#Just gonna through star trek snw out there

[anerdynerd]

Man I hate hearing opinions about movies or episodes that I care about, but haven't watched yet

I can deal with positive ones better, but even those are annoying because I'm afraid my feelings about it won't live up to that perception🧍 Negative ones are even worse though because why would you influence my watching experience like this?? I just wanted to enjoy something fun, but now you've got me wanting to prove you wrong by feeling different about it (due to me caring about said media while the other person will usually dislike it in these cases) while also wanting to take your valid opinion into consideration and see your point, so then I'm stuck feeling conflicted about it EVEN THOUGH I JUST WANTED TO ENJOY THIS, JUST LET ME WATCH IT IN PEACE AND BUILD MY OWN SECURE OPINION BEFORE HAVING IT INFLUENCED ALREADY🥸

[fandomshatewomen]

Uhura hate vs Concerned fans? Who is really winning?

In response to SNW Uhura hate, I will like to address this objectively and logically.

1. Admitting it is wrong to hate or bully ceelia gooding.

2. Also saying she is miscast in the role of Uhura. 

I do not condone any hate or racism to any actor. Nonetheless I do believe some actor are not right for a part or sometimes actors are miscast deliberately for a part to push an agenda.

The very first time I saw the promo for snw, I was shocked at the Uhura photos as I could not truly tell if that was meant to be a boy or a girl. having to now accept that, this is meant to be a young Nyota felt too far-fetched.

We should not condone hate. However fans also need space to express genuine  concerns. I do NOT believe that the majority of people that say Ceelia Gooding is miscast hate her. they don’t just think she is right for the role and I agree.

SNW will never have cast a  Danny DeVito or a Jason Alexander actor in the role as Spock. They also would never have cast a Rosie O'Donnell as T-Pring or Chapel or Una. I love all these actors but they will be 100% wrong for some trek roles. This is the same with Ceelia Gooding as Uhura, an actress who may also be undergoing gender hormone therapy as a non-binary actor. It makes sense that Uhura looks very androgynous on the show, she is played by a non binary actor.

Sometimes even with racism, some actors still fit the part that could not be denied. Look at Halle Bailey, despite not been white she was still a perfect casting of Ariel in the little mermaid. This is not the case with Ceelia Gooding. There is nothing about her that is similar to TOS Uhura or what made Uhura Iconic.



Alright friend, you caught me on a day when I've got some extra time and spoons so I'm gonna try and engage with your message under the assumption of good faith (but to be clear, with all due respect, framing your message as "objective" and "logical" is giving big dogwhistle energy...)

Quick piece of context setting, I'm mostly familiar with Star Trek media through social osmosis and not personally watching the movies or tv shows, but I would say I'm familiar enough for a general conversation. I also did about 30min of additional research to double check my info but if I get some details wrong, that's why.

For anyone unfamiliar, Strange New Worlds (SNW) is a prequel to the original series of Star Trek (TOS) so they feature a handful of the same characters.

Now, you say there is "nothing about [Celia Gooding] that is similar to TOS Uhura or what made Uhura iconic." I think there's plenty about Gooding that is similar to Nichelle Nichols/TOS Uhura. They are both black, they are both relatively femme presenting, neither is visibly physically disabled, and they are pretty close to the same height (5ft5in vs 5ft8in). So then are you upset that SNW Uhura wears her hair short? Or are you upset that she wears pants and a tunic style jacket as her standard costume rather than sheer tights and a dress that barely covers her butt?

As an aside, "iconic" is a wholly subjective category but I don't disagree that Uhura is an iconic character. That being said, since you point out that quality, if you're up for sharing, I'm curious what you think made TOS Uhura iconic that is so different with SNW Uhura.

To quickly address your counter example, sure, if Danny Devito were cast in a prequel role to Leonard Nimoy's Mister Spock, that would strain credulity. But let me ask you this -- do you *really* see the same level of difference between the visual presentation of Danny Devito vs Leonard Nimoy and Celia Gooding vs Nichelle Nichols? Really? Let me grab a few pictures just to be sure we're all seeing the same people...

(image description: two photos, both featuring two men standing side by side; on the left is Danny Devito, a shorter heavy-set man, with George Clooney, a much taller and slim man; on the right is Leonard Nimoy with Jim Parsons, they are both tall and slim /end id)

(image description: two photos, both featuring femme-presenting individuals standing alone and looking into the camera; the one on the left is wearing a silky red ball gown with a deep-v neckline that shows off their boobs, they are wearing light makeup and some jewelry and their dark hair is buzzed short; the one on the right is wearing a glittery gold ball gown that has two high slits to show off her legs, she is also wearing some makeup and jewelry and her longer fluffier hair is styled in an updo typical of the 1960s /end id)

Look.......... the only specific/clear(ish) objections you've raised about Gooding getting cast in this role are about her appearance. As I have hopefully sufficiently demonstrated, I think those concerns are unfounded. If you have issues with the narrative/plot/character development for SNW Uhura, your problem should be with the writers and not with Celia.

If you're up for a little self reflection, try and get more specific about what bothers you so much about the situation. Connecting some dots here, you said SNW Uhura is too different from TOS Uhura to be acceptable to you, but you did not raise the same concerns about Ethan Peck as SNW Spock, even though he's also different from Leonard Nimoy as TOS Spock. What's the difference in the differences that makes one of these fine and one of these not?

•mod dyr

-----------

adding this photo i found of nichelle and leonard bc its so sweet <3

[owenthetokencishet]

I know this is the influencer-free social media site and follower counts don't matter, but I have gained quite a lot of them in the last few months for some reason and I figure I should at least introduce myself to those who don't yet know me.

My name is Owen, my pronouns are he. Just he, I could never be him (Adam Savage) and my username is the closest you're gonna get to a carrd. My specific microlabels, disabilities, and traumas are none of your business.

I'm currently a college student majoring in technical theatre, and a maker. I LOVE working with my hands to create weird shit, with a special love for propmaking, miniature painting, and cosplay.

I am a MASSIVE sci-fi nerd. If it has spaceships I'll probably love it, and then try to build a model of the spaceship in question. Spaceship.

I will post mostly about

Warhammer 40,000 (The Calladayce kesh memes must flow)

Doctor Who (never not thinking about Peter Capaldi shredding on a tank)

Star Trek (Paramount PLEEEEEEEASEEEE hire me to work on SNW I live in the area where its filmed PLEEEEEEEAAASEEE let me come build phasers n shit for you I wanna hang out with Carol Kane)

My political views should be pretty clear through a quick glance at my page, but generally if you believe there's a certain type of person anywhere in the world that must be completely eliminated you are a fucking dalek and I don't want you anywhere near me. I try to be funny about the issues(tm) because it's the only way I can cope with living in a satire so obvious nobody smart enough to write it would ever bother. Also labour unions are good. IATSE is the only way I could ever have a sustainable career as a stagehand

On this blog: RPF is a community of propmakers and cosplayers sharing advice and displaying their work, Ship Discourse is about warp nacelles, and CNC is a computer-controlled milling machine

the world is my lego bin. Grab an olfa knife, a hot glue gun, and come play with me

[defendglobe]

i'm Thinking Again and i really think SNW needs to Do Something Different with spock's character arc instead of just trying to retread old ground.

we already know spock has a hard time dealing with his mixed-race identity and how he tries to be As Logically Vulcan As Possible even though other vulcans see him as inherently less logical because of his human heritage. and being ashamed of himself for his own humanity and emotional responses and such. we've already seen him slowly work through that in TOS and the movies and that he eventually does come to a place where he's comfortable with who he is and comfortable acting emotionally as well as logically.

the tension between emotion and logic is a key part of what makes spock as a character so compelling so i get that part of it is always gonna be there. but the way SNW does it is so reductive and surface level that it's just boring. first of all, its so stupid to tie a deeply complex personal issue like that to a love triangle. it feels like its just "do i need to be more like a human (for christine) or more like a vulcan (for t'pring)" and the whole thing is approached in a really bioessentialist way. treating the vulcan logic thing as an irrefutable result of their biology rather than a learned cultural practice. there's also no real tension to it?? because we already know that it takes YEARS for spock to resolve his inner conflict (and that he doesn't end up with either of the people in the love triangle lol). so it just feels like build up that never goes anywhere.

it's interesting to me that this seems to be a uniquely SNW problem, because AOS and Discovery both did something different with spock's character within the context of his long term identity issues.

AOS takes place in an alternate timeline, so it's literally Not The Same Spock and there's aspects of his character that are completely different. the flashback scenes in star trek 2009 definitely seem to follow the same arc as TOS spock, but there's Way More than that going on. i mean, in AOS, vulcan gets destroyed and spock ends up watching his mother fucking die. that's an extra layer of trauma right there and it's arguably a bigger part of his character than his identity issues. and another big difference is that AOS spock is dating uhura and was initially super hostile towards kirk, so that kinda shakes up the dynamics between him and the rest of the crew a little. old TOS spock also encourages AOS spock to consider looking beyond logic and going by what he feels, so AOS spock seems a bit more at ease with that part of himself.

when AOS did go into the logic/emotion/identity plotline, it was usually done through the idea of duty and divided loyalties. the big one that comes to mind is in star trek beyond. logically, it seems best for him to drop out of starfleet and help work to rebuild vulcan culture instead, but emotionally he wants to stay where he is. there's also the intro scene in into darkness where he's insisting that the others leave him to die (based on his sense of duty to starfleet regulations) while internally being terrified of y'know. dying in a fuckin volcano. and how that whole mindset kinda flips when kirk dies and spock has a complete breakdown, despite knowing that what kirk did was logically the best choice for the sake of the ship. basically being caught between his professional/cultural duty and his friendship for the enterprise crew.

discovery is a bit different, because now we're getting the same spock as TOS, but younger. what's interesting to me about this iteration of trek is that the conflict between logic and emotion is playing out around spock through his family. when we first see disco spock, he's completely incoherent and delusional after mind melding with the red angel and getting his brain fried by the experience of nonlinear time. you know, shit that happens in star trek. as his condition gets worse and worse, amanda and sarek have opposing ideas about how to help him, with amanda having the more emotion-based approach and sarek having the logical approach. in the end, neither of them are right and it's michael, who is also kinda caught between human and vulcan cultures, who is able to help spock.

aside from his complicated family situation, discovery shows spock wrestling with his identity from a totally different angle. he's furious with himself because he can't make sense of the red angel situation logically or emotionally. basically, he feels like he's failed BOTH parts of his heritage, which is different from TOS, where he was mostly just trying to be the ideal vulcan and looking disdainfully at his humanity. michael points this out when the two of them are fighting and spock yells back "RIGHT NOW I FEEL THAT FAILURE IS LIBERATING!" which is a really fucking interesting statement that i never see people bringing up. in a way, it's like spock feels that failure has given him permission to reject human/vulcan cultural expectations and live more in the in-between spaces, even if it takes him a long time to fully embrace that.

the other big thing from discovery is that it adds new things that enhance spock's arc from TOS. for instance, spock's dyslexia adds a whole other layer to his ongoing identity issues. not only is he an outcast for being half human, but he's also got a learning disability in a society that values academic achievement so highly. there's also michael's final bit of advice and how TOS shows that spock really took it to heart. so like, disco shows spock moving towards who he will eventually become in TOS, even if he's not quite there yet. i guess you could argue that SNW spock's relationships with christine and t'pring are doing something similar in terms of adding to TOS canon? but imo in that case its more like, underscoring things that were already present in TOS instead of really trying something new. and none of it really moves spock towards where he is in TOS. so spock in SNW feels almost like a regression rather than building off what happened to him in discovery and moving forward.

ANYWAY ive gone on for way too fuckin long so what im trying to say is there are clearly ways to work within spock's ongoing character arc without just doing the same thing as TOS. and since SNW isn't trying new things, its portrayal of spock really falls flat.

[smallblueandloud]

last line meme

i was tagged by both @tanoraqui and @finxwrites to collect the last lines of the last 10 things i've posted:

“Mr. Spock,” his bondmate says, “You’re forgiven.” (midnight sun, Star Trek SNW)

Leia closes her eyes and finally starts to believe him. (what you see is not the dark, Star Wars OT)

Nerys is left standing on the train platform, half upset and half grateful that they didn’t give her time to respond. (everybody's high on consolation Chapter 2, Star Trek DS9)

If that day ever comes. (quantum entanglement, Star Wars OT)

“I knew what I wanted my future to look like. And it was me at Rachel’s side.” (you and me on the rock, X-Men)

For better or worse, Annabeth Chase is half-mortal, too. (let go of your hand, Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Ruby and Sapphire were wrong about that, too. (secrets, Steven Universe)

“You will,” says Yaz, and hangs up, satisfied. (begin to crack, Doctor Who)

Sabé says honestly, “I wish you had.” (what does it matter, it's already done, Star Wars OT)

“Storm,” he says. “You know me better than that.” (will you meet me there?, X-Men)

oh interesting. i tend to struggle with endings a lot and i think you can see that here. we've got a few different styles -- some of them rely very much on narration (#3, 4, 6, and 7 especially break the tone of the fic to "zoom out" a little bit) whereas others are just kinda... final-sounding lines of dialogue.

i think i'm proudest of #9 and 10 -- i think both of them put something to words that's been unspoken throughout the entire fic. #8 is also very fun to me, because it's really yaz being comfortable and in-control, which she's been working towards through the whole fic and a direction of growth that i really want for her.

this was so cool to try! i'm gonna tag @paperairplanesopenwindows, @aurorashard, @cassiesinsanity, @arithmonym, @theclaravoyant, and anyone else who wants to do this!

[strawberrys-starship]

So I watched Star Trek 2009 again and decided to do some more in depth note taking this time around, and decided to post it here. I'll be honest though most of it is me pushing the mcspirk agenda and complaining about the uniforms

Disclaimer! This constrains spoilers for this movie and also Star Trek into darkness, I will also say here that I am an autistic queer man, and I refer to a lot of Spock's behavior as autistic, if that is something that makes you uncomfortable them maybe you should skip this post.

Also the spacing is weird but I'm not gonna fix it, sorry :/

Anyway! Onto the post itself.

-----------------------------------

So I'm watching this movie again, I feel like I will like it much better now that I have my own twisted perception of this movie 👍🏻

--

It's unfair the amount of power this soundtrack has over me

--

This movie is truly beautiful, the uss kelvin is a gorgeous ship

And the sounds?? Ugh, I love it

--

I love the fake out they did there, I know so many old trekkies in the theater were like "THERE THE ENTERPRISE!!! LOOK AT HER!!! THERES THE BRIDGE!!! Oh wait..."

--

I love the funky shape the kelvin has

--

Ok so, what era are these uniforms supposed to be in? It's not the same ones from Archers days, and even though this is *technically* the point where the timeline diverges, these uniforms had to be canonical in the prime timeline too bc obviously hey were wearing them before they discovered the anomaly.

I'm guessing they just wanted to show that it was in the past? I'm pretty sure these uniforms were invented for this movie specifically.

We're only 1 minute and 43 seconds in.

--

Yea that ship is pretty damn scary

--

Oh em gee is Chris Hemsworth, wonder what he's doing here

Side note, when I first watched this I thought he was actually Chris Pine, but I kept going like "hmmm something ain't right here" yeah doofus you got the wrong Chris

It's even funnier when u know that I'm actually a big MCU fan and did a whole marathon of all the movies like a year ago, just full on did not recognize Chris Hemsworth

("Wow Lynsey, you're an MCU fan? How cringe!" Yeah whatever I know, I know, it's got a million and ten problems with it, but hey I love a good fix-it)

--

Fucking side note- this opening battle scene is gruesome as fuck, I remember watching this the first time and just being like "damn, three minutes in and already we have bodies flying through space??"

--

Ok so is this canonically what future romulans look like?? Bc this is not what romulans look like in any of the other shows, including SNW but that's all in the "past" so...?

--

I do find it interesting how many different species they have in starfleet here, because again up until the very minute that wormhole appeared, this was the prime timeline (which begs the question, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO KHAN??) so that means that in TOS they also technically would have had several other species in starfleet at any given time, obviously we don't see that in TOS itself bc of primary budget issues (that's why Spocks makeup wasn't super inhuman and stuff, bc they didn't have the money to put a regular character in super complex makeup every episode) but this little detail opens up a window of possibilities that I find really fun

Like because of this movie, my TOS crew of OC's has an Orion and two Vulcans in their senior staff (I know I know most Vulcans at that time wouldn't be caught dead in starfleet but they're my dollys and I get to decide what they look like!)

--

I'm back like, an hour later!

Let's get right to it!

--

He really does like like Chris pine, like I'm not going crazy, am I?

Is it just a Chris thing??

But yeah I can see why all the fics are like "Jim looks EXACTLY like his dad" cuz yeah they kinda do look like brothers if nothing else

--

Again I wonder what the theater reaction was to that "Kirk!? JIM Kirk?? But I thought he was played by a different blond twink!"

(Listen I'm sorry to say it but Chris Pine was a twink in this movie, it's just the truth! He gets more twunky as the movies go on, though.)

--

It's so weird to hear Chris Hemsworth speak with an American accent, or at least his attempt at one

--

Do we ever hear about this captain like, ever again?

--

I love the romulan language dude

--

Wait so do the romulans just straight up not have the eyebrow ridges? Like I think I read somewhere that sometimes they don't have them, but it looks like this entire crew doesn't have them

I'm confused

--

All I can hear when I look at Nero is the wackes bonkes audio that was going around on TikTok like, two years ago

Idk he just gives me that vibe

--

Spack! :D

Also I'll say right here right now, I do not support this ending for Spock prime!! I will give her a happy ending even if I have to forge it with my own to hands!!

--

GASP 😱 we're in the past!

--

I hate the fact that I had a Once phase, because all I can see is Emma so to me it's like a really weird crossover fic where Emma Swan and Thors child is Jim Kirk

What a mix

--

GASP! 😱 what ever will he do!

--

He sounds soooo confident that the baby will be ok

--

Them both being blond and blue eyed gives me the ick

--

Damn, poor Jim. Now he's got a million and ten allergies.

--

Ok ok ok I know this is supposed to be super emotional (and to be fair it is pretty emotional) but with all the fics I've read and fan content I've consumed where Jim's dad dying kinda fucked him over and Winona leaving him as soon as she could just makes me apathetic towards them.

So... yeah.

And I know none of that's canon (I don't think? We'll see as the movie goes on and I remember shit) unless I've missed a book or ten somewhere that provides all this extra information (like where frank came from, sam leaving, basically all the troupes we see with most AOS fics)

--

Damn, I gotta say that's pretty traumatizing

--

Star Trek!!!

Yep, we just got to the title sequence :)

--

Baby Jim!!

Ok so canonically Winona is off planet

--

I do love the fact that Jim listens to dad rock. Why? Because I listen to dad rock!! And it's very important to me that Jim does too!!

--

Ok so from the fics, that is supposed to be Sam, right?? But is that confirmed anywhere?? Also they never said who was on the phone, I just knew because of the fics

Where did all this extra info come from??

--

Oh, nope that's some kid named Johnny oops

--

Let's hope that we don't have cops in the 23rd century, thank you.

--

The trauma. This kid.

--

SPACK!

--

If I'm not mistaken (I probably am) this is one f the first good looks we get at an actual Vulcan city, right? Like in TOS we only got the ritual grounds, in TOSM we got the other ritual grounds, and then the other other ritual grounds, but we never really saw a city of any kind, did we? It's been a minute I might be mistaken.

And then in TNG, we only really saw some of Sareks home and not much else of Vulcan, but then again I haven't watch the majority of Trek so maybe in Voyager or one of the other shows we see more

Anyway, I choose to believe that Vulcan cities look way more colorful then this, you can't convince me otherwise!

--

When the Vulcan children are in the learning sphere it makes it look like the floor is actually a really big doughnut pan

--

BABY SPOOOOOOCK 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

SHES LITERALLY THE SMALLEST BABY IN THE WORLDDDDD HOW CAN YOU BULLY HIM YOU BASTARDSSSS

GAHHHHH I LOVE HERRRR

--

My question is what Vulcan would think this is logical behavior. Like I know that they're xenophobic and like obviously they couldn't care less about logic when it comes to that so it doesn't really matter, but you go up to possibly the golden standard of Vulcan ideology and act like that?? And then say he's the one who's illogical and out of place?? Look In a mirror bud.

--

BEAR HIM UP! BEAT HIM UP! BEAT HIM UP!

--

I don't know how I feel about Sarek being British

--

Sarek I'm not entirely sure that's what they intended when they made you ambassador to earth 💀💀 but I see where Spock get her "Ah yes, it is perfectly logical to have sex with my human captain and the CMO, it builds respect and is a great team exercise."

--

Sure bitch

--

It was so random to cast Winona Rider as Spocks mom, I'm not complaining ofc, I love Winona, but just so random

--

See, I can't just let her be killed off when she's that damn nice. I refuse! Amanda lives!

--

Idk what kind of gay little outfit this is bust it works for Spock, honestly. Idk I just feel like he can pull it off but if anyone else wore it it'd look ridiculous.

Is that because Spock is my favorite and therefore can do no wrong?

No! Be quiet you!

--

YEAAAHHHH!!!! GET 'M SPOCK!!! TELL THEM WHATS WHAT!!! BE A BITCH!!! FLIP THEM OFF!!! TELL THEM WHERE THEY CAN SHOVE IT!!!!

--

I literally love her so much.

--

The one bar in Iowa 💀

--

I never know how to feel about this scene.

--

Jim Kirk you literally bitch. I love him with my entire heart.

--

Kirk...

--

Jim Kirk is a gay bitch (he's bi but still)

--

KIRKKKK 💀💀💀

--

Ok that was unnecessary. :| fucking 2009.

--

Kirk: you can whistle really loud, did you know that?

I... cannot tell you how much Jimby Kirk means to me. Just- he is so absolutely important to my wellbeing. I love him so so so much.

--

I want a tiny star ship salt shaker

--

It's also very important to me that he rides a motorcycle, because I love motorcycles

Can you tell I'm very heavily attached to AOS Jim Kirk? I don't know how good that is for my health

--

WEAR A DAMN HELMET YOU DUMBASS!!! YOU CAN STILL CRASH!!!

--

The Enterprise 🥹

--

Did they just let him in? No questions?

--

BONES! BONES! BONES!

LET ME SEE HIMMMM!!!!

--

BONESSSSSSSSS!!!!! THERE HE ISSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

--

I just- they all mean so damn much to me

I also identify with Bones so much because I too am a southern queer

--

Ok I'm sorry, I love Karl Urban, but again I am a southerner and this accent... 💀 I just can't

It's so damn funny to me

--

You look a little love struck there Jimby 🤨🏳️‍🌈

--

Ahaha I hope nothing bad is about to happen

--

Ok no the romulans do have the eyebrow ridges, they're just not very prominent

--

Wakus bonkus

--

:( Spock prime

--

I'm sure he does, I bet he studies your ass every second he gets 💀💀

Also I paused just as they cut to the scene with Jim and Gaila 😬 that's fun.

--

Ok- first off, very interesting that Uhura doesn't even blink at Gaila being in her underwear, but then proceeds to undress in front of her

Gay? More likely then you think.

Also, can they stop making Jim a creep? Thanks.

--

Well. I can confirm I am a gay man.

--

I love her tone here

--

Bones is over this shit

--

BISEXUAL BITCHY KIRK!!!

--

Jim 💀

--

SPOCK SPOCK SPOCK!

THERE SHE ISSSS

LIGHT OF MY LIFEEE

--

Kirk 💀 why must you cheat

--

I can physically hear Jim's thoughts going "oh no she's HOT" when he saw Spock stand up

--

First off- I love how Spocks the type of autistic that makes too much eye contact, like this whole time he's just 👁️👁️ LASER focused on Jim's face

Second, that's a lowwwww blow Spock 💀 damn.

--

Gehhsjchdishsjs I feel sickkk

I hate that I know what's coming.

Honestly, I started writing fics just so I can fix this kind of thing, bc in my mind Vulcan is not destroyed! Fuck you!

--

(Don't mind me just reading the name plates of all the admirals)

--

SEE BONES IS INTO SPOCK TOO!!!

THEYRE ALL GAY!!

--

(Ok I need to stop for now cuz it's late and I have things to do, I made it 35 minutes and 29 seconds through!)

--

(I'm bAAAaaaack!)

--

Bones hair flying in the wind 💀 he looks so disgruntled

--

How tall is Chris Pine? I didn't think he was very tall but he towers over this random commander

Maybe that guys just short tho

--

Bones, you poor poor fool, you're so in love with Jim. One kicked puppy look and it's all over for you

--

Gehhhhh I am not here for the Spock x Uhura relationshipppppp

The worst part is, is that I honestly think Spock and Uhura could work, not in these movies obviously with how abhorrently they write Uhura to be a #girlboss (and then they did the same thing with chapel in SNW) but I think that if it was written by someone who like, actually cared about the characters then I feel like it could work

But also that because I headcanon Spock using he/she pronouns and being just all over the queer spectrum, and I also headcanon Uhura as the number one lesbian of the year, so I think the dynamic between those specific headcanons would be very interesting to see

Anywho!

--

Ok now that I'm looking at this relationship through the lens that they are both lesbians I don't mind it as much

--

BONES 💀 YOU ARE SO GONE ON THIS MAN

"Just sitting there looking all pathetic" HE IS SO IN LOVE WITH JIM ARE YOU KIDDING ME

--

I... fucking love Bones so much. I can't even put it into words

--

THERE SHE ISSSSS THE ENTERPRISEEEEE

--

It seems my opinion on the new uniforms has not changed. Idk what happened but I just do not like how they redesigned the classic tos uniforms, it feels like they took the sparkle out of them, whatever that means

--

Spack! :D

--

Ok like. Why do the uniforms just look like a tee shirt and jeans? They don't look like a uniform!!

I also hate the longer cut on the shirt, the higher waist line from tos along with the sleeker pants just looked better to me

ALSO WHY DO THE DRESSES HAVE SHORT SLEEVES??? HOW THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO TELL SOMEONES RANK WHEN THEY DONT HAVE THE STRIPES???

--

And then the delta just printed all over the shirt but there no texture to it... it's like those cheap bodysuit cosplays you can get online where they just print whatever the character is wearing onto a polyester bodysuit that warps whenever you stretch it too far

And the shirt isn't tailored at all!! It's so baggy!! Like Spock was looking at her station, kinda leaning over, and the collar of his science blues was like sticking out because the shirts fit like shit!

Anyway... I got big feelings about these uniforms

--

I ALSO hate how they attempted to make it look like the shirts were sewn like they were in tos (y'know with that weird shoulder seam they had? I don't know the name of it) but then they're actually just sewn the normal way?? So there's like, double the seams??

--

Sulu!!

--

I literally love the dynamic between Bones and Jim so much. He just knocked him the fuck out without even blinking. I love it

--

Chekov :(

--

One of my favorite things that Bones does is follow Jim around with a regenerator because he knows that Jim Will Not sit still long enough for him to like actually do his job normally so he's had to adapt

--

THAT looked like Jim was gonna kiss him

--

Haha..ha... I wonder why they're drilling into the surface of Vulcan... it'll probably be fine...

--

Spock is like "what a reckless and intriguing man. I Must Have Him"

--

I saw that glance gay boy

--

Damn this movie is actually kinda intense

--

I hate that I know what's gonna happen

--

✨Spock and her autism✨

--

THAT WAS A GAY ASS LOOK KIRK

--

That guy reminds me of the Skyrim guards

--

Godddd that is so damn scaryyyyy

--

Fuckkkk that is so. Fucking. Terrifying. Instantly vaporized.

--

My question is why didn't they immediately start evacuating Vulcan the second they could

--

God. I feel physically sick knowing what's about to happen

--

God.

--

Gut wrenching.

--

Six billion.

--

God damn.

On a side note, I find that I don't mind the relationship between Uhura and Spock as long as I imagine that they're either in a QPR or are lesbians

I still don't like how they reduced Uhuras character to being Spock's girlfriend tho, especially in into darkness.

Anyway. I'm still reeling over Vulcan being destroyed. That was fucking devastating. I can't even think about it

This is why 90% of my AOS writing either takes place during the academy or is an AU

--

Who the fuck is Nero's actor?? Why do I recognize him??

One sec now I gotta look it up

I looked him up and I literally don't know him from anything except Star Trek, so I guess he just reminds me of someone else but idk who

--

Ok but. Romulus was destroyed because the star went supernova, not because the federation or Vulcan went after it, right? Like I'm not misremembering that, am I? Guess we'll see.

Like I know Spock got there too late to save it, but Romulus is still gonna be destroyed?? If anything he just made it far less likely that Romulus will survive now that most of the Vulcan scientists that came up with red matter are dead.

--

I fucking hate those thingssss

--

I love that Kirk is already in the captains chair, he's just that much of a bitch

--

They totally just wrote that in so Spock could nerve pinch someone 💀💀

--

Damn. Really just dumped him on an ice planet

--

Run bitch!!

--

Spock :(

--

Oh my god. The look in his eyes. How does anyone expect me to be ok after that.

--

Heart wrenching.

Spock hasn't seen her Jim for decades. Possibly even a century. And the first time she sees him again, he doesn't recognize her.

And I know, I know, timeline shit, but like, could you imagine how devastating that is? To see your lost loved one and them just straight up not even know you? And Vulcans feel emotions so much stronger too.

--

Yea so see? They didn't personally destroy the planet! It a was natural space disaster! And Nero probably just fucked up any chance of them being saved from it!

--

Man, now I want to watch TOS again so I can see Spock happy.

--

Spock to McCoy: I understand that James Kirk is a ""friend"" of yours

It's ok you can call them boyfriends

--

These southern phrases they have Bones saying are insane 💀 not once during my life as a southerner have I ever heard someone say that, and I hear weird shit come out of other southerners mouths every day. We make shit up, but nothing that damn complicated 💀💀

--

SPOCK YOU ABSOLUTE CUNT 💀💀💀

SHES LITERALLY GOT A SMIRK ON HIS FACE RIGHT NOW

I missed bitchy Spock 💕

--

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE BITCHHHHHHH

Sorry McCoy I don't think you can come back from that 💀💀💀💀💀 Damn

--

Ok no need to be racist McCoy

Or xenophobic, technically

--

Oh don't worry Spock prime, Jim's tiny little human arms got the door, just keep on walking down the hall

--

SCOTTYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!

--

THERES THAT CHAOTIC SON OF A BITCH!!!

--

YOU DUMBASS 💀💀💀 I DIDNT KNOW HE USED ARCHERS DOG 💀💀💀

--

AOS Scotty is one of my absolute favorite things in the world

--

Kirks over this destiny shit, man

--

And then Spock prime breaks that rule himself 💀💀 I think she just didn't want to deal with her angsty younger self

--

Fuck Spock prime doesn't even know this version of his mom is dead too

--

WAHHHHHHAHA 😭😭😭 THAT OLD FRIEND WAS JIMMMMM BECAUSE HE FUCKING CHEATED THE SYSTEM ALL THE TIMEEEEEE

--

you got this Kirk, don't worry about it

--

There was way more water in that pipe then that

--

Spock: un-fucking-believable. He found his way back onto the ship. I Must Have Him.

--

Ohhh shit here comes one of my absolute least favorites scenes. THE PAINNNNN

--

Oh my goddd like I know why Jim is doing this but it HURTS and it makes me want to DIE

--

Oh my god oh my god STOP

--

STOOOOP

--

GET EM!!! GET HIS ASS!!! SHOOT HIM INTO SPACE!!!

But not rlly cuz I love him

--

And that single shot of Kirk changed the entire fandom. For the better? For the worse? Who's to say

--

Scotty 💀💀💀💀

--

Yeah fair 💀

--

Oh my goddd the cut of these shirts bothers me SO MUCH

THEY LOOK AWFULLLLLL

IT LITERALLY TURNS EVERYONE THAT WHERES THEM INTO A SHAPELESS BOX

except if you're a woman, then that thing is tailored to your body like a glove 🙄

--

Its guns-UH-blazing, McCoy! Get it right

--

I can't explain in but Spock is standing in a very autistic way

--

WHAT IS THIS LOOK SHES GIVING KIRK RIGHT NOW

"Vulcans don't show emotion" MY ASS!!! SPOCKS ALREADY SMITTEN!!

--

They are standing veryyy close

--

OK WHAT WAS THAT SLAP SOUND EFFECT 💀

And Spocks face after 💀💀 pure regret

--

Ok no thanks I'd rather not see them make out

😐

--

Gaygaygaygay

--

Kirk "oh wow that weird, wonder why it called u ambassador, that so random" 💀💀

--

YALL CANT JUST STARE INTO EACH OTHERS EYES LIKE THAT WHILE STANDING TWO INCHES APART AND THEN CLAME THAT SPOCK AND JIM ARE 100% CISHET

I WONT BELIEVE IT!!

--

Spock finding a chair that swivels on its own fascinating is extremely autistic

--

Dude the Vulcan ship is literally so damn cool

--

Whys this damn thing got no safety rails?? Isn't this a ship from the future?? I figured you'd be at least a little concerned with safety, holy shit

--

I really thought Nero went "FUCK!!!" But he was just saying Spock 💀

--

Jimbyyyy Kirk, what a sad lil boy

--

And that's how you break several ribs

--

Ok damn I got chills when the enterprise appeared

--

"Jim!" "Bones!"

HOMOS!

--

OH MY GODDDD THEY ARE LITERALLY FLIRTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF MEEEE

--

The enterprise looks so tiny

--

damn, got chills again

--

GAY

--

Ok one sec I know that this is like an "omg Spock and Spock are talking!" Thing but-

SEE THEY KNOW HOW TO TAILOR SHIT!! THAT PROFESSOR UNIFORM LOOKS GREAT ON SPOCK!! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WITH THE OTHER UNIFORMS!!

--

Spock prime knows exactly what's going on. She really said "that's gonna be one of your husbands, couldn't get in the way of that lmao"

--

AGAIN EVEN THE ADMIRAL UNIFORM LOOKS BETTER THEN THE STANDARD UNIFORM!!

--

Gay! They are GAY!

--

GAY AGAIN!! THEY ARE ALL FUCKIG GAY!!!

--

AHHHH THE ORIGINAL INTRO ;;;0;;;

IM NOT CRYING YOURE CRYING

also that was the end of the movie! I didn't time myself this time around, but I would say all in all it probably took me like three hours to watch this movie, maybe more

Anywho! Maybe I'll watch into darkness again soon so I can cringe (not that I don't like the movie, it's a fun time, but there are some bits that are just... yikes, y'know? Namely Khan)

[morns-fevered-dream]

I've been having to move so I've been busy and haven't been able to watch yet I've heard some spoilers like the ISS Enterprise and something about Kelpians escapes also the breen? but due to a current boycott of Paramount and Paramount+ I'm watching this from a pirate cove and I'd encourage you to do the same and without further ado live blogging of Star Trek Discovery and as always 🌟SPOILERS🌟

Season 5 Episode 5

I don't think your gonna get through to Moll to be honest Booker

Inter dimensional? This should be fun

Funny enough I saw someone complaining that Burnham goes on too many away missions as captain but to be fair she's from the 23rd century Kirk always went on away missions I think it'd just a 23rd century thing

Oh wow we're getting Kwejian and Kellerun sayings this episode

I wonder if Moll will be like "I hated my dad" or "I killed him" or something like that

Come on some 32nd century tech outta help comms right?

Ahh our first look the ISS Enterprise

Cardassian Vole as a pet that's.... actually I'm not surprised that's basically just a space possum/rat thing

Oh they reused the bridge from SNW I'm sure some people are gonna be upset

"Just as ruthless as the rest" nooo mirror Spock might have had a evil goatee but he tried to make things better

A ship that old has a holo emitter? Oh yeah in TAS they had a little holodeck I'm sure it could be upgraded

Yeah I was right I knew Moll was gonna say something like that

L'ak is breen?! Damn it I was hoping the Breen would be non humanoids that's lame af

So many cool ideas I've heard for the Breen from giant centipedes, gas contained in the suit, tiny aliens controlling a big suit all different ideas but no they are just green regular aliens??

I prefer the mystery of it

Now I'm sad 😔

What a minute what about the refrigerated suits?!! L'ak is just walking around

L'ak isn't a very Breen name what about Thot? Huh?? Ok that's a rank but whatever

Helmets, shock weapons now that's a breen

I do however like the Breen being the big power of the 32nd century and I like their new uniforms and the station and general aesthetic just don't like under the helmet

The fresh out of the helmet jelly skin look is a little bit better but still meh

We're really trying to get through to bonnie and clyde

L'ak fell on his own knife truly some Kozak type stuff

So the Breen have literally two faces I thought that was some kind of euphemism

Is the jelly looking face thing supposed to be non humanoid?

Linus on the piano!

Not a bad episode I just wasn't a fan of the Breen face reveal but the rest of the episode was pretty fun and I enjoyed the flashbacks on the breen station

[ozarkthedog]

summary — Chris makes a replica of his chair so you can finally ride him in it.

warnings — Capt. Christopher Pike x F!Reader. smut. thigh riding. dick riding. dirty talk. slight power play. degradation. slight threat of someone joining. soft!Chris. basically pure filth.

word count — 1.5k

author’s note — finished SNW and my trekkie heart is in love. never did i think i’d be writing Star Trek smut but alas, here i am. i have no shame. 🙃

☽ 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 ♁ 𝐎𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 ☾

“Chris! What?! How?!” You exclaim with confused excitement. Your jaw opens and closes like a fish out of water.

What looked like a spitting image of his Captain’s chair was placed next to his bed. 

There’s no way he took it off the bridge. Or did he? 

You run your fingers over the supple leather and feel the warmth that radiates under the tips. The buttons and knobs are all in the same spot. The chrome plating is sparkling and so shiny you can see your reflection. 

“I had it made.” Chris explains, wrapping his arms around you. 

His chest is broad against your back, “I figured it was the best course of action. I really didn’t want to have to explain to the crew why the Captain’s chair suddenly disappeared.’’

You yelp in surprise when he nips at the column of your neck. His tongue swipes away the sting as he suckles lightly on the tiny teeth shaped indents. 

“What’dya say? Wanna take it for a ride?” He asks after sliding his lips from your skin.

Your belly tumbles in anticipation of finally having your fantasy come true. You’d had constant daydreams after you witnessed him in command one day. 

The authority. The confidence. Those thighs. 

The smutty images of climbing into his lap and riding him until you both were writhing messes drove you mad. Every time you rode him, you’d picture him in that godforsaken chair.  

His hands stretch the expanse of your torso, dragging you back to reality and forcing your ass to grind against the large bulge that steadily grows. 

Your cunt clenches as he cups you through your leggings and presses into the damp, covered seam of you.

“Already wet. Why am I not surprised?” Chris mocks and grinds his aching cock harder against your ass. Deft fingers circle your tiny clothed nub eliciting wicked gasps and spine tingling pleasure to course through you.

His breath is hot in your ear. “Gonna make good use of this chair, aren’t we? You gonna ride my cock like a good girl? Get every inch of my cock wet?” 

You tremble in his hold. Pathetic whimpers bounce off the walls of his quarters as you dumbly nod and barely mumble a “yes” in response. You’re already so cock drunk and he hasn’t even taken it out yet.

A harsh slap to your ass shocks you from your stupor and you stumble forward into the chair as it breaks your fall. You turn back to face the rugged man and watch him slowly unbuckle his pants easing the pressure on his cock.

“Take off your clothes.” He orders as he fists his length through the black trousers.

“Aren’t you going to take your clothes off?” You ask, timidly as your eyes travel up the towering, massive man as he stands self-assured with a smug grin. 

He flashes his pearly whites like a wolf playing with its prey. “But I’m the Captain. I can’t sit in the chair without my uniform on now can I?” 

You anxiously laugh at his condescending tone and the slick that drips between your thighs. 

Chris was a stickler for rules. He was after all called the “Boy Scout”.

He makes a dismissing wave with his hand, signaling for you to move before he sat down with a sigh. Chris sinks into the chair and spreads his thighs obscenely wide. 

Hungry, power drunk eyes drag up the length of your naked body making you quiver with nervous energy. He gets off on this just as much as you do.

“Now, why don’t you climb on up and put yourself to use.” He pats his right thigh, making the dense chord of muscle bounce.

You swallow hard at the debauched image. Your silver haired Captain sitting high and mighty with his trousers unbuttoned, framing his massive cock so perfectly that you feel faint.

Silently, you say a prayer to the cosmos to make it out alive before beginning your descent.  

Your hands find purchase on his yellow donned shoulders and you kneel precariously on either side of his thighs which makes the tendons in your own scream from the stretch.

Chris smooths his hands up the sides of your hips when he notices your features wince. “I think this position will feel better.”

Swiftly, he moves one of your knees to the center of the chair and with a strong arm forces your cunt down onto this leg. You yelp in surprise but it’s cut off with a moan as he easily moves your hips back and forth, grinding your sticky cunt against his thigh.

“See. Told you.” Chris jabs with a raised brow and tilt of his head. “Eyes on me.” 

Your fingers dig into his shoulders as your pleasure races. Your eyes flutter open slowly and meet a crystal clear ocean that looms with a storm.

“Thatta girl.” Chris purrs. His thumbs dig into your flesh as your soaked warmth suffocates his strong thigh.

Your clit glides over the smooth material as he drags you back and forth along the tendon. Slick seeps from your cunt and stains his trousers with a shiny gloss when you feel the muscle beneath you go rigid. 

A wicked gasp tears from your lips at the sensation. He’s clenching his thigh. That smug fucker.

His eyes crinkle with teasing delight as he watches your orgasm get closer with every grind. “You’re close. I can tell. Go on, be good. Just let go.”

Your body shakes under his hold. Your cunt throbs as fast as your racing heart when the sparks begin to ignite. With a hoarse shout and toe curling bliss, you come all over his thigh.

Warmth encompasses you as Chris pulls you in for a feverish kiss. His lips smooth over yours as he deepens the affection and lightly traces his tongue along your bottom lip.

Chris shifts but keeps his lips locked on yours as he presses the blunt tip of his cock against your soddened folds.

You break the kiss with a whimper as your tight core stretches to accommodate his girth. You always struggled to take his cock in this position but he always tries to ease your discomfort with raspy praise and precision touches to your clit.

“There you go, open up for me, Sweet Girl.” Chris coos.  

Your body shudders at the intense feeling of being so full. The bulbous head nestles against your cervix making Chris hiss now that you’re finally seated on his length.

Your velvet walls swirl around him as you drag yourself along his cock, rising and falling in a slow, steady motion until your nerves beg for another orgasm.

Chris senses the change. He unlocks his arms from around your waist and leans back in the chair. He’s almost tempted to put his hands behind his head and really enjoy himself.

“Go on. Bounce for your Captain.” He commands with bright, feral eyes. 

Sweat beads his brow when your cunt locks around his length and milks him as your hips rise up only to drive back down with a hearty thwack.

His eyes travel your body and over your curves before landing on your cunt. It’s puffy, dripping gooey slick, and spread so wide by his cock. A thick ring of cream gathers at the base and soaks his auburn curls.

He relishes your heated cries and soft mewls as you fuck yourself on his cock. 

“You’re drippin’ down my balls, Sweet Girl. Makin’ such a mess.” He murmurs into your chest. He laves at your skin and suckles harshly on your pert nips eliciting painful, angelic melodies from your lips.

“Maybe I should call Spock to come over. Show him how filthy my girl can be.” He halfheartedly threatens but grins when you clench and a copious amount of arousal floods his cock.

Your heart jumps into your throat at the idea of Spock watching you like this. You’d always had a bit of a crush on the Vulcan after working with him for years. Chris got you to admit it after a bottle of wine one night and from then on used it to fuel your flames whenever he could.

He roughly grasps your hips and fucks up into your soaked heat, forcing his fat cock deeper. His leaky crown grazes your cervix with cruel kisses and forces you to the blissful edge before you could stop him.

Your nails scratch his covered shoulders as you tumble down the peak and scream out your release coating his girth in a glistening sheen of slick.

Chris chases his pleasure after watching you unfurl, bucking against your hips with his powerful thighs. His sack tightens and he adds to the sticky, gluey mess with a feral growl holding you close to his chest overcome with the need to possess.

Chris’s chest rumbles with satisfaction as he feels your body tremble from the intense aftershocks. You stay curled together until your heartbeats slow to a steady rhythm and sleep tugs at your senses.

“Was that everything you were hoping for?” He asks softly while smoothing a warm hand along your spine.

You purr in response and clench your worn cunt for added measure making him groan. 

He stands suddenly, catching you off guard and you scramble to wrap your arms securely around his shoulders.

“Well, that was round one,” He walks effortlessly with you in his hold towards the showers. “We gotta get clean so we can get dirty again.”

Follow my side blog @ozzieslibrary​ for fic updates!

[ichayalovesyou]

Our Life Matters (Pike Meta/Theory)

“Our life, yours and mine, it matters. Just not in the way you think.” -Admiral Pike

I have been thinking about this a lot, about Pike’s personality/worldview. Thinking about the type of causality Star Trek presents. About how no one’s life is unimportant, even if it appears to culminate in what appears to be their death.

My biggest questions are:

1) How much does Admiral Pike know about what happens to his prime timeline self after he decides to deliberately stay the course?

2) How much is his personal devastation over losing Spock and enduring a 30+ year war with the Romulans caused by what he believes a personal failure, coloring that perception?

If Admiral Pike Doesn’t Know

If he still doesn’t know what happens to him after The Accident, it could be that he says “it matters, just not in the way you think” just because he believes his life purpose is to sacrifice himself for Spock. He may be too tied up in his regrets and severe depression to see the significance of his actions prior to (or even after 👀) the incident.

He will never have lived through The Accident or have accepted it as an inevitable stage of his life. Which means he would have had no reason to move past the “holy shit I’m basically gonna die” stage of grieving for his able-bodied self. Would never have learned, let alone processed, the lesson he eventually teaches himself. Which is to embrace the time he still has, and to prepare for the difficulties of what’ll happen after The Accident. He spent the seven years after escaping his fate not worrying about it, and the rest of his life after regretting that it didn’t happen because the price was Spock.

He also wouldn’t know that sacrificing himself doesn’t actually save Spock! What it actually does is prolong the inevitable. Like his accident, Spock dying of radiation poisoning is a fixed point in the timeline. Choosing to accept The Accident still results in Spock’s death it just changes WHEN it happens. So that it will happen right in the miracle alignment of circumstances that result in Kirk era crew managing to bring him back from the dead thanks to the Genesis device. (We also have no idea how “Space Seed” would’ve gone down with La’an in play and Spock being absent).

Fate keeps bending around and pushing Spock along to survive long enough to unite Romulans and Vulcans, and it is only then Spock’s luck runs out as there’s no one left to go out of their way to protect his continued existence. Time travel is frequently used to keep people who need to do specific things alive, not just Spock. The time travel shenanigans on the NX-01 & in Trials & Tribblations are proof of that. This timeline is a delicate chain of events that keeps the Federation as we know it alive and whole.

The future Pike is going for could be thwarted by time travelers trying to kill or save him before the accident happens as well. Pike letting what was going to happen anyway happen is a crucial element of the future just as much as Spock living to see it through is.

In this Pike’s opinion, assuming he doesn’t know more about his own possible life paths, his purpose is to ensure Spock fulfills his own (not unlike a parent/mentor putting the needs of their child/ward over their own) at best. At worst it’s to suffer for the greater good, which is a rare thing, considering the vast majority of suffering has no greater purpose.

Some people might interpret all of this as Spock being more important than Chris. I don’t think that’s necessarily the takeaway though. We are all the sum of our relationships. I think that Spock meeting and befriending the people he does as a biproduct of Chris’s accident is the true cause of Spock’s ability to create lasting peace between Romulans and The Federation. It’s the torch passing that’s important, and that Spock is there to help take that torch, not just Spock as an individual.

Though Spock feels lost without Pike to guide and support him like he does in SNW, which definitely accounts for his avoidant/detached behavior in TOS. He grows and learns to accept all of who he is through the friendships he forms with Kirk and that crew in Pike’s absence. Could we say the same if the crew lineup had been the same as it is in SNW? Given the strained emotional undertones of the Balance of Timeline, I think it’s safe to say the answer is no.

That Pike’s role in the path of the timeline is somehow lesser doesn’t feel right to me. Life is full of meetings and partings, you can love people and also let them go. Especially if you are in a position of stewardship and it becomes evident there’s nothing more you can do to protect or teach someone. Which, as we see in the narrative, are among Pike’s favorite things to do, often to the detriment of his own well-being. But even that isn’t the full picture!

The point of where his story appears to end is that Spock is the student that is becoming the master when it comes to compassion. If there’s anything Chris encourages Spock to be it’s compassionate. Pike’s apparent final character arc is finally learning, finally allowing himself to be selfish for once and do something that will help him as opposed to only ever helping others. However… (time to get into hypothesis territory!)

What If Admiral Pike DOES Know?

What if he does know what happens after in the timeline that he broke, what if he knows that Spock takes him to Talos IV to live his life without being wracked with the pain of his barely held together DNA. What if he knows the whole story of how his original timeline plays out? Not just that Spock is crucial for Romulan-Federation peace?

Even if he only knows how the rest of his own life will play out. Maybe when he says “it matters, just not in the way you think.” It’s because he knows himself, not just because he is himself but that he knows that he will do a great deal of good with his remaining time, not just before but maybe even after The Accident as well?

Not only would he know that the rest of his life is still incredibly important. Even if that means a well earned retirement after The Accident and nothing more, which I’m not convinced is the case. Getting to show himself a future he knows will be destroyed by his own selfless choice provides Chris with the opportunity to change things that won’t result in The Accident not happening and Spock’s subsequent death.

For example, we pretty much know/can safely bet Una will be saved next season. Something that does not happen in the Balance of Timeline. Perhaps he can prevent (or at least help mitigate the aftermath) of what causes Ortegas to be so closed off and hostile in that timeline. Same thing goes for whatever breaks Spock’s trust enough for him to question Pike’s sanity.

Those aspects may have been subtler foreshadowing than “Una’s in jail now”. Provided it wasn’t just weird clunky writing to get the Balance of Terror dialogue to work, or could be cleverly retconned as such.

Admiral Pike may be significantly sadder, wiser, probably more self-loathing than his younger self. But he still knows himself and can count on his own personality to help what can be helped, even if that isn’t and can never be himself. He also knows that his past self is probably assuming the rest of his life will be spent in pain and with very limited recovery. If he knows that isn’t true, “not in the way you think” takes on even more meaning.

He knows he’s the right Captain for the Enterprise before his time on the Enterprise is done because he’s literally already lived it. He knows what will happen because it’s happened for him already. He knows that things might possibly turn out even better with the warnings showing himself the Balance of Timeline sent. Only he knows what the next seven years (and maybe even beyond) have in store for him.

The “maybe even beyond”, the life we don’t see after he chooses to stay on Talos IV, the “not in the way you think” is what’s got me very intrigued! I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, there’s been a running theme in SNW that thing are not always as they initially appear.

[green5quirrel]

Star Trek SNW Headcannons

This is some of my Star Trek Strange New Worlds bullshit. Feel free to scroll, followers. Scroll like the wind!

So far Star Trek: SNW has been the most Heterosexual Star Trek in YEARS. Granted, we're just a bit past halfway through the first season. There's been queer shit mentioned-ish. But compared to DISCO, this series has embraced being the gayest straight show since TOS.

I like it. Don't me wrong. The nostalgia is ON FIRE with this show. I'm just eating it up like a turtle and a strawberry. (Om...nom...fucking nom...)

But my thirst to see my queer fam represented (as well as myself) on screen has lead my brain to turn into a neon rainbow cloud of electricity with one mission: gay everyone. Gay as verb, mind you. I want to gay EVERYONE.

Now, I won't. In my headcannons I'm sure they'll be a token straight character, so don't you worry my little allies.

But I need more queer.

Get ready your hate comments, my sweet lampreys, because I'm about to RUIN some stuff.

Pike: I'm about to start ruining right now. Pike is our token hetero. He's a tried and true ally, but he has a thing for powerful feminine energy. He wants to be RULED. (But what about Spock?? You leave Kirk's bitch out of this!)

Una: Bi. Lusting over La'an. Knowing the chain of command, tho, so not wanting to do anything about it. Probably has had a previous romantic life. Perhaps has a child/children.

La'an: Lusting over Una. Follows the damn rules so same as Una. Repressed emotionally enough to have only had unsuccessful flings. Is too intimidating for most, even the butchest among them. Loves women but doesn't need your fucking labels because she's so out of touch with her romantic side that she doesn't even think about it.

Ortegas: Ace/Demi (that's right, AT ME). She is passionate as hell. She is friend. She is queer platonic with Chapel. She is loving some garlic bread and cake. She is tired of your bullshit.

Spock: Pan. I mean, if he's gonna be bi (which he totally is) it would be just as logical to be pan because there are so many expressions of gender and spectrums of anatomical and genetic sexual characteristics...why limit? Fascinating. He also has a crush on everyone all the time. Polyam as well because ¿Por qué no dos?

Chapel: Thinks she needs a man but really she just needs a family. She's in so many queer platonics she has trading cards. She likes sex. If anything she is pan. But she thinks she wants to settle down. Pines for one person while not realizing she actually wants everyone. Also has a kink for aliens. Would never tell anyone she's sweet on Hemmer. But who wouldn't be?

M'Benga: Complicated. His love is focused on his daughter currently. His energy is taken by figuring out how to save her. No time for relationships other than the platonic family ones he's making with the crew or professional specialists he's working with to treat her. He's a sweet cinnamon roll and I hope they give him happiness. I'd want him on my side. Fierce love, that one.

Hemmer: My love! Hemmer! Hello, dear! He's super gay. Has an Andorian low-key partner he connects with daily on another starship (Shran story influence). They joke about how Starfleet tries to spread the aliens out to every ship and that's why they've never been assigned together. They're casual because neither have the emotional resources to dedicate to each other in a committed way. But neither one are too invested in seeking out other partners either. Both have traumatic backstories where they are rejected by their family units. I even have his partner's name. Etnar. Also, Etnar's a botanist.

Uhura: Super into other cultures, she is super pan. Everything is open to her. She wants to know. She has compassion. Her relationships have been strong and passionate. But she is still wandering before settling down. She is focused on what's in front of her, not the future. Crushes? Oh yeah. Like Christine she can't help but find everyone so attractive but also so interesting. She doesn't know if she'll ever feel like she truly belongs but she wants to make the MOST of her time! I just can't wait to see where they take her. And unlike the other characters, I really don't need to see her in a relationship. She is a such a full character already. I just want to see what she accomplishes!

Kirk: You think I'd pass up Sammy? Nah. He's curious. He'll try anything once. He defies labels. He just does things for the sake of doing them. He gets hurt. He gets up. He tries someone else. Ends up in a surprisingly stable relationship. Probably with an androgynous alien without the definitions of sex and gender that we have. They're very happy together.

[thelightwillbreakthrough]

im so sorry all i can think about is 14 y/o me watching star trek 2009 and that making me start TOS and falling in deep ass love with the cage as a piece of storytelling and being so massively disappointed that pike just never appeared (as a full character) again and then finding out through facebook (literally, within hours of making my account) about the fan film meant to be about him being in production and THEN the moratorium on fan films happening and being SO disappointed again...getting into discovery fully for michael (and the presence of the Space Dads) and getting SO excited that the enterprise appeared at the end AND pike was on it!! and then falling in full, legit, deep-ass love with his characterization in season 2 but being so disappointed when it was clear he wouldn’t continue on...and THEN the rumors, and THEN the confirmation that SNW was happening...and then following production updates for months waiting for a trailer/sizzle reel/anything solid and fully losing my mind every time one was posted...like im literally crying thinking abt how from a storytelling perspective this is YEARS in the making and a second chance at making something the way the creator intended which i fucking LIVE for!! but also for me personally this is, literally, everything ive wanted this is MY CAPTAIN this is why i got into trek and its really happening and im never gonna be the same again  

[dgcatanisiri]

I really want the Star Trek fandom, and, specifically, the Spock fandom, to just SHUT UP about how “they’re de-gaying Spock!”

Look, I’m always up for exploring the queer subtext and undertones in my media, I am down for casts full of gay, my default is to assume all characters are bi until proven gay. And I say this with full understanding of how much loved Spock is to the queer Trekkies out there, considering I’m among them.

But y’all... SNW is doing NOTHING with Spock’s character we’re not already familiar with. We KNOW he is betrothed to T’Pring until the TOS episode Amok Time, an episode that, by definition, with SNW’s status as a prequel to TOS, is still years in his future.

Likewise, Spock is a person from a species and culture who has an extreme value on tradition and following expected life paths - remember, he is the first Vulcan to turn down the VSA’s admission (Or, as 09!Trek frames it, their record is untarnished, as he is half-human). Even in that bucking of the trend, he still facing the pressure to conform,

So it’s really no surprise that Spock is attempting to solidify the bonds between himself and the woman he is betrothed to. Because, at this point in time, he is of the expectation that they will be mated when his time comes, and, therefore, he should proceed to make things between them work out.

Y’know, if you’re gonna frame it through a queer lens, this is OBVIOUSLY his comp-het phase, where he’s desperately trying to shove himself into the box he doesn’t fit in so he can follow expectations. Considering that we live in a heterosexually-dominant culture, this HAPPENS, we all have this phase and it lasts for different times for different people.

Considering that we KNOW the Spock-T’Pring relationship ends up reaching the point that T’Pring calls off the mating ceremony, telling him “I did not wish to be the consort of a legend,” we are fully aware that this will not last. Keeping the comp-het comparison going, this is the point in his efforts to not embrace his queerness, he is trying to date that girl his parents like in an effort to make them happy at his own happiness’s expense.

Also, the lack of eyeshadow has NOTHING to do with removing the gay and everything to do with the fact that in the 1960s, when a good chunk of the population had black and white TVs and the largest of black and white or color TVs came in at about twelve inches, makeup artists were still catching up with what would and wouldn’t be seen, especially knee-deep in the middle of the color revolution. Y’know, there’s that famous picture of the set of the Addams Family, a show shot entirely in black and white, and everything is coated in a bright pink-ish coloring, because that better made the black and white divide on the screen pop.

As iconic as we like to call Spock having eyeshadow, the fact is, this is symbolic of crew figuring out how to manage this change to the medium, rather than anything inherent to the character. You can find explanations in the universe and character after the fact, BUT... This is absolutely a production reality over anything in the universe of the story itself.

[annakie]

TV/Movie Log 2021

Something I always tell myself I’m gonna keep, and I usually do not do.

Already covered games I played.

TBH, some of this may be late-2020 too.  This is not a complete list obviously, just what comes to mind about what I watched this year.

The things I watched the most are easy:

MST3k - I subscribe to the Twitch channel.  I have it playing in the background like... so much.  Including literally right now as I type this.  Sometimes I switch to the Rifftrax channel.  But I like MST3k more.  It’s comfort food.  The only thing I hate is the commercials for the MST3k Twitch Channel!!!!! that they play almost every break.  Well, one of the new one is for the current tour, which I already have tickets to (but don’t know if I’m going to go to, thanks Covid.)  Catch me diving for the mute button on my keyboard at the end of every break til it’s over.

Also I rewatched both Jonah seasons this year.  I love literally all of MST3k and can’t wait for S14.

Star Trek - I started a rewatch in 2020, I finished... mostly finished... sometime this year.  I uh, haven’t made it through TOS, and tbh I should just pick a list of “20 best TOS episodes” and watch those + the movies. Also haven’t rewatched the Kelvin movies.  I will!  But yeah otherwise I made it through TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT rewatches, while keeping up with all the current ST shows.  Need to rewatch Picard before S2 starts airing, really looking forward to SNW.  And Lower Decks S2 was FANTASTIC.

Survivor - I DO NOT KNOW WHY.   I watched the seasons they had on Netflix when I finished my ST:ENT rewatch earlier this year and then... I don’t know what happened.  I went back and watched every. single. Survivor. season.  Mostly while at work instead of keeping the MST3k channel up.  I’d seen seasons 1 - 6 & 8 when they aired, but otherwise hadn’t really thought about Survivor much in 15 years until... now.

Hilariously, though, I just completely burned out while the new season was airing and I was still in the middle of watching Season 40, which was the all-winner season I was really looking forward to.  I know who wins, and I’m cool with their win, but I got really bummed out that all my faves got knocked out early and dumbly. I’ll try and push through here soon just so I can say I’ve watched them all, though.

Critical Role - Kept up with it, 3 - 4 hours a week.  Of course there was that huge break between seasons. I haven’t watched the last episode or two of EXU though.  I should.

.

New Stuff (in absolutely no order)

For All Mankind - Read Sepinwall’s 20 best shows of 2021 and I’m going to work my way through most of them.  Started with #1.  Surprised at how much I loved it, can’t wait for season 2.

Wandavision/Loki/F&WS/What If?/Hawkeye etc. - Yeah some of those were 2020, I don’t remember.  I kept up or caught up with all of them, they were all varying degrees of good.  I’m not super into the MCU but keep up enough.

Rutherford Falls - I try to watch whatever Michael Shur produces and this series didn’t disappoint.  Michael Greyeyes was a particular surprise in this, really loved his character, but it was a funny, good show that had some great Native American representation well and tackled some difficult issues.  Crossing fingers for season 2.

Resident Alien - Came for a Robert Duncan McNeil produced/directed show about an alien with Alan Tudyk, stayed for a really funny show with compelling mysteries and also great NA representation.  So excited for S2 starting soon.  (As a note, I haven’t yet watched Reservation Dogs but it’s on The List.)

Doctor Who: The Flux - Honestly early on this season felt like the embodiment of the MST3k Concepts song, but it... mostly... came together in the end. Will miss Jodie while she’s gone, but I have mixed feelings about the Chinball era overall.  (TBH I really liked it until the Timeless Child stuff, and am not a fan of that whole storyline.  Hoping they are able to pull up after this.)

Grand Design - A British show about people who build their own houses, hosted by a nice British bloke named Kevin.  It became my comfort/cool-down for sleep show after I ran out of The Repair Shop episodes to watch.  I have scraped as much content of this show as possible, and I need more.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath - I’ve been pretty well-versed about Scientology for a long time, but really enjoyed (in a horrified way) Leah Remini’s series.  It got pretty repetitive in the 3rd season, but I think it’s done a lot of good to get the word out about what Scientology is all about.

The Witcher S2 - Liked it a lot more than S1.  I know people are mad it went way off the track of the books, but I didn’t play the games or read the books and hey, I like it for what it is.

Mythic Quest - Knew I’d love it when I got around to watching it, and I was right.  Fantastic show, nails the nerd/game dev/MMO vibe so well with great characters and a lot of depth.

Kevin Can Fuck Himself - This show mostly worked and I really enjoyed it, but I also think it’s good that it’s ending after 2 seasons.  Looking forward to season 2 and hoping for a good wrapup.

What We Do in the Shadows - Another show I knew I’d love but just never got around to before this.  I was dumb to hold off on it so long.  Just an amazing show that I love so much now.  Mad at me for denying myself this show, but also glad I didn’t have to wait through that S2 cliffhanger.  But now I’m waiting through that S3 cliffhanger. :(

Only Murders in the Building - What an absolute delight this show was.  I wasn’t expecting it to be this good, but it was great the whole way through and nailed the landing.  Anxiously awaiting S2.

Ted Lasso - YES YES WE ALL LOVE TED LASSO.  Me included.

Brooklyn 99 - I miss you already. :(  Great final season, though.

Handmaid’s Tale S4 - Still watching this.  Don’t regret it.  Still hard to watch, still kinda misery porn, but I liked most of S4 and am interested in what happens in S5.

Leverage: Redemption - Still kind of can’t believe this is a thing, but it IS and I LOVED IT. Bring on S2, pls Aldis, be in it at least as much as last season.

The Stand - Started in 2020, ended in 2021.  I had really high hopes for this adaptation of one of my favorite books.  And in the end... my reaction was mixed, leaning more towards positive, but also my feelings were better than most people I guess.  I liked a lot of the story updates, but jumping around in the timeline hurt the story way more than helped, AND they sidelined important characters -- including my favorite characters (Tom and Nick) and that hurt.  Vegas was... not correct at all, either.  And hoo boy Trashcan Man was very wrong.  But I also liked Fran more here than in either previous adaptation and the guy they had playing Harold was amazing.

Sweet Tooth - An interesting story, I’m still curious about what’s going to happen in S2.  Not my favorite thing of the year, not my least favorite either.

Upload - Greg Daniels’ show about people living digitally after death (sort of like a series long San Junipero.)  It was okay, glad they’re getting a S2.

A  Smaller List of Other Stuff I Watched:

Nailed It - It’s SO FUNNY even if it’s basically the same every episode.

The Circle - I really hate that I love this show.

Whose Line is it Anyway? - Another comfort show I only sorta keep up with.

.

Currently Watching

Taskmaster - My current comfort show.  I’m only on my first season if it (and it’s like season 7) But it’s SO funny and I’m loving it.  Just tons of laugh out loud moments every episode.

The Expanse - I have tried at least twice before to get into The Expanse.  It is absolutely a show I SHOULD love.  I am now mid-season 1 and enjoying it more than my previous attempts. 

Star Trek: Discovery/Prodigy - Enjoying them both!  I mean, Prodigy is a kid’s show but I am loving Janeway Hologram and am holding on tight for whenever Chakotay shows up.  It’s very good for what it is!  And Discovery is chugging along, about as good as it ever was.

Station Eleven - Rec’d by Sepinwall, definitely one of the best things I’ve watched this year, but it is a difficult show to watch, especially right now.

Book of Boba Fett - Love The Mandalorian, loved the first ep of BoBF

.

Rewatches

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - This show is so good, so much better than you think it’d be.  I originally got into it after season one, I think?  Loved watching it live, loved the rewatch more.  Also, I like New Greg just as much as Old Greg, FIGHT ME.  Also I love the ending.  (Also Rebecca should be with Greg or Nathaniel, I’m equal on both, or NO ONE is great, too.  Not Josh, love him as a character, not for Rebecca.)

The Mole - I loved this show when it was on, and rewatched all 4 US seasons this year.  It was still really fun, especially since I had literally forgotten the Winner and Mole from each season, except the newest.  I could remember the final 3 or 4 people, but it was nice getting to guess all over again.  I wish they’d bring this show back.

Leverage - To prepare for Leverage: Redemption I rewatched Leverage!  It’d been quite a few years since I’d done a Leverage rewatch, even though it’s one of my constant lowkey fandoms.  So worth it.  I mean, there are bits of it that haven’t aged well, especially around technology, but it 95% HAS.  And Parker/Hardison/Eliot OT3 now and forever.

.

Gave Up On

The Boys - I didn’t enjoy S1 a lot but finished it.  Got several episodes into S2 and decided it just wasn’t for me.  Not saying it’s bad, a lot of people loved it, but... yeah, not for me.

I tried a few other reality shows as well, but they were pretty much too vapid for me to stick with.  Probably watched the pilots for like half a dozen shows and was like “I’ll get back to this” and did not, or just decided they weren’t for me to start with.

.

Movies

Army of the Dead - the dumb Zombie movie with Dave Bautista.  Of course I mostly watched it for Tig, and was not disappointed with Tig.

Snake Eyes - I went to the movies twice this year.  This was the first time, with a small group of friends.  Back in the summer... when we thought everything was gonna be OK.  I miss June.  The movie was dumb and fun and just fine for a summer flick you don’t have to think about.  But I LOVED GI Joe as a kid it was maybe my first “fandom” that I was into independently, not because it was something my parents loved like Star Trek/Star Wars.  So I got a kick out of it.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - The other time I went to the movies.  It was a mostly empty showing with a friend.  I enjoyed the movie again, as a “turn your brain off and JUST ENJOY IT DAMNIT” watch, as it should be for Venom movies.

Psych 3: This is Gus - I love that we’re still getting new Psych, I hope they get all 6 movies they planned for. Heard a few things that make it sound like movie 4 should be getting greenlit.  This is Gus is maybe my favorite so far.

Spider Man: No Way Home - I did watch it.  And all the previous Spider-Man + Tom Holland movies before it.  Worth it.  One of the best entries in the MCU.

Gunpowder Milkshake - It was fun!  Not a great movie, but a very fun, stylish movie with lots of kickass ladies.

A Castle for Christmas - I watched a dumb Christmas movie this year purely because it had Cary Elwes in it, Brooke Shields was a nice bonus.  I don’t regret it.

Jupiter Ascending - I finally watched this crazy movie.  I now get what everyone was talking about.  Also don’t regret it.

The Last Blockbuster - Because Blockbuster was such a part of my childhood / young adulthood.  Still, I like having everything at my fingertips better.

OK I’m tired of writing this list.  I’m gonna go play some video games now. :)

[starfleetdoesntfirefirst]

do you want pike to be captain or are you annoyed about the current captain situation? i stopped watching halfway thru s2 but really want to get back into it!

Hi anon! In answer to your q, the second one—I’m annoyed at how, in a franchise that has had the protagonist be the commanding officer of the ship/station in all six of its previous shows, DSC not only made it so that the first woman protagonist of color did not begin her show as the captain/commanding officer (even Sisko, the man of color who perhaps-not-coincidentally was the only other Trek protagonist not to start his show with the rank of captain, still very much from the beginning was in the traditional Trek role of being fully in command of the space station his show centered around), but then made it so that the captains for the first season, second season, and at least the beginning of the coming third season are three (3) different white men. And at how the Season 1 promotional materials in particular did a bait-and-switch by hyping Burnham and Georgiou before making the actual show 2.5+ seasons of white dude captains, and at the way that, even after Lorca is off the show at the end of Season 1, Season 2 brings another white man to show “what a Good Starfleet Captain is like,” as though the example of the Good Starfleet Captain couldn’t have been a woman of color, or a nonbinary disabled person of color, or...

However, I can see how the way I set up my post about the Pike show made it unclear whether I was using the concept of ‘reverse bait-and-switch where women of color are the captains in the Pike show’s first seasons rather than Pike’ in order complain about DSC, or in order to complain about the hypothetical situation I had described where Pike wasn’t the captain. Thanks for asking for clarification!

Also, to be clear, I’m happy for anyone who loves Pike and is thrilled to have a Pike show specifically. I personally ended DSC Season 2 liking him as a character much more than I did at the beginning of the season, and the actor is awesome—I don’t wish the new show ill. And I’d be especially thrilled if it actually handles Pike’s future disability well, though given how badly the new Treks have handled pretty much every type of topic related to identity, I don’t have my hopes too high on that count. But it feels very glaring that not only did CBS and the showrunners have the first 2.5+ seasons of their show with a woman protagonist of color have three (3) different white men as the captains, and not only did Season 2 in particular focus so much on Pike and Spock—and write 20something Spock as being (out of character; I love TOS!Spock!) repeatedly physically violent to his sister without apologizing or being accountable—now one of the new show slots will go to a white man. Which doesn’t mean that SNW won’t have good aspects, or that there’s a damn thing wrong with people who love the specific character of Pike being thrilled about this—what’s glaring is the trend of how, with DSC and PIC and now SNW, CBS seems to think that they need to cater to viewers who want any/every/only white men as captains, and how the hypothetical reversed scenario of having three different characters who all happen to be women of color replacing Pike as captain for the first 2.5+ seasons would be so noticeable to viewers—and is so unlikely to happen in any modern mainstream Hollywood show—because white men are seen as default leaders in a way other people are not.

Re the second part of your ask, all of the above being said, DSC is my personal favorite of the Trek shows, so if you really want to get back into it I absolutely recommend it! I strongly dislike the choices I rambled about above, and the fridging of Georgiou and Landry, and so on. But I love the characters, and the chunks of writing and the actors that make those characters possible, and the gorgeous production and effects. Bluntly, we’re at a point where MOST (though not all!) big-budget genre TV shows and movies have a lot of death, fridging of non-white-men characters, and gore, so if I’m gonna watch modern genre TV, I at least want to watch a show with a lot of great characters, on-screen queer representation, and a woman of color lead who is an amazing and nuanced character (yes, Michael’s plotlines have gotten short shrift, but thanks especially to Martin-Green’s acting, her characterization and development are complex and fascinating).

Also, as has been pointed out frequently, it historically has taken Star Trek shows a season or two to find their footing, and there were a lot of behind-the-scenes issues and chaos affecting the writing and producing of DSC Seasons 1 and 2, so there seems to be a decent chance that Season 3 will center Michael more and avoid gross tropes. That being said, the pre-Season-2 hype made me genuinely believe we’d get a healing arc for Michael and less gratuitous trauma porn in general, and we got neither of those things, so I’m a little hesitant about believing Season 3 will indeed be better...but it sounds like they really may have actually have taken some steps to reduce poorly-handled grimdark this time (and IIRC the new showrunner is a gay woman?) so I’m holding out hope that it finally will.

Since you mentioned that you stopped watching halfway through Season 2, a word of warning (that will make me sound like a broken record to anyone who has been seeing me rant about 2x10 for over a year now) that there is what I consider to be an egregiously violent scene toward Burnham in episode 10, so heads up if you continue watching (feel free to anon me for details!) But yeah, despite all my qualms, DSC is my fave Trek—I just wish it’d do better.

And if the Pike show does pull a bait-and-switch and give us a season or three of women captains of color, I will not say no. ;)

[ichayalovesyou]

Does the SNW Finale Teaser Mean an Alternate Universe?

I don’t think there’s as much evidence that the show is going that direction as people act like there is (or, might want there to be).

Okay, first off, I wanna clarify that it is possible, that they’re gonna make SNW an alternate universe. I just don’t think that’s what’s gonna happen, and I would actually really dislike it if they did. But I’ll get into the latter after we lay down some facts.

We know two major plot points from the teasers for A Quality of Mercy. There are things that we DO know, and things we DON’T know.

We know that there is a skirmish at the Federation Neutral Zone border with what we assume to be Romulans based on their weaponry and the fact that we don’t get to see their faces.

That being said it could be a red herring and/or the ultimate end result of the combat we get glimpses of that they can’t confirm it was the Romulans on the record without starting another war. So effectively, what we see later in Balance of Terror remains true, no one has (legally/officially/technically) encountered or at least seen the Romulans since the Romulan War. It’s a technicality pre-TOS Star Trek has used before. It could be a hit and run.

The second is Mat Al Salal (I think that’s how it’s spelt), the boy from Pike’s future, one of the two cadets he wasn’t/will not be able to save. Pike obviously wants to do something, change things, save him somehow, alter the future for this kid’s sake if not for his own.

But, we still don’t know if he can, or what will happen if he tries. What if Pike trying to save Mat gets him killed in the skirmish? What if what he does during the skirmish only makes Mat more deadset on joining Starfleet even if Chris deliberately discourages him? If Mat dies or doesn’t join Starfleet, does a different cadet join that same class and die in his stead? If Pike ensures that entire class is a student short, does that change what happens to him? Will two students still die even if the class is smaller? There’s no way to know!

The reason I don’t like the idea of Strange New Worlds breaking off into an alternate timeline is that it feels… empty, like a cop out, pointless. Both on a story level and on a meta/real world level.

One of the big themes of Strange New Worlds has been coping/adapting to what you can’t change, and changing what you can when you can. I feel as though Pike dodging what appears to be the inevitable with no consequences to himself or the Enterprise crew, undercuts that message.

Part of Spock (and everyone else’s) character development would be smudged out of the main narrative and that doesn’t sit right with me. It feels like they’re building an explanation as to why things are how they are between characters in TOS through the show through SNW.

Then in regards to a real life sense it feels like letting the “haters” for lack of a better term, win. It’s like if the showrunners decided “hey, some people hated TNG/DS9/VOY, do you know what’s fix it? Making the show like it never happened!” which would severely water down the narrative/message of those shows, almost as badly as claiming it was all a dream!

It’s not like the Kelvin timeline where the character dynamics were rebuilt from the ground up. Based on a fundamental change in historical events before any of the characters ever met. It’d feel like a serious lack of payoff for what things seem to be building toward if all that character development vanished into a divergent timeline (also how would there be a double of the Enterprise and why would that change their character/story arcs now?)

The reason that it works for the Kelvin timeline is that there’s a well established sequence of events so it’s cool to see how things play out differently. If SNW broke off into another timeline we’d have no primary timeline to compare/contrast to which takes a lot of the fun out of it. You know how everyone collectively disregards Enterprise being a “holodeck simulation” because it was such a shitty, hollow move? Yeah that!

So, suffice to say, I’d be a bit peeved if they went the alternate timeline route. And I think it’s a testament to how interesting a concept Pike’s character arc is if that is one of the most boring options!

[ichayalovesyou]

Spock & Pike :D

I don’t think I can stress enough how EXCITED I am by the potential of Strange New Worlds has for showing a really awesome, wholesome, healthy father-son relationship between Captain Pike and (Lieutentant? Or possibly Lt. Junior Grade) Spock. I mean, Spock’s gonna be in his early thirties, and that is barely an adult by Vulcan standards (which I’d imagine put him at a physical age of 25ish with his mixed heritage) regardless, he’s still pretty young! Him baby!

Something that caught me off guard that actually rubbed me the right way about Spock & Pike (and to a smaller extent Spock & Una) despite on the surface seeming out of character, is that he’s visibly happier and more relaxed around them! The fact that he admitted to smiling when Pike basically comes to rescue him speaks VOLUMES. I mean, he wouldn’t admit anything resembling that to Jim or Bones until they had been friends with him for years!

I mean by the time we get to TOS, Spock still struggles with a lot of inner-conflict and has trouble opening up to people. And we kinda get a small taste of how much worse that was for him when he was younger through Discovery (TAS and the AOS movies too). He’s still more stable and confident in himself in TOS than anywhere else beforehand, and considering Sarek isn’t... a great dad. I can only imagine Pike (and Una too probably!) had a LOT to do with it.

Pike seems like exactly the kind of mentor/father figure Spock would need to get where he is! There’s so much love that’s clearly there already (the unusually emotional display from Spock, Pike calls Spock “our boy” to his mom and older sister for crying out loud!) I only think it’s almost a shame that we aren’t seeing the first Pike five-year-mission to see how we got from the way he is in the turbolift with Una to where we see his and Pike’s relationship in Disco. Although I’m sure we’ll get flashbacks considering how intensely important Talos IV is to Pike’s arc.

Plus, it’s so rare, that you get to see a well done, healthy father-son type character relationship in TV shows these days, or at least not ones where the mentor doesn’t immediately die or turn evil (or something between). We already know what happens to Pike occurs after he & Spock part ways so there’s no risk of that in Strange New Worlds. (I actually have a theory that Spock does find out Pike already knows will happen to him, which has TONS of character development potential, such as Spock’s “the needs of the many” doctrine having some more heartbreaking context. It’d also give the conversation they have at the beginning of The Menagerie more depth, but I digress.)

Even Star Trek barely touches on that kind of character dynamic (and the only healthy one that comes to mind is Sisko and Jake, and if you want something even MORE sidelined, Rom & Nog) Star Trek does love it’s daddy issues, this would be an interesting change of pace. It would be the first time we’d get to see that sort of thing happen between two major characters in a Star Trek show (I feel that it’s clear by the promo pics that Pike, Una & Spock are intended to be SNW’s “triumvirate”). I would just love to see it, especially since SNW has promised a lighter, more optimistic Starfleet than what we’ve been getting lately.