Aristofranes - The Adventures Of Mrs Hudson - Tumblr Blog

I forgot to say that this came out of a 2-minute post-it note doodle I did in early 2020:

I'd always meant to turn it into something else but, well, 2020. Three and a bit years later, it's lovely to have an excuse!

>>File retrieved from the personal archives of Captain Christopher Pike

>>File type - image: Gabriel Lorca's promotion to captain of the Buran, 2251.

>>File classified: 2257

For Celebrate Disco 2023 (@startrekdiscoverycelebration) - have a little Pike and Lorca before everything went horribly wrong

>>File retrieved from the personal archives of Captain Christopher Pike

>>File type - image: Gabriel Lorca's promotion to captain of the Buran, 2251.

>>File classified: 2257

For Celebrate Disco 2023 (@startrekdiscoverycelebration) - have a little Pike and Lorca before everything went horribly wrong

The [BLEEP]ing cutest bone-drinker this side of Alpha Centauri.

Remember this guy?

My crochet Murf pattern is (finally) finished and available to download for free from Ravelry.

Go forth and have fun - all I ask is that you tag me in your finished projects!

Rebloogalooging again for 30 Days of Prodigy, day 17 - Rok Tahk!

It's taken 3 months of trial and error (mostly error), but...

... here's Rok Tahk!

Her FACE

I learned a lot designing and making her; she's definitely the most complicated piece I've crocheted to date. There are still a few things I want to fix - but given that she's only my second attempt at designing a crochet pattern, I think she's turned out pretty well! And Murf agrees.

Sharing again (a day late, whoops) for 30 Days of Prodigy, day four - Murf!

Paramount don't seem to be too interested in making Star Trek: Prodigy merch, so I decided to take matters into my own hands/crochet hook. Six prototypes, a lot of yarn, and even more swearing later, I've designed my very first crochet pattern.

Behold - Murf!

Next up ... Rok Tahk???

It's taken 3 months of trial and error (mostly error), but...

... here's Rok Tahk!

Her FACE

I learned a lot designing and making her; she's definitely the most complicated piece I've crocheted to date. There are still a few things I want to fix - but given that she's only my second attempt at designing a crochet pattern, I think she's turned out pretty well! And Murf agrees.

This has been getting another flurry of notes and lovely comments over the last few days, and if you liked this WIP pic of the prototype, you're going to love the finished version - which I'm hoping to share in the next week or so!

(And because a few people have asked whether I'll be posting the pattern: I very much plan to make the patterns for both Rok Tahk and Murf available, but they both need quite a bit of work before I'll be happy to release them into the wild. Rok Tahk in particular uses a bunch of slightly unusual techniques/stitches, instructions for all of which I'll need to write up in addition to the pattern itself, and some parts will need photos to show how it all works. She also requires a lot of yarn, so I want to make sure the pattern is perfect before anyone spends hard-earned money on the resources to make her. So it's a 'yes', but not necessarily a 'soon'!)

Who'd like a sneak preview of what I'm working on at the moment...?

It's Rok Tahk!

She's very much not finished (still need to figure out her dungarees and a pair of legs!) and very much a prototype, with lots that needs to be fixed for the next version, but I reckon she's looking great so far.

(She also might be the most complicated crochet pattern I've ever worked on, let alone designed...)

What do you think?

Who'd like a sneak preview of what I'm working on at the moment...?

It's Rok Tahk!

She's very much not finished (still need to figure out her dungarees and a pair of legs!) and very much a prototype, with lots that needs to be fixed for the next version, but I reckon she's looking great so far.

(She also might be the most complicated crochet pattern I've ever worked on, let alone designed...)

What do you think?

I'm working on a prototype for Rok Tahk as we speak! As my second-ever pattern design, she's ... not so much a step up from Murf as, er, several ladders up from Murf. But she's coming along nicely and I think she's going to look great when she's done.

A few people have asked about the patterns, so: my ultimate aim is definitely to share them, probably via Ravelry? But there are a few things about the Murf pattern I'd like to tweak, to make sure he's perfect before I release him into the wild - and at the moment Rok Tahk is occupying a lot of my brain/free time, so it might be a while yet. Stay tuned!

Paramount don't seem to be too interested in making Star Trek: Prodigy merch, so I decided to take matters into my own hands/crochet hook. Six prototypes, a lot of yarn, and even more swearing later, I've designed my very first crochet pattern.

Behold - Murf!

Next up ... Rok Tahk???

Murf keeps good company!

Paramount don't seem to be too interested in making Star Trek: Prodigy merch, so I decided to take matters into my own hands/crochet hook. Six prototypes, a lot of yarn, and even more swearing later, I've designed my very first crochet pattern.

Behold - Murf!

Next up ... Rok Tahk???

Paramount don't seem to be too interested in making Star Trek: Prodigy merch, so I decided to take matters into my own hands/crochet hook. Six prototypes, a lot of yarn, and even more swearing later, I've designed my very first crochet pattern.

Behold - Murf!

Next up ... Rok Tahk???

This is such a generous and thoughtful answer, and I'm going to be thinking about all of this for a long while yet. Thank you so much!

Your reply about Parmak reminded me that I wanted to say thank you. An interview you recorded a little while back about the Last Best Hope (iirc) provided something of a lightbulb moment for me: you spoke about the fact that you don't visualise things when you write, and in particular how that affects the way you approach descriptive prose. I'd never heard anyone else express that before; it sounded so similar to how I experience writing, and it really helped me to understand a part of my own process I hadn't fully thought about before. Hearing someone whose work I admire articulating something like that was so helpful and freeing, so - thank you! And obviously I'd be absolutely fascinated if you had any other thoughts on non-visual imagination and writing you felt able to share, if I haven't already taken up enough of your day with this essay.

I have absolutely LOADS of thoughts on non-visual imagination. I first started thinking about this when I was writing Tolkien fanfiction. There's a fantastic writer called Dwimordene, who has a very descriptive style (as well as great psychological acuity and is an all round amazing writer). I was blown away by Dwim's writing and how descriptive it was, but Dwim was always saying things like, "I wish I had your pared down style!"

We were discussing our writing processes one time, and Dwim explained how they pictured everything in detail, like a film rolling before them, and I thought, "I don't do that. I don't picture things at all." But whenever I said this to people, they would say, "But your descriptions are so vivid! I could absolutely picture [for example] the room and the shadows on the wall and the curtain blowing about in the breeze!" And I would think, "Well, that's more than I did!"

I knew that I had a knack for voice - that I found it extremely easy to capture not just dialogue between characters, but internal monologue. I found first-person narrative very easy to write. So I started to explore a difference between what I called visual imagination and auditory imagination, and whether some people leaned in one direction, and some in another. I brought it up with my creative writing students, and we discussed things like whether we found description or dialogue more easily; third person or first person and free indirect. And whether it suggested areas in your writing that needed attention to make your writing more effective.

As I explored this more, I discovered a phenomenon called aphantasia, which is a tendency not to able to form visual images in your mind: you don't have a mind's eye. It seems to be closely connected to the functioning of memory. I have an excellent memory for facts, but remember very little of events. My other half frequently has to remind me that, yes, we have been to certain places, and had memorable things happen, etc. etc. (I don't see this as a "condition", by the way; just the way my brain operates. It seems to have worked out broadly okay.)

But what puzzled me was that people were often praising my descriptive ability, and how they could picture the scenes I was writing. Well, partly this is because the nature of TV tie-in writing is that the visual setting is already established, so that work is done for me (no wonder I was drawn to this particular genre!). But then I realised that something else was going on.

What I'm actually very good at doing is remembering (or, perhaps more accurately, imagining) deeply experienced feelings, connecting them to quite general images, and then communicating the combination of that intense feeling and sketched image. What happens next is the alchemy of reading. The reader seems to be able to connect their own feelings, and plug in visuals that they already have. They "see" the place I'm "describing", because they're recalling the emotions they once had in a particular place.

One example of this that people might have read is from my Picard novel The Last Best Hope (this might be the example I used in the podcast?). At the end of the section where Picard evacuates Vani and her community from their planet, we are left with a view out over an emptied landscape:

"The river ran on. The leaves drifted. And, in the valley, the wind chimes sang a song that would never be heard again."

There's practically no description here: the nouns are very concrete and there are no adjectives. It moves from this to something quite abstract. But what I have tried to do is fill those words (primarily through sentence structure) with a feeling of loss and melancholy, and hope that you connect that to an image that is already in your mind.

I'm still exploring the ramifications of this for my own creative practice (I'm very taken by the idea of writing a memoir when I have pretty scant memories). I know it's one reason that I can't listen to music while I write (because writing happens in an auditory space for me), and why I am so stimulated to creativity by visual material (because it's supplying what I can't). Lots going on here, but that's some thoughts on visual and auditory imagination, and how they might relate to creative practice.

... and here is the second!

Katoberfest 2022

Day seven: Where is Katrina Cornwell right now?

tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Emperor Georgiou has a business proposal for Kat.

Unfortunately, she also has a lousy sense of timing.

For today's prompt, it's a new fic! Kat's no stranger to a career change. She's already gone from psychiatrist to Admiral, and in tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, a new job offer makes her reconsider the future. And the past. And ... time as a concept, really.

(@theadmiralslegion)

Read on Ao3

Over at my All-Trek-All-The-Time alter ego, @lorcaswhisky, I've mostly been blogging about Katoberfest, a week-long event celebrating Star Trek: Discovery's Admiral Katrina Cornwell - and I have 2 new ficlets! Here's the first...

Katoberfest 2022

Day four: A therapy session or Late night meeting

Tactical Briefings

The Buran is carrying a very important guest: Vice Admiral Katrina Cornwell. There's just one tiny problem.

She's gone missing.

Two posts in a day? And one is a new ficlet?! I know, I can hardly believe it myself.

Tactical Briefings is a little fic asking big questions, like 'theoretically, if you were a Vice Admiral and a newly-minted Captain and you needed to sneak around a starship, how would you go about it?'.

(@theadmiralslegion)

Read on Ao3

Chapters: 20/22

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Number One/Gabriel Lorca

Characters: Original Universe Gabriel Lorca, Number One (Star Trek), Amanda Grayson, Sarek (Star Trek), Harry Mudd, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, Spock (Star Trek)

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, not so much ‘mutual pining’ as ‘mutual terror of accidentally having an emotion’, the grumpy one falls for the … other grumpy one?, there was only one shuttle, vehement denial of feelings, questionable interplanetary diplomacy, questionable science, unhealthy levels of coffee consumption, gratuitous descriptions of telepathy, fixing the injustice of erasing Discovery from history one poorly thought out escapade at a time

Series: Part 2 of Last Resort

–

Chapter 20! In which the side-effects of an accidental telepathic link prove to be a useful cover for … other sensations, Una has opinions about men’s tailoring, and Feelings happen at a truly alarming rate.

Chapters: 19/22

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Number One/Gabriel Lorca

Characters: Original Universe Gabriel Lorca, Number One (Star Trek), Amanda Grayson, Sarek (Star Trek), Harry Mudd, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, Spock (Star Trek)

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, not so much ‘mutual pining’ as 'mutual terror of accidentally having an emotion’, the grumpy one falls for the … other grumpy one?, there was only one shuttle, vehement denial of feelings, questionable interplanetary diplomacy, questionable science, unhealthy levels of coffee consumption, gratuitous descriptions of telepathy, fixing the injustice of erasing Discovery from history one poorly thought out escapade at a time

Series: Part 2 of Last Resort

– 

Chapter 19!  In which a telepathic link isn’t the same as being able to read someone’s mind, social distancing on a spaceship proves difficult, and being respectful of boundaries is both a love language and honestly kind of a problem.

Alternative summary:

Chapters: 14/20

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Number One/Gabriel Lorca Characters: Original Universe Gabriel Lorca, Number One (Star Trek), Amanda Grayson, Sarek (Star Trek), Harry Mudd, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, Spock (Star Trek)

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, not so much ‘mutual pining’ as ‘mutual terror of accidentally having an emotion’, the grumpy one falls for the … other grumpy one?, there was only one shuttle, vehement denial of feelings, questionable interplanetary diplomacy, questionable science, unhealthy levels of coffee consumption, gratuitous descriptions of telepathy, fixing the injustice of erasing Discovery from history one poorly thought out escapade at a time Series: Part 2 of Last Resort

Chapter 14! In which there are too many scams, and Gabriel stumbles on an unfortunate realisation in front of the worst possible audience.

Chapters: 11/18

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Number One/Gabriel Lorca

Characters: Original Universe Gabriel Lorca, Number One (Star Trek), Amanda Grayson, Sarek (Star Trek), Harry Mudd, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, Other Character Tags to Be Added

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, not so much ‘mutual pining’ as ‘mutual terror of accidentally having an emotion’, the grumpy one falls for the … other grumpy one?, there was only one shuttle, vehement denial of feelings, questionable interplanetary diplomacy, questionable science, unhealthy levels of coffee consumption, gratuitous descriptions of telepathy, fixing the injustice of erasing Discovery from history one poorly thought out escapade at a time

Series: Part 2 of Last Resort

Summary:

2271. Gabriel never intended to swap one set of secrets for another, but if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that life has a way of surprising you.

Una doesn’t want a partner - especially not on a mission that threatens to bring back bad memories. And yet, somehow, she’s ended up stuck with both.

But with Section 31 closing in and time running out, Gabriel, Una and the Network have to pin their hopes on a risky plan that could finally provide them with the breakthrough they need. Assuming, of course, it doesn’t bring everything crashing down in the process.

Sequel to Lost Cause.

–

Chapter 11! In which bad deals are bad, stubborn idiots are stubborn, and awkward goodbyes are awkward.

Chapters: 10/18

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Number One/Gabriel Lorca

Characters: Original Universe Gabriel Lorca, Number One (Star Trek), Amanda Grayson, Sarek (Star Trek), Harry Mudd, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, Other Character Tags to Be Added

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, spying hijinks (spyjinks?), not so much ‘mutual pining’ as ‘mutual terror of accidentally having an emotion’, the grumpy one falls for the … other grumpy one?, there was only one shuttle, vehement denial of feelings, communication via fortune cookies, questionable interplanetary diplomacy, questionable science, unhealthy levels of coffee consumption, gratuitous descriptions of telepathy, fixing the injustice of erasing Discovery from history one poorly thought out escapade at a time

Series: Part 2 of Last Resort

Summary:

2271. Gabriel never intended to swap one set of secrets for another, but if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that life has a way of surprising you.

Una doesn’t want a partner - especially not on a mission that threatens to bring back bad memories. And yet, somehow, she’s ended up stuck with both.

But with Section 31 closing in and time running out, Gabriel, Una and the Network have to pin their hopes on a risky plan that could finally provide them with the breakthrough they need. Assuming, of course, that it doesn’t bring everything crashing down in the process.

Sequel to Lost Cause.

–

Chapter ten! In which Una doesn’t have a plan, Gabriel doesn’t have a shirt, and neither of them have a clue (aka, (Fifty-)Five Times Una and Gabriel Didn’t Kiss)

Chapters: 9/18

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Number One/Gabriel Lorca

Characters: Original Universe Gabriel Lorca, Number One (Star Trek), Amanda Grayson, Sarek (Star Trek), Harry Mudd, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po, Other Character Tags to Be Added

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, spying hijinks (spyjinks?), not so much ‘mutual pining’ as ‘mutual terror of accidentally having an emotion’, the grumpy one falls for the … other grumpy one?, there was only one shuttle, vehement denial of feelings, communication via fortune cookies, questionable interplanetary diplomacy, questionable science, unhealthy levels of coffee consumption, gratuitous descriptions of telepathy, fixing the injustice of erasing Discovery from history one poorly thought out escapade at a time

Series: Part 2 of Last Resort

Summary:

2271. Gabriel never intended to swap one set of secrets for another, but if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that life has a way of surprising you.

Una doesn’t want a partner - especially not on a mission that threatens to bring back bad memories. And yet, somehow, she’s ended up stuck with both.

But with Section 31 closing in and time running out, Gabriel, Una and the Network have to pin their hopes on a risky plan that could finally provide them with the breakthrough they need. Assuming, of course, that it doesn’t bring everything crashing down in the process.

Sequel to Lost Cause.

–

Chapter 9! In which a reunion goes sour, and there are some decidedly heavyhanded chess metaphors. 

Star Trek Colouring-in Project #3: Kirk

I'm trying to keep myself occupied and (more or less) sane with some Star Trek colouring-in projects. And I thought other Trekkies might enjoy them too, so...

RIP yet another shirt.

Feel free to print/download/share/colour in; if you do, please share the results - I'd love to see them!

Star Trek Colouring-In Project #2: Janeway

I'm trying to keep myself occupied and (more or less) sane with some Star Trek colouring-in projects. And I thought other Trekkies might enjoy them too, so...

Have a highly-caffeinated Captain Janeway!

Feel free to print/download/share/colour in; if you do, please share the results - I'd love to see them!

Star Trek Colouring-In Project #2: Janeway

I'm trying to keep myself occupied and (more or less) sane with some Star Trek colouring-in projects. And I thought other Trekkies might enjoy them too, so...

Have a highly-caffeinated Captain Janeway!

Feel free to print/download/share/colour in; if you do, please share the results - I'd love to see them!