#I've been watching a lot of Star Trek lately...

[tumbleofdorks]

When the trio is actually, in fact, a fully functional Troll quad.

[foone]

weird thought: I think if I was a teenager now (or anytime in the last decade or so) I think I would have written (and read!) a lot more fanfic than I did in reality, where I was a teenager in the 90s.

See, I've never been hugely into fanfic. Never had anything against it exactly, but it just wasn't something I was into. But I think that has to do with an interesting combination of how my brain works and what time I was first really getting into being a fan.

I've got a "librarian" brain (I'm literally typing this from within a library, WHERE I WORK). It wants to know things like "what are all the works in this series/by this creator?" and "are they all accessible?" and "what info is available about how it was made?"

I'm the kind of person who will watch a show then go look it up on wikipedia to see how many seasons it has, who made it, if they're still making it, check tvtropes for any more info, etc. Or I hear a song I like by a band I've never heard of, so I go listen to their entire discography while researching them. I just focus on things I'm into that way, you know? I don't half-ass my interest. (this is probably related to my autism, of course)

So what does this have to do with fanfic? like, do I go read some fanfics as part of this process? No, and I think the reason for it is when I specifically first got into fandom, as a teen.

See, this sort of fandom-librarian was harder to do in 1997, you know? You couldn't just pull up the wikipedia for that new show and see how many episodes it had. You also couldn't just listen to the whole discography of that band! Forget Spotify or Google Music, even Napster didn't exist yet.

So my interest in fandom focused a lot more on very basic questions: How many episodes/albums/books/whatever are there? Where can I see/hear them all? Like, I remember getting excited because I found some fan magazine that had a list of all the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes. Just a list! Not even descriptions or anything. I finally could take that list and see how many I'd seen, so I'd know when I saw them all in late-night reruns.

So I'm focusing on these very basic parts of being a fandom-librarian and I stumble across some fanfic. I'm like "oh, is this a transcript of an episode I haven't seen yet?" and I realize it's not, it's a story written by a fan, and I get a knee-jerk reaction of "that's not helpful to my quest to know and find all the episodes". It's like I am on a quest for the holy grail and I found a fake cup. It's not helpful to me, and at worst it's a distraction from my goal.

And the thing is, I think the fact I had that reaction is entirely due to the time and situation in which I first encountered fanfic. It was in that environment of "I can't even find a list of the episodes, let alone a way to watch them all!" and that anxiety that colored my response to finding fanfic.

I think if I instead was first introduced to fanfic NOW, where those fandom-librarian drives aren't so difficult to fulfill, I'd be way more positive about fanfic. If I could get a list of episodes with a quick google search, and watch them easily on netflix/prime/whatever, I'd be less "THIS DOESN'T HELP! I AM STRUGGLING WITH THE BASICS HERE!" and more "yay, more content for the fandom I'm obsessed with!"

Like I said, I'm not anti-fanfic, I never have been, I just never got into it. From the beginning I had this reaction that was "this is not useful" and I never developed any real interest in it. Which is a shame, honestly. Fanfic is great. It just never became one of my interests, and while I've written it and read it from time to time, I imagine I'd be way more into it if I didn't have the weird reaction to it due to the worries of the time in which I first encountered it.

I don't know how many other people have brains that work anything like mine, but if they exist, I'm glad they're now growing up in a world where they won't have these problems. They can get into fanfic without this weird baggage caused by a lack of information.

[azazelsazaleas]

Set a course...for home

So I just finished Voyager. And I have thoughts.

Endgame, like the series, was good but felt like it could've been so much more. I'm not the first fan to point out that it's weird that the last thing we see is Voyager flying towards Earth, with no coda or montage or anything showing each of the crew when they get home. What really surprised me on this viewing (I saw it once back when it first aired, but it's been over 20 years and I barely remembered it) was how slow the pacing was until the last 20 minutes or so. I kinda feel like the writers could've trimmed a bit out of it so we could have a more satisfying denouement. Oh well. They got home, Janeway thoroughly wrecked the Borg, and I'm not going to lie - I got a little choked up when they fly out of the exploding Borg Sphere and Janeway says, "We did it."

With that said, may as well go through the good, the not-so-good, and any other random thoughts I have in retrospect.

The good :

Captain Kathryn Janeway.

I'm sorry, that deserves to be written thusly:

CAPTAIN KATHRYN FUCKING JANEWAY

Oh my god, I love this woman. I think, at this point, she's my favorite Star Trek captain and easily one of my favorite characters in the franchise. She absolutely radiates an aura of "I am in charge here, and this situation is going to go how I decide it goes," and she delivers every damn time. Strong-willed, controversial, authoritative, intelligent, creative, and just damned incredible. Janeway alone is a major reason to give this show a watchthrough.

Not to mention, Kate Mulgrew is a fucking INCREDIBLE actress. She brings 110% to every episode, and I swear to god, she basically carried the first two or three seasons.

And speaking of amazing actresses, Jeri Ryan was incredible. A lot of people loved her performance in Body and Soul (and yes, watching her channel Robert Picardo was delightful), but seeing her constantly changing personalities in Infinite Regress two seasons earlier was the big "Holy Shit" moment for me. Even beyond that, she was brilliant as Seven of Nine (and say what you will about ST:Picard, I loved seeing her step back into the role). It also doesn't hurt that Seven is one of the most interesting characters on the show, if not on Star Trek.

In general, the show had some great characters on the main cast. I found I really liked Tuvok and B'Elanna as well. Tim Russ nailed that "annoyed Vulcan who secretly cares" thing, and I thought B'Elanna's struggles with her identity were generally well-handled, at least for mid-late-90s TV.

I'm honestly surprised how fine I was with Tom/B'Elanna. I was not expecting that relationship to work as well as it did.

Speaking of "didn't expect that to work," Naomi Wildman was genuinely endearing as the "kid on the starship" character type that Star Trek seemed adamant on having in the 80s and 90s. I"m glad the writers learned their lessons post-Wesley Crusher.

Oddly enough, I also found I enjoyed some of the "bad" episodes - Threshold, Tuvix, etc. Voyager got pretty weird, so some of the more questionable creative choices were just damned entertaining. Not all of them, though. Which brings me to...

The Bad:

Oh my god fuck the Kazon. They are easily the worst recurring villain race I've seen on Star Trek. They don't even seem like ST villains, they seem like the kind of thing you'd see on a b-rate late night 1990s crappy sci-fi action show. They're like an attempt to make Klingon copies but without literally anything whatsoever that makes the Klingons compelling.

Speaking of which, fuck Seska, too. I still have a hard time buying that any self-respecting Cardassian would look at the Kazon and go, "yep, I'll throw my lot in with them."

The whole Neelix/Kes thing was...gross. I'm sorry, there's no way around that. They had no chemistry, no compelling reason to be in a relationship, and the whole thing with Kes's age felt like a variation on the theme of "she may look 12 but she's actually a 5000 year old dragon." Whichever producer came up with that needs to have something solid thrown at them.

In general, Neelix was just the worst character for the first couple or three seasons. He got a lot better, but early Neelix was...yikes. I got genuinely frustrated with how much time was focused on him.

I also have mixed feelings about Chakotay. Sometimes he was pretty great, but the whole behind-the-seasons thing with the "cultural advisor" made for some pretty bad early character building, and after they gave up on that, he felt kind of flat. And now that I think of it, inconsistent. It seems like the writers (at least in the early seasons) couldn't decide between making him a tough hardass who'll punch you if you don't get in line or the more calm, measured, cautious voice in contrast to Janeway's bullheadedness.

Seven/Chakotay was just...no.

Other random thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about the EMH. Robert Picardo was great in the role, but as the character progressed, I feel like he got away with crossing lines he really should not have. The entire episode Renaissance Man just pissed me off. Can't say I was thrilled with some of his behavior in Body and Soul, either. The whole running gag of him having a giant ego seemed to swing between hilarious and painful to watch, as well.

The show was good, but it felt like it could've been so much more. Part of it was Paramount's insistence on not having anything serialized, but part of it was also how actionized it got. There's a number of episodes that felt like they could've done something more interesting but instead the producers wanted phasers and explosions.

I have very mixed feelings about how the Borg were handled. On one hand, Seven is an amazing character, the Scorpion 2-parter is probably my favorite pair of episodes in the show's run, and there are a couple other Borg-relate episodes I liked. On the other hand, I thought the Borg as a direct threat got stale quickly, Dark Frontier nerfed them way too much, they felt underwhelming as an enemy in Endgame, and (yes I know this is more of a criticism of First Contact, but still) the Borg having a Queen ruins a lot of the creepy mystique they have. No matter how you slice it, I think the Borg as a recurring enemy were pretty much spent by the end of Voyager.

Favorite episodes (off the top of my head): Scorpion 1&2, Equinox 1&2, Bride of Chaotica!

Final score: 7 out of 9 (you were expecting anything else?)

[danae-inprogress]

Diary Entry - January 19, 2025 // Weekend Reflections

Hey, lovelies. I didn’t post or even write for a couple of days because I really needed to rest. While work weeks don’t seem extremely long to me, they’re busy and I usually have 6 or 7 classes in a row with no time in between (besides 5 minutes here or 15 minutes there). This is only one of the reasons I can’t wait for this school year to end. My contract ends in late June, and I don’t plan to renew it. Anyway, I had a good weekend, and I hope you did too and that you’re feeling ready and motivated enough for the new week. Highlights of this weekend ✨I had the chance to rest and sleep in - both were much needed. ✨I spent time with my lovely doggo, Frodo. ✨I practiced Spanish on Duolingo - I’m veeeery close to completing the January challenge. ✨I played Stardew Valley with my partner!!! ✨I also played Sims 3, and gosh it was so fun. ✨I prepped all nicely for the new week! I took care of myself and my body, printed materials and activities for my classes, tidied and cleaned up my space. ✨I reflected on the past week and kept track of the progress I’m making with my goals. My meh moments ❌I had in mind to have a long work-out or yoga session but I didn’t. My muscles were in pain on Saturday, and I just felt like resting my body. ❌Somehow, I didn’t write at all - besides this post for this blog. ❌I want to get started on my bullet journal for this year but I’ve procrastinating a lot. Oh, gosh. My goals for this week (more or less) 💜Get to 7k words (my monthly goal is 8k words and I’ve written around 5.500 words so far). 💜Write a blog post and finish a fanfiction that’s been a wip for a while. 💜Track calories on MyFitnessPal. 💜Renew car assistance. 💜Work-out twice this week. 💜Read 40 pages of the book I've been reading. 💜Get started on my bullet journal, finally. 💜Make a February content calendar. 💜Watch one Star Trek The Next Generation episode. I mean, I’ve been watching it forever and I feel like I’ll never finish it. I don’t know how many of these things I’ll actually do, but I’m hopeful. I’m also grateful for my 3 new followers on this blog. Thank you all for joining me on this journey! Happy New Week!

[jesslovesboats]

Getting to know someone better

Thanks for the tag @ktredshoes!

Last song: Don't Go to the Woods by the Decemberists

Favorite color: hunter green

Currently watching: Star Trek Voyager reruns. I also just finished The Good Lord Bird, which was an interesting take on John Brown

Last movie: First Cow- watched it on a friend's recommendation and it was very good!

Sweet/savory/spicy: a toss up between sweet and savory, but I'm giving it to savory because one of the saddest things about getting older is that some of my favorite things are now too sweet, which is cruel beyond words

Current obsession: Aside from polar exploration (which is less of an obsession and more of a lifestyle at this point), I am obsessed with the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, a Soviet all female aviation regiment that fought during WWII. I've been doing a lot of genealogy research lately, and I'm also volunteering with Women for Harris-Walz. Mostly, though, I'm close enough to my upcoming trip to Europe that it consumes 75% of my thoughts on any given day. I'm making a spreadsheet of friends to meet up with, museums to visit, and bookstores and perfume shops that will bankrupt me!

Last thing I searched: the address for the surgery center where my cat got neutered earlier today, but that's boring, so I will also tell you some things that I'm currently researching for Baby's First Big Writing Project That May or May Not Pan Out: the history of the US Marine Reserves in WWI, Appalachian folklore, the Christian Science movement, nativism and discrimination against German-Americans in the years leading up to WWI, spiritualism and astrology in the 1920's, and buffalo head nickels.

Absolutely no pressure tagging @i-have-loved-you-too-much, @overlysweetcoffee, @johnnystorrm, and @sastrugie, as well as anyone else who wants to play!

[anonymooseforever007]

Hi Y'all! I'm gonna try to get back on here! (Y'all can skip this if you want!)

Hi ❤️ ok so I hope y'all are all doing well! I know it's been I've a year since I've posted anything really or like done any interaction and stuff. But towards the end of the summer I got really busy getting ready to go back to school and then my anxiety about interacting with like anyone started acting up and like it kinda just stayed there for a while. And then I also kinda got distracted a little bit from Peaky Blinders and writing stuff, but I'm gonna try to get back on here now. I will admit I haven't been looking at to many things for Peaky Blinders recently as I've been a bit more into other shows and have been watching them more than reading lately (EX: X-Files (Fox Mulder), Star Trek SNW (Spock), Star Trek TOS (Kirk), Justified, All the CSI's, Criminal Minds, etc).

But yeah like that's been happening and I feel bad because I kept meaning to get back on and then I didn't. But I think it should be all good now. I just stared my senior year in college, and I've started anxiety meds which have helped a lot, and I've got a remote internship I'm still going to be doing for a bit so I still can't say how regularly I'll be posting or getting on here but I just wanted to start trying to do it again, without maybe going to fast and scaring myself off again😅 Also Tumblr seems to have glitches and deleted a few messages on my end that were sent to me but I don't get a chance to respond to to if y'all sent something and I did't see it I'm very sorry. I tumblr seems to be giving me issues about working it on my phone right now which is how I usually do it all. And I'm going to try and up date that.

In terms of works written works, the WIP list I made like a year ago is still the current list of what's finished along with a small number of incorrect quotes and random stuff I need to filter through. I do have one story I'm going to try and post right after this before I go to classes again and then I'll try checking in back after I finish work today. So that will be updated. And then I've been stuck writing lately so I'm going to slowly trying to start getting back into it!

But yeah... that's all I can think of for now. I'm not sure what else to say really but that I hope y'all are doing well and thank you to everyone who enjoyed my stories even when I was gone, I'm glad that I could hopefully brighten you day a bit:)

[witchyfoxelf]

hey so sorry to jumpscare anyone who's still following me by posting some stuff here for the first time in like literally a year i think? adhd is fun. but yeah, i've really been missing writing something fierce, so i may try to be more present. i cannot promise that i'll be great about keeping up with what y'all are up to on here because the parts of my day i used to fill with scrolling tumblr have seemingly evaporated? but i'll do my best.

anyway, i was listening to a patreon bonus episode of one of my favorite podcasts (hey riddle riddle), and one of the hosts (adal) mentioned that every time he rewatches a tv show he hasn't watched in a while, he usually ends up with a different favorite character than he had the last time he watched it. and that got me thinking about some shows i've rewatched lately, and i realized that's largely been the case for me as well. hardly a shocking revelation of course, but i decided to do what any normal person would do with this information and write a long post no one but me is going to care about about my experience with this phenomenon.

avatar: the last airbender

original favorite: aang

current favorite: zuko

this is the most interesting one to me, and it also feels like it makes a great deal of sense both in terms of how i've changed since the first time i watched this show and also just how the show mechanically works. like... the first time you watch the first few seasons, prince zuko is unambiguously the bad guy for the first few seasons. the show even seems to go out of its way to show him being offered an off-ramp or two and not taking them. which is part of why him finally doing so feels so earned.

watching it the second time through was just a completely different experience. it didn't feel weird whenever zuko did something admirable. it didn't make me roll my eyes whenever he was Going Through It and showed us that he was hurting. it didn't make me angry to see him trying his best for a dad who would never love him. or rather, it did make me angry, very angry, but not at him.

i genuinely think atla is one of the shows that most rewards a rewatch. it was already one of my favorite shows of all time the first time i watched it, but i realized upon rewatching it that i was somehow underrating it in my memory.

star trek: the next generation

original favorite: captain picard

current favorite: riker

honestly there are a bunch of characters on this show i might've called my favorite on any given day when i was younger. i definitely went through phases with worf & geordi too. and embarrassingly i think my first favorite character was probably wesley. but i think the one i most consistently came back to was captain picard. he was aspirational. i wanted to be that good at listening to all sides of an issue but always, always making what i believed with strong moral conviction was the right choice, and being willing to put myself into the literal & figurative line of fire to defend my principles.

and don't get me wrong, there are still a lot of things i admire about picard. but also like... one other consistent thing about my favorite character years ago is that it was for sure never will riker. to be completely honest when i first watched the show i thought he was easily the most boring character. like, what even is a first officer? spock was that and a science officer at the same time. and on top of that the character himself is intentionally channeling the worst star trek captain? are you sure? and the thing that everyone likes about him is that he has a beard? (no offense to anyone but i don't find facial hair attractive.)

to be honest i still don't quite get the beard thing, but wow was i ever sleeping on this guy. will riker is my favorite tng character and it isn't particularly close. part of it is just finally noticing how dang charismatic jonathan frakes is in his unique kind of way, and how much he uses that charisma to be warm & reassuring and just... generally kind of a "good guy"? like, i hate star trek: picard, but i think seeing riker as a wholesome husband & dad is a big part of what made his character finally click for me. and going back & rewatching tng, it was hard not to notice how much he was constantly standing up for people and just... caring.

maybe that's just it. i like "boring" characters who care and want everyone to be ok and will do their best no matter what. and that's will riker.

and yeah, it helps that he's a slut.

star trek: deep space nine

original favorite: worf

current favorite: captain sisko

worf was my favorite star trek character for a good long time and there are still things i admire about him. i'll never not fall for that stupid-ass trick they pull every tng episode where he's having an interpersonal conflict in which he's been carrying the pigheaded idiot ball all episode, and he'll say something that sounds completely unredeemable and reminds you of all the reasons you're on the other person's side, but then he'll pause dramatically and start his next sentence with, "however." and immediately say the coolest shit you've ever heard that shows he's really Grown and Learned (but he'll forget by the next episode because while late-season tng got really good at having at least one character experience character development per episode, it wasn't until ds9 that they showed any signs of actually retaining what they learned from episode to episode).

also like... when we talk about autistic-coded characters i feel like worf often gets left out, but he's just... yeah, guys. yeah.

but on my last rewatch of ds9 it just became abundantly clear to me that captain sisko is the best star trek captain and it isn't especially close. he's every bit the paragon of virtue that picard is, but he's just... more human. more present. more willing to be transparent about what he's dealing with, more willing to talk through his weakness and biases, but still willing to accept the responsibility of command.

different doesn't have to mean better or worse, but especially with the way picard's character careened off the rails & burst into flames the further we got from season 7 of tng, sisko is just indisputably the best captain. and no disrespect to patrick stewart or anyone else who's ever been in front of that camera, but i think it's reasonably likely avery brooks is the best actor that's ever been on star trek. he's just incredible.

star trek: voyager

original favorite: seven of nine

current favorite: tuvok

i still like seven a lot, but tuvok was always one of my favorite characters on the show and rewatching the show really cemented it for me.

i especially like seeing the way he talks about emotions in a genuinely emotionally healthy way. he acknowledges their power, never says they're not real or unimportant, and then talks through them. it's just brilliant.

[incalculablepower]

some fics i've liked lately

it's been a weird year. when i made this list of recs back in january i fully intended it to become a monthly thing, but life happened and then i guess it just kept happening. in early 2023 things were ramping up in my new career, i was practicing and playing a lot with my band to prepare for our first show, i was settling into dealing with depression and anxiety with medication, i was getting over a miserable breakup. then i fell in love. i lost my job (the best and most favourite job i've ever had) abruptly this past may. this is my longest period of unemployment since i was a teenager and while you think it would be the best time to lose yourself in fandom, i felt the opposite. fandom was such a lifeline to me when i had a miserable job and was in a bad relationship and needed an escape but i was very present in my own life this summer. i took my partner to visit my family and spent a lot of time with friends and played shows (and recorded some music... shameless self promo once again) and in between i watched so much star trek on my couch. this is such a long preamble to explain why i haven't been fandoming as much lately and why idk if i'll write anything again anytime soon (let's say, once i have a job i want to procrastinate at) but -- i HAVE been reading fic! not as much as before, but i have been, and there's enough for a fic rest list so that's what i'm giving you today. when times are dire [podfic] - @aibidil

drarry. i have such a soft spot for middle aged draco and harry falling in love, the relationships they have with their friends and their grown children. @aibidil reads her own podfics and it's an utter delight. i usually only listen to podfics or audiobooks when i'm doing work around the house but i can going on walks with my headphones just so i could listen to more of this one.

purple haze by @ashesandhackles

romione. i was so so honoured to see this pop up in my ao3 gifts during @thethreebroomsticksfic pride fest this year. it turns the well tread romione ground of shell cottage and the yule ball over a bit, using them as settings to explore a confusing mix of jealousy and sexuality for ron and hermione. ashes knows i love mess with these and it captures that teenage chaos wonderfully, then lets them laugh at it as secure and settled adults.

crookshanks by @ala-baguette

gen. warning that this is a tearjerker, especially if you've ever loved and lost a pet. i think the pure and simple expressions of love and gratitude from crook's pov here would be a comfort to any pet owner.

at some point this year, i got REALLY into the idea of a one-sided dramione. it's hard to look for, especially since it's such a popular ship but i managed to find a few that scratched the itch until i find the time and/or motivation to write one of my own new years eve by 2daughtersofathena, the guardian angel by mylifebelongstothebbc, and a boy of hans by elixirsoflife. the last one being my personal favourite, a grim take on the hanahaki disease trope.

every mother is a grave by witchofimber

this was recced by @whinlatter in @thethreebroomsticksfic discord (btw i feel like no one on my followers lists needs anyone to remind them to read beasts -- but please read beasts) and when i saw "gillian flynn treatment" in the tags i slammed the mark for later button. this is probably the most balanced and realistic portrayals of molly weasley and her role as a mother that i've ever read in hp fic. it's not weasley family fluff but it doesn't devolve into something so flat as bashing either. molly is regular mother with flaws and strengths like anyone else and how they amplify and shift with love and grief and pain and stress and duty and pressure. every single relationship she has with her children is uniquely expressed and the way it ties the past to the direct aftermath of the war is so well done and a great way to organize this giant, messy family. particular care here went into fred and george, giving them their own identities in a way that can be difficult, given the source material. a favourite line:

“Probably have tried to make us name the twins after them.” He stopped laughing, sucked in a breath. “Do you want to?”  For a second she considered it. It would be wonderful, getting to use those names again like living things. But -  “No,” she said. “I - if they were alive, I’d have said no, so I’m saying it now. Let the boys be their own people.”  The truth was that she didn’t want to lose her brothers. To have their faces erased in her memory, painted over with her sons. To have to say no, not THAT Fab, I mean UNCLE Fab - he died before you were born. Anyway, she liked the names Fred and George. It was easier like this. 

the scrunchie by @saintsenara

another fic i've meant to read for ages and finally got around to just yesterday. the background drama of these side characters as a cheap scrunchie from boots floats around them is so perfectly teenage. reminds me of the other series i loved as a teenager around the time HP was coming out: georgia nicolson and gossip girl. i could also compare it to derry girls a little, how despite the environment surrounding them these girls are still being girls, arguing about stupid things and getting crushes on boys and having the absolute most ridiculous blowout fights with your sister (parvati and padma's portrayal here is probably my favourite i've ever read!)

i also can't leave without reccing @saintsenara's wip, one year in every ten. i can't get enough of a good case fic. tomarry/harrymort (both versions of this ship, oddly, apply to this fic) is not something i've ever sought out but i really think the way it's handled here could win over any non-believer. it's sharp and funny in a way that makes it turns into poignancy hit even harder. i screenshotted two full phone screen pages of chapter 27 so i could go back and read them over and over. it might be one of the best things i've ever read from ron's POV (emphasis mine):

It had been a long ten years, with a chair at their table always left empty and a hole in their hearts always unfilled. Grief was exhausting and boring and dully painful, like a slightly sprained ankle which you can still walk on, but which always bothers you a little bit.  But there had been love among the grief. There had been love before the grief - indeed love had caused the grief - and there had been love after. His love for his parents and his siblings had changed, the way wine left in a barrel changes and becomes richer and deeper. There was more sorrow in the love, as he threw a quaffle around with George and saw the tired lines at the corner of his eyes. There was more recrimination, more struggle with the mistakes they had all made in the past, as he finally sat down and had a real chat with mum and dad about how a lifetime of corned-beef sandwiches and maroon jumpers had made him feel. But there was more joy there too. And with joy came forgiveness and understanding and hope and fun.

image used is wildflowers (1915) by tom thomson

[frommybookbook]

Heist Movies and the Hays Code

The other night, some friends and I watched the incredible Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Badda Bing, Badda Bang", which is a loving pastiche of the heist film. As we were watching, we all noticed how old the actor playing the character of Mr. Zeemo was and I knew there had to be an Easter egg reason for it. After looking him up, I realized he was Marc Lawrence, who appeared in The Asphalt Jungle (1950), largely considered to be the first true heist film (though there are a couple from the 40s, that I've also seen, that are sort of proto-heists).

I decided to watch Asphalt this weekend, since I'd never seen it and it'd been sitting in my queue for ages. It was fine, definitely a first pancake situation, but now I can't stop thinking about the evolution of the heist film and the way the Hays Code shaped its early days and how it was allowed to shift and evolved after the code was lifted.

The earliest heist films were made under the Code. And not only under the Code, but at the Code's peak in the late '40s/early '50s. You watch these movies and you know from the very beginning that no one in our gang of misfits is going to succeed. The rules of the Code and its insistence that crime and depravity and bad morals can't pay means all of them will either be dead or in jail by the time the closing credits role. It doesn't matter how much we love our protagonists, it doesn't matter what their motivations are for participating in the heist, they are criminals and they must pay. They'll never see a dime of their money and all their efforts will be in vain.

Contrast this with the modern heist movie: the lovable rogues always beat the house. George Clooney and Brad Pitt and their buddies walk away with their millions. Sisko and his crew trick Frankie Eyes and save Vic's. Jason Statham in every Jason Statham movie gets his cash and lives to steal another day.

A lot of what I've read about the evolution of the heist movie and the role the Code plays in it focuses on the fact that once the code was lifted, these movies became more violent and graphic and leaned hard into that. And I'm sure that's true, but that was true of all movies. The 70s and the 80s in particular really exemplify the shock value of violence and sex in a post-Code Hollywood. But nothing I've seen talks about how the dissolution of the Code changed how audiences are allowed to see the thieves in a heist movie. Without the draconian constraints of the Code, we're allowed to root for the thieves, to be on their side, and to see them "win" in the end and make off with their bounty.

Even in the rare modern heist where the hero protagonist doesn't win—he (because it's almost always a he) doesn't get the money or he does get caught and goes to jail—it's always inferred that this is just a temporary setback. Next time, he'll be smarter and better and he'll win. He's alive and prison is just a small blip on the timeline, he'll be back (probably in 17 sequels) and the next time he'll do the job to beat all jobs. Heist movies of the Code era rarely see the thieves end the movie alive and when they do, they're behind bars with no hope of release or escape. The message that crime doesn't pay is never in question.

Yes, violence and sex have become more prevalent in heist movies in the post-Code era, but I think the greatest change the freedom of production without the Code brought to heist movies is that now, the house can lose.

[guppygiggles]

Hey friend!

Maybe this has been asked before, but was Avery inspired by anyone? ( ·ิϖ·ิ)

I don't think anyone has ever asked me this on this blog! Honestly, I've tried many times to nail down exactly what inspired Avery, but... I never can, not completely.

This is going to get long, I'm sorry.

I turned 30 last year. It wasn't in a "midlife crisis" or depressive kind of way, but I started thinking a lot about how I wanted the rest of my life to go, and what I wanted out of life that I'd never had a chance to have. I decided that there were two things I really yearned to do -- make art, and make friends. I figured a good place to start dipping my toes in would be Tumblr, since I'd used it in the past and I knew there would be a lot of art here to inspire me. And I was inspired... massively. Especially after I started actually drawing, myself. I started getting more ideas at once than I'd ever had in my life, and it triggered a bout of insomnia I am still dealing with now, almost six months later.

The first time I can remember thinking about Avery was during one such sleepless night, desperately trying to coax myself to sleep. Laying in the dark, I'd close my eyes and imagine leaving my body, floating above my apartment complex. I'd wander around like a ghost, exploring places I'd seen, but which are normally inaccessible... private roads, fenced estates, etc. I'd imagine sitting on the edge of a skyscraper, watching the city move beneath me, imagining what people were doing, why they were up so late, etc.

I imagined this many nights... It became a pet fantasy. When I was a kid, I read a book called Billy the Bird by Dick King-Smith, maybe that's where I got the idea... I don't know. Along with the insomnia were vicious bouts of nostalgia, too, so... It's possible.

But, anyway... I'd get lonely.

I wanted someone to talk to, so I imagined someone sitting with me. Someone who could only come out at night, for fear of being seen. Someone for whom sitting on the edge of a skyscraper was no concern, and who could catch me if I fell. I imagined he was soft, gentle... a good listener, maybe even a bit shy. I imagined he was an intellectual, capable of being quite serious, but never dour. He was quick with a smile, and it was easy to make him laugh.

In some respects, I suppose, he was inspired by a friend of mine, who died many years ago. In most ways, he wasn't like Avery at all -- he was extremely blue-collar, the exact opposite of an intellectual, and very outgoing. He was not refined in any way, and could even be quite reckless, at times. But, he had a unique, gentle, innocent sort of kindness that I've found to be exceedingly rare. To know him was to love him, really; he was a hard worker and a fierce friend, someone who wanted nothing more than to love and be loved. My relationship with him and the way his passing affected me touches everything I make and everything I do, intentional or not.

When I was building Avery's character, I was very fascinated by object heads at the time (particularly Prince Robot from Saga), and I was also seeing a lot art for "doctor/scientist" type characters. Despite never playing the game, I liked TF2 fanart, especially of Medic. I thought about other characters I'd fixated on, too, and what exactly I liked about them... Milo Thatch from Atlantis, Data from Star Trek, John from Homestuck, Sans from Undertale, Stanley and the Narrator from The Stanley Parable, Pokemon professors both Oak and Elm, Nightcrawler from X-Men, Wilson from House, Dr. Bashir from DS9... The list goes on, really.

I know this is kind of a non-answer, and I'm sorry about that. It isn't really a clear answer for me, either. All I can really say for sure is this: Avery is the embodiment of everyone and everything I've ever loved, as well as the reflection of my own self-love. Relatively speaking, we just met, but I feel like he's been here the whole time. I've made so many wonderful friends because of him, too! Can't say what the exact moment was, only that now that he's here, I can't imagine life without him. 💙

[varjopeura]

Get to know me Tag Game!

tagged by @parad0xymoron

Last song played: Stop Thinking So Much by Lenka, or if we count dnd session background music then Muspelheim (Overworld) from Minecraft Norse Mythology soundtrack (which. I didn't know was a thing! But somehow I have added this song to my dnd ambience playlist nonetheless. Wow)

Favorite color: No, there are so many good ones to choose from! I always love a good vibrant purple, or teal. Or orange! Or… all of them, really. Colors are good.

Favorite dish: Oof, this one's even harder to answer! I love a good indian curry, you can have so much variety in what you throw in there and the spices just make everything delicious. Or maybe a nice creamy soup with potatoes or mushrooms (or both!) in it.

Current Favorite characters: …..am i allowed to,,,, am i allowed to say it's all my friends' tabletop and roleplay blorbos?? <- I'll just keep this from the previous poster because Y E A H for real, all my friends' ocs are my biggest faves at the moment. Though I have been getting some very nice blorbo feelings out of I Was A Teenage Exocolonist, Sym and Dys and Tang are currently occupying more of my brain space than I thought possible for characters from any pre-written media these days.

Currently watching: Not that much at the moment, actually! We've been watching some Star Trek Deep Space Nine with the partner, and lately I've been showing him some episodes of Game Changer, too :3

Last movie I watched: Uhhhh it's been a while?? I think the latest one was The Truman Show, maybe??? (Also special mention for the short film Dracula's Ex Girlfriend, that one was a blast. That one was also the last one I watched but I don't know if short films count as movies????)

Last thing I googled: Elderflower. I wanted to find a reference for drawing one. (Horrible. Too many tiny lil flowers. I think I need a LOT of practice before I can comfortably draw recognizable plants, most of their shapes are very hard for my eyes to catch for some reason.)

Current obsession: I don't know if it'll reach obsession-level fascination for me (this is all very new to me), but I've been feeling very very inspired with various fiber crafts lately! Knitting and sewing and mending my clothes, I don't yet have the skill level to do anything super interesting, but it's so much fun to have something to do with my hands and learn new things and try different stiches and techniques. Definitely having a very good time with my projects at the moment. :3

Tagging for fun (no pressure!): @pajulintu @magicallyimprobable @masturbatress @diogeneticist

[thebreakfastgenie]

Tagged by @hondagirll to list 10 comfort shows and tag 10 people. I don't usually refer to shows as "comfort shows" but I do watch TV as a response to stress so I can do this!

The West Wing - When my mental health is really low, this is where I go. Usually Noel.

M*A*S*H - I'm not actually including this because it's my current fandom, but late summer 2021 I was experiencing a lot of fatigue and did nothing but watch M*A*S*H for a while so it's earned a spot.

Leverage - honestly I haven't rewatched in a while but it was so important to me in high school.

E.R. - my current intermittent stress binge. I'm almost through season 12.

Grey's Anatomy (classic seasons only) - it's been a while but I'm sure it will happen again someday, I just get in these moods. One time I started taking birth control with a higher dose of estrogen and I immediately wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy and I kinda believed in bioessentialism for a minute.

NCIS - this is an ex comfort show. I hate NCIS now. But it was deeply important to me in a way I cannot explain between the ages of 13 and 15.

House - one of the first "grown up" shows I was into. I can only rewatch House every few years because I'm actually into the cases and I need to forget enough details for it to be fun again. I wish there was another diagnostic procedural show out there.

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit - I've never seen most of this show but sometimes an episode from the batshit era is exactly what I need. Plus I grew up watching USA network, so.

The Newsroom - Sometimes I just need to watch Will McAvoy be crazy.

Star Trek: The Original Series - this show is so campy and silly.

Tagging: @onekisstotakewithme @persianflaw @youngpettyqueen @orangefarmcat @movietonight @blue-ravens @majorbaby @deraingedhawkeye @fullcirclecrazy @saltyfilmmajor

[astral-athame]

😗 — what are some of your favorite things to do when you have some time to yourself?

I'm usually a reader, but over the last year or so my attention span hasn't been great so I keep half reading books and not finishing them D: I'm hoping to get back into it more this year because reading absolutely helps me get into writing (and I was really enjoying Dungeon Crawler Carl before I accidentally stopped part way through the third book. I miss it and want to get back to it!) But aside from that, I also do a fair bit of writing (not just here, but I also have an idea for a novel I've been very slowly chipping away at and I've been setting up a D&D game that I'll be DMing for my little game night crew- it's a sci-fi, space, themed one!) I also watch movies from time to time or just youtube if I need something to toss on in the background because I'm too tired for much else (it's been a lot of true crime stuff lately ^^;). And almost every night (except Saturday) I have a little hang out session with a couple of friends where we watch stuff from about 7pm to about 10pm. We're currently running through Star Trek stuff (we watched TNG alongside Riverdale by switching shows each season since they both have 7 seasons, and it was kind of hilarious going between the two xD). Right now we're on season 3 of Deep Space 9. We've also been keeping up with Skeleton Crew because they know I'm a big Star Wars nerd. I've also been learning knitting a bit and I'm hoping to learn to crochet, too. And I play video games from time to time, but I haven't been able to do it much in the last few years. I also like to cook and bake when I have time!

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time!! last night we watched tng's "rightful heir" and ds9's "the forsaken."

rightful heir (tng):

they were high when they wrote this one. like worf on whatever he was on to try and make him hallucinate

what's really funny about this one is that we were both just complaining that, even though we both like worf, we found the klingon episodes a little rough/dry. and then what do they do. they have worf hallucinate clone jesus

actually, i was really surprised picard laid into him so hard for being late to work. i know it was a tough-love kind of deal bc toughness "speaks" to worf or whatever and it was supposed to seem "nice" because he let worf go on a little field trip afterward but also like. who yells.

i did like that they referenced the klingon prison camp episode. girl i'd still be feeling that one too

clone jesus as a plot is really insane. like, it's already insane that everybody bought into it and GOWRAN of all people was the one to be like "you chumps are getting snowed." but then he's just a CLONE? they grew jesus in a vat somewhere? in a little test tube? and then they crowned him emperor??

no, scratch that, worf threatened to KILL people if they DIDN'T crown him emperor even though he was just going to be a figurehead because this is somehow supposed to fix the amoral klingons who have fallen into decadence. horrific.

side note. s6 has had a LOT of single-character episodes. we had some picard centric eps some worf centric eps a deanna centric ep and a beverly centric ep...when do we get the fucking gang back together? i feel like i never see them all at once anymore. like don't get me wrong i loved beverly's little romp and i feel like this way allows slightly more of the character work i have been craving but the format change is so weird. can we not have a little character work without singling out one character at a time? pretty please?

the forsaken (ds9):

i am sighing the deepest longest sigh i have ever sighed. my mixed feelings...

ok, to start with, i hate when tng characters show up in ds9. it's like they bring the bad vibes with them. BUT this is the least i've ever hated lwaxana.

i think the version of lwaxana as presented IN THIS EPISODE ONLY is very nearly a likable character. unfortunately, i have context for her

the flirting has actually grown on me. like, when she's doing it harmlessly. y'all know isabela from da2? like that. what i have a problem with is her being so touchy-feely - leaning into peoples space or trying to snuggle up with them or take them by the arm. the flirting IN AND OF ITSELF is actually kind of cute/sweet if you divorce it from the context of a horrifically overbearing mother and a woman who is narcissistic and can't take no for an answer. "i can swim" like ok girl i admit you have game. i just wish she would do less TOUCHING.

ok, on to odo, the real star of this episode. odo my new best friend odo

i actually think trapping him in an elevator to force him to turn into goop in front of someone else is a VERY clever premise. and at first i really wished it hadn't been with lwaxana but the more i thought about it the more i realized no one else on ds9 would do. in order for it to work it would have to be both someone who is a little pushy/loud/not totally respectful of his private nature AND someone who could offer a similar vulnerability ie taking off the wig. anyone who's too tactful/respectful of odo/a grownup in general like sisko, kira, dax, obrien, etc would simply turn around and leave him be. anyone who's NOT respectful or a grownup in general (i'm thinking specifically of quark, but julian could probably also work for this) doesn't have a metaphorical wig to take off. like, it would have been great ship material for him to be in there with quark or kira (i know about odo/kira bc i got spoiled, i am a little skeptical but VERY intrigued), but neither of them would have had the same vibe. so i am forced to conclude against my will that lwaxana was the right choice after all.

unfortunately a stranger is also easier to tell crazy shit to...and i looooooved learning crazy shit about odo's past, by which i mean i gasped aloud and covered my mouth with both hands in horror. HE SPENT HIS CHILDHOOD IN A LAB EXCEPT HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A CHILDHOOD!!! he doesn't EAT. his mouth is an approximation of one, it doesn't actually work!!! lwaxana, do you know then what else must be a nonfunctional approximation? actually, maybe he doesn't even have any of that going on. maybe he's smooth like a ken doll and that's why he keeps expressing disinterest in sex/romance, or because he has disinterest in sex/romance he never bothered to figure out how to replicate a working set of equipment. anyway the point is i know my king is somewhere on the aro and/or ace spectrum i just have to get to know him better to figure out where

in conclusion, yes it had to be lwaxana, NO i'm not happy about it, but i could have been if she was just less touchy. also, side bar, i don't like that she brought up the ferengi rape episode like it was haha funny. girl it wasn't funny to you at the time and it was definitely not funny to ME

TONGIHT: tng's "second chances" (this one looks good...i'm so hopeful) and ds9's "dramatis personae" (i haven't seen a summary or thumbs for this one but i trust ds9)

[t1meslayer]

Nine people I'd like to get to know better

Tagged by @amethystsoda <.< This is my first time doing one of these Tumblr viral posts so tysm for getting me involved!!

===

Last Song: The real answer is "Pokemon OST I've listened to 100 times," but that's boring — even if it's a banger like ScarVi's Wild Area battle theme.

Instead let's share this very normal song from the end of a very normal playlist curated by a very normal friend about a very normal character:

This person may or may not become relevant later.

===

Fav Color: Yellow! Especially a lighter Daffodil kind of shade.

===

Last Movie/TV Show: Last movie was Disney's Wish (available now on Disney+, you see) during a VC yesterday. But I can tell you literally nothing about that movie other than the fact I was bored.

So go watch Space: 1999 instead. It's basically a British Star Trek show from the 70s with the most unnecessarily bangin' disco theme song you've ever heard in your life, and I'm obsessed.

===

Sweet/Spicy/Savory?: Historically a sweet guy, but I've been doing more spicy as of late. Lots of curries and chicken sandwiches and spicy pickles... Gimme more, please.

===

Relationship Status: Single and ready to mingle, as the kids say!

===

Last thing I web searched: The real answer is boring job hunt stuff. Instead, have one of my favorite clips I recently dug up related to taxes:

(For those who don't know, Brutalmoose is also the guy behind that "This time, I'm really gunna do it" image. Great videos all around. Been watching since forever.)

===

Current Obsession: PokeRogue. It has taken over my entire brain. And how could it not when you have such exciting revelations as:

Draco Meteor Fomantis.

Insane.

===

Your Tags (should you choose to accept it): @alchemicallymoon, @clearskeyes, @mossymothdragon, @kiliofdurinsline, @sheepishspirits, @ephemeraldew, @transientmelody, @tracc04, and a very relevant insane person @trybard

Like Ari, gunna throw a blank copy under the cut since mine was so busy! Thanks for reading <3

Last Song:

Fav Color:

Last Movie/TV Show:

Sweet/Spicy/Savory?:

Relationship Status:

Last thing I web searched:

Current Obsession:

Tagging:

[seriouslycromulent]

Ok. So I know I'm late to the conversation, but let's just say that I'm disappointed, although not surprised to read casually racist comments on YouTube posts about Billy Spencer and the revelation that Eliot Spencer's dad is black.

I say not surprised because I wasn't born yesterday, and I've learned from years of being a Star Trek fan that even if a show centers around uniting across cultures, features a multicultural cast, and spreads a message of fighting bad guys in every form, bigots will still gravitate toward that fandom and lose their shit if a person of color is centered in a space that the bigot assumes a white person "should have" been centered.

Why?

Because the fandom world is just a microcosm of all the bitchassness that exists in the world overall. The global society we live in is brimming with racism, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny and a myriad of other forms of bigotry. And that reality will always be reflected in fandom because bigots are often oblivious and carry their prejudice with them wherever they go ... including into the fandom world.

Now I don't know the age of the person who claimed that hiring Keith David to play Eliot's dad was a sign of "everything having to be politically correct these days," but if I didn't know any better, I would've thought I had been transported back to the 1990s and was engaging with Al Bundy on Married with Children.

Seriously? People are still using the phrase "politically correct" without a hint of irony? I thought bigots had moved on to calling everything that doesn't center straight, white, cis, able-bodied people as "woke." I guess this person just likes the classics.

Nevermind that we rarely, if ever, see transracial adoption depicted on American television when the child is white. Nevermind that the series has always had a theme around found family from different backgrounds working together to bring a little more justice into an unjust and unfair world. Nevermind that we waited 6.5 seasons to learn more about Eliot's background, and all we learned was that he was adopted, his parents are black, and why he and his dad fell out and hadn't spoken in over 2 decades.

No. Bigots are mad because a white person has black parents on a fictional series because it didn't fit their preferred narrative.

Leverage is not a show without flaws, but it has always been a show that challenged the status quo, behind the scenes and in the stories they tell. Your discomfort after learning that Eliot was raised by black parents is a reflection of your bias and skanky race issues regarding BIPOC folks, and you should examine that further. Not search for facile excuses to hide your bigotry behind other "reasons" to dislike the episode. You're fooling no one.

And the adoption story of Eliot Spencer was not "forced." It was simply not telegraphed with clues at every opportunity because Eliot plays everything close to the vest, especially his past. It's completely on brand for him, and if you cared about this character, you wouldn't have a problem with it and would acknowledge the consistency of him never referencing it.

As for the people who think that the writers just dumped his entire backstory on us in one episode, what show are you watching? There's plenty more to Eliot's background than who his dad is and why they fell out. And I bet if his dad was white, these so-called fans would've raced to their keyboards to write countless fanfic backstories to Eliot's life growing up in a small town, how he navigated high school especially with being adopted, and his life, in general, prior to joining the military. All the while taking the information from the episode to craft a layered history of his life.

There's a ton of stories out there to tell about Eliot Spencer, but a lot of the bigots fans are now deflated because that means they have to write a story with black parents and they don't want to do that. But I bet every single one of them will swear they're not racist or bigots or anti-black in any way.

Racism in fandom is not new, but I honestly expected more from the Leverage fandom. Granted, I know it's not everyone in the fandom. And you can argue it's not even the majority, but I've seen very little pushback from the fans who don't have a problem with Billy Spencer being black against the fans who do have a problem with Billy Spencer being black. And that too is very telling.