#and definitely don’t use every other vulcan as a chance to point that out

[fencesandfrogs]

I’ve decided I’m keeping plants pretty similar to earth plants, because botany is so ridiculous that I don’t even need to make shit up. Also, Tuvok hybridized a Vulcan flower with an earth orchid. So like. Plant hybridization is crazy, but this is like the Spock mammal thing.

Anyway I’m considering having my CAM plants be a major branch because like. What are the odds of convergent evolution creating that change multiple times on TWO planets. …high enough that I’m only considering having CAM be a major decision.

Plants also lend support to my thoughts on the Forge: there’s a carnivorous vine from that hat area, and.

Y’know what no i’m not using my walk home to type out half formed thoughts on low nitrogen environments. Please research carnivorous plants if you’re curious; pitcher plants are a favorite of mine.

So anyway they don’t really make sense in an arid desert environment IMO. But by an oasis?? Oh yeah, now we’re talking.

I’m not 100% sure that I’m keeping the major divisions of plants from earth, but like. I didn’t take botany for nothing. Ya boy knows his gymnosperms and monocots and so on and he wants to be able to use that knowledge.

[enterprisetrampstamp]

Request: TOS Spock and Bones being an adorable married couple while aboard the Enterprise!

"All I'm saying is, you could've warned me," Bones was complaining, before the fabric of his uniform pants had even touched the plastic of the bench across the table from his Captain.

Jim, his focus directed at the PADD containing the paperwork that Yeoman Rand would be coming to fetch in less than five minutes, hummed a neutral acknowledgement and trusted his Chief Medical Officer to continue his diatribe with only that minimum of prompting.

"A chance to prepare--" Bones's fork flicked through the air-- "A chance to brace myself. Pretty sure that after everything you've put me through over the years, Jimmy, I deserved one."

"Almost certainly," Jim agreed, dashing off another signature with the rubber tip of his stylus.

"Good of you to admit it. Spock didn't!"

"What didn't I do, Doctor?" Spock asked, and-- unlike when Bones had sat down-- Jim looked up to shoot his Number One a crooked grin of welcome. (It wasn't about Spock, specifically-- it was about that, that warm feeling of vicarious happiness he got at seeing his two best friends oh-so-casually brush their fingers against each other in a gentle "Good morning" kiss.)

Bones rolled his eyes; Spock raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't admit I deserved a bit of warning before you dumped an entire crop of fresh-faced, bushy-tailed morons in my lap." Bones stabbed at his eggs vindictively, his expression sour. "Do you know how much work--"

Oh, that's what this was about? The new nurses and interns who'd joined the crew at their last pit stop?

"They're not morons," Jim told him, amused, as hebturned back to scrolling through his PADD. "And you did have warning, Bones; you had to sign off on all of them."

"I was told that I was offering my opinion on their placement on other ships!" Bones threw his hands wide, his left hand smacking into Spock's chest unapologetically. "Not mine!"

Spock gently removed Bones's hand from his personal space, and Jim sighed. "At the time, you were," he said dryly. "But several of your nurses have resigned their commissions recently, and this mission has been turning out a lot differently than we anticipated at the start; you could always use some additional hands in surgery--"

"Like I would trust these fools with a scalpel--!"

"They aren't even fresh out of the Academy, Bones," Jim reminded him. "Every one of them has at least a year of prior experience in a hospital and performed admirably--" he looked up, eyebrows raised. "At least, according to your own assessment."

"Have they yet shown themselves to be unsatisfactory?" Spock asked, calmly cutting to the center of Bones's ranting, and Bones scowled as he buttered his toast.

"They're fine," he said, shortly. "But not a one of them is prepared for the differences between traditional hospital practices and those of a starship, Jim. On another ship--" he waved a hand. "They'd have time to ease into things. But here? On the Enterprise? They need their hands held, Jim, and Chris, Geoff, and I only have so many hands to go around."

Spock looked to be considering this point deeply, so Jim left him to it for the moment, glancing guiltily at the chronometer on the far wall of the mess and resuming the race to finish his paperwork. It's not that Bones was wrong, in Jim's opinion; it was just that they didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. The CMO and the indomitable Nurse Chapel would simply have to ride herd on the new kids until they either shaped up or washed out-- no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

"You believe they are likely to freeze the first time they're placed under pressure," Spock surmised.

Bones-- when Jim glanced up into the silence of hesitation-- pulled a face and shook his head. "All hospitals are, by definition, life or death situations; they've already proven they can handle 'pressure'," he said. "But basic xenobiology credits don't do justice to the realities of practicing your craft on biological systems you barely understand-- present company included-- with diseases no one's ever seen before and half the equipment you would have wanted. It's their imaginations I'm worried about, Mr. Spock."

"Then perhaps it is their imagination you should focus on training, Doctor."

"There are a couple security officers trying to put an improv comedy club together," Jim suggested, hiding his grin by ducking his head further towards the PADD as he dashed off another signature, and a bit of toasted crust bounced off of his temple after Bones threw it at him. "That was assault of a commanding officer, I'll have you know."

"Shove it, Jim. The grown ups are actually brainstorming solutions over here."

"Of course," Jim agreed, smoothly, and pretended that "brainstorming" was the only reason Bones had laid his hand over Spock's when Spock placed it palm up on the table.

"Sims, maybe?" Bones murmured. "I could write something up, if you'd be willing to code it. No right answers, only better ones; see what they come up with."

"It would be my pleasure, Doctor."

A beat, a shit-eating grin in his periphery, and Spock repeated, sharply-- "Doctor."

"My virgin ears and I are glad Bones kept that one telepathic," Jim said, hiding his own shit eating grin behind his cup of coffee as he took a sip, and Bones laughed.

"Not in front of the Captain, Mr. Spock, or whatever will appear on your next performance review?"

Spock sighed. "You have a singularly frustrating personality, Doctor."

"You're one to talk. You know, Jim, he uses cinnamon toothpaste?"

"Perish the thought." Jim signed another dotted line, his feeling of foreboding growing as he scrolled further and further down towards the next. Janice was going to be here in--

"Your yeoman has just walked into the mess, Captain," Spock told him.

"And she's a woman on a mission," Bones added, eith a thread of laughter lacing through his tone. "A tactical retreat may be in order, Jim boy."

Captain James Tiberius Kirk did not turn to look over his shoulder, because that would be a sign of weakness. "Buy me five minutes," he said, his tone just shy of an order. "I'll speed read."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Bones demanded, but Spock-- bless those pointed ears of his-- was already rising to his feet.

"Accompany me, Doctor," he requested.

And, with a sigh, Bones took a few quick bites of his toast and then rose to his feet, wiping his fingers on a napkin as he trailed behind Spock. Jim paused his reading only long enough to watch them intercept Janice--

What they said couldn't be heard from across the room, but Bones's right hand found the small of Spock's back, his wedding ring glinting under the light as he waved the other about enthusiastically, and his exuberance combined with Spock's quiet intensity commanded Janice's attention quite completely. By the time she'd wormed her way free, Jim was outting the last flourishing signature on the paperwork, and he handed the PADD over to her with his most charming smile.

"Thank you, Yeoman."

"No, Captain," she said, with a smile that was far too shark-like for the sweetness of her tone. "Thank you." And then-- laughing-- she was gone.

Bones looked smug, and Spock's eyes glittered with Vulcan amusement, and suddenly, Jim was feeling much less charitable towards the man's ears.

"Gentlemen," he said suspiciously. "May I ask what price I've just paid for those five minutes?"

"You know, Yeoman Rand has a lot of friends on the ship, in all kinds of departments," Bones said, as he tucked into his remaining eggs. "Including Security."

"She's a popular woman," Jim agreed, slowly.

"Ensigns Martinez and Harper will be most grateful to hear of your interest in joining their improvisational comedy group, Captain."

Jim stared at Spock. "No."

Bones smiled. "Oh, yes."

"No!"

"His idea," Bones said, jerking his thumb at Spock.

"I was under the impression you had been looking for a method of engendering further goodwill between yourself and the crew," he said, with a perfect Vulcan poker face.

"Wouldn't do to back out on a promise now, Captain," Bones told him cheerfully. "Say, they still encourage audience participation st these things, don't they?"

"A staple of the genre, Doctor."

"My," Bones said, smiling into the horror dawning across Jim's face. "I guess I'll just have to make sure I never miss a show."

Spock hummed as he returned to his own breakfast. "I believe I shall have to miss every show, for fear that you would volunteer me for a sketch."

"Well." Bones wiped his mouth on a napkin, blue eyes twinkling. "Even so, Mr. Spock. I'll see you at lunch."

Spock bid him a pleasant morning shift, and-- with a brush of their fingertips-- Bones was gone.

"You didn't really promise Janice that I'd be doing improv comedy, did you?" Jim asked, weakly. "I'll forgive you for the implication if you simply admit--"

"No, Captain, I did not." But the way he said it...

Jim closed his eyes. "Spock. Did Dr. McCoy promise it?"

"Yes, Captain, he did."

"I know you love him, Spock, but I'd like your permission to ship him back to Earth--"

"Negative."

"He'll be happy there," Jim promised. "I'll set him up on a nice farmstead in Georgia--"

"I don't believe that the life of a farmer would especially agree with me."

"I'm not planning on sending you."

Spock raised an eyebrow, and Jim sighed, relenting. "I suppose you would follow him, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, Captain."

"Of course," Jim agreed, with a ghost of a smile breaking through his glum mood. It was nice, seeing his two best friends in love--

Even when they ganged up on him.

[amispnrewatch]

SPN 1x06 “Skin”

Okay, I’m gonna try to type while I watch this time instead of forgetting this blog exists until the episode is almost over.

You can tell the footage for the previously on segment was saved on a VHS copy instead of the original film that the show was shot with because even in the HD iTunes version I have it looks low quality as fuck. And jumpy in the way that brings me back to my teens watching the WB all the damn time.

I love this song. WTF is this song. Shazam says “Good Deal” by Mommy and Daddy. I… have no comment, except that it sounds like everything I was listening to in college at the time this shit was airing.

Aaaaand not!Dean turns around to face the SWAT team after obviously torturing some woman. THAT is a cold open.

I wanna know what that car is in the background. It’s pretty. Maybe a convertible Impala? They have similar grills. This is not at all important.

Also, I love that with these higher definition versions of the episodes you can see that Sam’s email is lawboy and whatever dot com and that people in the fandom have started calling him Law Boy. It’s hilarious.

DEAN: Well, what exactly do you tell ‘em? You know, about where you’ve been, what you’ve been doin’?

SAM: I tell ‘em I’m on a road trip with my big brother. I tell ‘em I needed some time off after Jess.

DEAN: Oh, so you lie to ‘em.

SAM: No. I just don’t tell ‘em….everything.

DEAN: Yeah, that’s called lying. I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin’ the truth is far worse.

SAM: So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life? (DEAN shrugs.) You’re serious?

DEAN: Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can’t get close to people, period.

Aaaaand now I have Dean and Cassie feelings again and we haven’t even gotten to her episode yet.

SAM: No, man, I know Zack. He’s no killer.

DEAN: Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you.

Aaaaaand now I have Dean and Lee feelings and we’re nowhere near Lee’s episode in season 15.

YOU JUST BLEW THROUGH A STOP SIGN DEAN WTF.

Little Becky. Oi with the reusing of names.

Of course Sam made friends with a bunch of rich kids while he was at college in a desperate attempt to try to be normal.

SAM: You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack’s house.

DEAN: We could.

REBECCA: Why? I mean, what could you do?

SAM: Well, me, not much. But Dean’s a cop. (DEAN laughs.)

DEAN: Detective, actually.

I love that Dean was like “how dare you call me that.”

Okay, after a bit of research, I totally want to take a day trip to Bisbee, Arizona, but it’s already in the 90s here in the desert and it’s not even May so that trip is going to have to wait until… winter or something. There is no way in hell I’m going deeper into the desert when the weather gets hotter.

It’s a historic mining town tourist trap looking place now which is exactly the kind of shit I love.

SAM: Bec, look, I know Zack didn’t do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he’s innocent.

I mean, not technically, technically you would 1) NOT FUCK WITH A MURDER INVESTIGATION YOU’RE NOT LEGALLY INVOLVED IN BECAUSE ANYTHING YOU FIND WOULD BE INADMISSABLE IN COURT 2) find evidence to provide a reasonable doubt for the jury that he did commit the crime. You know, like a lawyer would need to do, Law Boy.

DEAN: I just don’t think this is our kind of problem.

When I made my husband watch this show with me (he’s seen it all at least once now over the years) this is the recurring thing that drove him crazy.

You guys can’t even go in through the back door? Or shut the front door behind you? Really?

REBECCA: (tearfully) Well, there’s no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in.

Yeah, that doesn’t even really mean that she knew her attacker. Just that it was someone she let her guard down around or got in some other way. See: The Son of Sam and Nightstalker, etc.

Love the pinup magnet on the fridge. I’d throw shade at that, but I have a pinup magnet on my fridge too so… pot kettle and all that.

Okay, both people in the next couple are gorgeous.

And oh wow those special effects changing eyes… wow.

This poor couple. I feel so bad for them in this episode.

How… how are the police gonna explain the way he was able to beat himself over the head with a bat??? I…

I love that 5:30 in the morning on TV is clearly like… 10 AM.

Okay, this is a really unrelated point, but the graffiti on the dumpster here reminds me of the Teen Wolf fandoms use of the name Void!Stiles when Stiles Stilinski was possessed by a Nogitsune… I just spent way too long digging through YouTube and my Tumblr tags from back when those episodes were airing looking for a few specific videos and couldn’t find them. The TL;DR reason I bring it up here is goofball, bi-coded main character guy getting possessed by an entity set on destroying the people he loves. SOUNDS LIKE THIS EPISODE AND A WHOLE LOT OF SPN RIGHT. I love that all these monster hunting shows call out to each other.

This scene haunts me years later and I don’t even WATCH Teen Wolf. I just watched the fandom on Tumblr collectively lose it’s shit then tripped down a Hale Pack fanfiction rabbit hole.

ANYWAY

Back to Supernatural, a show that also treated its fan base, cast, and characters like garbage! Huzzah!

DEAN: Well, there’s another way to go—down. (They look down and notice a manhole.)

I’m gonna be mature and ignore the double entendre there…

But I love that Dean thinks of the world in 3D. Which sounds like a dumb statement to make, but this is honestly a good example of that in action.

SAM: I bet this runs right by Zack’s house, too.

Really Sam, sewers run by houses? SO WEIRD. I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED.

DEAN: You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape—maybe it sheds.

SAM: That is sick. (DEAN puts the bloody pile back on the ground.)

Guys, there is a WHOLE ASS EAR in that pile of yuck you’re looking at. I think it’s pretty safe to assume the shapeshifter indeed sheds its skin like a snake. A much… gooier snake.

Sam’s friend is rightfully pissed at him for fucking with the crime scene.

This is before the pearl gripped guns?! Wow. I never noticed that before.

Also, this whole episode gives me feelings.

++++

Cool. Tumblr mobile ate a whole section of my notes on this when it crashed for NO APPARENT REASON. Love that.

It always boggles my mind that actors can trust the people they’re working with enough to let people “tie” ropes around their neck or put them in actually dangerous positions in a scene.

SHAPESHIFTER: He’s sure got issues with you. You got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean, I had to stay home. With Dad. You don’t think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?

SAM: Where is my brother? (The shapeshifter leans in close to SAM.)

SHAPESHIFTER: I am your brother. See, deep down, I’m just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I’m a freak. And sooner or later, everybody’s gonna leave me. (He backs away.)

SAM: What are you talkin’ about?

SHAPESHIFTER: You left. Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin’, just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this life? It’s not without its perks. (He laughs.) I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance. Let’s see what happens. (He smiles and covers SAM with a sheet.)

This exchange is just… so much. So many feelings. And I will forever (unless we magically get a fix-it fic mini season someday…) be SO MAD that none of this got resolved in that pointless, trash heap of a finale.

REBECCA: Okay, so, this thing—it can make itself look like anybody?

SHAPESHIFTER: That’s right. (She chuckles.)

REBECCA: Well, what is it, like a genetic freak? (The shapeshifter laughs.)

SHAPESHIFTER: Maybe. Evolution is about mutation, right? So, maybe this thing was born human but was different. Hideous and hated. Until he learned to become someone else. (REBECCA looks around, uncomfortable. The shapeshifter’s eyes glint silver, and he smiles.)

It always amazes me how much of this show is a pile of accidental queer allegories parading around in an ill-fitting toxic masculinity suit.

Vulcan mind meld! I love nerd!Dean. Also, I’m rewatching Star Trek: TOS with my husband, because that is what my life amounts to these days, rewatching comfort TV and flailing over the bits I love.

This post does a better job than I can do of pairing up screen caps with the dialogue of this next scene. SIX EPISODES IN. They’re dumping all of this character depth SIX EPISODES IN. FUCK THIS SHOW FOR NOT EMBRACING ITSELF.

Okay, I love that he screams back in her face after he threw the phone. It’s not something to laugh at because the situation is horrifying, but I can’t help laughing at it every time.

AND THE WAY THEY CUT THESE SCENES. Going from him winding his hand back to backslap her directly to him dropping the chains on the table to show how hard he must have hit her without actually making the actors hit each other. Good job editing department!

I… don’t understand the shifter’s motivation for killing people. If he can take over people’s identities without killing them, why kill them? Is it just because he’s a homicidal, rapist piece of shit? Cause that’s all it seems like.

How did the SWAT team even know she was being attacked? Why can the snipers aim no better than Storm Troopers?

Ugh, these kind of transformation body horror scenes are exactly why werewolf stories have never really appealed to me much. Like, I could do without watching your ribs move and teeth fall out, dude.

BUT.

THIS FUCKING SCENE.

I looked up the song that’s playing over shapeshifter!Dean being caught by the SWAT team and then going through the grotesque transformation. (And as far as I know, the iTunes version has the original music from the episodes.)

It’s a song called “Mary” by The Death Riders

Who's your mother, who's your mother here boy // Who's your mother, whos your mommy dear // Who's your father, who's your father here boy // Who's your father, who's your daddy dear

Silently screaming // Where everyone knows // Daddy's always watchin' // Where everywhere - everywhere I go

I don't wanna be a freak show pretty boy anymore // I don't wanna be a full time slave // I don't wanna be your midnight cowboy anymore // I just want to be Mary

This is… a fascinating choice. Here are the rest of the lyrics. The song as a whole has a weird incesty kinda vibe to it? Kinda like when SPN tries to straight-wash itself and misses the mark wildly. (Like Dean’s male siren episode.)

The midnight cowboy line reminded me of 12x11 and the bull riding scene with “Broomstick Cowboy” by Bobby Goldsboro playing over it

Dream on, little Broomstick Cowboy, // Dream while you can; // Of big green frogs, // And puppy dogs, // And castles in the sand.

For, all too soon you'll awaken; // Your toys will all be gone. // Your broomstick horse will ride away, // To find another home. // And you'll have grown into a man, // With cowboys of your own. // And then you'll have to go to war, // To try and save your home.

And then you'll have to learn to hate; // You'll have to learn to kill. // It's always been that way, my son; // I guess it always will.

Because, you know, why not add tons of feelings into the lyrics, right?

Props to the people who can embrace their rewatches and reclamations of the show with ease. Because every episode seems to remind me of how hollow and tragic Dean’s ending was and I just… struggle all over again.

Anyway, back to the episode so I can move on with my day.

REPORTER: An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home. (A sketch of DEAN appears on the screen.)

DEAN: Man! That’s not even a good picture. (SAM looks around cautiously.)

SAM: It’s good enough. (He walks away.)

DEAN: Man! (He follows SAM.)

(CUT TO: Alley. DEAN and SAM are walking. DEAN steps into a puddle.)

DEAN: Ugh, come on.

I love that we get two tiny little back-to-back vanity moments for Dean here. One commenting on the sketch artist rendition of him being broadcasted on the news and the other tripping in the puddle. There is literally someone running around the city trying to kill people while wearing Dean’s face, but Dean is still concerned with how he looks appears to others. He’s still concerned with keeping up his own performance. The shifter left him with just a t-shirt, so he doesn’t even have his usual comfort layers on and at any moment someone could spot him and call the police or try to kill him for assaulting Sam’s friend. His life is wildly out of control in that moment and the only thing he can try to focus on is his appearance (something semi-controllable) and finding the shifter before any of that other shit can happen.

One day I want to put together a like top 10 episodes focusing on / explaining each TFW character from the series. Like the kind of list you could show someone who’s never seen the show, but has OPINIONS about the characters (or who hasn’t seen the whole show and seen the growth they went through… you know, like the people responsible for the travesty of 15x20). This episode would be on that list. I’m not sure how I could manage to make a list of only 10 episodes to understand Dean Winchester by, but eh.

SAM: What are you gonna do to me?

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, I’m not gonna do anything. Dean will, though.

SAM: They’ll never catch him.

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, doesn’t matter. Murder in the first of his own brother? He’ll be hunted the rest of his life. (He picks up a sharp knife and examines it.)

Speaking of season 15 in general, this right here. This was Chuck’s villain story arc thesis statement. AND THEY DROPPED THE GODDAMN BALL WITH IT. I think that’s the thing that honestly pisses me off the most these days (about 5 1/2 months from when the finale aired) is that they tried making the whole thing a tragedy but did such an awful job with it that it just ended up like a deflating condom balloon at a dive bar concert. Disappointing and gross. The finale for season 14 set them up SO FUCKING WELL and it just… didn’t get there.

Becky’s parents are gonna be pissed at how torn up their house is after all this shit…

And you’re not shooting him when you first see him strangling Sam because…?????

I like that he took the necklace back. Also, is this kinda Dean death number .5 of the show? Like it wasn’t him but it was also kinda him. Eh.

At least they left the windshield on Baby this time. Reflections are better than tearing her apart.

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

It’s really something how, especially after the 2009 movies, but before that, too, the Star Trek TOS fandom will write Vulcans off as racist, xenophobic and bigoted at their root, a problem the society has at their core, even though it goes against their beliefs*, but will bend over backwards to explain away Spock’s distaste of McCoy and his “potions” that “turn his stomach” (some of those explanations including being studied, if I’m allowed the expression, inhumanely, as a science experiment, in Vulcan - although it seems like this intense research never even succeeded, since the usual explanation for the second issue is that most medicine for either species won’t work on his hybrid physiology and so McCoy’s just shooting in the dark, even though he’s clearly similar enough to a full Vulcan that 1) he has a Vulcan blood type, 2) he can donate blood to his father and 3) he’s similar enough to a full Vulcan to be similar enough to a similar species to use drugs designed for them**), totally ignoring how, when Spock says that in The Apple, McCoy answers with “Well, If your blood were red instead of green, you wouldn't have an upset stomach.” Like, “I am so sorry most if not all medicine I give you has unwanted and undesirable effects on you, have you considered being human?” 

You might say, “well, it could mean they got the human/Vulcan balance in the kind of medicine a hybrid like him would need wrong!” Nope, he specifically says he’d need red blood. “Could be he only brought down human medicine for that mission” one, and that’s not racist??? Two, Spock says all of McCoy’s “potions” turn his stomach. Either for some reason he only or mostly gets treated on away missions and Bones never brings anything suitable for a Vulcan (refer to point one), or there’s nothing aboard suitable for someone who doesn’t have “red blood” (... actually, refer to point one again). It just... really bothers me, because general consensus seems to be that Spock only finds acceptance once among humans and, while other reasons for this are paid lip service, at the end of the day most humans are shown as accepting while most Vulcans are shown as bigots, and the fault for his isolation seems to lie with the people who have IDIC as a main tenet and who reached out to humans in the first place (once they developed a warp drive, so it seems like they followed some sort of Prime Directive, created so that cultures would have the chance to develop some sort of identity before being met with and possibly swallowed by another one, showing, once again, a respect for diversity on their part)... but never on us, right?

(To be clear, while I don’t like it, necessarily, because I’m a TOS and Vulcan fan first, I’d never criticize AOS mainly fans for this attitude, since it’s just canon in those movies. Same for Disco, which borrowed mainly from those movies, because of intellectual property rights stuff or something like that, although who knows if they’d have done differently otherwise.)

*And this is not a comment I make about how it doesn’t make sense for fandom to believe this (aka, it’s not me saying “how can they be bigoted if their beliefs go against that?”) -  this hypocrisy on their part is often an essential part of how fandom and even recent canon interacts with Vulcans, because it leads to a select few of them, usually outworlders or others influenced by them, especially humans, having to point out those flaws and teach the rest of Vulcan society the true meaning of Surak’s tenets. 

**All of this is from Journey to Babel. In it, it’s revealed that Spock has T-negative blood, just like his father (although with some “human blood elements” in it that need to and can be filtered out), and that, to produce enough of it to donate to Sarek for his heart surgery, Spock has to take a drug meant for Rigelians... and it works. And that’s without getting into how, every time there’s something typical of Vulcans, it applies to Spock - telepathy, having no salt in his body, the second eyelids, the visors with which to look at a Medusan that only work on Vulcans, Pon Farr... I think people look at the whole half-human/half-Vulcan thing in a too literal way, not recognizing that, in his expressed DNA, and in where and how he was raised, Spock’s much more Vulcan than human (and that’s without getting into how... US- and neurotypical-centric the definition of “human behaviour” can get. Let’s have a toast to that one time the Star Trek fandom, despite multiple references to the contrary, convinced themselves that money doesn’t exist there because Kirk didn’t know what a dollar was).

[krissy-kat]

PJOverse Headcanons Pt 4:-

(Sorry my hand slipped)

Peter age 15 Harley 16

• Peter doesn't go back to Camp due being busy patrolling Queens as Spiderman

• Harley is really upset when he hears that Peter won't be coming to Camp, he had finally gathered all his courage and was finally going to ask him out but never gets a chance to

• That year Harley's father came to visit him

• "Why are you here, you abandoned us, didn't even tell us that you were a God"

• "Harley listen I'm sorry but I had to"

• "Then tell me the goddam reason"

• "So do you know about our Roman counterparts and children "

• "Yes, they live in New Rome now along with few Greek demigods and don't talk to me in circles"

• "You know that Greek and Roman demigods have recently found out about each other and before that we weren't allowed to tell you, your sister was daughter of my Roman form Vulcan and if Hera or Juno had found out, I don't what she would have done"

• Harley didn't know what to think about it, he knew his sister was a demigod when he found about his dad being a God but he didn't expect her to be a Roman demigod

• "Ok, but I still haven't forgiven completely "

• "I didn't expect you would, but it's a start right "

• "Maybe"

• Peter would still IMs MJ, no matter how much she'll deny it she considers Peter a friend, she also tells him about the on ongoing fight about how his half siblings says that his superhero persona can't be trusted and how Flash with his whole Cabin will come to defend him

• Some time later Civil War happens, Peter didn't tell Tony about him being a demigod because he thought it wasn't relevant when he comes to recruit him

• Tony takes Peter under his wing and they get close

• Tony is absolutely furious when the events homecoming occur

• "Peter, I thought we were close, why didn't you tell me that you were chasing after a murderous psychopath"

• "But Mr Stark.."

• "A building fell on you, you could have died"

• "But.."

• "I don't want you moonlighting as spiderman for atleast a month"

• "Ok, but what am I supposed to tell Aunt May about the internship"

• "You know what from next week you're going to be my personal intern, real intern this time and I'll able to easily keep a eye on you"

• "Ok, Mr Stark"

• ( Infinity War and Endgame doesn't happen because this is my Au I'll do what I want to)

Peter age 16 , Harley age 17

• Harley decided to tell his mother and sister about being a demigod and his father being a God and going to the Camp since he was 12, a month before summer vacation

• They thought it was an elaborate joke

• Harley looked up and says out loud "If you want me to forgive you, help me out here"

• Hephaestus appears out thin air

• "Aaah! What are you doing here "

• "You asked for my help"

• "It was more along lines of sending a Celestial bronze dog or dragon like Leo's"

• "You know Tony Stark, she would have thought it was a prank "

• "Ok, you're right she would have definitely thought that"

• "She's right here, you both are talking about me like I'm not here. Harley I'll talk to later about hiding this stuff from me. And you, you don't think it would have easier to tell me you were a God when you left, I would have been a lot less of mess than I was "

• "I'm Sorry "

• "I'm sorry doesn't cut it, did what Harley told us about Roman counterpart and Abbie being a roman demigod is true"

• "Yes"

• "Ok, I understand your situation but you aren't forgiven "

• "Understood "

• "Now Harley, you are grounded until your graduation except your summer vacation because of the summer Camp thing"

• "But it will be my senior year next year "

• "No buts and you (pointing at Hepheatus) will you be staying for dinner"

• "Gods don't.."

• Hepheastus steps on Harley's foot

• Harley glares at him

• "Of course "

• "What were you saying Harley"

• "Nothing "

• In Summer vacation Harley goes to Camp Half blood and asks Abbie if she wants come too

• "After the Giant war, many roman demigods come to Camp Half Blood during summer, and I'll be staying first week at Tony's are sure you still want to go to Camp Jupiter "

• "Mom's still angry at him for not telling her I doubt she'll let me stay there, I still think it's miracle she allowing you to and I'm a Roman demigod I'll be fine in Camp designed for Roman demigods"

• "Are you sure, you'll get a tattoo there and it's quite painful from what I have heard"

• "I'll be fine and I'm sure it will look badass"

• "Do you want me to come with you to Camp Jupiter, I'm sure they won't mind"

• "I'm 13 Harley, I can take care of myself besides Mom will be staying in New Rome for the first week"

• Harley was still upset she won't be staying with him at Tony's and going to Camp Half Blood

• Harley always stays the first week of his summer vacation with Tony, so he was looking forward to meeting Spiderman, no matter how much Athena Cabin said you can't trust him

• "Sorry kiddo, he's grounded and I still blame you for the lecture I received from your Mom"

• "What do you mean he's grounded "

• "His Guardian found out he was moonlighting as Spiderman, so she grounded him, he's not even allowed to visit the tower"

• "Wait he's a teenager, now I want to meet him even more"

• "Oh no I know that look, I won't be introducing you two anytime soon, you both will make my hair grey twice as fast as they already are"

• "Aww, you're no fun at all Old Man"

• Meanwhile at Peter's home

• "Please Aunt May, I need to meet Mr Stark's other protege, how else am I supposed to know whether I can be friendly with him or I'll have to compete against him "

• "I told you are grounded so no Tony Stark and Ned for three weeks and no spiderman for a month and it has only been one week so you are still grounded"

• "But he won't be there then"

• "What part of being grounded don't you understand Peter"

• "Why am I not allowed to hang out with Ned anyway"

• "He should have told me when he found out and I know it's as much punishment for him as is it for you and you both know it"

• After his grounding is over Mr Stark hugs him tightly since he missed Peter and he's like a son to him

• Peter shifts to Tower part time because there is a shortage of employees at May's work place and she has to work overtime

• Peter while IMing MJ complains that his last Camp t-shirt was torn and he misses it, three day later he get a package with 2 new t-shirts saying that she couldn't bear Peter complaining anymore

• Rouge Avengers are pardoned soon after and since Tony still hasn't forgiven them completely and doesn't trust them with Spiderman's identity he asks Peter to tell them he's his personal intern when anyone asks why a civilian was with him

• The first time he runs into Captain America he gives him the death glare that MJ taught him, suffice to say Captain America never have been scared so much from a teenager

• Peter was in the kitchen and peacefully eating his cereal when Mr Barton comes in and see him and looks at him in confusion then his face turns into a determined look

• "FRIDAY call Tony into kitchen right now tell him it's a emergency and please make a excuse if anyone tries to come in"

• It was Peter's time to confused

• "Why the hell to call me at this ungodly hour this better be important "

• "Why the hell didn't you me a warning that you adopted another demigod"

• Tony stares dumbfounded at him

• "What to you mean by that?"

• "Come on Tony, he sitting right here eating cereal in Camp T-shirt"

• "Excuse Mr Barton, Mr Stark didn't know that I'm a demigod also he didn't adopt me"

• Tony and Clint didn't know what to say

• Finally Clint broke the silence

• "I think you both need to have a conversation so I'll just leave"

• "Sooo.. you are demigod huh?"

• "I'm literal brain child of my dad and athena, so yeah I'm a demigod"

• "Wait a sec, aren't children of Athena are supposed to scared of spiders"

• "Who said I'm not scared shitless of them, it's just I have spider powers that's why I go around as spiderman"

• Uncomfortable Awkward silence

• "So I was thinking of making you a iron spider suit with nanotechnology "

• They quickly change the conversation and pretend the previous never happened

• Meanwhile at the Camp Harley was thinking how many nicknames can be given to a superhero

• The nicknames used to discuss Spiderman were getting more and more ridiculous because every name is banned as soon as it is has been heard by Chiron

• The names which have been banned till date include Spidey, the web-slinger, the wall-crawler, the arachnid and after this the people stopped feeling creative and thus SM, SpiderM, the Man of Spiders and worst one yet Sipdeydude

• The name they were referring to Spiderman right now was S-Man

• Flash was arguing with Annabeth who has been part of two Great Prophecies but Flash didn't give a dam about it because nobody says something bad about Spiderman and get away with it

• Suddenly a voice breaks the fight apart

• "Annabeth, we should get going if we want to catch the train in time, so stop arguing with my sibling about Spiderman"

• "But Pipes, a person associating themselves with Spiders can't be good, why can't he understand "

• "Yes they can, this is your irrational fear for spiders speaking "

• "I have fought Arachne I assure you it is not irrational "

• "Yes, it is now let's go we don't need to miss the train unless you want to get to New Rome a day late"

• Piper and Annabeth leaves

• The next Chiron asks Harley to do a supply run in Queens and asks him to take any two campers with him

• He was asking MJ to go with him when Flash overhears him then forced Harley to take him too because he was determined that they might able to see Spiderman

• Unfortunately while on supply run they encountered a full grown cyclops so they lured it into an alley to fight it

• Peter was just patrolling in his neighbourhood, he didn't expect to run into demigods fighting a cyclops

• Since he had a tendency to go headfirst into danger, he forgot that it might reveal the fact he's a demigod to them

• It was only after he webbed the cyclops's eye and both his legs together that he sees the demigods fighting the cyclops were MJ, Flash and Harley

• When the cyclops was trying to take web out of his eye he webs his hands to his face

• "I hope you guys will handle this situation from here"

• He swings out of there

• Harley was in a daze, Flash has turned into a overexcited puppy and MJ was suspicious because she was like 67% is was Peter

• I mean come on he could see the monster so either he was a demigod or mortal with the vision and mortals tends to ignore the demigod stuff. Also the fact that he didn't came to Camp last year when Spiderman started appearing and this year he came up with a flimsy excuse

• So after getting back at Camp while Flash and Harley were busy telling about their encounter to everyone MJ slipped out to IM Peter

• Peter was in his room in Stark Tower, and thinking back it was a big neon sign about Peter being Spiderman

• "Hey MJ"

• "You're Spiderman "

• "W-What?"

• "You're Spiderman and you saved Harley, Flash and me from cyclops"

• "Nice one, MJ"

• MJ gave him her stop-the-BS glare

• "Ok, ok, but don't tell anyone "

• "I won't but you are a dumbass who revealed that you are either a demigod or mortal with vision by coming between our fight and now the whole camp knows some one will soon join the dots and find out you are Spiderman"

• "Would it hurt you to be a little positive MJ"

• "Yes and who else knows "

• "Aunt May, Ned, Mr Stark and now you"

• "Good, try to keep that way"

• "Ok, any other questions "

• "Well aren't scared shitless of spiders, how does that work for you "

• "Don't remind me, I still have nightmares from when I was bit by the radioactive spider at OsCorp during our field trip"

• "Interesting way of telling me how you got your power and I should go before someone comes to find me and overhear our conversation "

• "Do you have to scare me about accidentally revealing my identity to everyone, it's hardly been 10 mins since you found out"

• "Yes and bye loser I gotta go"

( I have some more ideas so there definitely will be a Part 5 just don't know when)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5

Part 7

Part 6

Part 8

[everwizard]

Back to the Present

Summary: After arriving back on Earth, Hera and Minkowski try to return Eiffel's memories through movie nights. Tonight's movie is Back to the Future.

Words: 1,374

Warnings: Spoilers for Back to the Future

AO3 Link

Eiffel sits down on the sofa. He looks at the blank screen in front of him. He doesn’t know what he will be watching today. It’s a surprise. It’s always a surprise.

They had gotten off of the Urania seven months ago and ever since, Hera and Minkowski, or Renée, or whatever he was supposed to call her, had been trying to return his memories to him. He started with the tapes but finished them quickly. He couldn’t understand half of what the previous Eiffel was talking about at the time and so his friends decided to bring him up to speed on over thirty years of pop culture.

Movie nights like this were frequent. Sometimes Lovelace and Jacobi would join if they were interested in the film and/or in the area but tonight it was just the three of them.

“I’ve got popcorn!” Minkowski announces as she moves into the room. She sits down next to Eiffel, handing him a bucket of the salty snack. “Hera, will you turn on the TV, please?”

“Of course, lieutenant,” the sentient AI replies. The television flickers to life, displaying the brand logo before switching to a DVD menu screen.

Eiffel reads the title. “Back to the Future, huh? Some sort of time travel movie?”

“Yes!” Hera proclaims. “I chose this one this time.”

The group had long since finished Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and several other action-filled franchises of various genres. Today they were starting the 1980’s time-travel trilogy that, as always, Eiffel knew nothing about.

Minkowski presses play on the menu and the movie begins.

The movie opens with the ticking of dozens of clocks and Eiffel settles into the sofa with his popcorn.

The characters seemed interesting enough to Eiffel. Marty, the teenager with a knack for music, was the run of the mill high schooler. Eiffel wondered what high school was like. Where was he on the social ladder at that age? And Doc Brown, the eccentric scientist of unknown origins whose mind was on a totally different level than his peers. Was that what this Hilbert guy was like? Probably not. The Doc never killed anyone. Probably.

Eiffel watched with attention as, through a series of mishaps, Marty ends up in 1955 with no way back.

The mentions of aliens brought Eiffel's thoughts to Lovelace.

"'It's mutated into human form', huh? Remind you of anyone?" he says.

"Eiffel, do you have to make a Lovelace joke every time we watch a sci-fi movie?" Minkowski asks, pausing the movie.

"What? Come on, they're funny!" Eiffel exclames.

“No they’re not, Eiffel,” Hera chimes in. “Now shut up, I’m trying to watch.”

Eiffel scoffs, “Can’t you know this whole movie instantly?”

“Well yeah, but that goes against the whole point of movie night,” Hera sighs. “So I set my television processing power down to your human brain levels.”

“Alright, fine. Let’s keep watching then.”

Minkowski rolls her eyes and resumes the movie.

The trio sit in comfortable silence as the film continues. Well, Eiffel and Minkowski sit. Hera exists as a large house.

As the movie progresses, George gets beaten by Biff, George gets beaten by Biff again, and, you guessed it, George gets beaten by Biff a third time. Eiffel dedicates his full attention to the movie, determined to learn the secrets of his past.

His attention returns to the world around him when he hears Minkowski snicker to his left. He glances over. “What’s so funny?”

Minkowski hides her face. “What? Nothing.”

“Hang on, wait. You’re actually enjoying this?”

“Of course not. I would never enjoy something as cheesy as this.” Minkowski scoffs.

“Come on,” Eiffel prods, “what was it? The Darth Vader reference?”

“What? No.”

“The Vulcan reference then.”

“Absolutely not.”

“She’s lying,” Hera chimes in. “It's definitely the Vulcan joke. Her Command Authentication Code was literally Vulcan.”

Minkowski flushes. “Hera! Who’s side are you on?”

Hera laughs. “I’m on my own side.”

Minkowski sighs. “Fine, it was the Vulcan joke.”

“Wait a minute,” Eiffel starts. “Is this why we watched Star Trek first? Are you that big of a Spock fan?”

“No…”

“Lieutenant,” Hera warns.

“Fine!” Minkowski bursts. “Fine! I'm a Spock fan. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Minkowski! That’s so cool! Why didn’t you say something before?”

“Eiffel,” Minkowski sighs, “the last time I brought up one of my interests, you laughed at me.”

Eiffel’s face falls. “Oh,” was all that he could say. Did he really laugh at her? At his friend? What had she confided in him that he just blew off like that? Mocked her for? His past self must have been a real asshole.

Minkowski notices Eiffel’s change in demeanor. “Eiffel…” she starts. “Doug. You were a different person back then. You’ve more than made up for it by now. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even be here right now. On Earth. You made the biggest sacrifice of us all and I’m…” she hesitates, “I’m sorry for hiding this from you.”

“No Renée, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I did to you. Back then. I was a real dick, wasn’t I?”

“Doug, you don't have to apologize. You were a different person. You don’t have to apologize for things you don’t even remember.”

“But that doesn’t excuse what I did. I was—”

“But you’re not anymore. You are a new person now. You’re my friend and nothing is going to change that.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Minkowski smiles. “Are you ready to keep watching?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The movie resumes and everyone continues watching in silence.

Everytime Doc brings up not wanting to know his future, Eiffel cannot help but to think of his past. Who was he, really? The tapes only covered the last three or so years. He was never going to be able to get the rest back. All he knew from before the Hephaestus was what he said in the tapes. Besides his daughter, there wasn't much else there. He didn't even know how he ended up on a space station to begin with. He somehow got out of his prison sentence and that was all he knew.

His train of thought is interrupted when Lorraine begins trying to make out with Marty. “Woah, woah, woah! That's his mom. Is this guy really kissing his mom?”

“Technically, his mom is kissing him,” Hera answers. “But it doesn’t really make it that much better.”

“It really doesn’t,” Minkowski agrees.

Eiffel nods. “This is weird, even for me.”

Hera laughs in agreement. It was indeed weird, even by Eiffel’s standards.

“Hey, you picked it,” Eiffel points out.

“I’ve never seen it before!” Hera argues.

“Well that's fair, I guess,” he says, returning his attention to the screen.

Marty was fading from existence. His actions were causing him to be erased from history. Eiffel begins to think how that is going to affect Marty going forward. To almost die. To almost lose yourself forever.

Well, for Eiffel, it wasn’t an almost. The old Eiffel did die. The new Eiffel did lose himself forever. There was nothing left for him to remember, no matter how badly he wanted to.

Eiffel returned his attention to the movie once again. If he missed parts then he’d have to watch it again, which would slow the whole process down. So he paid attention again.

Marty safely arrived back to the future. He and all his friends were alright. The Doc survived. His family was happy. His girlfriend loved him.

Eiffel had arrived back on Earth in much the same fashion. His crew was alright. Almost everyone had survived. His friends were happy. And he had people who loved him. Everything was going to be alright.

He would never get all his memories back and that’s okay. He had his friends and they were going to help him. They would do what they could but ultimately there were always going to be blanks.

This was his chance to start over. To be better. For Hera. For Minkowski. For himself. For Anne.

He would fix his past for a better future. Just like Marty McFly.

The credits began to roll and Eiffel sighs, "So when are we gonna watch the next one?"

[klmeri]

(1/4) You have definitely seen such confessions before, so I won't be original with it. *takes a deep breath and shouts at the top of my lungs* Your fanfiction is pure brilliance! \(★ω★)/ Good old quality action, which gets viewers constantly thrilled; detailed minor characters; cleverly crafted and propulsively executed character interactions, be it verbal or subtle body language ones; and, of course, ever present mcspirk — all this together concocts a magic spell that kept me awake at night

(2/4) too many times till the very end of every story. I've read practically all your works (exept the ones labeled with major character death... not gonna lie, I'm a coward :D), starting from canonical to au's (though I'm usually wary of reading au's... moreover, I think I'm probably the only one person in the world who wasn't too fond of TOS episodes with different historical settings and costume changes. And I'm really glad I've decided to take a closer look on yours). My favorites are

(3/4) Winner Takes All, Forget Me Not, The White Horse and the incomparable Younger Than Stars. A couple of questions if you don't mind (no need to answer if you don't want to).1) What's your personal favorite from the author's point of view?2) Don't wanna sound like a little piece of ungrateful reader considering never-ending struggle between real life and hobby... But is there a teeny-tiny chance of you writing a really long novel, like a 5 year mission, where every chapter or 

(4/4) a couple of chapters is a story itself, no matter gen or mature content? I'd gladly sell my soul for a fic like this. Anyway, thanks again for your dedication and commitment! 

Hello there, Anon!  How did you know I needed this nice note today?  You’ve brought a smile to my face.  Thank you!  

It’s always such a pleasure to hear from others who love McSpirk deeply and to learn some joy has been found from my stories for fans of the pairing (and the Triumvirate in general).  Truly, there are many impressive and lovely fanfictions out there to be enjoyed, and I’m happy to contribute as much as I can to the storytelling from my little corner of the fandom.

I truly am smiling right now.  You have been very dedicated to have managed to read most of my works!  I hope there weren’t too many sleepless nights or too much teeth-gnashing over suspense for you to endure.  Also, your favorites comprise some of my most poignant memories of writing!  As difficult to create as some of them were, most left me feeling accomplished by the end.

My personal favorite?  Well, it’s a tie between one gen fic and one McSpirk fic.  My gen favorite is The White Horse.  I love, love, love dark fantasy/supernatural genre and this one was purely self-indulgent!  The lives of the Trio are fairly desolate in this one, and so when they cross paths, the tale becomes a question of ‘can they ever trust each other in this dog-eat-dog world?’ And solve a mystery together.  And put down an evil spirit.  You know, the stuff of legends!  XD  Like I said, purely self-indulgent, all the way down to the minor characters and their hang-ups and the weird magical creatures.

My McSpirk favorite is River Bound.  Again, that element of fantasy inches it ahead of others (like Younger Than Stars - arguably my best work, technically speaking).  Compared to most McSpirk sagas I have written, this story uses the most artistic license with characterizations, especially with Spock being not human or Vulcan, and that might make it seem odd at first... but fundamentally it’s a tale about bonds of love being unshakeable at the core despite any ongoing drama, whether that bond is between siblings or lovers or a parent and child.  I am such a sucker for the Family Is Messy And Still Everything trope, and in my opinion, this is the most fantastical presentation of that.

Hmm, to answer your second question, it simply has not occurred to me before to consider writing a story framed around a 5-year mission, which would be episodic - very much like TOS, I think.  That is definitely a great way to build on character growth, relationships, and so forth!  I can think of a few authors who would do amazingly well at that type of story... but am I one of them?  I don’t know.  This is something for me to think on, and I believe I will.  :)

Again, I just want to say that I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to message me and offer kind words and encouragement.  Thank you so much!

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 25: 1x16 The Galileo Seven

I took a half day off today and had a three hour nap in the afternoon. Now I’m feeling, I think, better?? Perhaps?

Anyway, today’s ep is The Galileo Seven, aka capitalizing on Spock’s popularity time.

Hmm, a vague and undefined phenomenon perfect for scientific study--Spock will love this. (Aka Kirk’s real reason for investigating the quasar. Just a little gift for the bf.)

Yeah Shuttlecraft Galileo! I love the shuttlecrafts; I think they’re adorable.

New Paris Colony.

The Commissioner isn’t wrong, though, like this probably isn’t the time to go on a random exploratory mission. Ah, yes, this weird space anomaly full of unknown dangers--let’s launch our most important officers right into the center of it while we have time sensitive supplies onboard. I mean come on, there’s a plague going on!

Love the shaky movements of the shuttle as it flies through space.

Hmm they’re exploring an unknown weird space thing and something goes wrong? Who could have predicted that? Other than Boma, who’s like ‘this is actually really normal though?’

Kirk’s sigh right before the credits lol.

Uhura taking over for Spock.

Those doors looked awfully, um... not metal when they opened. But I still like the design.

This is a good episode for understanding what ‘logic’ means to Spock. Like people, including people in this ep, talk about it as if it were just being emotionless and not caring about others but it’s a whole philosophy/value system and he adheres to it pretty well.

Shuttlecraft Columbus.

Kirk has such a big headache right now. He hates having someone step on his command toes.

I love this Bones and Spock conversation. “This is your chance for command.” “I am a logical man.”

Those pants really are terrible. Everyone always on about the skirts but no one ever talks shit about those horrendous pants.

Spock gets to show off his legs standing in a V like that though lol.

Philosophy 101: The Trolley Problem.

“My choice [of who to leave behind] will be a logical one.” Stop bullshitting, Spock lol. “Idk man... logic?”

Well his decision just got easier by about 1/3.

It’s Pauna! Oh wait wrong show. Thank God.

Spock is talking about how this spear looks like something Native American but lbr it looks like a Vulcan spear and he should know. He’s the bitch with the ancient weaponry hanging on the walls of his quarters.

Spock could move the body way more efficiently, I mean he’s 3x stronger than these other fools. Look at the way he throws the spear as if it were made of cardboard. Which it is definitely, definitely not lol.

That quadrant name would make a good wifi password.

The commissioner truly has NO purpose here other than to be a human clock.

I understand Spock not wanting to waste time with the ceremonial duties of command or with burying a person while he could be working to save the people who are still alive...but I don’t believe for one moment he doesn’t know elaborate funeral services. The Vulcans love their rituals.

“We have no fuel! What alternatives?” Yeah lol that is pretty bad.

“Sensitive Vulcan ears.”

He literally just said they’re not tribal, Boma, are you not listening at all?

“I’m frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life.”

Like Kirk always says, this isn’t a democracy.

Honestly this insubordination kinda seems like xenophobia to me in that I feel like everyone thinks it’s okay to be disrespectful to Spock because he’s an alien, because their human morality and philosophy is inherently right and Spock not following it is deserving of ire, even though he’s in command.

They’re on Spock’s back when he doesn’t seem to respect life enough and when he respects life too much like he cannot win.

Our duties to other life forms.

At least the reboots got Spock’s sass right.

I feel like Spock’s logical and emotionless responses are helpful though because I would be a straight up anxious mess. It just seems so clear to me, all the places where being unemotional is allowing him to act and keep control where a scared and confused person ruled by emotions would not be. I mean they’re all Officers and it’s not like McCoy and Boma are wandering around weeping or anything but still. Not all of Spock’s decisions are right but I’d be soothed by his attitude.

“Luck may be the only tool we have that works” reminds me of “Captain, you almost make me believe in luck.”

Kirk also makes a lot of command decisions here and it’s interesting to compare his style with Spock’s.

Loving the creature design and this is not a sarcastic comment.

“Certain scientific curiosity” about whether the crewman is dead. Sure okay.

See, I was right, he can lift and carry a grown man by himself.

That spear very much hit him lol.

Spock is upset. He lost a crewman. And logic isn’t working like it’s supposed to. I love that “They should have respected us” bit. He is a little arrogant, and for someone who’s spent most of his adult life around aliens, rather set in his idea that rational responses are the only responses.

He’s really having some revelations here. I bet he can’t wait to discuss all this with Jim.

I’ve seen that shot of Scotty just shoving a wrench in the wall and making sparks fly used in memes. Out of context it is quite hilarious.

Ugh, this is such a tightly constructed narrative. Love it.

Yeah, Boma, back off. This is just crossing a line.

“You will have your burial, provided the creatures permit it.”

Poor creatures honestly. These weird aliens keep showing up and bothering them.

This Captain’s chair is pretty wide too but Kirk manages to sit in it and look cool @ cpine.

Noooo you can’t leave them behind!

Uhura posing behind the Captain’s chair and looking at the screen like google earth always taking pictures.

Lol, space normal speed. (You’d think the Commissioner would show up at this point to be like bUt ThE pLaGuE but actually we never see him again.)

Those creatures aren’t even AIMING the spears they’re literally just throwing them parallel.

“Get us off, Scott.”

“Yes.... my first command.” Oh, Spock. I love him.

Love that Scotty’s really, genuinely proud of him. Scotty’s so Unproblematic. He really is just here to do his job and he’s never mean or causing trouble of any sort.

Jim will see the flares because he loves you!!

This poor actress playing the Yeoman has nothing to do. “Oh, it’s hot!”

Really living for Kirk’s face journey as he thinks all hope is lost and then realizes they’re (mostly) okay.

I want to hear what Kirk and McCoy are saying at the beginning of the last scene. I bet they’re talking about Spock.

Everyone gently making fun of Spock but in a ‘we love you buddy way.’ And Kirk using this, their one scene together all ep, to lay on the flirting extra thick. “Mr. Spock, you’re a stubborn man” is really pushing the flirtation meter off the charts.

They’re mocking him for making an impulsive decision but he was totally right AND he was totally logical imo? Like “you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst” is certainly one way to put it but another way is “the only possible chance we have of being detected AT ALL is to make a big scene and if it doesn’t work we’ll just die faster than we would have anyway” which is logical, and in fact, I think someone too caught up in their emotions might hesitate to do it. I mean, I’d probably hesitate--I think the emotional response to the situation is to want to stay alive as long as possible, even if you know--logically--that the difference between living another 6 minutes and another 26 minutes is nothing. You’d be better off giving away the chance for 20 extra minutes in exchange for a better chance of not dying at all. That’s logic bitches!

Kirk sees some hope for himself here. “Oh, Spock can follow his heart??? Perhaps... to me??”

I am not a fan of these fake laughter endings. They are so overdone lol. Uhura is literally pointing and laughing in the background. It’s not THAT funny guys.

That said if Beyond had ended with some fake laughter it probably would have improved the film substantially.

And that’s it! An excellently plotted episode, really well done on the level of craft. I really get off on that kind of thing. I know a lot of shows that can write entertaining episodes/seasons/multi-season plots but don’t have any, well, real logic to them and that’s not necessarily the worst but then when you see something that’s really just well made, it... well for me it triggers a very certain satisfaction.

Also this is easily a top 3 Spock episode. Great character stuff.

Next up is the Squire of Gothos, which I think is one of the weaker S1 episodes. Not bad, just not Classic level like almost every other ep.

[halfblood-fiend]

Fictober 2019 - Day 1

Prompt 1 : “It will be fun, trust me.”

Fandom : Star Trek: Voyager and Skyrim (what?? yes, I did that)

Words : 1,402

Warnings : literally one curseword is as bad as it gets

Come on, it will be fun. ft. Ensign Vorik and finally named Modern!OC

“Hey, stop fiddling with that,” I said, swatting Vorik’s hand away from the long hanging strap of his baldric. I yanked it snug over his protests and tied the extra length of leather in a loose knot in the front, then yanked that too, for good measure.

It was strange being in the holodeck without a program running, but it was stranger waltzing around the ship in metal plate. Though we spared everyone else the clacking, in here every sound of the two of us getting ready seemed loud. Plus, the blank reflective walls and the crosshatching metal struts were eerie, like the room was naked, and, to be honest, I was fairly underwhelmed by it anyway. For being the only room capable of creating pretty much any fantasy in the known universe, the actual room itself was…very plain, and shockingly small. It was hard to reconcile the fact that I had covered hundreds of miles in here, and yet the actual working space was fifty feet across at best.

“I am off balance,” the Vulcan complained. His voice echoed off the walls and made his words sound harsh.

“You’ll get used to it. It’s supposed to hang like that. And anyway, if you wear it the way you were trying to, it’d get in the way of your arrows. Keep in mind: this was all made to be functional, after all.”

“It doesn’t feel functional,” he muttered as he slung a full quiver over his other shoulder. “This boiled leather would hardly stop a knife, let alone a sword if we had the safeties disengaged. You’d find something more useful on Vulcan.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I hefted my steel helmet in my hand, thought better of putting it on, and decided to clip it to my belt beneath my sabre-fur cloak. “Don’t forget something warm,” I shot over my shoulder. “Pretty sure my last save point was somewhere outside of Winterhold.”

“Ah. You are trying to kill me, then. Computer, replicate Giana’s fur cloak. Size specifications 50.184 centimeters in the shoulder and 162.561 centimeters in length.” A moment later, the air in front of Vorik shimmered and a duplicate of the furs I was wearing over my own armor materialized in his hands. He swung the heavy thing over his shoulder, clasped the brooch in the front and tugged the fine ermine fur lining into place around his neck.

“You’re complaining an awful lot for someone who asked to tag along for my holodeck time,” I pointed out to him as I watched.

His only response was to throw me a cocked eyebrow as if to say: I wouldn’t have had to, if you had only paid attention to me.

For several weeks I had been requesting the holodeck in any block of time I had free. It almost seemed like it was just time for one of those Skyrim benders one gets every now and again. And if the ship’s record of gameplay throughout each holodeck was any indication, I was by no means the only one suffering. The insanely retro game that Harry and Tom helped me design and code with holotechnology was the number one most played program on Voyager these days. Even outstripping Tom’s skeevy French bar or whatever it was he was so proud of. It made me sort of feel like I almost belonged on the ship, and that being That-Weird-Sad-Girl-From-The-Twentieth-Century actually paid off somehow. That Skyrim got so popular only days after I decided to release it to the whole crew really made me feel like I was contributing something worthwhile. Finally. Like if it hadn’t been for me, these future people would have never known the joys of being lost in the Skyrim.

And that, as any 20th Century Earth gamer would know, was a travesty.

But with all the joys of Skyrim came sacrifices—like being a bad friend and hardly seeing Vorik outside of shifts in Engineering because I straight up had an obsession now. He had seemed mildly understanding at first, but as it turned into weeks of not playing chess or sharing meals in front of tucked away viewports in the rec room, Vorik took matters into his own hands. Sort of. At the very least, he was nearly infuriating with his insistent questions about what I was up to  all morning and with the way he trailed me to the holodeck and then loudly announced (unprompted, I might add) that he was cleared of further duty for the rest of the day, not so subtly hinting for an invite. And I guess I was sort of touched by that, even if he would never admit that all the fuss was really just because he missed me.

“Ready, Freddie?” I asked as he pulled the black fur-lined hood low over his forehead. All I could really see of his face anymore was his eyes and nose.

He sighed. “I suppose.”

Resting my left hand on Gilmorrack’s pommel, I nudged Vorik with my elbow and laughed. “Come on. It will be fun, trust me! I’ll even be nice and adjust the in-game temperature if you want.”

“That will not be necessary. I am accustomed to suffering the “comfortable” ambient air on a human-dominated vessel. Experiencing the freezing temperature required to generate snow would simply be—I believe ‘the icing on the cake’ would be an appropriate expression here.”

Biting back a smile, I shook my head at him and made a mental note to “fast travel” somewhere a little warmer at the first chance we got.

I tilted my chin up and spoke to the room at large: “Computer? Run program: Todd Howard’s Vision; Moreno, savepoint Beta, please,” then to Vorik, “Watch your bitchin’, friendo. We’re going to a place where I can shoot you full of sparks with my fingers.”

His expression did not change as he looked me straight in the eye and deadpanned, “Then perhaps it would finally be warm.”

I couldn’t help laughing outright this time.

An acknowledging beep sounded, and then the room around us shifted. Blank, reflective walls shimmered just as the air had before materializing Vorik’s cloak as holographic images of a near earthen landscape blurred into being.

Tall evergreen trees rose at our sides and meandered through the hills and into the mountains towering skywards in the distance. Brush was sparse in the northern reaches of Skyrim and what there was appeared mangled, either long dead or long dormant. Darkness stretched across the sky, broken by the jagged borealis snaking across the heavens and a spattering of only the brightest stars. Green and blue light reflected over the ground, magnified in the generous dusting of soft, glittering snow that blanketed everything as far as the eye could see.

The air became crisp as the internal sensors adjusted to the programming, and even though it was technically the same (as Vorik had already reminded me many times before), on the holodeck, the air suddenly lacked the distinct stale taste of recycling and sterilization. In here, frigid wind stung my cheeks with harsh kisses, my breath came out in hot puffs. Here, I could almost fool myself into forgetting I was trapped on a starship at all.

And that was the real reason I spent so much time on the holodeck.

I moved my feet, testing the genuine sound of the snow crunching beneath my boots. It felt real, I grinned to myself. I didn’t think I would ever get over this feeling, this wonder. I would never not be mystified by it all.

“So, Dragonkin, where to this time?” Vorik asked in a strained, muffled voice, clearly not marveling at our surroundings the way I was.

Giggling, I answered, “It’s Dragonborn. Dragonkin means something else, my dear Vulcan companion. No, please don’t ask me what. I won’t tell you.”

The ground beneath our boots started shaking. Across the tundra, a violent and earsplitting shriek reverberated over the mountains. It drew steadily closer, and the next moment, the roar was accompanied by great whooshes of wind.

Wingbeats, I knew immediately.

Another roar shook precarious snowfalls off limp trees and this time the sound was accompanied by the sharp pang of my own excitement. My hand flew to Gilmorrack.

I pointed in the direction of the dragon’s roar. “That way!”

“Oh. Good. Towards the dragon. If we return, we should thoroughly discuss your definition of ‘fun’.”

[chaniters]

Only Human

___________________________ Starting a new series with @kruk-art‘s Awan Cormac!

Pre-Heartbreak, going to be focused on Ortega, Anathema and Steel along with some new heroes and Villains. 

The plot will deal with some events mentioned but not fully explored in the game.

Hope you enjoy!

____________________________

“CHARGE!” you cry with a sense of urgency.

“I KNOW!” he yells back at you.

Charge’s standing in the middle of the road trying to stop some car that could help, but there’s not a single one passing by. You keep your hands pressed over the man’s chest wound, where the bullet went in. Your gloves are completely smeared in blood by now.

“CHARGE, HE’S DYING!” you call again.

You feel your own chest burning like fire where you got hit. Unlike you, however, the man you’re trying to keep alive didn’t have a bulletproof suit.  

He suddenly approaches the car parked next to him and…

-CRASH!- goes the window. The alarm starts, but he takes to the driver seat and does something, jumpstarting the engine. He hurries back to you.

“Let’s put him in the back seat”

You nod and help him, still pressing on the wound. Perfect coordination by now. It’s like you had done this all your lives.

You stay at the back while he drives. Both hands on the wound. Rain starts falling, covering the windows, but you only have eyes for the outpour that you can actually do something about.

__________20 minutes later__________

Los Diablos Earthquake Memorial hospital.

You phase up and down the stairs, your brain still speeding at a hundred miles per hour analyzing how this mess started.

You just happened to catch out some loose thoughts from a source that tipped you about the people behind the abductions going to strike tonight. This gang didn’t seem too dangerous, so you simply called the Marshal, the two of you should have been more than enough after all. Abductions and kidnapings of boosted individuals are not as uncommon as the media would have everyone believe.

His powers weren’t even that interesting… super-enhanced visual spectrum. He used it to become a painter, and he wasn’t famous. Just a curiosity among local art collectors.

How could you have known they were going to go after an artist? Why? Two supervillains on him were more than overkill. And now he might die, because of what you didn’t know.

The Void escaped again, and to make matters worse, he teamed up with Psycopathor and his Vulcan Cannon. They had told you he liked oversized guns, but that thing was terrifying to see, especially used inside a city. It’s a miracle no one else got hurt.  

You weren’t ready for a half-hour duel at an art gallery with two heavyweights. But somehow, you pulled it off made Psycopathor fumble with a suggestion, and he got his own hand caught in the rotating gun while Ortega fell on The Void from above. That drove them out, but Void tried to shoot the hostage, to delay you from following. Just like last time with the bombs… Always an escape plan, that bastard.    

You still feel the sharp turns Ortega took driving here, while he passed every single red light, and you kept trying to make other drivers move away with your mind…

You helped to get him on a stretcher and Ortega got him inside with the paramedics, but that was as far as you dared go.  You stayed outside, it’s a hospital after all and you don’t enter hospitals. Besides, in this mindstate, there’s no guarantee your powers are not going to go off.

Your hand goes to your pocket, looking for anything to help your nerves. But there’s nothing. No candy, no chocolate, not a single popsicle.

“Shit,” you say holding your head.

Hyperventilating… deep breaths…

Inhale...

This isn’t how it was supposed to go. You were supposed to be the reliable one in getting intel. This mess is all your fault… you should have investigated further.

You take off half of your mask, uncover your mouth and nose close your eyes…

Exhale…

The hand on your back makes you jerk violently back into reality, striking blindly at whomever…

“Woah... relax! It’s just me!” He’s holding your fist in his palm. Marshall Charge. Not an enemy…

It takes a full two more seconds before you manage to order yourself to put the hand down. You didn’t even notice the static he emits this time.

“Well you’re a mess…” he states simply, with a half-smile.

You scoff and lean on the hospital’s old brick wall. If he wants you to say you’re sorry, he’ll have to wait a long time.

“Got you something” he adds, leaning by your side. A little too close, like he always does. Just enough to make you uncomfortable but not enough that you’d actually move away. He has mastered the thin line of awkwardness.

“And what’s that?” you ask besides yourself, still thinking on the wounded boost, probably in surgery now… probably dying.

“Here,” he says offering a candy-bar.

You see it, then look away, trying to force yourself not to take it… Don’t take candy from strangers. Isn’t that a thing?

But you hand moves on its own, your brain eschewing all logic in favor of sugar. Ortega would make a star pupil of Pavlov. It’s just not fair… he knows you can’t just say no to anything with enough glucose in it.

And thus the deal is sealed, you’ve taken his offering and are thus forced to let out a low-key embarrassed “Thanks”. He simply smiles, counting this as yet another victory against whatever he thinks he’s fighting against whenever he’s around you.

“That was a terrific job” He adds while you feel the wonderful crunchiness of chocolate and peanut in your mouth.

“What?” you say staring at him with your mouth full.  

“The way you handled that situation… It was fucked up from the star, and we still managed to hold our own against those freaks. And you rescued the hostage… I couldn’t have done that better. Hell, I don’t think Captain Glory could have done that better”

“Charge” you’ve forgone the use of the Marshal title a few weeks ago, You’re constantly working together these days and it’s just tiring “It definitely wasn’t a terrific job. I failed. I didn’t get enough intel, we went in blind, and the hostage got shot!” you add pointing out the obvious.

“Well he would be kidnapped and disappeared by now like the others, I mean, if we hadn’t been there, to save him”

“Well he’s not saved yet, is he?” you argue.

“Doctors says no vitals got hit. Just moderate blood loss thanks to you… They say surgery has very good chances with a transfusion. They were stopping the bleeding when I left”

“Captain Glory would have stopped the bullet”

“Well, we’re not really bulletproof like Captain Glory, are we? … and you still took two bullets for him. Did I mention how insane you are?” he says poking lightly at your chest, where the dents on your suit are clearly visible. The mere contact makes you wince and you slap his hand away. The suit stopped the bullets, but the bruises are there to stay. “That was dangerous. You can’t count on these to always work. Especially not if it’s The Void.”

“He used his handgun… and I’m going to blame you if it fails, you’re the one who gave it to me. Besides, what’s the point of bulletproof armor if you’re not going to use it?”

“Ever heard the concept of having a safety net?”

“I was that guy’s safety net. And I couldn’t stop the third bullet.”

He frowns “That one could have killed you”

You look to the side, avoiding his gaze. “You don’t get it”

“What is it that I don’t get?”

“I need to do better… I can’t screw up like this… you did your job keeping them busy, but I didn’t manage clean intel, and then I failed to get a clean escape. I failed! I was in Void’s mind and I couldn’t tell he was going to shoot the hostage!”

“You can’t control every detail! The guy’s going to be alright and thanking you. What more do you want? Sometimes shit happens!”

“Maybe shit happens on your watch, but that’s not how I do things! I can’t let myself screw up!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” he asks exasperated. “I’m just telling you, YOU DID A GOOD JOB!”

“I didn’t. Just…  Just shut up… you’re not the one who fucked this up after all.”

“I screwed up a lot! You think It always works alright for me?!”

“You don’t know what it’s like! I have to be perfect! I have to make up for...”

“Make up for what?!!” he interrupts. “For acting like a fucking hero? Taking bullets for someone you don’t even know?!”

Walking on thin ice. You can’t really answer that. And you’re too angry to answer anyways. Mostly with yourself. You raise your fists, almost ready to punch his infuriating face, but you know he’s not the one responsible. You just turn around. Turn and walk away. Channeling rage his way is wrong and you know it.

Your steps become faster, and faster, the stroll becomes a jog, and then you’re running… Running away from him, back to your base.

“You’re running again… Just what are you running from?” You hear his voice behind you, further and further away.

You’ve got no clear answer to that question.

Him? Your makers? Yourself? The truth?

Maybe all of the above.

It’s not something you ask yourself very often.

No one ever taught you how to stop running. No one taught you how to deal with failure either.

They only demanded perfection in everything you did, and your standards haven’t lowered since.

Being perfect is your only chance. The only way in which you can make up for not being one of them. The only way you could hope they might decide to forgive you, once they figure it all out.

__________________________

My Fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

[svynakee]

Promare thoughts/impressions

Watched Promare. Overall, enjoyed it very much and it was everything I expected it to be (extremely TRIGGER, basically). A visual feast that definitely satisfied my shonen action hunger. In summary though, I really wish it’d been a 12 ep anime.

Spoilers ahead.

LIKES

Visuals: Loved the stylisation. The vivid, pastel flames and the polygonal ice made a nice contrast and it looks so different not only from other anime films but also from other animations by the same studio? Brilliant.

TRIGGER being themselves: Illogical story with a grand scope, bombastic action hero, easily distinguishable character designs.

Hiroyuki Sawano: His music is just what you’d expect from someone of his calibre. Absolutely floored; also, quite a range in the soundtrack! I remember especially when Galo starts talking about the Japanese firefighters the music shifts to something more traditional.

Galo not being racist: Well, not being prejudiced. While its pretty par for the course to have a protagonist learn to overcome his prejudices in this sort of story, the fact that a person in the rescue ops doesn’t, you know, hate the victims who cause the disasters he’s meant to respond to is very logical.

Kiss follow-up: The no-homo fake out. Not gonna lie, they had me in the first half when Galo recoiled and seemed disgusted. But it would’ve made no sense because like he said, it was a medical procedure he’s been trained to do. Putting his mouth on anyone, regardless of gender, should not have grossed him out. And it didn’t! Being unhappy that he ‘started a fire’ makes more sense because his entire job (passion) is about stopping Burnish. There’s a real lack of hetero-signalling here actually. Promare’s not afraid to let its viewers decide how Galo swings.

Female gaze: Yeah sure there’s that shot where Aina’s butt is on display but the camera sure seems magnetised towards Lio’s crotch.

Lio’s refreshing morosexuality: Once they start working together in earnest, Lio is quick to just indulge in Galo’s quirks. He trusts the guy easily but not to the point that he stops calling him out for stupidity. Very movies end with me knowing that characters from opposing sides have a strong friendship ahead of them. Promare is one. I might talk more about Lio’s match with Galo more elsewhere, but for now, I do like how he isn’t shutting Galo down/constantly arguing which is what you usually see when a serious character has to work with a boisterous one.

DISLIKES

So most of my dislikes come from the fact that it’s a movie. There’s no way they could’ve done otherwise in a 1:51 timeframe, but knowing what the studio’s capable of, I can’t help but wish I saw their full potential.

Character development: Nobody really grew. Not every story needs it and not every character needs to change, but the lack of flaws addressed hurt Galo and Lio’s memorability I think. I kept expecting Galo’s impulsiveness to bite him in the ass. Didn’t see it much except for his confrontation with Kray. I even thought the ‘don’t pose and focus’ thing might come back, notably during the Lio de Galon fight when Kray keeps justifying his robot’s weaponry as terraforming equipment. Galo and Lio are just the type to shut him up and point out ‘If it’s being used to hurt people, it’s a weapon! If you hurt others, you’re a villain! Nothing can justify that!’ since it fits thematically into that fight as well.

Streamlined plot: TRIGGER has been shown to have a good grasp of story pacing. It can feed you one bit of ridiculousness at a time until they bring out something awesome but extremely stupid, knowing that they’ve tempered you enough it’ll just be epic. In this timeframe, that just didn’t happen. Not enough foreshadowing, too many crazy concepts introduced too late, and there was more than one Deus Ex Machina if you know what I mean. Instead of a proper build up that ended on a strong final note, it felt like a brief but sudden blaze that flickers out to leave darkness.

Less dynamic camera: Made it hard to follow the action sometimes. In a way it’s like the plot; too much momentum and not enough time to process it. A good spectacle is worth nothing if there’s no chance to digest it.

Flat supporting cast: Again, this is because TRIGGER’s animes have been strong in this aspect. The movie timeframe means limited screen time, but Mad Max Fury Road had only ten more minutes and managed to set up its supporting cast well. In Promare, they’re mostly reduced to archetypes. What are their relationships? Motivations? They feel more like talking props, like the NPCs you have milling about the map shouting flavour text. There might be more in the supplementary material but for the movie itself, I didn’t like most of the characters not named Lio or Galo. In fact-

Don’t like Galo: Or rather, don’t find him compelling. Unlike Ryuko or Simon, I don’t think he could carry a series. He lacks depth and drive beyond ‘I am a firefighter’. Sure, he’s stupid and loud, but those are personality traits, not a personality. Being nice, determined, having a love of pizza…these all feel so generic and TRIGGER is capable of so much more. Galo feels like an alright lead in a movie where a lot is happening, so he doesn’t have to carry anything in terms of emotion or drive, but he’d be boring in a full-length series. Or even a movie trilogy.

Don’t like Lio?: While I don’t agree that every conflict has two equal sides, I dislike how squeaky-clean Lio is. He feels more like the shonen protagonist than Galo sometimes. He’s caring, skilled, honourable, intelligent, determined. His flaws? If you shoot him then try to commit genocide he’ll knock on your door and ask to fight you. It’s unclear if there’s any casualties during his rampage, which makes sense because we know his flames can be harmless (by his choice) and he was specifically threatening to destroy Kray’s city unless Kray listened. On the other side you have Vulcan and Kray. He could’ve afforded a bit more ruthlessness and still come out clearly heroic. It would have given him more intensity to better contrast Galo.

WHAT I WANTED

In summary? Promare as an anime instead of a film. I’d give up smooth fights and shiny CGI any day for stronger writing and characters with impact.

Longer timeframe in-universe: The plot essentially takes place over a week, which limits how much development characters and relationships can undergo. Lio feels too ready to trust Galo. Galo can’t process Kray’s betrayal. The sisters’ story is just kind of shoved on you like unwanted vegetables spooned out by a health-conscious mother. Dr. Exposition suddenly comes in and starts tying up loose ends so abruptly I had to check my phone to see if the movie was almost over. The short timeframe means Promare feels like a marathon-length sprint.

More moral ambiguity: The Mad Burnish are still righteous and try to minimise damage. However, their plans don’t always work. They leave escape routes but fail to account for impaired mobility. Young Burnish lose control while they’re on the run, endangering ordinary humans. Lio is forced to make tough choices. He becomes more jaded, which leads up to the betrayal where he can truly break and begin rampaging. I’m not saying he needed a full Satsuki Kiryuuin thing, but damn do I miss her sheer badass aura. Lio lacks that dangerous feeling. You know he’s apologising inside if he steps on you.  

Galo’s popularity: Galo is shown to have great PR and love playing the crowd. Kray has good PR. The Burnish have bad PR. Instead of Prometh looping a vid with his hacking powers, Galo could’ve convinced the city of Kray’s evil the traditional way: a big speech about humanity and believing in yourself (and not Kray because Kray is evil).

Promare: Lio tells us the fire is alive. Interesting. Prometh says the fire is actually aliens from a parallel dimension whose prime directive is to burn also they feel pain if the Burnish are hurt. My reaction is like Galo’s: I sleep. The entire concept of the promare…I just don’t like it. Maybe I don’t like how they al disappear at the end and fix the Burnish.

In my ideal Promare, the things I love TRIGGER for would all be present. Strong supporting cast. Multifaceted characters. Build up that just gets more ridiculous and epic at a steady pace. Good fights but also quieter breather moments. More jokes.

More Promare, basically.

[gumnut-logic]

Gentle Rain (Part Three)

Title: Gentle Rain

Warm Rain Series

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Author: Gumnut

20-21 Jan 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: Sometimes it is so gentle, you don’t realise it is happening.

Word count: 2522

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, OC, spoilers for Warm Rain up to this point in the timeline.

Timeline: Six months after ‘The Proposal’, almost a sequel.

Author’s note: This is for @scribbles97 . Thank you to all my wonderful readers and supporters who continue to help me create more and more stories. I’m having the time of my life, you guys are wonderful :D

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

“Doctor Harris..uh...”

His face had shuttered the moment he realised he wasn’t alone and she oddly missed the openness he had displayed while speaking with his brother. He had very expressive eyes and they had said so much about the relationship between the two men.

Her voice was quiet. “I apologise for intruding on your privacy, Mr Tracy.” She swallowed. “Please make sure you continue to follow the diet your doctor has supplied you with. Your body needs the nutrients.” She should obviously back out of what was turning out to be an embarrassing situation for the both of them. She hardly knew this man or his brother, and she had just witnessed a very private conversation. Kayo had been willing to allow her to contact him to check on his recovery. She doubted she would approve of such an invasion of privacy.

“Scott.” He was sitting up a little straighter. “Call me Scott.”

She blinked. “Em.”

And another odd silence descended.

He was hard to read. Before, when Virgil had been in the room, his eyes had said everything. From anger to frustration to fondness. The men had argued, but there had been depth to that argument. They had understood each other perfectly. The darker haired brother so obviously sincere when he offered Scott whatever he could provide and the layers of meaning in Scott’s apology spoke of a long history of such arguments..

Now, the man may as well have been Vulcan. Every movement of his face was considered, every wrinkle precisely aimed. The smile was gone, and in its stead lay a controlled calm.

This wasn’t Scott Tracy. This was the Commander of International Rescue.

Well, she could handle that.

“I just wanted to check on your progress. Make sure you hadn’t undone any of my hard work.”

“Well, be reassured, Doctor, I’m back in one piece and well on the way to recovery.”

Her title rather than her name. He was formalising, attempting to push her away from things she should never have seen. She should respect that.

She should.

“How long ago was Virgil injured?”

That shook him. “Why do you ask?”

“He’s favouring his right side.”

His eyes widened, his concern directing immediately to his brother. “Six months.”

“Severity?”

“Severe.” Reluctant to reveal details, of course. Didn’t matter, she could make a good guess just by observing the man.

“How many ribs broken?”

Those blue eyes narrowed. “Almost all down his right side.”

She winced internally. Bloody hell. “Has he had any follow up recently?”

“He should have. I’ll speak to him.”

With that expression on his face, she had no doubt he would. She may find herself apologising to Virgil in the near future. “Make sure he gets checked out. The ribs could still be vulnerable to strain depending on the original injury.” Hell, the man had been shifting brickwork while strapped into a metal skeleton. She would check him out herself if she got the chance.

“Thank you.” And his eyes were suddenly open to her. “For everything. I have no doubt, I could have died in that hole if you hadn’t been there.”

She smiled just slightly at him. “I was just returning the favour.”

He frowned. “Have you been rescued before?”

She had to admit the question took her off guard and she was forced to look away for just a second. “Uh, no, no I haven’t. I was referring to the world at large. We all owe you and your brothers more than we can ever repay.”

It was his turn to look away and, to her surprise, he even flushed a little. “Someone needs to do it.”

“Yes, but you stepped up.”

“It was our father’s project.”

Yes, everyone knew about the great Jeff Tracy. “But it is you and your brothers who are on the front line.”

“As I said, someone has to do it.” He took in a breath and tilted his head. “Enough about me, you obviously know a great deal already, yet I know very little about you.”

Well, she guessed she had asked for that. “What would you like to know?”

He shrugged. “Where are you from?”

“I’m Australian. Grew up south of here, in Margaret River. You?”

“Kansas. And various other places.” He raised an eyebrow. “Occupation?”

“Doctor, but you knew that. Speciality, orthopaedic surgery.” And she saw the light bulb click above his head. “And yes, that is why I noticed your brother’s injury.” She smiled. “And you?”

“Pilot.” She saw it in his eyes. “And rescue operative, with a little Air Force on the side.”

“You make it sound like fast food.”

To her surprise, he grinned. “Oh, it’s fast alright.”

“I gather you like things that go fast?”

“The faster the better.”

“Uh-huh. Is a Lachie Dart fast enough for you?”

“An L-Dart? Oh, I got my hands on one of those back in training. Smart little craft.” He frowned. “You flown?”

She snorted. “Uh, no, my Dad was in the Australian Air Force. He was the Leader of a squadron of L-Darts. Loved them and let us know repeatedly. Made for a plane filled childhood.”

“I can relate to that. Though on top of the planes came space.” She saw his mind drift back, his expression kind of sad.

“So you come by it honestly?”

“Oh, yes.” The sadness was hovering, but he appeared to shake himself. “What about you? Brothers? Sisters?”

She hesitated. “No, just me.” She didn’t want to go there and definitely not with this man.

His frown returned. “No one at all?” The concept appeared completely foreign to him.

“Oh, I have an uncle in the States, but I haven’t seen him for years.” She shrugged. “I have myself and my friends. I’m happy.”

“That is good to hear.” He suddenly frowned. “Why are you still in the hospital?” And he was obviously trying to think back. “What exactly were your injuries?”

Off screen she clenched a fist. “There were a few complications, but I’m fine.” She was fine, really.

He stared at her as if trying to pry the information from her expression. She held her ground. She did not want to face his pity or his horror at what had happened to her. It had been her choice, not his.

It was obvious he knew she wasn’t telling him something. “If there is anything I can do, let me know.” He paused, his eyes intensely blue. “I owe you one.”

There was no answer to that. The man was a billionaire, but she wouldn’t ask him for anything. Except...

“Okay, I’ll ask you for one thing.”

His eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected her to take him up on it so readily. “What?”

“You get bored here, you ping me.”

His eyes narrowed.

She sighed. Being a celebrity must suck big time. “I’m not looking for your secrets. I’m not going to sell you out to the press. Get Kayo to check me out, I promise. You can have my credit card to hold for ransom, if you like. I just want to make sure you are okay. And besides, you’re not the only bored person in this hospital. I can only read so much, and the holoreception here is clunky.”

Those blue eyes looked away for a moment considering. They flashed back at her. “Agreed.”

She smiled just a little. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” A pause. “And I hope you get well soon.” Still suspicious.

“I’m planning on it.” She had the irrational urge to reach out and touch his face. “Now rest, Scott.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Doctor.”

“It’s Em. Or I will start calling you Commander.”

“Yes, Em.”

She smirked. “Now you’re talking. Rest. I’ll speak to you soon.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I have no doubt that the moment you wake up next, boredom will set in immediately.”

“You don’t know me that well.”

“I don’t have to. You are predictable.”

“What?”

She laughed. “Go and rest. I’ve got a nurse nagging me. Speak to you soon.” The expression on his face was worth the risk of never speaking to him again as she cut the signal. The blank screen left an empty space.

She looked up at Kayo. “Thank you so much for allowing this.”

A hand landed gently on her upper arm. “Not a problem.” She appeared thoughtful. “Now tell me more about Virgil favouring his right side.”

-o-o-o-

Virgil threw himself into the elevator and leant against the wall. It took him a moment to realise that, yes, he had to press a button to make the machinery move. A sigh and he hit the residential level button with a thump.

Mountain rescues were unnerving. This hadn’t been the first one since his accident, but it had been at a similar height with similar land features, and he had spent the entire mission expecting the mountain to fall on him.

He screwed his eyes shut and let his head drop back against the metal wall as the elevator rose. He was aching again. Everything had healed, but it continued to remind him that yes, he had ripped his side open and done some serious damage and no, he wasn’t completely one hundred percent and probably never would be again.

He hated it. It cramped his style.

The car slid to a smooth stop and the engineer in the back of his mind admired Brains’ design as he always did.

The doors slid open to reveal Kayo standing with her hands on her hips. She was still wearing that summer dress he so adored. The material hugged her figure in just the right places, soft and feminine. God, she was so beautiful.

And she was frowning.

Uh oh.

“What have I done?” His tired mind tried to flip back through recent events, landed in snow and got stuck. “No, actually, don’t tell me yet. I need a shower first.” He pushed himself off the wall and held back a groan.

“How long has it been hurting?”

He froze. “What?”

“Your injury.”

He let his shoulders sag. “Never stopped.” A sigh. “It’s fine. I can handle it.” He forced himself to straighten and moved to step past her.

Her hand on his chest stopped him, her left hand reaching up to cup his cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Despite himself, he leant into her touch. “It’s nothing, love, I promise. A little ache is all.”

The hand on his chest slipped under the right side of his rib cage and pressed.

He flinched away with an indrawn breath.

Damn.

“Tell me that again, Virgil.”

He closed his eyes. “Okay, perhaps I over did it in Perth.”

“Uh huh.”

“What was I supposed to do. You were under a building. Scott was under a building. I-“ He stopped. “Can I have my shower now?”

She stood up on her toes and kissed him fully on his lips, her arms going around his neck and drawing him in close. He went willingly. “You can, but I’m coming with you.”

He hummed approval, kissing the corner of her mouth, her cheekbone and her mouth yet again.

“But don’t get your hopes up. I’m planning to examine exactly what you’ve done to yourself and then you’re going to sleep.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Perhaps he could persuade her otherwise. But another twinge from his side had him sagging again. Who was he kidding?

Her hand brushed his cheek again. “C’mon, love.” She took his hand and led him to their rooms. She stood over him as he shed his uniform, and ran the shower to the perfect temperature. She frowned as her eyes caught sight of his rib cage, but she didn’t say anything further, simply pushing him gently towards the spray.

She left him there and honestly he was grateful, closing his eyes and letting the warmth soak into him. Soap and a clean, shampoo in his hair, the warmth seeping into his bones, his tired muscles. He let himself lean against the tiles and closed his eyes. Take the moment.

Snow rained around him and he flinched.

Damn.

He shoved his face in the spray, rubbed his eyes and turned off the water.

Kay was standing with his towel.

God, she knew how to be silent.

Cotton was wrapped around him and she dried him off, gently against his injured side.

The injury was still a road map of red lines and smudges all down his ribcage. The scar tissue pulled and was thick in places where he had re-injured the road rash from years before. His skin had not been forgiving with the second injury. It puckered and it pained, but he had grown used to it, figuring that it was the price he had to pay for surviving.

Her fingers traced over the lines, passing over numb spots where the nerves had been destroyed only to tingle where they were still active. He shivered.

She lifted his arm up and examined the lines on its underside. Seeing it all in the stark bathroom light impressed him as to how much of a mess he had made of himself and the unsightliness of the result. Her green eyes were intense as she stared at his scars. A sudden sense of shame washed over him.

But Kay was sensitive to his mood and looked up at him, frowning. “What?”

“Nothing.”

The frown deepened.

So he leant down and kissed it away. “I’m okay.”

Her hand landed on his left shoulder and gently pushed him back upright. “No, you are not. Why didn’t you tell me?” And there was the crux of the matter, he hadn’t shared important information with her.

“I didn’t think it was important.”

Okay, wrong thing to say. “My god, Virgil, in what possible way could your health not be important?”

“I didn’t think it was anything worth worrying about.”

She turned her back on him, flinging her hands into the air. “Oh, for the love of-“ She cut herself off, her shoulders stilling for a moment. He suddenly both wished he could see her face, and was glad he could not.

When she did turn around her expression was once again calm. “I will arrange for you to see a specialist in the morning. Tonight, you will go to bed and rest. No rescues.” She held up her hand as he opened his mouth. “God damn it, Virgil, if I have to wake up Scott to make it an order, I’m going to let him rain hell down on you for not telling him about this, too. Then you can feel guilty for stressing him out while he is injured.”

He shut his mouth.

So much for not important.

And then she was drawing him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. “I’m sorry.” The words fell out of his mouth, even though he knew her response.

“Don’t be sorry, just don’t do it again.” Her voice was muffled up against his chest, her breath warm on his skin. He closed his eyes.

-o-o-o-

End Part Three

Part Four

[douxreviews]

Star Trek: Discovery - ‘Battle at the Binary Stars’ Review

By JRS

"I was raised to believe that service was my purpose."

When Commander Michael Burnham is convinced enough in her own rightness to attack Captain Phillippa Georgiou, her mutiny earns her a place in the brig – just as the Klingons attack, endangering all that Burnham holds dear.

One of the hallmarks of good writing is that you put your characters in layers of jeopardy. Everything builds and builds until the character is forced to choose something in a way that reveals the uttermost depth of that character. The dreadful algebra of necessity, Pratchett called it. What do you do when you're in such a terrible situation that no answer is good, that you have to choose something awful? What do you do when you realize this only afterwards? One of the good things about this episode is how it applies this rule well. Burnham and Georgiou are each combating the Dreadful Algebra in the second half of this two-part pilot, starting with Burnham waking up nearly-exposed to vacuum and somehow finding a way to get shot into the working part of a ship in a fantastic sequence which neatly ties into the foreshadowing of the previous episode.

Burnham is a Spock for the modern generation. Human instead of half-Human, but both raised by Vulcans – with Burnham internalizing trauma at a deep level in the course of her life, after a Klingon attack takes away her parents. Confronted with a warlike Klingon, she responded. Did she know the weapon would kill him? Was it an accident? I'm not sure Burnham knows. This episode sketches more in depth the past between Burnham and Georgiou; we learn how Georgiou tried to groom Burnham for the role of Captain and was perhaps blinded by her own affection for her charge. When Georgiou confronts Burnham about her actions, after she escapes from the brig, Burnham can't even tell if the motivation for her act is rooted in logic or emotion. It's kind of a big breakdown from the whole 'I am perfect and judging everyone else' position which Burnham held when she arrived at the ship. Does Sarek getting Burnham to act and try to help Georgiou despite Burnham's internal struggles and despair imply there's a lot more to this character than we see here? I don't know, but the connection between the two was effective.

Georgiou isn't forced to analyze her actions with the same depth as Burnham. She obviously wrestles just as much with notions of right and wrong, with imprisoning Georgiou in the brig. The fact that her ship is attacked – that Burnham is correct in her analysis of Klingon behavior – just makes her even more frustrated because Georgiou's truly trying to uphold the standards of Starfleet and continue to spread the Federation. This means the ends cannot justify the means. Redemption is definitely a part of Georgiou's worldview, however – and when the chips are totally down, Georgiou has no problem with beaming over onto the Klingon ship with Burnham to try and take T'Kuvma alive, and is actually pretty fantastic in all the action scenes, as you might expect from Michelle Yeoh.

I wasn't too enthralled with the Klingons in the last episode, but this episode, I thought they brought them along far more. Last episode they seemed about on par with the worst of TOS: cheesy, shiny monsters, often exaggerating racial stereotypes. They hated a trite phrase, "We come in peace." The subtitles were annoying, especially if you watched with closed captions and a sound effect popped on screen. This episode gave the Klingons a little bit of depth, although the Maniacal Religiousish Leader is almost a Trek stereotype in itself. I loved the scene of their invisible ship slicing through the Admiral's and then flickering back. The rescuing of the dead was fantastic, and so was the death of T'Kuvma, played by Chris Obi. Whom do we seek. Kahless. How do we find him? Together. Give us light to see. Forever. Will he hide from us always? Never. This is a far more complex warrior culture than simply Argh! We shall conquer! Still, we never find out the meaning behind their hate for "We come in peace," and while I could possibly come up with a plotsplainer, it feels wrong to have to do so for the freaking pilot.

Georgiou's death was unexpected and frustrating. I really loved the dynamic between her character and Burnham, and I loved the fact that it was two badass women who jumped into the breach and tried to bring back a giant Klingon. It's clearly going to seriously impact Burnham, though. Who, after the crew escapes in a (very cool) pod scene, winds up standing for trial.

And Burnham pleads guilty to her role in all of it, and now sees herself as the enemy. And is sentenced to imprisonment for life. This final speech was badly captioned on the CBS AllAccess app, which frustrated me for 9.99 a month and at the very final moment of the show.

Commander's Log

I'm not sure about the whole thing with Sarek as a mystical advisory Pokémon. DS9, however, also started out with a lot of mysticism.

The body-bomb sequence was really well developed and kind of set Georgiou for me in a Picard-level Starship Captain place. Cool, inventive, caring almost to a fault...

The preview for the next episode isn't captioned, but shows Burnham being shipped to prison and experiencing a lot of weird stuff – and the return of the Klingons. Judging by this, Burnham is going to become an action hero.

I really want to learn more about all of the crew. Some of them don't get named in this episode, which is sad, but they all seemed earnest and interesting. From the preview, Doug Jones will be back as Lt. Saru.

This Trek had a very strong, diverse vibe. Both Captain and Commander were non-white women, who, yay, spoke to each other often about things that were not men. This is causing crankiness on the internet. This alone makes me want to give the show more of a chance.

I know the technology has changed or upgraded or whatever, but isn't this a new timeline or something with JJ Abrams? Regardless, I feel this is a meh point for me. We're in 2017 and we can envision basic technology that people wouldn't have come up with during TOS. Plus, based on my Understanding of Humanity, I could easily see an episode where they give up the holographic technology because it's bad for you and radiation or something, so they have to go back and develop special rooms, or whatever. Connect it intelligently enough and it looks like scifi.

The captions were a big problem for many Deaf and hard of hearing people online. Look, if you want to build an audience, you can't get people to risk ten bucks then slap them in the face. The AllAccess app is the biggest obstacle to my liking this show at the moment, that and the knowledge that it's included with Netflix in Every. Other. Country. In. The. World.

Overheard by the Universal Translator

Sarek: Behave.

Sarek: No matter your shame, gather your strength. Find a way to help those who need you.

T'Kuvma: There is no honor without unity. There is no home for any of us, unless it is shared by all. [Sidenote: This quote makes me feel it's possible there might be Deaf people in Klingon worlds.]

Overall

Much more love from me than I felt at the end of the first episode.

The second episode has me hooked, as long as they can keep the writers away from the Hokey Hooch they were clearly drinking when they wrote the Klingons during the previous episode.

The best parts of this episode were Burnham and Georgiou, for me; my question is, now that half the team is killed off, how can the show continue its momentum? I was going to go with four, but the captioning issues made me go with... three out of five body-bombs.

[rreader]

Hello! I have a Star Trek request if that's okay: Captain Jim Kirk asking out the reader, who is Spock's half-sister and she's human. Thank you!

pairing: james t. kirk x reader ; spock x sister!readerfandom: star trek (modern)warnings: languagegenre: fluff ; crack

summary: what were the odds of the one girl on campus he was genuinely interested in, being the sister of the guy he despised so much?

a/n: hey sweetheart! I hope you like this one ♥ (let me say it again, I’m so happy to be able to post again, lol)

“Listento me Jim, this isn’t a good idea,” Bones tried to keep up withJim’s pace, but there was no use in convincing him that what he wasabout to do would probably be his death sentence, “You don’t understand,she’s..-”

“..-thehottest girl I’ve seen in a very long time,” he grinned from ear toear, his eyes never leaving your form in the distance.

Boneshad known Jim for a while now and he knew when it was time to just.. stopand let him do his thing, even if this “thing” would probably end up with him in the hospital or worse.

“You’reso done, buddy,” he sighed and shook his head, while he watched Jim cometo a stop right in front of you.

Youhad been talking to a friend of yours, but the second she saw Jim,she quickly walked away, leaving you to stand there on your own, alittle confused about the sudden departure. Only when you heard aconfident ‘Hey’ did you turn your head to look at the man.

“Uh..hi.”

“I’mJim. Jim Kirk,” he extended his hand, his grin a lot more seductivenow than before.

Youfirst looked at the hand, then back up at him, before taking it. Alittle cautiously, though.

“I’m(Y/N).”

“Younew here? Haven’t seen you around.”

“Yeah,I just got here a few days ago.”

“Youmust be really smart to be able to start your studies in the middleof the semester.”

Yousnorted and shook your head, “I just know the right people.”

Jimbit his lower lip, but the grin never faded away. He stared into your(Y/E/C) eyes and the longer he did, the more self-conscious youbecame. You lowered your head and could feel the blush spreading on yourcheeks.

Hewas so unlike the other guys that usually flirted with you. He lookedlike he could have literally anyone on this campus fall to theirknees, if he wanted them to. So the fact that he looked at you likethis, like you were the most drop-dead gorgeous woman he had ever seen? You were flattered, to saythe least.

“Doyou know a lot of people around here, then?”

“Notyet, no. Haven’t had the chance..”

“Howabout we change that, then? There’s this party happening tomorrownight, pretty much everyone will be there. I could introduce you tosome people and.. you and I could hang out,” he cocked his head tothe side.

Washe asking you out?

Orwas he trying to get you to sleep with him already?

Onlyone way to find out.

“Asin.. a date? Or as in a booty call?”

Helaughed, his shoulders shaking, “You’re blunt. I like that. But no,I don’t want to just sleep with you. You’re too beautiful for that.I’d like to get to know you a little. Genuinely.”

“Isthat what you say to every girl you think is beautiful?” 

“See,there’s a difference between finding a woman hot and finding herbeautiful. You, are both hot and beautiful and that is a combinationthat I haven’t seen in a long time. And I can’t miss out on the opportunityto ask someone like you out.”

Whetheror not he was lying, you really wanted to get to know a few morepeople around here.. to make the next couple of months less lonely and a party was always a good place to meet new people.

You’dthink with your brother here, life wouldn’t be that lonely. But even withSpock in the room, you had always felt alone, which came fromhim being half-vulcan. He had always tried his hardest with you, youknew and appreciated that, but he couldn’t change the fact that hisemotions weren’t as distinct as yours.

Youtook a couple of breaths, your eyes never leaving his, before noddingfinally and smiling.

“Alright,Jim. A date, then.”

                                                      thenext day

Jimwas walking towards your room, checking himself in every mirror orwindow he passed, making sure that he still looked as good as he hadwhen he had left his own room.

Heknew that he was attractive and, from the way you had acted the daybefore, he could only imagine that you thought so too.

Still,he wanted to impress you, looking his absolute best.

Hechecked his breath one last time, before knocking, a big grin on hisface and his hands buried confidently inside the pockets of his pants.

Butthat grin quickly faded when the door got opened and..-

“Spock?!”

“CadetKirk,” he didn’t look as surprised as Jim did, but he still didn’tlook happy about the man on the other side of the door, either, “My sisterhas informed me that you will be taking her to a party tonight.”

“Your-..your sister?! She’s your sister?”

“Yes,that is correct. Is there a problem?”

“Well,no, I mean.. yes, I mean.. you’re,” he pointed up and down, untilhis eyes landed back on his, “You’re Vulcan. She’s human.”

“Myparents had adopted her when she was a young girl,” his expression remained stoic. 

Jimlet out a huff and brushed his hand through his hair.

Thatwas just his fucking luck. He had finally found a nice and beautifulgirl that he really wanted to get to know and then she was the sisterof his – what he liked to call – nemesis.

“Spock!What are you doing? Go away!” Jim heard your voice from the insideof the room, before you had pulled your brother back and stepped infront of him, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear and smilingshyly at Jim, “Hi. Sorry about that, please don’t take anything hesaid seriously.”

“Whydidn’t you tell me he was your brother?” he whispered, even thoughSpock could definitely hear it. He wasn’t that far away.

“Ididn’t think it mattered? Besides, we’ve only known each other for aday,” you shrugged and checked your purse again, “Anyways. Shallwe?” you grinned at Jim, then turned around and kissed the cheek ofyour brother, before walking off.

Butbefore Jim could follow you, a hand wrapped around his upper arm andhe turned back around to look at Spock.

“Sheis my sister, therefor, she means a lot to me.”

“Ithought Vulcans didn’t have emotions.”

“I’mhalf-vulcan,” he took another step towards Jim, so that his lipswere right next to his ear, making sure that you wouldn’t hear what he said next “Know this, Cadet. You hurt my sister,in any way possible, I will make sure that you regret it for the restof your life.”

Jimgulped and quickly took a step back, pushing his hand away from hisarm, before scurrying over to you.

Spockwatched you two leave, before walking back inside your room.

Andwhen the door was closed and the two of you were a bit farther away,you looked up at Jim, who looked.. distraught.

“Areyou okay? He didn’t.. scare you, did he?”

Hecleared his voice instantly and put his arm around you, the grin backon his face.

“Pff,as if,” he lied.

Maybethat’s what Bones had been trying to warn him about.

Butthat’s fate for you, isn’t it?

Hecouldn’t help being so attracted to you and even though he was scaredshitless of what Spock might do to him if he ever accidentally hurtyou in any way, it wouldn’t stop him from asking you out another timeafter the party.

Andanother, and another and so on and so on.

And for your sake - or at least that’s what they had been saying  - they even began to get along at one point.

Because there was one thing these two had in common.

Wanting you to be happy.

[warpfactornonsense]

TOS Tag Game

Heyo, I got tagged by @onedamnminuteadmiral! Rules: answer five questions about ST and then tag some people and ask them five more questions. (These are so much fun and I love them. Great questions, too!!)

Long post, so everything’s under the cut!

1. Which episode do you think best captures the spirit of Star Trek. Why?

Oh, golly. That’s a tough one. There are several that could work, but maybe “Space Seed?” It’s got action, it’s got Super Beings, some Terran history and how humanity learned from it... honestly, that’s the biggest thing, highlighting how humanity FINALLY learned from their manifold mistakes, and showcasing how Kirk (representative of humanity’s best traits) and Spock could STILL manage to defeat a megalomaniac, and a super-powered one, at that. Albeit barely, AND together. Normal, Good Humanity triumphs over Evil Super Humanity. And then, AND THEN, our heroes show the villain and their betrayer compassion, granting them a second chance when they had ample opportunity and grounds to sentence them to prison. 

Oh! And even though this episode gets a little cringe-y at some points, what with the casual sexism, I really enjoy the way the characters look back on history. Especially Lt. McGivers with her looking back on ancient leaders and idolizing them. Even though it’s super flawed, it’s so human. See also, when Spock was like “I’m surrounded by illogical” when Scotty, Bones, and Kirk all admired Khan, even while condemning his actions.

Plus we get Ricardo Montalban. Someday, I ought to design an ad for the SS Botany Bay, featuring “rich, Corinthian leather” seats. Also, shoutout to the “only 90s kids remember” moment at the beginning of the episode.

2.  Which two characters do you wish had interacted more, and what do you think their friendship/relationship would have been like?

Scotty and Uhura. Definitely. According to what I’ve read online (I’m still very new to the extended world of Trek, so I’m not sure where this came from in canon/extended verse), they have a really great friendship, and I’m sorry we didn’t get any screen time of that. They would’ve been such great bros. (I use that as a gender-neutral term, and I probably shouldn’t.) I imagine their friendship as a really tight, undemanding kind of closeness, where they might go for days or weeks without talking, but they pick up where they left off, and are just so understanding and accepting of each other. They’d be so soft together. Or really salty and sassy, depending on the scenario - there would be no in-between.

3. Who was your favorite actor/actress in TOS, and what do you think they brought to their character?

If you’ve not guessed, it’s William Shatner. There’s the obvious stuff of his occasional overacting, yes, but I think he brought a softness to the role that I’m not sure would’ve been as present with another actor. I mean, if you watch “The Cage,” Jeffrey Hunter’s portrayal of Pike was like a prototype Kirk - charismatic, capable, competent, confident, intelligent, determined, and accessibly handsome. But I’m not sure if it’s because he’s a different character, or if it was because his character was incomplete and not yet fleshed out, or if it was Hunter’s portrayal, or maybe it was the writing for the particular episode. But Pike doesn’t HAVE that softness. He’s got a determination to save his crew, to save others he encounters. He does have kindness. But he’s not soft in the same way that Shatner allowed Kirk to be. 

4. Tell me about a scene or a storyline that meant a lot to you personally. What significance does it have for you?

This is predictable, but it’s “Amok Time” (unless we can choose a moment from the movies?). Not solely because of the dramatic “JIM OMG YOU’RE NOT DEAD” at the end (though I do adore that moment, for a number of reasons). 

No, it’s because of that time I cosplayed from it. Canon is WONDERFUL, but it means so much more to me when I can interact with it, make it personal to me. And I’ll never forget how much FUN it was to be a background Vulcan, to have people play “Ancient Battle” on their phones with delighted grins on their faces as our group walked by. I had a blast with my friends that day. We all looked like baked potatoes.

If we can include movie moments, it’s that time in TWOK when Kirk mentioned the Kobayashi Maru, and how he cheated because he didn’t believe in no-win scenarios. And somehow, that one line resonated with me WAY more than it did in the 2009 movie (context within the narrative is everything).

5. If you were a costume designer/set designer/hair-makeup designer, etc., what (if anything) would you change about the aesthetics of the show? Imagine you have a bottomless budget, but it’s still the ‘60s so keep technological limitations in mind.

List of things I love about the Star Trek aesthetic:

The silly velour uniforms that shrank in the wash so they could only be worn about 3 times (and it SHOWS in some episodes)

The massive amounts of eyeshadow on everybody

The nonsense holographic hexagons that show up on EVERY SINGLE PLANET or VESSEL, regardless of cultural/technological differences or physical distance between worlds

The vibrantly colorful lighting everywhere

The soft, romantic lighting everywhere

Honestly, how colorful EVERYTHING is

Things I don’t love and wish I could change about TOS, visually speaking:

The stupid gold/vermilion houndstooth bedding

The “*~female beauty~* is free so let’s show it off so it feels like we’re an action show and now one that has social commentary” attitude, even if it DID help them get social commentary into the show - lbr, if NOTHING else (and there’s a lot of “else” we could discuss), it resulted in some downright HIDEOUS outfits.

Create 5 questions of your own and tag others if you want to keep playing.

Here you go!!

Who is your favorite side character and why (like, anyone not in the triumvirate)? What do they bring to the role that draws you to them specifically?

Is there a topic or story you wish TOS had covered? What is it?

What’s your favorite aspect of canon (can be literally ANYTHING - from visuals to plot to characterization moment, or anything else altogether)? What’s your LEAST favorite aspect of canon?

If you could have lunch with any character (not actor/actress), who would it be, and why? What would you talk about?

What or who is your favorite non-human being(s)? 

All right! I’m tagging @shimmershoo, @intergalacticsock, @fizz-bin, and @willchild​. Anyone else who wants to do this, tag me! I’d love to see your answers!

[jemariel]

Sherlock, Supernatural, and How I Am Trying to Take Shipping Less Seriously

I want to tell my story. 

(tl;dr: I have a lot more fun with shipping when I don’t worry about whether or not it will ever be canon. OR: Never put that much faith in the hands of showrunners. It always ends BAD.gif)

I wrote most of this post months ago and it’s been rotting away in my drafts since maybe March? It seemed like a good time to actually post it. This is my own personal perspective, where I’m coming from on this. Obviously everyone’s feelings and opinions are 100% their own and I respect that. We’re all coming from somewhere.

Soooo. I’ve been lurking in various fandoms for a long time. I started in 2001, when I was 14. I’ve seen a lot of changes in fandom and the internet and how we interact with our favorite media. Now seemed like a good time for me to sort through this.

My first OTP was in Highlander. It was, for all intents and purposes, a dead fandom when I arrived. The show had been cancelled 5 years before I even discovered that other people wrote and posted their fanfiction, and one half of my pairing was dead for the final series. The pair I read about maybe shared half an hour of screen time through the whole three seasons they were both in the show? They had very little plot interaction at least.

I didn’t care. It didn’t stop me from reading about them. Didn’t stop me from wanting to put them in the same room and see what happened – usually them getting on like a house on fire.

The point is that we were under absolutely no impression that they would ever become canon. There was literally no possibility for it. But that didn’t matter. We could do what we wanted. We were just having fun.

After Highlander came Harry Potter. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. I don’t remember if I started shipping them before or after the 4th book but it was definitely long before the 5th book. This was the first time I had the inkling that maybe, possibly, JK Rowling might have actually intended them to be read that way. This is where I read my first meta, before it was called that – someone who went through the books and pulled out excerpts that made a person think. Wow that eye contact really did linger, I thought. Maybe that embrace wasn’t strictly brotherly, I said to myself.

At the time, queerbaiting was not even a word in the vernacular. So when the 6th book came out and Tonks and Remus became the most eyebrow-raising pairing I’ve ever encountered, I just shrugged and went on with my life. Sirius was dead anyway so this really changed nothing. I liked Remus the gay uncle werewolf, but bisexual was fine too. I mostly wrote and read about them during their school days anyway. So this was fine.

Eventually I moved on, and where I landed after that was in the grand daddy of all slash pairings, the first fandom in our current fanfiction zeitgeist: Star Trek, the Original Series. Kirk and Spock. This was still a couple of years before the 2009 reboot movies, so all I had was a cheesy 60s TV show with a venerable back catalogue of fanfic. What’s better, this ship could never be sunk! Of course they couldn’t ever be canon, it was the 60s. Times were different. I could ship them with fervor and never be disappointed because of course it was just our interpretation. … Wasn’t it?

Oh, Gene Roddenberry. You idealistic sonuvabitch. You created the Vulcan word “t’hy’la” specifically for Spock to use for Kirk, and you made it mean friend, brother, and lover? Was that really necessary or were you trying to tell us something?

Here I found more fledgling meta, and I went through the novelizations of the movies with a highlighter devouring every piece of evidence I could find. But while this ship was unsinkable, it would also never fly. Even if Roddenberry had intended this, or supported it after the fact, prejudice surely had kept his intentions in the background. Subtext was our friend. We could work with subtext. The subtext wove a gay love story the likes of which we haven’t seen since the ancient Greeks. I was happy with that.

But then.

2010. Sherlock.

I knew going into it that Holmes and Watson were the greatest love story never told. I figured it would be a fun pairing for a while. But oh. I was not prepared. And oh, be still my beating heart, the Angelo’s scene! If I recall correctly I actually sat up straighter in my chair at “so you’ve got a boyfriend then”/”No.” Could they… could he? Did they actually…? Was this written for… me? For us? Could we, the weird little corner of the fandom be right for once?? The slash shippers, the queer kids, the ones who had been peering between the lines for decades to try and catch glimpses of ourselves in our favorite stories?

I buried the thought for a few years, devouring Johnlock fanfic like it was my job, my civic duty, my vocation. I waited patiently for each new series. But I never actually expected anything to come of my hopes until after season 3.

Bet you guessed it. TJLC had caught me like a spark in dry grass. The few analyses I’d read before were NOTHING compared to this. Suddenly it all seemed so possible. So real. After The Abominable Bride it seemed like there was nowhere else to go, nowhere to go but up. We were right. WE WERE RIGHT! For a whole year, we got to relish the thought that it might actually happen.

…………….. Season 4 was… tough. It felt like a slap in the face, all of our hopes thrown back at us with ignorance at best, cruelty and direct malice at worst. If it had been a good season on its own without canon Johnlock I might have been okay, but as it is….. It was not the first time I’ve had my heart broken by a TV show, and probably only seems like the worst by virtue of being recent. But I would very much like it to be the last.

A few months before diving head-first into the pre season-4 gear-up, I watched a few seasons of Supernatural. Just enough to meet Castiel and lay the groundwork for a Destiel obsession as a contingency plan for if season 4 of Sherlock went all pear shaped. I’m glad I did or I don’t know where I would have found my refuge.

But I started to notice something. From my earliest wading in the Destiel end of the tumblr pond, I shied away quickly from any discussion of evidence, subtextual clues used to make predictions, or whether or not Destiel could or should or will be canon. I still take all meta and spec I read with a healthy pinch of salt. I am trying very hard not to care about whether or not it becomes canon, because honestly? I miss the days when whether or not a ship was canon or had a snowball’s chance of ever becoming so had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I shipped it.

Fandom is just one of many echo chambers that the internet has molded around every one of us. It is so easy to become convinced that our way is right and everyone else’s way is wrong, because we only hear our own voices and those of people we agree with reflected back at us.

We are not the arbiters of what happens in canon. The showrunners are NOT obligated to listen to us. Not everyone can be right, and the showrunners cannot listen to everyone. Nor should they. They are, for better or for worse, creating their own story. Not ours.

We can always write the story the way we want to, over and over in countless different ways. These days I see a show almost more as a set of toys to play with than as its own impermeable whole. I can believe that Dean and Castiel have been slowly falling in love over the course of the last decade. I can decide when and where I want them to have first admitted it, to themselves or each other. What’s more – I can change my mind. Some days I like believing that they’ve been together since Cas’s hand print was still fresh on Dean’s shoulder. Some days I’d rather believe that they’re still pining and in various states of denial. Or anything in between – it’s all equally valid. Once it’s said and stated in canon, that’s it. That’s the show. That’s how it happened. I like the freedom I have when my ship is not explicitly canon. The best is when they are clearly aware of it and give us moments like the mixtape or the Fanfiction Gap of 9x06 – new toys to play with – but let us shape what’s actually going on. As I say in my tags sometimes: They clearly love us and want us to have nice things.

All of this is NOT to say that up-and-coming queer kids do not richly need and deserve representation. God, not at all. I beat myself up about this a lot, for what feels like a terribly selfish desire to just enjoy it and not worry about whether or not the up and coming queer youth could have it better than I did. They can and they should and I still believe that season 4 of Sherlock was the biggest missed opportunity in queer cinema history.

I just can’t take it so personally anymore. For the sake of my favorite hobby, I cannot stake my enjoyment of a pairing and a show on whether or not the showrunners want to take the risk. I cannot let them dangle me on that particular string. I cannot give them that power over me. 

So this is my manifesto, for me personally. If Destiel becomes canon? I will be over the moon. But I will not go hunting for it. I won’t expect it. I will cherish every gift that the showrunners give to us because they’re not obligated to give us a damn thing, so I can’t take what they do give us for granted. I will live my headcanons, write my fics, and I will love the show for what it is, warts and all. I will ship my ship, enthusiastically and with my whole heart, because it brings me joy to do so. Canon or no canon. @starsinursa @daughter-of-the-rain-and-snow