#aro ace star trek rewatch

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, March 29 - PART TWO

BUFFY: (smiles) Hey! SCOTT: Hey, Buffy! Uh, Faith has been telling me tall tales. BUFFY: (smiles big) She's funny. (takes her arm) And she's leaving. We have to go. SCOTT: (disappointed) Oh... FAITH: Bye. Buffy pulls her away and down the hall.

~~Faith, Hope and Trick~~

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: [Buffy comics art panels created by Georges Jeanty] via g33k_gal (various, worksafe)

Artwork: [Let's watch shark boy and lava girl. buffy x willow] by pzyii (Buffy/Willow worksafe)

Artwork: Good times by isevery0nehereverystoned (Anya, Faith, Tara, worksafe)

Icons: [Sarah Michelle Gellar icons] like/reblog by brolasuite (worksafe)

Gifset: {Xander&Spike} by starryeyesxx (Xander/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: there's my girl :) by redcheekdays (Star Trek Voyager parallels, Buffy, Faith, worksafe)

Gifset: Levitating by Dua Lipa by andremichaux (Willow/Tara, worksafe)

Gifset: The Worst of the Worst: IMDB’s 10 Worst Ranked Episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by clarkgriffon (ensemble, worksafe)

Fanvid: buffy & angel | hits different by lostlcve

Fanvid: Cordelia Chase | Long Story Short by 1SnoWhiteQueen1

Fanvid: vampire with a soul | ats + btvs by Moriah McInerney

[Reviews & Recaps]

BTVS/Angel Rewatch Chronicles: Seasons 4/1, Part One [The Freshman to Wild at Heart] by QualifiedApathetic

BTVS/Angel Rewatch Chronicles: Seasons 4/1, Part Two [Sense & Sensitivity to Somnambulist] by QualifiedApathetic

Anyone go to the Buffy comedy show in London last night? by Prudent-Memory-6129

Season 6 gets better and better after every rewatch by Kindofaddictedtotv

PODCAST: 1.12 Prophecy Girl by Once More: A Rewatch Podcast

PODCAST: Buffy S7E1: Lessons by Booze & Buffy

[Recs & In Search Of]

ISO: FrenchButHygienic seeks Angel-BtVS [similar] vibe shows

[Community Announcements]

Round one of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer tournament has started by bestepisode

[Fandom Discussions]

buffy summers is aro/ace i think but you guys aren't ready for that conversation yet by starlit1daydream

... Angel is cursed to never experience true happiness?? by spikes-left-eyebrow

buffy the vampire slayer gif makers are truly the best at their craft because how are you producing gifs at a higher quality... by mikaelson-hope

[He has a soul parallels gifset.] Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 7.18 and Angel | 5.02 by andremichaux

What do you think Spike would have done with the Gem of Amara had he been successful? by sushibananawater

Who needs enemies when your friends are assholes [Revelations and other eps] by J_n_Space

the body as the worst episode to watch + grief by Kindly_Ad2280

Show me your Worst, best, saddest/hated, btvs episodes. I’ll go first by melaniemoth13

POLL: What episode worked best as a series finale? [S5 The Gift vs S7 Chosen] by nessaaldarion

Episode(s) of Buffy or ATS that would make a great movie? by PristineSituation498

Only reasons of why Angel takes over Wolfram&Hart? by Commercial-Sink8444

You know what makes Willow and Tara's relationship more tragic...? by Belthezare

Best Willow Tara moments! by Slayerette444

Favorite bit of continuity by BiggTS

Spike and Joyce having cocoa with mini marshmallows is such a brilliant scene. by Soulless--Plague

Confusion about Fool For Love [Spike as narrator] by Slayerette444

Ruined episode [Conversations with Dead People and Joyce and The First in S7] by Full-Dome

Is anyone else bothered by this plot hole? [ghost Joyce and The First and Dawn] by mvandemar

Non-fiction books about Buffy? by Lillydragon9

POLL: "Buffy is not at any point even remotely similar to Faith" [and discussion] by sadhungryandvirgin

Should Angel feel remorse? by Aracoth

Angel's worst look? by _behindthewheel_

after finishing the series [ATS], I fucking hated what they did to Gunn and Wesley by b3_k1nd_rw1nd

the [ATS] finale was seen as divisive cause the "big battle" was not portrayed, thats surprising as hell to me. by b3_k1nd_rw1nd

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PODCAST: [James Marsters] 02 - Clowns, Nudity, and the Red Planet via dontkillspike

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[aroacestartrekrewatch]

Star Trek: ToS Rewatch - 1x01 - The Man Trap

Members of the crew of the Enterprise are being stalked and murdered by a mysterious being capable of psychically disguising itself in order to extract salt from its victims.

Ace Friendliness: 5

Aro Friendliness: 7

For more info on my rating criteria check out this post.

Recap:

In the ruins of an ancient civilization on the planet M-113, Dr. Robert Crater and his wife, Nancy, are the only members of a five year archaeological survey of a number of ancient ruins on the planet.  Nancy Crater was once involved romantically with Doctor McCoy, who is looking forward to seeing her again.

However, upon arriving on the planet, the landing party - made up of Dr. McCoy, Captain Kirk, and a crewman in the science division named Darnell - each see a very different woman.  McCoy sees Nancy as she was when he knew her, Kirk sees Nancy as an older version of the woman McCoy sees, and Darnell makes the mistake of outright saying Nancy looks like a woman he knew on Wrigley's Pleasure Planet - presumably a sex worker - which both McCoy and Kirk take offense to.  Darnell gets sent to wait outside but 'Nancy' follows after a short while and lures Darnell away to his death.

Dr. Crater finally arrives and is upset the landing party is arrived.  He keeps insisting all they need are salt tablets and generally he just wants them to go away.  McCoy and Kirk, however, are both insistent they follow regulations - both Dr. Crater and his wife are due physicals (and probably psych evals too, considering how little social interaction they've had these last five years).  Crater eventually consents to his physical, but they're interrupted by a scream outside.

They find Nancy standing over Darnell, whose body is covered in strange circular marks, and she claims he ate a poisonous plant before she could stop him.

Meanwhile, back on the Enterprise's bridge, Commander Spock has been left in command.  With so little to do at the moment, Uhura is attempting to engage the commander in conversation and flirting but to no avail, as Spock claims that Vulcans have no sense of humor.  The transporter chief signals the bridge to alert the bridge to the death of a crewman.  Spock acknowledges and presumably signals one of the transporter bays to transport the party up, but Uhura is concerned by Spock's lack of interest in who the dead crewman might be since it could be the Captain, as the transporter chief didn't specify.

Once McCoy does an initial examination of Darnell, he determines the cause of death wasn't poisoning; in fact, aside from the circular marks on the body, McCoy can't find anything wrong with Darnell at all.  Much to Kirk's annoyance, McCoy gets lost in thought over Nancy and his unresolved feelings for her.

After a more thorough exam, McCoy is able to determine Darnell died because his body had been drained of its entire salt content.  

Taking two more crewmen with them, Kirk and McCoy return to the planet to bring Dr. Crater and Nancy aboard with them until the cause of Darnell's death can be determined.  However, Dr. Crater is less than receptive to this idea and runs off to find his wife.  he discover Sturgeon - one of the two crewman who joined the landing party - dead with the same circular marks as Darnell and calls to Nancy, telling her he has salt for her.  When she doesn't respond, he continues off to find her, leaving Sturgeon's body behind for Kirk and McCoy to find.

While separated from the Captain and McCoy, the fourth member of the landing party is lured into a trap by Nancy, who kills Crewman Green and assumes his appearance.  Nancy then joins Kirk and McCoy in the guise of Green and is transported up to the ship.

Now aboard the ship, "Green" follows Yeoman Rand as she brings lunch to Lt. Sulu in the botanical lab; there's a salt shaker on the tray of food that "Green" attempts to take at one point, but Rand stops him and tells him off for following her.  With the lift full, the corridors crowded, and both Rand and Sulu present in the lab (as well as the unusual reaction of one of the plants towards him), "Green" doesn't seem to feel safe taking it and eventually leaves.  From there, "Green" runs into Uhura and transforms again, possibly someone from Uhura's past or a person created from bits and pieces of people she once knew.  He speaks Swahili to her, much to Uhura's clear delight as she responds in the same language.  But he then seems to entrance her, perhaps some aspect of the same psychic abilities that allow him to take on so many different appearances, and it's only the timely arrival of Sulu and Rand that prevents Uhura from become the salt eater's next victim.  Unfortunately Crewman Barnhart is less lucky and is discovered dead by Sulu and Rand after Uhura heads to the bridge.

Taking the appearance of Nancy again, she goes to visit McCoy because she likes his strong memories of Nancy; those feelings make her feel safe.  She encourages him to get some sleep and when he mentions that he has sleeping pills, she gets him some water to take them with.

Sulu and Rand come across Crewman Barnhart, whom the creature attacked before “Nancy” came to visit McCoy.  Reports of Barnhart’s death lead to McCoy to be summoned.  Having drugged McCoy and, presumably, used her psychic ability to persuade him to sleep, “Nancy” assumes McCoy’s form and leaves the real McCoy asleep in his quarters.

Kirk and Spock return to the planet.  While Kirk attempts to reason with Dr. Crater, Spock discover's Crewman Green's dead body.  Aboard the ship, they begin searching for the impostor while Kirk and Spock finally stun Crater and question him about the creature attacking the crewman.

Crater finally explains the truth about his wife Nancy.  The real Nancy has been dead for nearly two years now, replaced by one of the few surviving inhabitants of the planet.  Once the planet was once a lush, plentiful world, but the ancient civilization caused some kind of catastrophe that left it barren.  The M-113 creature that took Nancy's place requires sodium chloride - salt - to survive, but the planet is so lacking in salt that the creature's species has nearly died away entirely.  Dr. Crater clearly assumes "Nancy" is the last of its kind and compares her to the buffalo, which went extinct on Earth some time ago.

Once aboard the ship, Crater claims that he and the creature have a symbiotic relationship due to their trade of salt tablets and companionship and even notes that he can recognize the being regardless of what form it takes, clearly aware that "McCoy" is actually the creature.  However, when Spock suggests they use a truth serum on Dr. Crater in order to ascertain who the creature is currently masquerading as, "McCoy" reluctantly agrees.  Spock, Crater, and "McCoy" head to sickbay, but the creature murders Crater and attacks Spock, whose Vulcan physiology seems to make him unappetizing to the creature.

The creature takes Nancy's form again and returns to McCoy's quarters, seemingly torn between it's hunger for salt and a desire to seek safe refuge, which it knows McCoy can be manipulated into providing.  Kirk arrives, however, armed with a phaser and salt tablets; he attempts to convince McCoy to stand clear.  McCoy seems to be under the creature's psychic thrall, however, and hesitates to shoot the creature in Nancy's form even as she fights with Kirk.  Spock arrives and steps into the fight, repeatedly striking "Nancy" and appealing to McCoy's sense of logic.  However, the creature fights back, knocking Spock across the room and reverting to its natural form in order to use its suckers - the cause of the circular marks on its victims - on Kirk.

McCoy finally rallies himself and shoots the creature.

Later on the bridge, as the Enterprise leaves M-113 behind, Spock asks Kirk what's weighing on his mind, to which Kirk replies, "I was thinking about the buffalo."

Analysis: 

There’s quite a few different plot threads throughout the episode to keep an eye on.  First, there’s the friendship between Kirk and McCoy and how Kirk seeks to keep McCoy grounded in the here and now, not drifting off into the past where his feelings for Nancy were strong.  Then there’s Dr. Crater, trapped in an abusive relationship and desperate to keep the secret of his wife’s death to prevent the ‘tragedy’ of the salt-eater’s extinction.  And finally there’s the creature itself, a manipulative monster who only cares about feeding its need for salt and assuring itself a protector who feels nice emotions towards it.

Basically, to me the episode feels largely like its a portrayal of an abusive relationship - one where the abuser is a woman - and how difficult it can be for people who know the abuser to recognize that behavior as wrong, even when seeing it happen right in front of them.  There’s also a lot to be said about the assumptions the creature makes about how it can use sex for bait.

The episode opens with lighthearted banter between Kirk and McCoy, establishing their friendship with the ease of their teasing.  Darnell is the outsider here already, a junior crewman nervous to be on an away team with not one but two of his superior officers.  And then Nancy shows up, looking like three different women at once, and the plot finds itself dropped into the tail end of a long running tragedy.

Imagine, for a moment, the picture of the last two years that gets painted over the course of the episode.  Dr. Crater can’t remember when his wife died.  Was it a year ago?  Two?  He’s not sure.

Maybe he ran across her body after she died... but if that’s the mottled corpse of his wife, then who was he talking to over dinner?  Who did he give the salt tablets to, thinking Nancy seemed out of sorts from the heat?  Did the deception over whether or not the creature was Nancy really end there or did the creature torment and gaslight him first before finally admitting the truth?

And then the first time a crew arrived with supplies after he knew what was going on... and Crater realizing he couldn't say a thing to them without risking 'Nancy' murdering the whole crew.  He has to stay the quiet, silent victim, trapped in an abusive, toxic relationship because the creature assures him that if he speaks up, other people will suffer and it will be blamed on him.  And perhaps, now and again, the creature did kill one of the suppliers for fun.  For the sport of it.  To watch Crater cringe and flounder for an explanation that would satisfy the suppliers without giving away their secret.  It made him complicit in their murder after the fact so that Dr. Crater would be afraid of the very people who might be able to save him.  So that the only person he could depend on was the one who ruined his life.  By the time it happens to crewman Darnell, he has an excuse at the ready.  The borgia planet, a deadly nightshade type plant that kills quickly.  The only difference is this time the crew is that of a Starship with a supercomputer whose memory banks include an accurate accounting of the borgia plant's affects.

With the arrival of Dr. McCoy, however, ‘Nancy’ has a new potential protector.  By then, the creature probably thinks of itself as Nancy to some degree, which makes Leonard’s memories of Nancy, full of vibrant recall and deep feelings, all the more appealing to the creature as a replacement for Crater’s memories and emotions, which have been tainted by the creature’s own actions and the knowledge of Nancy’s death.

(Additionally, it’s McCoy’s memories and feelings for Nancy that also make him attractive to Crater.  Having been denied the right to truly grieve Nancy’s death, it’s likely that Leonard reminiscing over how Nancy used to be gives Crater a chance to memorialize her, finally, in a way he’d been unable to alone.  It makes the scene where Crater keeps egging McCoy on while Kirk is subtly trying to get McCoy to shut up make more sense at any rate.)

Darnell’s death is rather senseless in the face of things, perhaps caused by the creature being unable to control their impulses but more likely a warning to Crater to keep him in line.  Nancy seems well used to using sexuality as a weapon as she interacts with Darnell, seeming even pleased that he makes it so easy to lure him away.  But once she chooses to leave Crater behind and heads up to the ship in the guise of Green, things begin to go wrong for the creature.

No one knows Green well enough for the creature to be confident mimicking him, he can’t simply take what he wants from Rand the way Nancy could with Carter and her various victims, and the large number of crewmen all over the place (including the ones who catcall Rand) make the creature nervous.  It’s first attempt at snagging a victim after giving up on the salt shaker nearly fails when it assumes that Uhura’s fantasies are similar to its previous victims.  That is, more about a sexual partner than a longing for home and an intellectual equal; notice how Uhura is at first insulted by the creature’s insinuations at first, but she becomes more at ease when he speaks in Swahili to her.  Once again the ship’s large crew interrupts the creature’s attempts to hunt and its forced to release the hold it had on Uhura.  

Hungry and afraid, the creature ends up retaking the familiarity of Nancy’s form and seeks out McCoy... and proceeds to drug him in order to take his place.  But while being McCoy grants the creature the chance to murder Crater, it only places itself at higher risk from its recklessness.  

When Kirk shows up to rescue McCoy from the creature, Leonard is suffering both from the after effects of the sleeping drugs and from the psychic manipulations of the creature, unable to tell what’s really happening in front of him because the Nancy he knew would never harm his friends.  It takes Spock showing McCoy that Nancy isn’t who he thinks she is to let him break through the manipulations and see the monster beneath his loved one’s visage long enough for McCoy to save Kirk.

While the episode is interesting for being a science fiction take on the Siren lore, it’s very heavily themed episode on the dangers of abusive, toxic relationships and the dangers of isolation with these kinds of abusive people.

But wait, there’s more.

Okay, so the creature had basically one modus operandi when it came to hunting.  Sexual attraction used as a baited hook to catch some tasty, tasty salty humans to eat.  The episode itself is called ‘The Man Trap’ which can be seen as a kind of gross reference to the idea that all men want sex (not even remotely true) and are thus easily manipulated by that desire.

However, the episode itself shows that sex appeal isn’t really all that effective a hunting technique once aboard the ship.  Uhura is insulted by the assumption she’d be automatically attracted to the man the creature presented her with, forcing the creature to switch gears to entice her with the familiarity and nostalgia of someone who also spoke Swahili.  Janice is repulsed by the creature’s fixation on her and the container of salt she carried.  The creature never even considers Kirk as an option for manipulating, presumably because he’s too focused on the welfare of his crew; the creature only tries to kill him because its afraid of being punished for its crimes and no longer sees a way out, but the creature never tries to lure him in as a target the way it does with Darnell or Uhura.

Additional Notes:

It’s really great to see the friendship between Rand and Sulu.  Janice Rand is a character we didn’t get to see enough of in the show (the reasons for which are truly appalling) and seeing the two of them as friends is a lovely treat.  It’s a friendship that likely continued beyond the Enterprise, as the last time Janice Rand’s character appears in the overall Star Trek universe is on an episode of Voyager where a flashback revealed she was part of Sulu’s crew on the Excelsior.  

We also get a good look in this episode at how much the crew’s safety and security means to Kirk.  He’s the first to link Darnell’s death by salt deficiency to Dr. and Nancy Crater’s insistence on getting salt tablets and even before that he wasn’t exactly impressed by the Craters attempts to explain away Darnell’s death as an accident.  He clearly takes every crewman’s death as a personal failing, but is still able to feel sympathetic towards the creature despite the necessity of its death, as evidenced by his comment about the buffalo at the end of the episode.  This is a Captain Kirk who sees Nancy Crater as a lovely woman who has aged well, a captain who views his duty to his ship and crew as the most important commitment in his life, and a man who greatly values his friendships.  This is not the caricature that eventually found its way into pop culture.  (He is, however, a character that’s easily headcanoned as being arospec, something I’ll have to discuss more at a later date.)

Ratings:

As I noted earlier, the episode’s name ‘The Man Trap’ can be seen as a kind of gross reference to the idea that all men want sex and the salt eater itself uses sexual attraction as a lure to attract its prey.  The creature also uses romantic attraction in an attempt to bind a protector to itself - first with Dr. Crater and later it attempts the same thing with Dr. McCoy only to misjudge the importance of McCoy’s friendships with Kirk and Spock.  There’s also Uhura’s very poorly thought out attempts to flirt with Spock that are completely shut down.  (Honestly, Uhura, what gives?  If you like your job, don’t pretend you don’t as a basis for flirting with a superior officer... that’s practically asking for a transfer.)

So for a rating between 0 and 10 where 10 is a very friendly episode and a 0 wouldn’t be recommended...

Ace Friendliness: 5

Aro Friendliness: 7

For more information on the episode, check out the page for The Man Trap on Memory Alpha.

If you need additional tagging for content warnings not found currently found in the tags, let me know and I’ll get those updated.

[so-you-melted-22]

I am getting into StarTrek again and I am going to make this everyone elses problem.

[gayboymint]

for the character ask: 1) harry stone and 2) choose any star trek character

First impression: harry anderson character unlocked brain go brrrr. goofy, funny, very deep and wise.

Impression now: HARRY STONE BRAIN GO BRRRR. he's my best friend, he's my homeboy, my rotten little soldier, my sweet cheese, etc etc. fr though like!!! thisguy! we both love the 40s vibes. we both don't get romantic cues. we both want low drama but lots of fun in everything. we're besties.

Favorite moment: no there's too many. all of them. ('mac can i have a pony ride')

Idea for a story: ok so 1) harry fully adopts leon instead of just fostering until the couple adopts him. 2) these ones could go either way, like if harry had adopted him or not. i AM very fond of leon still coming to harry for stuff after he's been adopted. so either way, take it as you like BUT ANYWAY harry teaching leon how to drive and leon coming out to harry and through that, harry realizes he is also queer. like he's a GOOD judge and obvi not homophobic, but he realizes through this wonderful young person he has a deep connection to, that he has a lot of internalized queerphobia and he also is queer! and then he tells leon and they like happy cry together and get ice-cream or something.

Unpopular opinion: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh idk i don't think i have one

Favorite relationship: how am i supposed to chose. how. no. ok wait i forget the lady's name, but the episode where he dates a witch!!! that was cute and i think it would have been great if they had been able to work it out and he still dated a witch. like. that just seems fun, i like the potential of that.

Favorite headcanon: he's bi. he's ace. he's aro.

ANY CHARACTER FROM STAR TREK: HHHH Jim lol

First impression: oh gender?

Impression now: ok i just rewatched the 2009 reboot and ok chris pine bi awakening GOODNIGHT. THAT SAID. I adore this compassionate, loving, slut for everything but like in a kind, nuturing, loving way, slutty man. he (especially tos jim) is actually such a good masculine role model!!! i hate the toxic masculine rep Jim Kirk has in society bc it is so far from the truth!!! I hate the patriarchy. Jim Kirk hates the patriarchy. fuck. anyway i wanna be like him. him good.

Favorite moment: every time he rips his shirt, i fucking. god. again, role model, bi awakening, it's also funny. i know there's some like Moments tm but i need to get my grubby little gay hands on a streaming service, pirate service, dvd, SMTH to rewatch.

Idea for a story: ummmmm the doctor from dw takes me on an adventure and we land on the enterprise and jim kirk and i fall in love *tucks hair behind my ear in cringe* *peace sign* jk that would be fun but tbh i want a cute story about uhura teaching kirk some kind of specific dance before he takes spock on a date on a planet. uhura is also teaching spock the same dance. it's specifically from that planet and both are trying to impress each other but neither of them are very good at the dance so when they're actually on the date they keep tripping over each other until spock falls on top of kirk and spock pulls some romantic bullshit like 'clearly neither of us are accustomed to this culture but...' [ he looks at jim's lips, then back to his eyes, jim's heart is beating out of his chest. they're so close that spock CAN in fact feel it] 'i am familiar with... earth customs' AND BOOM SPOCK KISSES JIM. IT'S TENDER AND SOFT AND FULL OF LOVE AND JIM IS SO OVERWHELMED AND GETS SO LIGHTHEADED THAT HE ACTUALLY FAINTS BC HE'S A FUCKING NERD AND SPOCK PANICKS AND BONES IS LIKE 'oh my god u fucking dumb asses' and jim explains to spock that he fainted bc he was so overwhelmed and he loves spock so much more than anything or anyone and it meant so much that spock feels the same way sakjdhdguahslifdkuyfjshdkusgfsjkhfsljdhf;kausgldf

Unpopular opinion: he's not a womanizer, but that's not too unpopular here on tumblr

Favorite relationship: girl help there's TOO MANY! i feel like bones and spock are too easy an answer, so like. my favorite non-mcspirk relationship is probably with scotty? like they are Besties and i love to see it.

Favorite headcanon: i don't remember any i've seen but personally, I headcanon that he likes dirt cups. like the cups of pudding, crushed up cookies, and gummy worms.

[starstruckpurpledragon]

so if I were to do a Star Trek rewatch talking about the episodes from an aromantic/asexual point of view would anyone be interested in that?  I mean, I’m thinking I’ll do it regardless because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while - I don’t think I’ve ever really seen a rewatch blog that addresses the problems of amatanormativity in the show and it’d be fun to rate episodes based on how ace friendly and aro friendly they are (the TNG episode “The Naked Now”, for example, would probably be more aro friendly than ace friendly) and discuss ace and aro headcanons about characters like Data and Odo

I’d mostly be sticking to The Original Series, The Next Generation, DS9, Voyager, and the movies, since I didn’t much like Enterprise or Discovery (just never really clicked with those two shows) though it’d be cool if my rewatch sparked someone else to do those series or even another show entirely?

[cerulean-shark]

Tagged by @aro-ace-in-outer-space, thanks!

Relationship status: Single

Favorite color: Black, purple, and silver

Lipstick or chapstick: Lipstick but only when I don’t care about passing. I need chapstick pretty much daily to stop my lips from getting destroyed by environmental conditions

Last song I listened to: Mirror Mirror (Blind Guardian)

Last movie I watched: I rewatched Jurassic Park earlier today, actually

Top three shows: Star Trek TNG, Castlevania, Star Trek TOS

Currently reading: Dragons of Winter Night (again)

Time: 9:14 PM

Last thing I googled: rhizoprionodon genus revision (I was looking for a specific article)

Song stuck in my head: the goddamn Jurassic Park theme

Tagging: @cataclysmofstars @sunkissedmoonbeam @rosengreen @your-dark-magic-man-mysterio @elf-in-a-mask @kanawolf @greenwoodthegreat @swilmarillion

[puns-and-musicals]

I posted 833 times in 2021

54 posts created (6%)

779 posts reblogged (94%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 14.4 posts.

I added 638 tags in 2021

#bbc ghosts - 125 posts

#for queue and country - 97 posts

#star trek - 89 posts

#the queue continuum - 67 posts

#star trek: tng - 49 posts

#bbc ghosts captain - 49 posts

#the captain - 45 posts

#star trek: the next generation - 44 posts

#fanart - 41 posts

#ben willbond - 32 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#crack hc that’s why they’ve all stayed as ghosts they each have some physical reminder of the unnecessary and tragic nature of their deaths

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Rewatching season 1 of BBC Ghosts to show my family, and I couldn’t stop staring at this very good shot of The Mirror™️ in this scene. For a character we’ve seen so much backstory on, we really know the least about Cap’s death, huh?

144 notes • Posted 2021-09-14 03:24:01 GMT

#4

Anyways Gonzo continues to be a queer legend:

1) having the Big Fear of being alone

2) terrified of not being enough

3) willing to die to save a friend

I didn’t hear anyone refer to Gonzo with a pronoun the entire special which I think was very sexy of them tbh it lets me cling to canon they/them Gonzo a little longer 💜

200 notes • Posted 2021-10-09 04:26:36 GMT

#3

BBC Ghosts Headcanons/Thoughts!

Robin

Was an invaluable gatherer bc of his neurodivergence

Learns new language and cultural shifts fastest

Hates change but is the most used to it at the same time??

Like he’d get annoyed if they put a new mat in the meeting room but if the house burned down he’d be like “eh houses come and go”

Everything’s Alright - Laura Shigihara

Humphrey

Nonbinary, uses he/they pronouns

Hears about gender identities outside of the cis norm and immediately goes “People can do that????”

Ace/Aro, sorry i don’t make the rules

Because Dreaming Costs Money, My Dear - Mitski

Thomas

Hyper aware of how he’s perceived at all times

Would lay face down on the floor for hours waiting for someone to find him in search of attention if that’s what it took

Has no idea what he wants from other people at any time or how to ask for it

He gives really good hugs. Fantastic hugs.

Seeks out romance because it’s ingrained- how he thinks he’s supposed to treat pretty women, as opposed to necessarily how he feels or wants to act

When She Loved Me - Peter Hollens (This version specifically, although there are many)

The Captain

Touch averse

But like super awkward about it? He won’t Deny people contact because he wants to seem “normal”- Plus! He likes feeling needed so if someone wants a hug or something he won’t say no, he just acts super uncomfortable

His swagger stick is comforting to him- it’s an object he feels strong attachment to, and if he didn’t have it in death he would have found it incredibly distressing

None of the other ghosts even know how he died, none of them were there and he doesn’t talk about it.

Soldier - Fleurie

Pat

Tries to be really chill about schedules but gets Very upset when people change plans/schedule suddenly (or even sometimes with plenty of warning)

Rejection sensitive dysphoria

Needs to feel needed to feel loved/appreciated

Doesn’t understand why someone would want him around if he isn’t helpful

To Build a Home - The Cinematic Orchestra

Julian

A bicon

Gets migraines but drinks anyways

Super perceptive of other people, very aware when he wants to be. (lowkey canon but sh)

Low empathy (whether from ASD or a personality disorder, you pick but the point is there’s a Reason)

Absolutely loves gentle physical affection like hands through hair and cuddling, he just doesn’t know it

Would probably cry if someone held him close, change my mind. You can’t.

Company Man - Dane Terry

200 notes • Posted 2021-09-22 08:09:52 GMT

#2

Gender Envy But It Gets Steadily Weirder & The Characters Grow More & More Niche

318 notes • Posted 2021-09-23 03:21:02 GMT

#1

I feel like the ‘formula’ that so many writers try to replicate is so wildly out of touch with what people actually want in their content.

They try to figure out the similarities popular content and they think well- they’re wildly different shows but they’re all set in space, so it must be the tech! It must be the chain of command, or the space ships, or the lifeforms! Or they’re fantasy adventure shows or movies or books, people like them for the monsters! The landscapes! The character design! People must like them because this character’s sarcastic, or that character’s brave, or this character’s not!

The content that does best with fans, that really matter? The good content? Star Trek, Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Good Omens, Lord of The Rings, The Mummy 1999, Gravity Falls, BBC Ghosts, those kinds of things?

They’re just about… kindness. They’re about being kind to each other, being kind when it feels like you shouldn’t have to be, and being kind when people say someone doesn’t deserve it. They’re about people who are kind even if they’re not good.

People want to hear stories about people being kind, no matter what kind of world they live in. People want proof that other kind people will always be out there. That’s all.

921 notes • Posted 2021-10-05 08:02:47 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[aroacestartrekrewatch]

Star Trek Recap - The Rating Criteria

For every episode in the Star Trek rewatch, I’ll be rating the episodes based on “Ace Friendliness” and “Aro Friendliness”.  So, what, exactly is the rating for?

During the episode, I’ll be looking for aphobic language as well as sex normative and amatanormative tropes.  Unnecessary sexualization of a character, for example, might cause a lower ace rating in an episode while assertions that romantic love is an essential part of the human experience could lead to a lower aro friendliness rating.

The scale will be from 0-10 where 10 is a very friendly episode and a 0 would be an episode I would recommend be avoided.

Every episode recap will have a summary blurb along with the ratings listed before the read more cut.  Below the cut in the Ratings section, I’ll include an explanation for my ratings on the episode.  I definitely encourage discussion over these ratings as how we perceive the ace and aro friendliness of an episode can differ greatly from person to person.

(Note that on episodes which touch heavily on LGBT+ themes, such as The Next Generation episode “The Outcast”, might have additional ratings.  “The Outcast” will likely have both trans and non-binary ratings.)