing way. The chapter at the beginning of the Balance of Terror section... You'll know what I mean when you get there... *boggles*
Which brings me to the TOS episode re-writes. anon_j_anon takes episodes from TOS and reboots them in the spirit of the film, and it's done in such a way that if you don't know the original epi it doesn't matter, and if you do you just sit there being impressed. My knowledge of TOS episodes isn't vast, but I think I've spotted most of the references, and the author also includes links to Memory Alpha in her annotations for the curious. My absolute favourite arc is The City on the Edge of Forever, which is rebooted to 2009 Manhattan. Just, complete and utter love.
There is a lot that I love about this story, but one of the things I love most is the character development: Kirk, Uhura, Bones, Sulu, Chekov and even Nurse Chapel are all the subject of Spock's continuous analysis. I particularly like the portrayal of Spock's growing friendship with Bones, his complete confusion at times, and the way they come to understand and respect each other. The relationship between Jim and Spock is very slow build -- nothing happens physically between them until chapter 114. But the journey is wonderful, beautiful, poignant and quietly emotional, with the author's spiralling style fitting Spock's gradual realisations perfectly. The action is fast-paced and relentless, but keeps that emotional thread and by the time you've finished you'll feel completely wrung out in the best way possible. And it still isn't finished, which means that even when you've got up to the date with the 130 chapters already posted, there will still be more to come! Win!
All of this is not to say that this is a perfect story. The phonetic spelling of Scotty, Chekov and Bones's speech can get very irritating. Kirk at times is a little OOC for me, and the sheer number of profanities he utters in the early chapters grates on my nerves no end. Spock's relationship with Uhura can at times be a little too sweet for my taste. BUT, overlooking these things is really, really worth it. This fic has enriched my life, and I don't say that lightly! I can't recommend it enough. Go, read, and then come back and talk about it with me :)
~
Serving under Captain James Tiberius Kirk will be a markedly different experience. Already there are several points where he diverges from the structured command style of Admiral Christopher Pike. I anticipate that it will be some time before I am able to optimize my performance and carry out my duties at my personal standard of efficiency.
The observations I made concerning Admiral Pike and his First Officer, Number One, do not seem to apply to my situation. Their relationship was marked by implicit trust, candor, and an intimate, intuitive knowledge of the other’s thought process. None of these qualities are present in my current situation with the captain, nor do I foresee such developments in the near future. Furthermore, the effort I made to understand Admiral Pike and the extensive data I gathered on his character are now irrelevant. Captain Kirk and Admiral Pike have few human characteristics in common.
How is it possible that this alien species is able to sustain such extensive psychological diversity? Is there any clear advantage or disadvantage?
~
"Do people ever surprise you?" she asked as the door shut behind us.
"Daily. The rules under which human emotions operate differs so greatly from the tenets of Vulcan logic that I often find myself unable to comprehend human thought and action. However, humans tend to establish certain patterns of action, habits and personality traits, which allows me to anticipate some behaviors, though the principles guiding them, if they exist, are beyond any form of logic."
She smiled and sat down beside me. "No, I meant, do you ever think you know everything about a person, and then they do something unexpected?"
"No. I am rarely able to map the entirety of an individual human’s routines and character. Even then, a person who is completely predictable seems to be an anomaly among humans and, according to psychological studies of your species, a sign of mental illness. Some degree of the eccentric and unorthodox is considered to be necessary.”
A most perplexing quality, as those who fall on the opposite end of the spectrum are considered to be unsound as well.
~
"Nyota, what commonalities exist between your experience grasping pre-warp English and you opinion of the captain?"
Another pause. Watching Nyota craft a sentence, one that will capture the idea she wishes to communicate, is fascinating. I rarely see humans put so much thought into what they say.
"I went back and looked at some of the old literature and poetry of the time. I'm not sure why I did it, but I flipped through the textbook, and read through my old notes again. This time, I saw details that I missed. The flexibility of pre-warp E is its greatest weakness, but also its greatest strength. It gives incredible power to the speaker, who can use, or misuse, the language. But it also places a responsibility on the listener. They must interpret the message correctly, draw upon other knowledge to judge the truth and motives behind the speaker's words.
"It occurred to me that Jim might be the same way."
~