#but TOS is nearly 60 years old!!

[youngpettyqueen]

why is "yeah TOS was so low budget they had nothing but 2 pennies and glitter glue and a dream" such a common sentiment on this site. Star Trek was the most expensive show on air at the time. it cost huge amounts of money and constantly went over budget, and it was constantly on the verge of cancellation in big part because of this. the amount of money being poured into it was a part of why it did get cancelled- it was getting low ratings and consistently costing the studio an arm and a leg each episode

I get that the effects and everything in Star Trek look low budget by today's standards, but it was anything but low budget. if you want to see what low budget sci-fi looked like in the late 60s, then I suggest Doctor Who, which ran on a budget of pocket lint, shoelaces, and a dream

[shapelytimber]

Wanted to paint some of my favorite characters, nothing more nothing less

[COMMISSIONS]

Way too much yapping like an embarrassing amount, the individual portraits and the template I used below vvv

I shouldn't be allowed to talk about my favorite characters- especially to people who (presumably) don't know them xjfkdk apart from the very popular ones ofc

ILLYA KURYAKIN (The man from U.N.C.L.E)

gay ass little Russian spy I love him he is so *dramatic* and a huge nerd and a Beatles fan and into fashion design- perfect pocket size blorbo ;w; also seeing a Russian character being given a positive leading role in an American tvshow from the 60s ?? Yes he lives in New York and works for UNCLE America.... But he is still a communist ?? Incredible ! Also I really like the fact he isn't given the cliché personality traits often given to Russian characters i e anger issues drinks a lot violent ect (looking at you shitty(imo) modern remake... What did you do to my little guy ;;). In a close contest with Spock for the "gayest man from tvshow" of the 60s..... And in my heart he is winning djdkd for me the gay subtext of muncle hits so much more because it's not a scifi show- it's closer to home, Napoleon and Illya were *like that* in the present day of the 60s, they were both human, and no alien fuckery made them go to the village more than once or play house in the suburbs or get attached ass up to get pegged on a regular basis... Truly a show that feels written by an old queen and a guy with the biggest fem dom fetish jkvjjkb (don't get me wrong tho I adore star trek tos and spirk too <3)

KUROO HAZAMA and PINOKO (Black Jack)

sometimes I rewatch some of the oavs from the 90s when I'm sad :) I had a huge phase a couple years back when I read nearly all the manga (should really finish it... Or reread the whole thing frankly), watched *all* the shows (bar young black jack, hated that shit) and idk I just love this venal bitch so much- him and his daughter and his conflicted feelings for his tboy ex that he still loves kfkfkf btw I'm dying for a modern take on this like please please please I'd love to see Kei Kisaragi's story rewritten a bit (trans character in the 70s sure was progressive but oh boy-), because him and black jack's relationship makes me so *weak*.... And maybe see him a bit more than in one story- anyway ! When it comes to his daughter Pinoko, it's very hit or miss- when the writers lean on the cute father adoptive daughter relationship it's great, when they lean more on the whole "she has a crush on him" (very much like a child in most case, and he *never* reciprocate thank god) and bring up the fact she is technically 18 a lot (she was an evil tumor trapped in her sister before he created a body for her- black jack shit dw), and she gets jealous of other women.... Well it's terrible and I'm uncomfy :(

EVA KANT (Diabolik)

Look.... You just can't show me danger diabolik 1968 and not expect me to become insane djdkdkdk she is so cool ;; !!! Her and her devious eel of a man (here as a panther, because even tho I haven't read the comic yet, I'm taking an educated guess that all the panther imagery is here to represent him, the lethal twunk always in the all black gimp suit... And if it's not then fuck my entire life ig fjfkkd), the cuntiest het couple you've ever seen, such freaks I love them ! Partners in crime that will blow up the tax offices of the whole country if you try to put a bounty on them <3 they are in the guilty faves category only because I'm this invested in these characters after 1 (one) movie fkfkf watched the first two remakes and was hmmm let's say underwhelmed, could have been worse but going after the 60s one ie peak cinema was hard... I went in fully invested in these heterosexuals and they still fucked up their romance and relationship ;; (don't spoil me the third one btw haven't seen it yet ! I know it's the yaoi one- which doesn't give me much hope for Eva tbh...) I'll soon start reading the comics tho ! Managed to find all twelve volumes of "Il grande Diabolik" in french for pretty cheap so I'm excited for that :D (might scan them and upload them online because omg I tried finding scans in *any* language and only found a dubious website that sold digital copies for 7€ a volume ??? What is this)

UTA (The Void / Тургор / Turgor / Tension)

Apathy girlyyyyy she just like me for real for real nfkfk what absolutely charmed me about her is yes her design, but more importantly her chamber's design (if you've never played the void, a sister's chamber is a space that represent her. You get a sense of who she is by exploring her chamber before finding her and talking to her soul it's great). The lonely island out at sea, her laying down on a suspended steel boat in a grotto, looking passively at the moon by a crack on the ceiling.... And the moon is looking back. Incredible ! I love this game so much

KIM KITSURAGI (Disco Elysium)

Do I really have to explain this one ? When I played the game with quiji I remember I kept saying "when Kim talks, we *listen*" djkdk we did get a good grade in Kim Kitsuragi and got him to dance in the church <3 this fucking centrist cop wormed it's way into my heart and many others because of course he did. The only Kim K in my eyes. Also funny anecdote : before I played Disco Elysium, I had one concept art masterclass where a kinda famous concept artist came to give advice, make us really stressed then give us a shitty grade.... And when I tell you this man looked so much like Kim ??? Same haircut, glasses, face with a scar *exactly* where Kim's portrait has a stark shadow on his cheek and he was dressed in an orange top- truly uncanny. Anyway, Kim is so fucking cool how does he do it

DARK VADOR (La guerre des étoiles)

*sight* not surprising if you know me... and to be clear when I say Vader I don't mean Anakin Skywalker, post barbecue only zouz here. I refuse to yap about this man djdkdk I already do that way to much in ao3 comment sections

And here is the template I used ! Don't know who made it tho sorry...

PS : all these where made in 2-3 hours each :D wanted to challenge myself by painting quickly, and I mostly (looking at the Eva Kant one that gave me trouble) succeeded !

[subterraneanna]

I've been scanning and restoring some pieces of original Star Trek: TOS film and wanted to share this before and after from a deleted scene in the episode "Elaan of Troyius":

At nearly 60 years old, the film is in bad shape, exhibiting substantial scratches and color shifting. The magenta/red tint is a good example of dye fading, a sign of deterioration likely due to the film stock it was shot on.

Prior to 1950, color motion picture film was shot in Technicolor, which required a large, cumbersome camera to simultaneously expose 3 separate strips of negative film that then underwent a proprietary dye imbibition process to create a full color image. Though visually stunning and remarkably color-stable, it was a complicated, expensive process reserved only for high budget productions. In 1950, Eastman Kodak introduced Eastmancolor, the first 35 mm “single-strip” color motion picture negative -- in short, a film that was easy to shoot and process, and compared to Technicolor, only used a 1/3 of the film stock. Suddenly color film was an affordable option for studios and its popularity took off. Eastmancolor was composed of a single strip of negative film surfaced with 3 layers of light-sensitive gelatin emulsion. During development, a chemical reaction produced magenta, yellow, and cyan dyes on their corresponding layers, which were superimposed to create a full color image. Unfortunately, these dyes were unstable, something that wasn't apparent until aging films began to lose their color in the following years.

The Star Trek image above is pink because its yellow and cyan dyes have faded away, leaving just the magenta layer. The information may be lost, but digital restoration can improve what's left. But because the yellow and cyan greatly contributed to the overall density of the image, basic color balancing still produces a lower contrast version compared to what the original must have looked like. The missing richness and depth seems most apparent in the skin tones, but hand painting some of the color can bring a little life back to it, as I've done here. It's a challenge because, as far as I can tell, the only remaining footage or still shots of this scene show some level of dye fading. Fortunately, now that the film is digitized, restoration can be an ongoing project. If you own any color motion picture film negatives or prints, the sooner you get them scanned the better. In the meantime, helpful storage information can be found here.

It's been a while since I've shot any film (film major), so it's nice to see it again, even if it's chopped up into single frames. I have a small collection of them so I'll post more restored images as they're completed. BTW @cheer-deforest-kelley has a great post on how this film went from the editing room floor to the hands of fans.

[fancoloredglasses]

Star Trek (Hard to believe I hadn't reviewed this yet), Part 1: TOS

[All images are owned by Paramount. Please don’t sue me]

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past nearly 60 years, this will all be news to you. Otherwise, you’ll be wondering why I’m deciding to review this of all things. Some may even cynically be thinking I’m running out of things to review.

The answer is simple: I don’t review episodes of series I haven’t done a review of, and I’ve recently found a bunch of YouTube clips of scenes I don’t remember seeing. (Not surprising; in every Trek series since The Next Generation I went in with enthusiasm, but then Life Happened and I fell off until I found out the series was ending and HAD to see the finale)

Now, as I’ve stated, I don’t like to review series that are ongoing. For that reason (and the fact I don’t have Paramount+), I will not be touching ANY Trek that debuted (or premiered) after 2009. Also, to give each “era” of Trek its own spotlight (and NOT, as some of you may be thinking, I’m short on ideas!), I will be doing each series separately, starting with The Original Series (or TOS).

(Thanks to dinadangdong)

Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, who was previously known for TV series set in the Old West. It should be no surprise that (a) the show was dubbed “Wagon Train in space" (a Western series that ended the year before Star Trek debuted) and (b) the show at times felt like the Wild West in terms of brawls and playing fast and loose with the law (in particular, the Prime Directive: Do not interfere in the development of less advanced civilizations)

The series tells of the potential of humanity: a utopia where Earth is united and everyone gets along, so now they’ve decided to bring their influence to the stars by forming the United Federation of Planets (or “the Federation”) and exploring the galaxy in the 23rd century.

Now, let’s meet the star of the series…

The USS (short for “United Space Ship”) Enterprise (designation NCC-1701), a Constitution class starship, which boasts cutting-edge technology for the Federation…

…despite the fact that the interfaces look outdated compared to “modern” technology less than 10 years after the series ended.

The Enterprise boasted advanced technology such as…

Warp drives that enable craft to travel faster that light (according to publications that were released following the end of the series the speed was the “warp factor” cubed, so Warp Factor (or simply Warp) 5 would be 125 (5 x 5 x 5) times the speed of light (The only issue with this is timing: the closest star to the sun is Alpha Centauri (about 4.3 light years away). At Warp 5, it would take the Enterprise almost 13 days to travel the distance. Yes, I’m that big of a geek) The Warp drives are also the power source of the ship, using a matter/antimatter reaction that’s controlled using a substance known as dilithium crystals (much in the same way cadmium rods are used to keep nuclear power plants from melting down)

Energy fields (known as deflector shields) able to mitigate the impact of an enemy’s weaponry

Transporters that are able to disintegrate matter, then nearly instantaneously reassemble it several miles away (if it’s a living being, not only are they still alive, but they retain all of their memories!), but are unable to penetrate deflector shields (this closes the plot hole that says enemies can board a ship during a battle using transporters) FUN FACT: Roddenberry devised the transporters because he couldn’t figure out how a ship designed like the Enterprise would be able to land.

But enough about the ship, on to the crew, and what a crew it is! (over 400 personnel, to be exact)

First off, the crew has three designations, each with a different colored shirt: Gold represents operations division (including command, helm, navigation, and fire control), blue represents sciences (including medical), and red represents service division (including security and engineering) In cases where a member of another division is in a command position, that division’s color is worn (which explains why the Enterprise’s First Officer (also its Chief Science Officer) wears blue)

The Enterprise’s commanding officer is Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner) [FUN FACT: Kirk’s full middle name (Tiberius) isn’t mentioned until a few years later; in addition, Kirk’s middle initial was R in the second pilot (more on that later)] Kirk is a seat-of-his-pants space jockey who tends to play fast and loose with the Prime Directive.

(Thanks to Memory Alpha)

Despite this, Kirk cares deeply about his ship and crew (as long as they’re not wearing red shirts (more on that later as well))

Kirk’s First Officer (and Science Officer) is Commander Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), a member of an alien race known as Vulcans (actually half-Vulcan, as his mother is human) Vulcans show no emotion, relying on logic to dictate their actions (in the original pilot (I promise I’ll circle back to all of this) Spock showed emotion; the lack of emotion didn’t come into play until the second pilot) In the course of the series, Vulcans became more defined (usually suggested by Nimoy), including a nerve pinch that knocks out its victim (because Nimoy couldn’t see Spock cold-cocking someone), the Vulcan salute (shown above, which is from a Jewish ritual Nimoy observed as a boy), and the mind-meld, which allows a Vulcan to share memories with another (and vice versa)

Rounding out the main cast is the Chief Medical Officer, Lt. Commander Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (the nickname “Bones” refers to an old Earth nickname for surgeons as “Sawbones”, since most field surgeons were forced to amputate injured limbs to save their patients) McCoy is a curmudgeony individual who enjoys teasing Spock about his Vulcan heritage (almost to the point of bigotry), but there was no doubt there was friendship between the two (and Kirk)

There are two phrases that McCoy utters repeatedly in the series that have made nearly any reenactment of the character seem almost a parody…

(Thanks to Scott Cole)

(Thanks to RichardIsBig)

As far as the supporting cast, it was years ahead of its time, showing a diversity never seen in the 60s!

The Chief Engineer is Lt. Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (played by James Doohan) FUN FACT: Doohan tried several accents in his audition before the Roddenberry settled on the Scottish one.

The Chief Helmsman is Lt. Hikaru Sulu (played by George Takei) Following the series, Takei came out as gay and used his status as a sci-fi icon to became an advocate for gay rights.

The Chief Communications Officer is Lt. Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols) No first name was ever given until almost 50 years later.

Nichols had two inspirational stories about her time on the show she liked to share at the conventions. The first was how she wanted to quit the show due to her character not really doing much of anything, but was inspired to stay by a certain black comic that no one really wants to talk about any more. The other is about a famous black actress who was inspired by her character and eventually got a role on the Enterprise herself! (I’ll discuss her in a future review)

There were also two recurring supporting roles that had importance to the series..

Ensign Christine Chapel (played by Roddenberry’s wife Majel Barrett) is Dr. McCoy’s chief nurse. She also has a major crush on Spock (FUN FACT: This was Barrett’s second role for Star Trek. The first was First Officer (known simply as “Number One”) in the first pilot of the series. Yes, I’ll be discussing this later)

Crewman Janice Rand (played by Grace Lee Whitney) was Kirk’s Yoeman (personal assistant) and was intended to be a love interest as the series progressed, but the network wanted to see Kirk be a “ladies man”, so her character disappeared following Season 1 (though her character would return as cameos in the films)

The second season saw not only the reassignment of Crewman Rand, but the assignment of a permanent Navigator (it’s never explained why the ship needs a navigator when the computer could easily do so)

Ensign Pavel Chekov (played by Walter Koenig) is of Russian heritage (there are two stories as to why the character was added (either, both, or neither could be true): Roddenberry said that the Russians complained that they weren’t represented on a show that talks about a united Earth, while at least one book said that Koenig was cast to appeal to a younger (female) audience, which explains why his early haircut resembles Davey Jones’s)

I would be remiss in my review if I didn't mention the trope that endures to this day: Redshirts!

Because Security's uniform top is red, and the fact that Security are often targeted (and tend to die quite often) when the ship is boarded or a landing party is attacked, the term "redshirt" became used for the extras whose job it is to die messily in any sci-fi series.

(Thanks to comedy4cast)

Of course, every shining beacon of hope needs people casting shade. There are plenty of threats against the Enterprise and her crew, but there are a couple that seem to show up quite a bit.

The Klingon Empire is the main antagonist against Federation expansion. They are a warrior race bent on conquest.

(Klingons are often cast using black actors…at least I hope they’re black and not using blackface!)

The Romulan Star Empire is another war-mongering people (funny how two aggressive races managed to sandwich a peaceful coalition between them) Like the Klingons, their ships are equipped with cloaking devices making their ships invisible to visual and sensor identification (fortunately, they have to drop their cloak to fire of they’d have conquered the galaxy by now)

As you can see, the Romulans are distantly related to the Vulcans, but they retain their emotional, savage side instead of relying on logic.

The series often dealt with rather weighty topics (such as racism and nuclear war), but also had its share of goofy episodes (such as dealing with space Nazis, space gangsters, space Romans, and evil doppelgangers)

The series almost didn't get off the ground, as the original pilot (with Captain Christopher Pike commanding) was rejected by NBC as "too cerebral", but a second, more action-oriented pilot with Kirk commanding was accepted and the rest is history.

The series lasted three seasons before it was abruptly cancelled. Saturday Night gave the fans a fitting sendoff.

(Thanks to Saturday Night Live)

This should’ve been the end of Star Trek’s story, but fan support kept the series alive years after its cancellation. Enough so that the Enterprise got another shot at the small screen years later.

…but that’s a tale for another review.

If you would like to watch the series, it’s available on Paramount+, PlutoTV, or behind your favorite paywall. If you would like to see an episode reviewed, please let me know!

Before I go, I would like to offer up a little ditty about what happens when the crew of the Enterprise are allowed a break from exploring the galaxy, courtesy of Leslie Fish…

(Thanks to Songs from the Stars)

[jdorian]

I saw you posting about Star Trek recently and as someone who is looking to starting it, I would love to hear your thoughts and favourite things about the series (and if you have recommendations for a novice too!) 🥰

aww hii~

well, first of all, i'm glad you're giving it a go, but be aware that it'll very possibly suck you in for a long time agvsgw

the real beauty of Star Trek is that it's been running for nearly 60 years and it has so many different show and movie continuations, but unlike other similarly long running shows — like Dr. Who for example — you don't really need to invest into all of them to "know eveything" but can totally do that without getting lost in the material if you want to

i think generally speaking Deep Space 9, Next Generation and Voyager are the most popular shows to get into, but that might just be because they were running at a time most of the fans were kids so they have some nostalgia value (i know that they are really great and very true to the franchise, but i only saw some episodes here and there)

my main squeeze is the original/reboot timeline, or as i believe now collectively, together with the newest shows (Discovery and Strange New Worlds) called the Kelvin timeline

full disclosure, i got into Star Trek back when the aos movies started coming out in 2009 and since those are technically a revamp of the timeline of the very first, original show, i got into watching that too (so i'm basically a Spock girlie, sue me)

the original series is... well, it requires patience and a suspense of what we used to seeing on television nowadays: sharp, quick editing and rushed storylines will not be present in tos. those episodes are long and stretched out and while the animation is surprisingly good for '63-66, the clothes and the props can feel kinda funny now

but the messages of the episodes and the subtext is always something super meaningful, so it's worth giving it a go imo

okay, i tried to keep it short and failed miserably lmao

in any case, my recommendation would be to first watch the 2009-2019 movies (they are supposedly getting another addition soon anyway) and then see for yourself if you feel invested enough to check out the old series/movies or any of the other shows (and then feel free to come back to my inbox telling me about your experience and asking for recs <33)

[alfvaen]

Cellular Peptide Cake

I don't remember when I first saw Star Trek, but I was definitely quite young, maybe five years old.  I was born in 1971, so only a few years after it went off the air the first time, but still playing in syndication.  The first episode I remember clearly might have been "Operation--Annihilate!", and I imagine I found those plastic fried-egg cell things to be quite scary at the time.  I watched it sporadically for years, and I'm not convinced I saw every episode for a long time. I was also reading James Blish's Star Trek episode collections (and the Alan Dean Foster equivalents for the animated series) from the library, where they were filed down in the kids' section for some reason.  To some extent those books and the actual episodes blended together in my head.  In particular I remember Star Trek 9 and the episode "Obsession", which I never saw for years and years, but I knew how it went.  Some of my favourites were ones that maybe haven't held up particularly well, like "Court Martial" and "Specter of The Gun" and "The Savage Curtain", but in general I watched them pretty indiscriminately, had no concept of which ones were from which season or anything like that.  I did watch some of the animated series too, but not nearly as much.

I of course saw the first movie when it came out, and had the soundtrack album; I started reading the novels that came out afterwards, too.  (I suppose I had read some of the earlier ones, like "Spock Must Die", already as well, but mostly the newer ones.)  I saw most of the rest of the movies too (I still haven't seen all of Star Trek V); Star Trek IV was my favourite.  I also got the book "The Making of Star Trek" which lots of interesting behind-the-scenes stuff about how the series came to be.

And then TNG came out.  I was kind of iffy on it at first.  I missed "Encounter At Farpoint", but luckily a friend had it on tape so I watched it a little while later.  As a "gifted child" two years younger than my classmates, I had some issues with the character of Wesley Crusher, finding him painful to watch most of the time.  I stopped watching it with any consistency and it became an occasional thing. But I gradually became fond of it, and enjoyed most of the episodes I watched, though again I lost track of which ones were new or old.  At some point I got a book which had a list of all the TNG episodes, which helped me fill in some of the gaps.  (There was a period where they had TNG reruns on one channel late at night after Jerry Springer, and I caught up on a lot there.)  I wasn't as fond of the TNG movies, though; "First Contact" was the best, but even that was never a favourite.  I haven't rewatched any of them, though.

Deep Space 9...my wife and I tried it when it came out, watched a few episodes, but I think "Move Along Home" mostly killed it for us.  I've seen about half a dozen episodes since then--the tribbles one, the "O'Brien replicant" one, and some of the mirror universe ones.  One day perhaps I'll make a concerted effort to get back into it. It’s possible I won’t just consider it to be a Babylon 5 ripoff.

But we did try Voyager when it came out, and it may be the only Star Trek series (or, at least, the only post-TOS pre-Discovery series) that we never gave up on. Oh, we did miss most of Season 2 because we lost access to cable channels for a year, but we went right back to it when we could, and watched it to the end.  I don't recall it having nearly as many standout episodes as TNG, but it was a lot more consistent from the very beginning, at least.

"Enterprise" we also tried but it didn't hold our interest.  Not sure if there was any big reason, but one thing that low-key bugged me was always when stuff taking place before TOS didn't feel continuous with it.  Like, TNG and Enterprise both used "offline" a lot.  TOS never did...and yet it was chronologically in between them.  It makes sense out-of-universe that TOS wouldn't have used terminology that didn't exist yet in the 60s, but it felt wrong in-universe.  Same thing with the visible tech level differences between Discovery and TOS later.  (And let's not even mention the periodic Klingon redesigns.)

The "reboot"/"Kelvin timeline" movies were okay but didn't wholly in me over either.  They seemed a little gimmicky sometimes.  The third one actually felt most like actual Star Trek to me.  I haven't rewatched any of those either.

Of the newer series...we watched three seasons of "Discovery" and may have given up on it for now.  At least, it's on hiatus for us.  The series-long arc thing takes some getting used to, the continuity issues do bother me a little, and some of the stuff just seems outlandish.  The spore drive?  The giant tardigrade? (Does it never occur to anyone that you can't just make a tardigrade bigger and expect it to have all the same characteristics?  Square-cube law, anyone?)  I like most of the characters, though, and the Harry Mudd time-loop episode was enjoyable.  We haven't tried "Strange New Worlds", and we only watched one episode of "Lower Decks" before deciding it wasn't for us.

"Picard" we've seen two seasons of, though not the third yet.  Once again with the season-long story arcs, but it is interesting how they pick up some of the dangling plot threads from TNG and weave them into other stuff.

Honourable mention has to go to "The Orville", which is the Star Trek which is the most Star Trek without being Star Trek.  (Like that Firesign Theatre joke: "Benjamin Franklin--the only President of the United States who was never President of the United States.")  It's most like TNG, but with characters who swear more and have more juvenile senses of humour.  Again, I haven't seen the latest season of it, but I enjoyed the first two and will probably get back into it at some point.

But it's TNG that I'm always going back to.  TOS I can't take seriously any more, for some reason; I did just rewatch it, partly in step with listening to the Mission Log podcast about each episode, but for the most part I feel like I'm done with it. The animated series...well, I'm still revisiting that one, but I suspect it's not going to hold up that well either.  TNG...the first two seasons are highly spotty, but after that it gets really consistent.  It is more episodic than modern shows, but that just means that individual episodes can be experienced on their own with greater enjoyment.  DS9...I've heard a lot of good things about it, and I'm sure if I can just get over that initial hump I'll enjoy it just fine.  Voyager...that one does demand more of an in-order watch, and there is that entire season I've mostly missed.  Enterprise...well, maybe, one day.

Right now we're doing a TNG watch-through (skipping the really bad episodes, mostly) with the family.  Looking forward to it.

[aion-rsa]

The Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes That Best Define the Franchise

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

By the time my generation got to watch Star Trek: The Original Series, the episodes often were being presented in top-ten marathons. When I was ten-years-old, for the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek, I tape-recorded a marathon of ten episodes that had all been voted by fans as the best-ever installments of The Original Series. Later, I got lucky and found Trek stickers at the grocery store and was able to label my VHS tapes correctly. But do I think all the episodes that were in that marathon back in 1991 were really the best episodes of all of the classic Star Trek? The short answer: no. Although I love nearly every episode of the first 79 installments of Star Trek, I do think that certain lists have been created by what we think should be on the list rather than what episodes really best represent the classic show. 

This is a long-winded way of saying, no, I didn’t include “Amok Time” or “The Menagerie” on this list because, as great as they are, I don’t think they really represent the greatest hits of the series. Also, if you’ve never watched TOS, I think those two episodes will throw you off cause you’ll assume Spock is always losing his mind or trying to steal the ship. If you’ve never watched TOS, or you feel like rewatching it with fresh eyes, I feel pretty strong that these 10 episodes are not only wonderful, but that they best represent what the entire series is really about. Given this metric, my choice for the best episode of TOS may surprise you…

10. “The Man Trap” 

The first Star Trek ever episode aired should not be the first episode you watch. And yet, you should watch it at some point. The goofy premise concerns an alien with shaggy dog fur, suckers on its hand, and a face like a terrifying deep-sea fish. This alien is also a salt vampire that uses telepathy that effectively also makes it a shapeshifter. It’s all so specifically bonkers that trying to rip-off this trope would be nuts. Written by science fiction legend George Clayton Johnson (one half of Logan’s Run authorship) “The Man Trap” still slaps, and not because Spock (Leonard Nimoy)  tries to slap the alien. Back in the early Season 1 episodes of Star Trek, the “supporting” players like Uhura and Sulu are actually doing stuff in the episode. We all talk about Kirk crying out in pain when the M-113 creature puts those suckers on his face, but the real scene to watch is when Uhura starts speaking Swahili. The casual way Uhura and Sulu are just their lovable selves in this episode is part of why we just can’t quit the classic Star Trek to this day. Plus, the fact that the story is technically centered on Bones gives the episode some gravitas and oomph. You will believe an old country doctor thinks that salt vampire is Nancy! (Spoiler alert: It’s not Nancy.)

9. “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield” 

There are two episodes everyone always likes to bring up when discussing the ways in which Star Trek changed the game for the better in pop culture’s discourse on racism: “Plato’s Stepchildren” and this episode, “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield.” The former episode is famous because Kirk and Uhura kiss, which is sometimes considered the first interracial kiss on an American TV show. (British TV shows had a few of those before Star Trek, though.) But “Plato’s Stepchildren” is not a great episode, and Kirk and Uhura were also manipulated to kiss by telepaths. So, no, I’m not crazy about “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Uhura being forced to kiss a white dude isn’t great.

But “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield,” oddly holds up. Yep. This is the one about space racism where the Riddler from the ‘60s Batman (Frank Gorshin) looks like a black-and-white cookie. Is this episode cheesy? Is it hard to take most of it seriously? Is it weird that Bele (Frank Gorshin) didn’t have a spaceship because the budget was so low at that time? Yes. Is the entire episode dated, and sometimes borderline offensive even though its heart is in the right place? Yes. Does the ending of the episode still work? You bet it does. If you’re going to watch OG Star Trek and skip this episode, you’re kind of missing out on just how charmingly heavy-handed the series could get. “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield” is like a ‘60s after-school special about racism, but they were high while they were writing it.

8. “Arena”

You’re gonna try to list the best episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and not list the episode where Kirk fights a lizard wearing gold dress-tunic? The most amazing thing about “Arena” is that it’s a Season 1 episode of The Original Series and somehow everyone involved in making TOS had enough restraint not to ever try to use this Gorn costume again. They didn’t throw it away either! This famous rubber lizard was built by Wah Chang and is currently owned by none other than Ben Stiller.

So, here’s the thing about “Arena” that makes it a great episode of Star Trek, or any TV series with a lizard person. Kirk refuses to kill the Gorn even though he could have, and Star Trek refused to put a lizard costume in a bunch of episodes later, even though they totally could have. Gold stars all around.

7. “Balance of Terror”

The fact that Star Trek managed to introduce a race of aliens that looked exactly like Spock, and not confuse its viewership is amazing. On top of that, the fact that this detail isn’t exactly the entire focus of the episode is equally impressive. The notion that the Romulans look like Vulcans is a great twist in The Original Series, and decades upon decades of seeing Romulans has probably dulled the novelty ever so slightly. But, the idea that there was a brutally cold and efficient version of the Vulcans flying around in invisible ships blowing shit up is not only cool, but smart.

“Balance of Terror” made the Romulans the best villains of Star Trek because their villainy felt personal. Most Romulan stories in TNG, DS9, and Picard are pretty damn good and they all start right here.

6. “Space Seed”

Khaaaan!!!! Although The Wrath of Khan is infinitely more famous than the episode from which it came, “Space Seed” is one of the best episodes of The Original Series even if it hadn’t been the progenitor of that famous film. In this episode, the worst human villain the Enterprise can encounter doesn’t come from the present, but instead, the past. Even though “Space Seed” isn’t considered a very thoughtful episode and Khan is a straight-up gaslighter, the larger point here is that Khan’s evilness is connected to the fact that he lived on a version of Earth closer to our own.

The episode’s coda is also amazing and speaks of just how interesting Captain Kirk really is. After Khan beat the shit out of him and tried to suffocate the entire Enterprise crew, Kirk’s like “Yeah, this guy just needs a long camping trip.” 

5. “A Piece of the Action”

A few years back, Saturday Night Live did a Star Trek sketch in which it was revealed that Spock had a relative named “Spocko.” This sketch was tragically unfunny because TOS had already made the “Spocko” joke a million times better in “A Piece of the Action.” When you describe the premise of this episode to someone who has never seen it or even heard of it, it sounds like you’re making it up. Kirk, Spock, and Bones are tasked with cleaning-up a planet full of old-timey mobsters who use phrases like “put the bag on you.” Not only is the episode hilarious, but it also demonstrates the range of what Star Trek can do as an emerging type of pop-art. In “A Piece of the Action,” Star Trek begins asking questions about genres that nobody ever dreamed of before. Such as, “what if we did an old-timey gangster movie, but there’s a spaceship involved?”

4. “Devil in the Dark”

When I was a kid, my sister and I called this episode, “the one with giant pizza.” Today, it’s one of those episodes of Star Trek that people tell you defines the entire franchise. They’re not wrong, particularly because we’re just talking about The Original Series. The legacy of this episode is beyond brilliant and set-up a wonderful tradition within the rest of the franchise; a monster story is almost never a monster story

The ending of this episode is so good, and Leonard Nimoy and Shatner play the final scenes so well that I’m actually not sure it’s cool to reveal what the big twist is. If you somehow don’t know, I’ll just say this. You can’t imagine Chris Pratt’s friendly Velicrapotrs, or Ripper on Discovery without the Horta getting their first.

3. “The Corbomite Maneuver” 

If there’s one episode on this list that truly represents what Star Trek is usually all about on a plot level, it’s this one. After the first two pilot episodes —“Where No Man Has Gone Before” and “The Cage”—this was the first regular episode filmed. It’s the first episode with Uhura and, in almost every single way, a great way to actually explain who all these characters are and what the hell they’re doing. The episode begins with Spock saying something is “fascinating” and then, after the opening credits, calling Kirk, who is down in sickbay with his shirt off. Bones gives Kirk shit about not having done his physical in a while, and Kirk wanders through the halls of the episode without his shirt, just kind of holding his boots. 

That’s just the first like 5 minutes. It just gets better and better from there. Like a good bottle of tranya, this episode only improves with time. And if you think it’s cheesy and the big reveal bizarre, then I’m going to say, you’re not going to like the rest of Star Trek. 

2. “The City on the Edge of Forever”

No more blah blah blah! Sorry, wrong episode. Still, you’ve heard about “The City on the Edge of Forever.” You’ve heard it’s a great time travel episode. You’ve heard Harlan Ellison was pissed about how the script turned out. You heard that Ron Moore really wanted to bring back Edith Keeler for Star Trek Generations. (Okay, maybe you haven’t heard that, but he did.)

Everything you’ve heard about this episode is correct. There’s some stuff that will make any sensible person roll their eyes today, but the overall feeling of this episode is unparalleled. Time travel stories are always popular, but Star Trek has never really done a time travel story this good ever again. The edge of forever will always be just out of reach.

1. “A Taste of Armageddon”

Plot twist! This excellent episode of TOS almost never makes it on top ten lists. Until now! If you blink, “A Taste of Armageddon” could resemble at least a dozen other episodes of TOS. Kirk and Spock are trapped without their communicators. The crew has to overpower some guards to get to some central computer hub and blow it up. Scotty is in command with Kirk on the surface and is just kind of scowling the whole time. Kirk is giving big speeches about how humanity is great because it’s so deeply flawed.

What makes this episode fantastic is that all of these elements come together thanks to a simplistic science fiction premise: What if a society eliminated violence but retained murder? What if hatred was still encouraged, but war was automated? Star Trek’s best moments were often direct allegories about things that were actually happening, but what makes “A Taste of Armageddon” so great is that this metaphor reached for something that could happen. Kirk’s solution to this problem is a non-solution, which makes the episode even better. At its best classic Star Trek wasn’t just presenting a social problem and then telling us how to fix it. Sometimes it was saying something more interesting — what if the problem gets even harder? What do we do then? 

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The humor and bombast of “A Taste of Armageddon” is part of the answer to that unspoken question, but there’s also a clever lesson about making smaller philosophical decisions. In Star Wars, people are always trying to rid themselves of the dark side of the Force. In Star Trek, Kirk just teaches us to say, “Hey I won’t be a terrible person, today” and then just see how many days we can go in a row being like that.

What do you think are the most franchise-defining episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series? Let us know in the comments below.

The post The Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes That Best Define the Franchise appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[hazzabeeforlou]

On the eve of HS2, I felt I needed to reflect and write a diary entry of sorts, an ode to where I was and where I am now, a musing on how HS1 ushered in a whole new world for me. This is long and more personal than anything I’ve previously shared, but in honor of vulnerability and maybe helping someone else who’s struggling... here it is. 

The most exposure 2015 me had to pop music was occasionally listening to ‘hits’ radio. My old art teacher in high school had blasted the classics of the 60s and 70s daily, so I knew those, albeit not the names, but the music, the style, the melodic tropes and such. 2015 me didn’t have much time for pop music. I was getting a fancy degree in classical music from one of the best conservatories in the world, and I’d made it there after four years with a highly abusive teacher in undergrad who gave me horrible anxiety; by the end, whenever she would walk into a room, I would get chills and start shaking. She delighted in lying to me, in calling me out in front of my peers. Worse, I was arguably her highest-achieving student. The day I got into Juilliard she took me for “tea” to celebrate, where she proceeded to spend the whole time telling me how she had made this happen, how her connections got me to NY, how I should be grateful. 

Entering the world of NYC and Juilliard I was an awestruck, anxious mess. Everything moved too fast, the school was overwhelming, my studio mates were famous already, some of them having won world-famous competitions and been on the cover of magazines. I was in the elite place, a place my working class roots had never prepared me for. My dad was a millwright. He went to work every day in steel-toed boots and overalls and often returned so filthy mom wouldn’t let him wash his clothes in the household washing machine. But I was nothing if not adaptable, and grateful, and charming, and I did my best. I worked hard. But my health kept deteriorating. 

All through undergrad I’d been feeling progressively worse. I had horrible acne that I presumed was caused by stress, as I’d never suffered with it in high school. I was already an introvert, but body insecurity led me to hardly ever socialize. I would spent hours getting ready for things, never willing to show my bare face. But that wasn’t the worst; I’d developed what I now understand was an eating disorder, because no matter how much I exercised or dieted, I kept gaining weight, or rather, I lost all my baby fat but remained the same scale number. I kept telling my mother I was fat. I didn’t tell her that I hated the wind, that I hated running, because it made my stomach protrude and the whole world could see the extra pounds I carried. I never made an appointment with an OBGYN because I didn’t date much less have sex, and my mother had told me, well you don’t ever need to be seen until you do. I came to NYC well versed in wearing baggy sweaters and scarfs that hid my form. And for two years, as my breathing got worse and worse, as my energy levels dropped, as my skin hurt and itched, I pushed forwards. I remember practicing one day and my eyes going black. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe. 

It was getting into an international competition that saved me. I got the news in early May of 2016; I jumped around my room and I started coughing, and the next day a hernia appeared above my belly button. I was only slightly worried, but I went to see the Juilliard doctor. She asked if I’d gained weight, she said even a couple pounds could do it. I was, as always, ashamed, red faced, embarrassed as she prodded around on my torso. 

She said I’d need surgery. So I scheduled it in NYC for two days after my graduation. I played my recital, but with a binder around my abdomen. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t remember my memorized music. I nearly passed out. I stumbled on the sidewalk afterwards. 

When I woke from the surgery I was in blinding pain, teeth chattering uncontrollably, in shock. I couldn't open my eyes, and every breath felt like knives slicing into my chest. I heard the nurses say, “We’ve given you three IVs of Percocet, do you want us to give you a forth?” I said no, thinking, ‘what if I die from an overdose?’ After two hours my mother came in search of me. It was supposed to be a day surgery. She demanded morphine. They sent me home on it, but two days later I’d thrown up twice and was back in the ER. A CT showed I had an ovarian cyst. The doctor said to me, “It’s 28 inches. It’s the size of a dinner plate.” I didn’t understand. They rushed me back for another surgery, and asked me to sign a paper saying I wouldn’t hold them responsible if I ended up paralyzed. I signed it. I joked with the nurses before they put me under. I was shaking with pain. I thought, if this is the end, I’ve had a good life. I’ll be with my doggy, my baby puppy. I’ve graduated from my dream school. I’ve gotten into an elite international competition. I’ll go out at the top of my game. It’s okay. 

But then I woke up. Over the next year, I would wish countless times that I hadn’t. I could barely walk. I couldn’t lift things like a fork, or my computer. I couldn’t shower or cough or even shit. I couldn’t practice or sit upright for more than fifteen minutes. Pain became a constant. I started to wake up with night sweats, my forehead creased in subconscious pain. I would jump at every loud noise, my heart lurching like a ruined engine, and I couldn’t remember names of flowers. I fell into a massive depression over the next few months, made worse by the 2016 election; because of my infirmity I had moved back home with my Trump-voting parents. The bravest thing I did that fall was ‘come out’ as a liberal on Facebook. My parents pretended not to notice when I stayed up late that cold November night, huddled with a blanket on the couch, crying my eyes out.

The Christmas 2016 season is a blur. I know I half lived in memories, half in grief, but all in self-pitying misery. I remember reading a passing article about Jay, not knowing who it was, and I remember adding a lost mother to the list of things I cried about. How could the world be so cruel, so unfair? My days were filled with PT and sleep, immobility and exhaustion, and questions, questions like if I can’t do what I love, what I’ve spent years training for, what’s the point? What does it mean to be an artist when you can’t do your art? What is left of me that matters? Is the future only more pain? It would have been better to have died. It would have been better to have died. 

Up until this point I had been unlucky in love. I could never find men attractive, though many friends pressured me to try, which of course had led to not good things. I’d been confronted a couple times about maybe being gay, but I’d shot this down immediately, my face bright red, my heart pounding. No, that’s not it, I’m just picky. Two girls in grad school had flirted with me; I’d accidentally gone on a date with one. I’d felt deeply, gut-wrenchingly uncomfortable about her. But how could I ever unpack all of that when just coming out as a liberal had given me anxiety for days...  

The new year came and I had nothing to look forward to. I could see no happy future. I wasn’t really in my right mind. I would escape as best I could, perhaps in masochistic ways; I’d watch SNL for humorous liberal comfort, and Colbert to feel some spark of angry solidarity. And that’s how I stumbled on Harry. He got me with his puns, because I love those. For the first time in months, I was giggling about something, this charming boy with curls and dimples who had replaced the scream-speech of James Cordon. For once I didn’t turn the tv off after Colbert. 

I began listening to Harry’s songs. As I had no reference for contemporary pop music, his old school rock album was familiar to me in a comforting way. I knew these sounds, these tropes, and yet they didn’t feel stale to me, they spoke to something I was feeling in the present. Because the album, in essence, was about pain, wasn’t it? Pain and escaping it. The lies we tell to survive, the dreams we cling to for hope, the drugs we use to forget. I’d never bought a pop album before, Harry was my first, and I listened to it for hours every day. 

HS1 seeped into my blood, but I’d been on a hopeless, aimless track for so long that the railway tie hadn’t yet switched. One warm, sunny spring day I wrote a note, filled a bag with rocks, and walked to the old bike trail, out past the freeway, into the marshes and pools of abandoned swampy wasteland. FTDT played in my head on a loop as I walked, as my brain hummed with the equation of worth. Was it worth it to stay alive?

Yes. I threw the rocks. I threw them as far as my fragile arms would allow, and they splashed into the murky water. And I turned around and called my mom to come get me. Harry had made something that was beautiful, that was touching, that was real. And if he could... then maybe I could too. Maybe I didn’t have to be just what I’d been before. Maybe I could try creating other things; maybe I could make art that, like Harry’s music, made other people feel less alone. 

There was something magical about that album. Not freedom, per se, but the promise of it, a glimpse of truth that kept me hanging on. 

I began writing poems again, songs. I got into an orchestra program, I healed month by month, I started carrying crystals, I found this crazy fandom and, little by little, grew to understand that my yearning upon looking at baby larry videos was really a cry of sameness that I had never before understood. After the Pulse shooting, during my horrible homebound year, I’d watched Lin-Manuel Miranda give his love is love is love speech, and I’d burst into tears. And I’d not known why. Now I began to realize. I remember the first tentative anon I sent to Phoenix @alienfuckeronmain asking if maybe I was... bi? I remember anxiously awaiting her answer, as if I needed an invitation to join the community, to be valid, to have this not just be a crazy swelling of hope in my chest. She replied while I was wandering through a corn maze in the frigidness of October. The next day I walked into rehearsal and I felt free, free of the way boys looked at me, free of being FOR them, and I’d never felt so... alive. Coincidentally I met my ex girlfriend that day too. 

Through Harry I found this fandom, and Louis. Louis, who has spoken to me on levels I cannot even express, whose class and political and emotional intelligence have challenged me to stand up for things I never thought I could. For me these last few years have felt like a journey WITH Harry. As he started waving them, I started wearing rainbows, just subtly. A knit scarf, a postcard, a bag. I started writing fic, the most healing thing I’ve ever done. I learned to create art away from the singular thing I’d been trained to dump my all into, and I learned that I have so much more to offer, even if chronic pain will follow me in some way or another for the rest of my life. 

I’m so thankful to Harry for taking me on this adventure with him; I don’t know if I’d have ever taken that first step by myself. It was like he held my hand through it all, like this fandom held my hand through it all. Like by being himself, Harry helped me be brave enough to evolve too. 

Through the catalyst of Harry’s art I’ve experienced more happiness than I’d have ever imagined. I cannot wait to go on this next journey, a second album, and reflect on just how far we’ve both come. 

[ilovemygaydad]

A Wrinkle in Time AU

yes, i made a new au. yes, i’m planning to write this as a full au. sue me. i jump from thing to think like a squirrel, okay.

for now, it’s just a list of the characters and their traits (except the twins because they’re a super minor role, and i can’t bring myself to write it rn okay)

pairings: logicality, eventual prinxiety, platonic remileceit, familial LAMT

warnings: swearing, sympathetic deceit (as mx which), anger issues, lashing out, transphobia, queerphobia, homophobia, patton is called a whore one time, trans!male pregnancy, transitioning mentions, deadnaming, misgendering internalized aphobia, crying is mentioned, people are just mean as hell, mild sexism, mentioned abuse, broken families, rumors, mentions of cheating/running away with a woman (as a rumor), mentions of forcing sexuality onto others (as a rumor), mentions of disappearing, mentions of non-malicious lies, selective mutism, self hatred, internalized homophobia, and definitely more that will be added as the story progresses

summary: thirteen year old virgil murry is your typical delinquent, but throw in a dash of having two dads, one of whom is missing, a brainiac little brother who everyone thinks is an idiot, and only two normal family members. it’s a shock, really, that virgil acts the way he does, but it’s even more of a shock when three celestial beings come to take him on a journey to save his father with the help of thomas, the weird little brother, and roman o’keefe, the poster child for stable popular kid.

some random important information about this au:

it mixes up things from the book and the 2018 movie because i said so

exists in a time outside of our timeline (think ‘50s/’60s mixed with present day)

virgil, thomas, the mxs, patton, and (sort of) logan’s appearances all stem a lot from the 2018 movie’s definition of their characters with some other facts thrown in, so you can look those up to get a somewhat decent idea of what they look like

the warnings may seem like a lot, but a lot of them are just brief mentions that are repeatedly scattered throughout the story on occasion

a place for the au to go when i actually write it

everything is under the cut because this is about to get SPICY (aka really fucking long)

Virgil Murry (13 going on 14):

appearance

dark, coiled hair like his dad’s

kept short on the sides and longer on top

the longer bits are unruly and usually flop into his face and eyes

brown eyes that glitter gold and green in the right lighting

they don’t glitter often (or at all, really)

braces with purple rubber bands

a little shorter than he should be for his age

pretty normal physique--if a little bit thin

personality

very worried about his family (and eventually roman, too) all of the god damn time

hot-headed and rash with his words

the most stubborn person ever

tends to be aggressive when he’s upset/worried

easily swaps between emotions (much to his and everyone else’s chagrin, it seems)

uses anger to protect himself from being hurt/his anxiety

defensive of his brother and dad

wardrobe

his jeans are always ripped

round, vintage-style glasses (look up 50s glasses frames and you’ll get it)

he���s ended up with his sneakers being composed of more patches than the original fabric 

his hoodie is equally as worn, and he’s barely allowed to wear it to school anymore because the teachers think it’s “un[professional/becoming/sightly]”

other info

hates his appearance and personality

very smart, but his tendency to use shortcuts in school upset his teachers and lead to bad grades

good at math but not creative stuff

accepts his dads but hates his own sexuality

really misses his father

-

Roman O’Keefe (14)

appearance

pale as hell with tons of freckles

flaming red hair

super tall and thin

baby blue eyes that are super pale and pretty

very conventionally attractive

personality

very friendly

becomes protective and caring immediately

good at conversations and diplomacy

perceptive

good with words

can be kind of awkward/overbearing at times

wardrobe

clean jeans and his school varsity jacket are his go-to outfit

nice basketball shoes

his clothes are always very clean and neat

he takes his clothes very seriously--doesn’t like messing them up

other info

third oldest of his many siblings

weird family life

really smart

skipped two grades

good at the creative stuff

very gay (unfortunately)

kinda maybe has always had a crush on virgil

never believed the rumors about the murry family

-

Thomas Murry (6)

appearance

dark brown eyes and hair

a bit short and small for his age

idk what you want me to say he’s a little boy 

personality

doesn’t speak much when he’s outside of the house

difficult for everyone else to understand

his speech is highly elevated, but he doesn’t elaborate when he’s being confusing most of the time

sometimes arrogant and rude when people are stupid/unkind

wardrobe

an odd mixture of professional and casual clothing

often wears nerdy t-shirts and jeans with a blazer or slacks and a button up with a hoodie

always wears the same type of shoes (red tennis shoes with a yellow star)

other info

was adopted just before father disappeared

feels most connected with his dad and virgil

despite his high intelligence and love for learning, he didn’t start learning to read until he was actually in school because the other kids already disliked him enough as is

he tries not to go ahead in his studies for the same reason

easily frustrated by not knowing things

everyone in town thinks he’s dumb because of his not speaking much thing

ridiculously perceptive--possibly too much so

protective of virgil despite being a kid

-

Mx. Whatsit (Remy; age: old)

appearance

youthful

long hair of all sorts of colors

usually pulled into messy braids or elaborate updos

pale skin that shimmers rainbow colors in direct sunlight

unknown eye color

sharp features (almost inhuman looking)

personality

sassy and blunt

doesn’t completely get social conventions and the idea of being subtle

highly protective of thomas

kind of a bitch sometimes ngl

wardrobe

never without a leather jacket and his aviator sunglasses

everything else is literally random

usually it’s flowy dresses made out of scarves/bedsheets/fabric scraps of all shapes and colors, but sometimes he wears colorful pants and blouse-like shirts

think big top tent meets aerial silks and that’s his aesthetic

other info

uses he/him pronouns

youngest of the mxs

apprehensive of virgil at first (like a lot)

best vocalizer and materializer of the mxs

often messes things up, but he always works to fix what happens

-

Mx. Who (Emile; age: even fuckin older)

appearance

youthful, but a bit older than whatsit

pink hair that’s always pulled into some manner of curly updo

bright blue eyes

brown skin with deep brown freckles

a lot more round features and chubbiness than the other mxs

looks just the tiniest bit off of what a human should look like, but otherwise they pass fine

personality

only (or mostly) speaks in quotes, which makes them difficult to understand at times

very kind, gentle, and loving

enjoys being with the kids

doesn’t speak nearly as much as whatsit

wardrobe

purple crystal glasses with lavender lenses that are hooked to a chain around their neck

lots of very eccentric, patchwork-quilt-lookin clothing

despises shoes with a burning passion

likes wearing different colored ties on their wrists and ankles

other info

easily tired out by speaking freestyle (without quotes) and in full materialization for long periods of time

any pronouns

loves cartoons and visual medias of earth

age-wise in the middle of the mxs

--

Mx. Which (Deceit; age: too old)

appearance

dark brown skin with shimmering patches of scales scattered around his skin

the largest patch of scales covers the left side of his face

right eye is brown and left is yellow

the most inhuman looking of the mxs

tall compared to the other mxs

personality

speaks mostly in lies (aka pretty much all the time)

difficult to understand most of the time

very proper sounding

vague and cryptic

wardrobe

always wearing some sort of hat

looks like a yellow flower most of the time because of his penchant for yellow

otherwise he’s wearing a lot of black

likes wearing formal clothing and bedazzled dresses (very avant garde)

other info

he/they pronouns

oldest of the mxs

very bad at vocalizing and materializing (aka they get tired so fast)

very wise

literally just a cryptid tbh

sounds snakey a lot of the time

-

Patton Murry (Dad)

appearance

very, very pretty

extremely elegant features with long lashes and full lips

similar hair to virgil’s but neater

big, brown eyes

warm, dark skin

kind of short

a bit stocky

personality

manages to hide his upset feelings unless something is really bugging him (it’s usually about his husband, then)

incredibly kind

not extremely social due to the down’s actions towards him

loves his kids and husband so much

represses his bad emotions

hopeful (especially about logan coming back home)

wardrobe

wire-framed glasses

steel-toed boots or old sneakers

everything in his wardrobe basically falls in two categories:

nice clothes for going nice places (like dinner)

lab clothes

lab clothes make up the majority by a long shot and include

nerdy t-shirts

old cardigans

jeans

pajamas (bad etiquette, but highly convenient)

other info

(fully/mostly) transitioned (depending on how you look at it--he’d been pretty masc presenting for a while, but he got top surgery) pretty soon after virgil was born and decided he didn’t want to do that again so the other kids are adopted

often mistreated and misgendered by the townspeople

extremely smart, but people write him off as “dumb” (or a whore) because of his birth gender

loves being a doctor because people (sometimes) won’t refer to him as “mrs”

insists that logan will come home very soon (like he’s been saying for four years)

-

Logan Murry (Father)

appearance

neglected, long brown hair

usually clean shaven (if he remembers)

blue eyes with green and gold flecks

so many freckles

tall and thin with sharp features

looks like a huge nerd

personality

very respectable and serious

overworks himself to keep his family safe and happy

a bit of a hot head and scary when angry (either he’s calm and cold or he’s gonna kick your ass to the next century)

super passionate about physics and the universe

seems cold sometimes but loves his family intensely

secretly a huge softie

wardrobe

doesn’t understand that there are clothes other than lab gear

practical shoes only

likes ties but doesn’t wear them because lab safety is key

only gets new clothes when patton forces him to

very thick glasses

other info

(a lot of this is both him and patton. idk how it got so long, but please just understand that i can’t stop myself from making logan the most badass character okay i just love him)

very coldly defensive of his husband

has punched queerphobes on more than one occasion

gets really angry when their mail deadnames patton or refers to him as anything other than “dr patton sanders”

he once literally marched into a company and screamed at the highest ranking official that his husband is to be referred to as “dr patton sanders” as it is his proper name and title, so why the hell does this letter say “dr logan sanders and mrs [deadname] sanders” on it?

never compares his and pat’s intelligence because they’re both equally smart and knowledgable in different areas, even if patton has fewer doctorates 

he might even argue that patton is smarter because he’s dedicated so much time to his fields of study exclusively, not to mention his emotional intelligence

very supportive of patton no matter what (do you sense a theme here)

was very glad that patton decided that they would adopt their younger kids because logan hated every second of the pregnancy from trying for a baby to birth

he loves virgil so damn much regardless of the emotional turmoil because the kid was such a good reward

came out as sex-repulsed asexual about three months after patton announced that he was pregnant, and patton was pissed that he hadn’t spoken up sooner so they could have tried something different to make logan more comfortable

he’ll never admit it, but hearing the kind, caring words come out of patton’s mouth made logan cry for hours because how the fuck did he find such an incredible, loving husband

disappeared four years ago and no one has heard from him since

it’s rumored that he ran away with another woman (as if there was a woman in his life to begin with)

stories also sometimes include that patton tricked him into being gay (even though he’s a “woman,” right??? people are fucking stupid), and logan ran away from that lifestyle finally

but why would dr. murry just up and leave when he had such a good family and important research to finish? things aren’t adding up, and there’s only one way to figure out what’s going on:

figure out what the actual hell thomas and the mxs are talking about

a place for the au to go when i actually write it

[citymaus]

house poor: how price hikes hurt the most vulnerable.

“When Ricardo Lopez’s landlord announced last summer that she was nearly doubling the rent, the 60-year-old janitor began a soul-crushing journey: scouting out the squalid homeless encampments proliferating around the city, looking for one he could bear to live in.

He considered the jumble of makeshift shelters that spilled onto E. 12th Street, but people there were sleeping in trees and fighting. He walked through the maze of lean-tos next to Home Depot and the tents pitched at Union Point Park, but mounds of trash swarmed with flies. Just about everywhere, he found dead dogs and live rats...

Ultimately, Lopez got a reprieve after his roommate sought legal help and the landlord agreed to add a third tenant and charge each of them $600 a month. It was the best Lopez could hope for.”

read more: mercurynews, 08.12.19. 

[darling-clemmy]

Summer Dreams: One (ClemxLouis FanFiction)

Summary: Louis arrives at Ericson’s Camp for Troubled Youth for the third summer in a row. Most everything is exactly the same, except for the new, pretty, junior counselor with curly hair.

Warnings: Swearing and in later chapters some mature-ish themes (NOT smut though!)

Word Count: 2,218

A/N: I have altered some of the reasons for the Ericson’s kids presences (mostly Violet) because I felt like their backstories were too intense/serious to only result in going to a summer camp. Also, this is going to be a multi-part series, but I’m not sure how many yet!

The late June heat seeped into Louis’ mom’s car despite the air conditioner being on high. It was only 9:30 in the morning, and already 89 degrees, which was alarming since it was a cool 60 earlier that morning when they left. It was about an hour and a half drive from their relatively large house to the summer camp which Louis dreaded going to. To him, the only good part about it was seeing his long-distance friends, like Marlon and Violet. And maybe Aasim, too.

Every summer, his father decided he needed time away from his son, still not fully forgiving him for the mischievous frauds committed by Louis years ago. He also believed that since they were so well off financially, it’d be good for him to experience some authentic outdoor time in the blistering heat. This was really just an attempt to humble Louis a little, but everyone at Ericson’s felt he was always going to be a little spoiled. They still loved him, though, and knew he was a genuinely good person under all of his designer clothes and expensive rings.

Lost in thought, Louis barely noticed when his mom returns to the car, jiggling the locked handle outside vigorously. He reached over to the driver’s side door and pulled the handle for her. She smiled at him and slided into her seat, placing the bulk of requisite paperwork in her lap.

Louis groaned and slumped his head and shoulders back. “Really? Paperwork, again? They should know I’m a regular now, especially after last year because of the whole laundry detergent accident.”

“It isn’t an accident if you meant to do it,” his mother reminded him. “And don’t get all fired up, I already filled it all out for you.”

“You know, I bet we’re the only family that has to fill out all of that crap every year.” He turned to face his mom, prematurely smiling at what he was about to say. “I bet we only have to because Mr. Ericson totally has a thing for you.”

She rolled her eyes while trying to repress a smirk. Light-heartedly, she said, “You’re crazy. He probably has a lovely wife and four amazing kids and maybe, like, a golden retriever, or something.”

“Mm, nope, he has some kind of pit bull. Her name’s Rosie—she bit some kid in that area last year.”

“Anyway,” she replied after chucking a bit. “I’m sure if your dad was the one to drop you off he’d have to fill out all the same stuff.”

Louis adverted his eyes and became quiet for a moment before mumbling, “As if he’d ever want to drop me off.”

He didn’t mean for it to come out so bitter, since he really was more sad about it than anything else. A good relationship with his dad was something he had wished for every year as he blew out birthday candles. He prayed that somehow everything would change. Of course, it never really did.

His mom sighed and placed a hand against his arm. “He does love you, Louis. You’re his son, his only child. Nothing can break that, even millions of mistakes.”

He nodded, still not meeting her dark brown eyes.

“I love you, sweetheart. You should start heading into the main building. I think I saw Marlon and his mother earlier.” She said, making Louis perk up a bit in hopes of seeing his friend.

“I love you, too, Mom. I’ll try to call as soon as I can,” Louis scrambled, stepping out of the car. Quickly, he grabbed his two suitcases out of the trunk and headed towards the front court yard, smiling back once at his mom.

+++

The dining hall was a familiar place to Louis. He had spent nearly every night in there for the past two summers, playing juvenile card games and eating the same bland food. The chatter of dozens of voices, the occasional clang of pots in the kitchen, and the long oak benches had become comforting to him. It was always a place of good memories, with more to be made in the upcoming weeks. Every camp season’s orientation was in here as a meeting place for new and old camp members and counselors.

Louis and his large group of friends sat together, taking up most of a section in the back. To his left was Marlon, sent to camp for extreme anger issues and fits of violence. On his right was Violet, who was sent for “not having any emotions,” according to her mother.

“So, Violet,” Louis starts. “I see Minnie and Sophie aren’t here. Do you know why?”

She blushed a pale rose at the mention of her annual summer-time girlfriend. “No idea. Maybe they did some acts of good service or some shit and their mom let them stay home.”

“That’d be a real shame, wouldn’t it?” Marlon teased, poking his head into their conversation.

“Fuck off,” Vi replied. “Why don’t you and Brody go get a heads start on sucking face in the bathrooms?”

Louis chucked, “And probably other parts of their bodies—“

He was cut off by the shrilling sound of an older man’s voice—Mr. Ericson’s voice, in the introduction of the same bullshit speech he gave every year about their mission to help each individual personally.

“While we stick with the same foundation to Ericson’s,” he went on. “This year, we have decided to make a change considering our counselors.”

Everybody started chatting once again, most in hopes that they finally fired Larry, the oldest and strictest counselor at Ericson’s.

“Settle down, everyone,” the old man interrupted. “No, we have not fired anybody, though Larry has retired. This year, we have hired some junior counselors to tag along with a senior one. They’re all teenagers, like yourselves, so that you can really see examples of responsible, well-rounded young adults.”

Marlon shifted towards Louis. “You think any of them will be hot?”

Louis shook his head. “Nah. Even if, they’re ‘well-rounded young adults.’ They wouldn’t go for us.”

“Well, if there are any, I call dibs.” Marlon stated, forcing a laugh out of Louis.

“We’ll see about that.”

Marlon roller his eyes subtly before turning back to face the front.

“Alright, everybody! Start heading to your assigned cabins and get rested for the first day of activities tomorrow. If you see a new counselor, make sure to introduce yourself! They won’t bite!” Mr. Ericson said, making only himself laugh.

+++

Later that night, once the moon was at its peak and everyone else was asleep, Louis crept out out of the cabin he shared with three others—Marlon, Mitch, and Justin. It was still moderately warm outside, but thankfully accompanied by a brisk wind which would pass by every so often. Clad in just sweatpants and an old provided green camp t-shirt, Louis made his best attempt to rush over to the music and arts hall as quick as he could. Dirt crunched beneath his shoes, making him worry he’d awaken somebody in his pursuit.

Finally, he made it to the small building which held his favorite past-time at camp, the grand piano. He had always loved music, although most nobody took him seriously when they heard him play, except for his mom. Even Marlon couldn’t hold a straight face when Louis played him Für Elise, which he had finally mastered after three straight weeks of learning it. Louis kept playing, though, even if it had to be in the dead of night.

He tip-toed up the rickety stairs to the front door, grabbing the rusted door knob once reaching the top. It didn’t budge.

“Dammit,” he whispered.

Suddenly, a nearby door creaked open, allowing dim light from inside to drain out onto the ground. Louis pressed his back against the door, still peaking his head to see in front of a pillar. All he could really make out was the silhouette of a girl, appearing to be carrying a small plastic bag out to a trash can. She clearly wasn’t a senior counselor, leaving her only to be a new camper or one of the new, dearly beloved junior counselors. Louis figured he wouldn’t get in too much of trouble if he just started walking back to his cabin then. And he may get to meet somebody new while doing it.

He started making his way towards the group of trash cans where the mysterious girl stood, pushing down whatever she just placed in. As he got closer, he was able to discern more characteristics of the figure, like her curly hair tied into two full pigtails. While this was expected to make someone seem child-like, Louis could already tell from the back of her that she could pull it off.

Once he got a few feet away from her, he greeted in a muted shout, “Hey!”

She jumped a bit in her place, instinctively turning around, curly tendrils hitting against her jaw.

The first thing Louis noticed about her were her eyes—bright even in the darkness and the color of ancient amber. They startled him, but he still found them beautiful, enchanting, even. She was on the shorter side, yet still held herself as if she was tall. She wore a pair of black exercise shorts and a baby blue t-shirt, signifying that she was in fact a junior counselor.

He supposed he was wrong earlier that there wouldn’t be any attractive ones. This girl was so much more than attractive, though.

“Hello?” She responded, curiously and dragging out her word.

“Sorry to disrupt your nightly chores. I’m Louis,” he apologized before holding out his hand.

She grasped it and shook it, suspiciously. “Clementine.”

“Well, I guess I should cut to the chase. See, the music hall is locked, preventing me from becoming the world’s next best pianist. Now, I know I’m not supposed to be awake, but neither are you most likely. So I was wondering if maybe you could unlock it for me?” He rushed out, flashing a toothy grin at the end in hopes his charm would woo her.

Clementine sighed before looking at him quizzically. After a moment, she gave in and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to do. You’re lucky I have the keys to it.”

Louis pumped his fist in the air, really not expecting her to say yes. “Booyah! Thank you, Clementine.”

She smiled kindly at him and started walking towards the music hall. Louis followed behind her, jogging to catch up. He looked over at her and realized her eyebrows were now furrowed together as she reached up to her lanyard to grab the set of keys, fingering one silver one over the others.

Once they reached the cabin, she swiftly jabbed it in and unlocked it. As soon as the door opened, Louis could smell the scent of waxed floors and oak. In the back left corner lay his favorite piano, tempting his fingers to spread across the white notes. He cooly walked over to it and sat down, trying not to let Clementine see him get too giddy.

“How long have you been playing?” She asked, leaning against the cover.

“A few years, I mostly play when I come here, though,” he explained.

“So you’re a regular camper? That must suck.”

“It has its pros,” Louis shrugged. “You clearly aren’t the biggest fan of this place. Why’d you wanna’ work here?”

Clementine walked around the piano, sitting down next to him on the stool. “It pays well and seemed easy, but I don’t know if I’ll have this job for too much longer if anyone finds out about this.” She looked around the room.

“You really aren’t being that good of an influence on me, but don’t worry, I won’t tell.” He said, winking and splaying his fingers across the board.

He started playing a song from memory, not remembering which one it was. His palms felt sweaty with Clementine sitting right next to him, observing each melody played. She sat quietly, and from Louis’ peripheral vision, she was grinning loosely.

“You’re quite good, you know,” she complimented. “I’m not sure why you feel the need to do this at one in the morning, though.”

He played one more chord before stopping and meeting his eyes to her’s. “Maybe this was all just a master plan to talk to a pretty girl like yourself.”

She blushed, glancing down at the floor before standing up. “I should probably start getting back to my cabin. Need to be up early tomorrow.”

“Right. So do I, I don’t want Marlon to wake up and call for, like, a rescue team,” Louis joked, raising up next to her. “Let me walk you back to your cabin. It’s the least I can do.”

“It’s only like a hundred feet from here. I can handle myself, but thank you.” Clementine ticked her hair behind an ear before pacing over to the front door. “See you around, I hope.”

He raised his hand and waved. “Goodnight, Clementine.”

“Goodnight, Louis.”

She closed the door behind her as she left, leaving Louis alone, standing amidst the dying candle light.

He could feel his heart beating the whole walk back as he thought about the way she’d said his name when she wished him goodnight.

[licaviltagc1989-blog]

Then, while Rome is undergoing gradual dismemberment, Romanesque architecture dies. The hieroglyph deserts the cathedral, and betakes itself to blazoning the donjon keep, in order to lend prestige to feudalism. The cathedral itself, that edifice formerly so dogmatic, invaded henceforth by the bourgeoisie, by the community, by liberty, escapes the priest and falls into the power of the artist. Good way for companies to drain pockets thanks to consumers feeling nostalgic. I kept my old consoles, and the games with them, so if I feel like playing anything released on that particular console I just go play that one. Mainly because I won be massively disappointed that I spent $60 on the exact same game that possibly scratched the surface of improving graphics. Be nice to the people that are being posted about and to fellow users. This is a place for fair opinions and discussions of all levels. Look at the dark circles below her eyes and her hair on the right. He does, however, engage with a group of young drunk guys from London. I don hear what they say, but as we leave I hear them yell, "YEAAAAH LUCKY IS GOING TO GET LUCKY". I shoot Lucky a look and he shrugs sheepishly. And I was compensated probably more than I was worth. But everything was wonderful here in Williamsport for us, " recalls Illes, who was considered one of the best doctors in the area. In the early '90s, Illes met Miriam Zambie while working as a resident at St. Choose this method of birth control because I done research on all the types of birth control I could access and this was the one that least scared me. In my mind at least with the pill if it doesn suit you, you can change to a different pill or birth control method easily where as with the implant or IUD its invasive. The Depo shot you are stuck with for 3 months without any options.. So then I took a book and started word for word translating. I copy a few sentences at the top of a page and underline every word I don know. Then I look each of those words up in a dictionary, and write them down along with any related words in the dictionary that look useful. It more complicated than this. The Bible is not just a series of commandments, it a record of many historical events, and stories. Most of it is following a specific group of people, over thousands of years, and it meant to be a record of what happened so that the following generations know where they came from.. Re: the shoe situation, I agree with u/pygoscelis about getting a boot with a taller shaft. As it is, your leg is being cut off in two different places right now (the bottom of the pant and the boot shaft) which, while it a Look, is perhaps what holding you up from loving the boot situation. Also, do you have any boots with a pointed toe? I wonder if getting a tall, pointy toed boot would end up having the effect of continuing the line of your legs all the way down uninterrupted and make you look taller (not that it a problem rn but just if that something you interested in doing). On the following day, October 21st, they made but a short distance when they came to a dangerous strait, where the river was 정읍출장마사지 compressed for nearly half a mile between perpendicular rocks, reducing it to the width of twenty yards, and increasing its violence. Here they were obliged to pass the canoes down cautiously by a line 정읍출장마사지 from the impending banks. This consumed a great part of a day; and after they had reembarked they were soon again impeded by rapids, when they had to unload their canoes and carry them and their cargoes for some distance by land.

[jdorian]

every time tumblr recommends new blogs for me, they are always like old school star trek blogs, like tos and the next gen and the rest, run by 18-20 years old people. it's like, i love you, but where are you coming from all of a sudden? you've been born after 2000 and yet you can appreciate the original, goofy, nearly 60 years old space idiots.

i don't know what my point is, but i love you guys.

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Thoughts on Discovery 2x04

Those who care might notice I didn’t post anything about last week’s episode of Star Trek Discovery. I decided to follow the “if you can’t say anything nice” approach. I feel less charitable this morning so I’ll just say that after two half-decent episodes opened the new season, I consider episode 3, “Points of Light”, to be the worst single episode in the history of the Star Trek franchise, dethroning the previous “winner” which was “Shades of Grey”, a budget-saving flashbacks episode that was the limp noodle that served as the finale for TNG’s Season 2 nearly 30 years ago and moving the infamous TOS episode “Spock’s Brain” down to third place.

By contrast, last’s night’s episode 4, “An Obol for Charon” was much better, though it created an unexpected issue for me. I’m not going to go into heavy plot details, but I’ll put a spoiler break here anyway.

As I say, the episode was orders of magnitude better than episode 3, because except for touching on the ongoing search for Spock subplot and another one involving Tilly’s mind being influenced by a grumpy fungus (I’m not making that up), it was a return to the standalone episode format that worked so well for Trek in the past - including episode 2 of this very season. (Oh, and while we do hear a few words in their language in an amusing scene involving the Universal Translator, the Klingons are thankfully absent.)

For me the highlight of the episode was the opening scene with Rebecca Romijn making her debut as Number One, Pike’s second in command on the Enterprise (previously played by Majel Barrett Roddenberry back in 1964). Her scene is only about 2 minutes long, but we learned more about her in those 2 minutes than we learned about most of the Discovery’s bridge crew over an entire season (and this isn’t due to her being a legacy character - we learned little about her in ���The Cage”). Her chemistry with Pike is terrific and I want to learn more about their professional and personal relationship. (Oh and we also get a line of dialogue that was clearly inserted to address the technology issue in the new series that’s been a thorn in a lot of fans’ sides. I laughed.)

The impact Number One made illustrates a big problem. You’ve got people hating Discovery for numerous reasons I won’t go into. I am not a Discovery basher, but I am disappointed by it, and last week’s episode nearly made me walk away simply because of how awful it was (I realized that with one or two exceptions the episodes I dislike the most on Discovery involve the Klingons, but last week’s episode was just across-the-board bad except for maybe the last 60 seconds).

I want a Pike-Number One series with the revised Enterprise more than I’m interested in Discovery or the proposed Picard spin-off series.

It is not a good thing to have a character parachute in for 5 minutes, completely dominate the opening of the episode, and leave you wanting more of her and not the regular characters! (With the exception of Saru - without spoiling, Saru was amazing in this episode, even though the resolution was maybe a bit too old-school Trek.) This has happened before. Back in 2007 there was a very short-lived Bionic Woman remake series starring former EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan. She was fine as Jaime Summers and the show itself was OK, but in the first episode they introduced an evil bionic woman played by Katee Sackhoff (who was still appearing on Battlestar Galactica at the time) as a recurring villain - based loosely on Barney Hiller, Steve Austin’s bionic-powered nemesis on The Six Million Dollar Man. Katee’s character was far more interesting and dynamic than Michelle’s version of Jaime and people were saying Katee should have been cast as Jaime instead. It gave the show something of a mortal blow in the very first episode from which it never recovered.

While I’m not saying that a 5-minute appearance by Number One has destroyed any of the long-time characters on Discovery, it is not a good sign when (with the exception of Saru and maybe Tilley on a good day) she shows herself to be more dynamic than anyone else on the show - while enjoying a hamburger.

[usnewslatest]

U.S. to abandon aircraft that have flown over Russia

U.S. to abandon aircraft that have flown over Russia

The U.S. Air Force intends to retire the OC-135B aircrafts that have been used for nearly 30 years for surveillance flights over Russia as part of the Treaty on Open Skies (TOS). Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Bacon said the planes will be sent to an aircraft graveyard where they will be used for parts or cut up for scrap. “These planes are almost 60 years old and are too expensive to…

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

Sleepover weekend -- Strangebatch headcanons, please and thank you. :)

This ask is like a dream come true @strangelock221b!  Thank you, thank you…now lemme see what I’ve got tucked away in my noggin’–and be sure to keep reading, ‘cuz I saved the best for the last. 😍

As a child, he easily saw through the magician’s tricks at birthday parties, sometimes spoiling them for the other children by explaining exactly how the tricks were done. He never believed for a single moment in “magic”.

He showed his manual dexterity early on, quickly becoming the consistent top scorer in all the games he frequented at the video arcade. Once he conquered a game, he grew bored and swiftly moved on to something new.

Stephen was a big fan of old sci-fi movies of the 50′s & 60′s; he enjoyed their ridiculous campiness, as just plain fun. However, from the first episode of Star Trek TOS, he was hooked, catching them in their syndication runs on late night television, as an adolescent.  He loved the optimism of the series, with it’s promise of a brighter future, filled with adventure, for mankind.  He also enjoyed the reboot of the alternate timeline movie series for the most part–although as a doctor, it bothered the hell out of him that a character named Khan Noonien Singh, presumably hailing from the Indian subcontinent, had skin nearly as pale as a loaf of white bread.

Once he had settled in at Kamar-Taj, he would explore the streets outside the complex a few nights a week, keeping an eye out for the street mongrel he’d encountered on the fateful day he’d found his new home.  He’d often bring scraps of food, so that Dog (he hadn’t put much thought into that one) began to come around looking for him.  When he moved to the NYC Sanctum, Strange brought Dog along, who took to the halls of the Sanctum like it was his natural home all along.  When Stephen sits engrossed in study of ancient texts & scrolls, Dog is often to be found dozing at his feet, plump & comfortable after years of being lean & unloved.

Stephen’s feelings for Christine have not faded a bit, despite her seeming to have closed the door (for now) on a romantic relationship.  Some nights, when he’s at the NYC Sanctum, and he can’t sleep, he visits the hospital in his astral form, observing her quietly as she does the work she loves, loving her for all the things he had been too selfish to recognize as the most wondrous things about her. Her kindness, compassion, her heart and her Soul.

Hot damn, this was a blast answering! Thanks again, @strangelock221b - it also serves to fill in more backstory for “my” Strangebatch, as I go foreward with future fics. xoxox